Stanford Professor Releases VC Firm Rankings: 5% of VCs Generate 90% of Profits, 21 New Firms in Top 100

Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Ilya Strebulaev, in collaboration with Blake Jackson, has released the 2026 Strebulaev-Jackson VC Firm Rankings, based on nearly 30 years of data from over 230,000 investments and nearly 13,000 VCs. The research shows that approximately 5% of VCs generate about 90% of the industry's profits. The top five firms are Sequoia Capital (10,158 points), Andreessen Horowitz (8,292 points), Accel, DST Global, and Tiger Global. Parkway Venture Capital (19th) and Notable (20th) made it into the top 20, but are not widely recognized brands. The rankings are based on six factors: discount valuation, dilution adjustment, net profit, value addition, human capital decay, and credit allocation. Among the top 100, 62 firms are located in California, 19 in New York, and 6 each in Massachusetts and Texas. 21 firms were established in 2015 or later, with 23 of the best investments being in frontier AI or AI infrastructure companies, including OpenAI listed as the best investment by 4 firms, xAI by 3, and Anthropic and Perplexity by 2 each. The ranking methodology has a correlation of about 0.27 with the Midas List, with SV Angel investing in about 139 unicorns ranked 31st, and Thrive with only 47 unicorns ranked 8th. This ranking is a research outcome from Stanford professors and does not constitute investment advice.

This content is provided for general informational purposes only and doesn't constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Any events, rewards, online promotions, or related information mentioned herein should not be considered a recommendation, solicitation, or invitation to purchase, sell, trade, or otherwise deal in any crypto assets. Crypto assets are highly volatile and may result in loss. The availability of WEEX services, products, and related events may vary by region. You are responsible for ensuring that your participation is in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations.