Over the past two years, Arizona startups have received more venture capital than ever before. According to ClearData, Arizona is still trailing the major U.S. startup hubs by a fairly wide margin. And yet, the tech startup industry here is growing fast. Arizona appeals to both local founders and founders originally based out-of-state, thanks to the state’s welcoming ecosystem, lower cost of living and proximity to Silicon Valley, among other things.
Arizona saw a surge in venture capital, according to data from Crunchbase News. The data revealed that record numbers of venture dollars went to Arizona-based startups in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, $800 million in venture capital – the highest amount in any year in the past decade – was split across 133 deals, while $723 million funded 114 deals.
Still, even as the dollar amount increases, Arizona founders struggle with fundraising. To make things easier, we’ve done the research and made a list of all the biggest venture capital firms in the Valley.
Related: How to land a meeting (or ten) with venture capitalists
PHX Ventures
“We invest in founders who are transparent, determined, resilient, humble, and committed to always doing what’s right. We invest in founders who are able to attract top talent and build and lead high performing teams.”
- Strategy: Won’t invest pre-revenue or lead fundraising rounds
- Who: Primarily B2B software companies
- Amount: Between $50,000 and $500,000 as part of larger priced rounds where an institutional investor is leading the round
- Focus: Southwestern states, but primarily in Arizona
AZ Disruptors
Founded “as a vehicle to invest in for-profit companies that want to make the world a better place, with a geographical focus on Arizona’s tech ecosystem.”
- Strategy: Looking to invest in companies in one of three early stages of development, from Early Stage Startup to Product and Early Customer Success to Proven Record, Ready for Scale
- Who: Primarily tech startups
- Amount: Between $25,000 and $250,000
- Focus: Arizona
Arizona Founders Fund
“We are more than a seed stage venture capital fund — we are a network of locally-minded founders committed to building world-changing companies.”
- Strategy: Every Arizona-based technology startup raising or expecting to raise a seed stage round of financing
- Who: Tech startups
- Amount: Between $50,000 and $400,000
- Focus: Arizona
Arizona Tech Investors
“ATI goes beyond just making investments. Members also participate in support of portfolio companies through advisory roles, strategic guidance, as well as resource and partner referrals and more. Members of ATI invest individually, collectively through dedicated LLCs, and through sidecar, or pooled investment funds allowing for best alignments of investor objectives and portfolio company needs.”
- Strategy: Early stage and expansion funding
- Who: Software – from SAAS to Enterprise to Ed Tech to Med Tech; Medical Devices; Capital Efficient Green Tech; Diagnostics; Semiconductors and Sensors and Internet of Things
- Amount: Varies
- Focus: Arizona and neighboring states
Desert Angels
“We represent a network of over 100 active angel investors, who have invested $60 million into 132 portfolio companies and 10 Sidecar funds.”
“The Desert Angels have consistently been recognized as one of the most active angel groups in the country and, in 2019 was ranked #1 in the southwest and #8 in the country according to the 2019 ARI HALO report.”
- Strategy: Meet monthly from September to June
- Who: Startup or early stage companies
- Amount: Varies
- Focus: Southwest
Social Leverage
“We invest in people. We love building teams, products and communities. We write, we share, we organize events and travel relentlessly to help find and connect with the best entrepreneurs in the sectors we love.”
- Strategy: Early stage seed investments
- Who: Financial, enterprise SaaS and consumer technology companies
- Amount: Varies
- Focus: Arizona
Greyhawk Capital
“Greyhawk Capital Management is an investment firm that seeks to invest alongside management for the very long term in companies with strong competitive positions and high returns on capital.”
- Strategy: Long-term investments
- Who: Companies from a wide range of industries, including cellular telephony to transportation services to specialty finance
- Amount: Between $5 million and $25 million
- Focus: Based in Ketchum, Idaho, and will consider companies in the west
Canal Partners
“Canal Partners relies on management for daily operations of our portfolio companies, while actively participating in board, advisory, strategic, and support roles to build market-leading companies.”
- Strategy: Considers companies with minimum of $1 million in annual revenue, limited debt, scalable business model, and a proven management team
- Who: Focus on B2B software and internet technology companies
- Amount: Varies
- Focus: Phoenix, San Diego, Denver and Atlanta markets