by Paul Gatling (pgatling@nwabj.com)
The 2022 Arkansas Capital Scan, released Wednesday (Dec. 6) by the Northwest Arkansas Council, shows a substantial uptick in venture capital to Arkansas-based startups. Since 2020, there has been an impressive annual quadrupling of venture capital dollars, underscoring a growing interest in the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
According to the report, venture capital investments in Arkansas totaled $270.8 million across 26 companies in 2022 — a 117% increase from the previous year. Northwest Arkansas continued to drive most of the funding, representing 65.4% of all deals in the state.
However, Arkansas falls behind many states in comparison. According to the report, non-coastal states like Michigan, Ohio and Utah, for example, attract billions of dollars in venture capital funding each year. Additionally, angel investments, sourced from individual investors rather than venture capital firms, exhibited a declining trend, trailing behind the levels seen in neighboring states.
