Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation: Staff Report, Fiscal Year 2025 (SEC Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation)

Summary

• The U.S. is home to 36.2 million small businesses (46% of U.S. private sector employment).p.10
• 81% of small business owners who applied for a business loan or line of credit found it difficult to access affordable capital.p.11
• $17.9 billion in angel investments were made in 2024, a 3.1% decrease from 2023, with 445,535 active angel investors.p.17
• VCs deployed $215 billion across 14,320 deals in 2024.p.38
• From H2 2024 to H1 2025, overall VC deal count declined by about 4% while overall deal value increased by 33%.p.39

Key insights

1. Over the last decade, the number of small banks decreased by 49%.p.11
2. Of the roughly 25% of small businesses that applied for venture capital, 17% received some funding and 14% received the total amount requested.p.13
3. In the first half of 2025, pre-seed and seed deals represented 28% of VC deal count, down from 34% in 2024 and 35% in 2023.p.19
4. Regulation A allows eligible companies to raise up to $20 million in a 12-month period in Tier 1 and up to $75 million in Tier 2.p.25
5. The median size of a U.S. VC fund in 2024 was $21.3 million.p.38
6. In the first seven months of 2025, roughly 40% of all VC dollars went to 10 companies.p.40
7. 18% of deals in the first half of 2025 were down rounds, compared with 15% for 2024 and 8% for 2021.p.41
8. 25% of all Series D+ deals were down rounds.p.41