"Venture capital isn't in its "spray and pray" era anymore. After years of frothy valuations and AI-fueled hype, the market has sobered up - and the young investors chasing the next breakout deal are doing it with sharper judgment and tougher diligence. To see what it takes, Business Insider analyzed the 2026 Rising Stars of Venture Capital list by the numbers: where this cohort lives, where they went to school, and how they broke into the business."
"Twenty-three live in the San Francisco Bay Area, while 12 are in New York City. Two live in Los Angeles. The average age is 29, and roughly half are under 30. Sequoia Capital partner James Flynn and Slow Ventures investor Angèle Sahraoui are the youngest people on the list at 25. The class comes from a mix of 24 institutions for their undergraduate studies. Stanford University appears more often than any other institution among this year's rising stars, with four undergraduate attendees."
The 2026 Rising Stars of Venture Capital cohort comprises 37 investors with varied educational backgrounds and career starts. Twenty-three reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, 12 live in New York City, and two in Los Angeles. The average age is 29, with roughly half under 30 and the youngest at 25. Undergraduates attended 24 different institutions, with Stanford represented most often and ten honorees from Ivy League schools led by the University of Pennsylvania. At least five participants were college-level athletes, including rowers, a boxing club captain, a varsity squash player, and a varsity lacrosse player.
Read at Business Insider
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