Deep Tech Startup Survival Rate
Of every 100 startups that started more than 10 years ago, 33 have shut down, 32 were acquired, 4 went public and 31 are still running.
Out of 100 startups
- 55Still running
- 1Went public
- 15Acquired
- 29Shut down
Compared with all startups
Startups at least 5 years old, from fewest to most shutdowns
Where each year’s startups are today
Share of startups by current status, grouped by the year they started
- Still running
- Went public
- Acquired
- Shut down
Data table
| Year | Companies | Still running | Went public | Acquired | Shut down |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2 | 0% | 0% | 50% | 50% |
| 2008 | 2 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| 2009 | 8 | 13% | 0% | 13% | 75% |
| 2010 | 5 | 20% | 20% | 60% | 0% |
| 2011 | 14 | 14% | 0% | 57% | 29% |
| 2012 | 24 | 21% | 4% | 38% | 38% |
| 2013 | 23 | 22% | 4% | 39% | 35% |
| 2014 | 38 | 34% | 8% | 26% | 32% |
| 2015 | 61 | 44% | 2% | 26% | 28% |
| 2016 | 74 | 45% | 1% | 15% | 39% |
| 2017 | 75 | 52% | 0% | 17% | 31% |
| 2018 | 75 | 52% | 1% | 12% | 35% |
| 2019 | 113 | 64% | 0% | 17% | 19% |
| 2020 | 110 | 57% | 1% | 15% | 26% |
| 2021 | 167 | 77% | 0% | 7% | 16% |
| 2022 | 148 | 82% | 0% | 5% | 12% |
| 2023 | 82 | 83% | 0% | 5% | 12% |
| 2024 | 122 | 95% | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| 2025 | 140 | 98% | 0% | 1% | 1% |
| 2026 | 253 | 99% | 0% | 1% | 0% |
Odds of getting big
Out of 100 startups that are at least 5 years old
Still running55 · 1 in 2
10+ employees40 · 1 in 2
50+ employees18 · 1 in 5
200+ employees6 · 1 in 17
1,000+ employees2 · 1 in 66
What a survivor looks like
Team size of startups that are still running
Year 25typical team sizeTop 10%: 15+
Year 418typical team sizeTop 10%: 80+
Year 622typical team sizeTop 10%: 75+
Year 827typical team sizeTop 10%: 150+
Year 1064typical team sizeTop 10%: 375+
Related lists
Deep Tech & Industry 1,861Survival statistics: Robotics & dronesSurvival statistics: Manufacturing & chipsSurvival statistics: Climate & energySurvival statistics: Logistics & supply chainSurvival statistics: Mobility & automotiveSurvival statistics: Food & agricultureSurvival statistics: Real estate & construction
How to read this: the data covers companies in the public Y Combinator directory. Years are counted from the year of the company’s YC batch. Status is what the directory shows today, so the charts compare groups of different ages rather than following the same companies over time.