An Evolving View
UpSurge’s ecosystem reporting has always drawn from the best available information to describe Baltimore Tech and its progress. We rely heavily on PitchBook and on validation from a range of sources and stakeholders.
- Broadening our geography to include the entire Baltimore Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The expansion of our data collection efforts recognizes the interconnections and aligned assets within the entire MSA, while recognizing and focusing on Baltimore City as the center and engine of the ecosystem.
- Inclusion of workforce data for the first time. The workforce section recognizes how the pool of local tech talent can affect startup growth and expansion.
These changes will not be the last to our annual reporting process. We are bringing together local stakeholders to refine our collective vision of a thriving tech ecosystem – one that is rooted in the Equitech vision and a shared commitment to driving economic growth and resiliency across Baltimore. As we clarify that vision together, we will continue to shift the metrics used to measure and gauge our progress. In 2024, we are leading multiple data enhancement efforts and data-sharing collaborations that will inform and improve our reporting in the future.
Gathering and reporting meaningful and reliable data would not be possible without the connectivity, trust, and collaboration that has been building across the tech ecosystem. At UpSurge, we are encouraged by the openness of local stakeholders, their willingness to share data and insights, and their commitment to Baltimore’s potential.
We define Baltimore as the Baltimore MSA, with a clear focus on Baltimore City at its heart. The MSA includes suburbs that are economically and culturally interconnected with Baltimore City. As UpSurge’s work centers on Baltimore City, the relationship between the city and the MSA is critical to understand and track. Throughout this report, we refer to this ecosystem as “Baltimore Tech.”
We define tech companies as those that can only exist as a result of technology. This includes companies that build new technology (hardware, software, algorithms, and/or platforms) and/or utilize technological advancements to deliver a new product or service.
Startup
We define a startup as a business founded and run by one or more entrepreneurs that has not yet earned $100M in annual revenue, and has not been acquired and is not publicly traded.
- PitchBook
- American Community Survey, ACS 5-Year Estimates Data Profiles, Table DP03, 2022
Baltimore MSA Zip Codes: 21215; 21206; 21207; 21224; 21218; 21229; 21212; 21225; 21217; 21230; 21239; 21213; 21209; 21216; 21214; 21223; 21202; 21201; 21210; 21211; 21205; 21231; 21226; 21287; 21251; 21278; 21290; 21280; 21274; 21283; 21288; 21203; 21233; 21264; 21263; 21273; 21270; 21275; 21279; 21281; 21297; 21298; 21234; 21117; 21222; 21228; 21221; 21093; 21220; 21244; 21236; 21208; 21136; 21227; 21237; 21133; 21204; 21030; 21286; 21074; 21128; 21102; 21219; 21163; 21268; 21131; 21120; 21161; 21152; 21104; 21111; 21057; 21087; 21013; 21162; 21053; 21155; 21082; 21250; 21153; 21071; 21031; 21156; 21051; 21260; 21261; 21022; 21235; 21241; 21023; 21052; 21139; 21252; 21020; 21027; 21065; 21092; 21094; 21105; 21282; 21285; 21284; 21289; 21122; 21061; 21401; 21113; 21060; 21144; 21403; 20708; 21146; 20720; 21114; 21012; 21037; 20794; 21409; 21108; 21076; 20724; 21054; 20755; 21090; 21032; 21035; 20711; 20754; 20776; 21402; 20764; 20733; 21140; 20751; 20778; 20714; 20779; 20701; 21077; 20758; 21056; 21405; 21240; 21106; 20765; 21062; 21123; 21404; 21411; 21412; 21043; 21044; 21042; 21045; 21075; 21784; 20723; 21771; 21046; 21029; 21797; 20833; 20759; 20777; 20763; 21794; 21738; 21036; 21737; 21098; 21723; 21041; 21150; 21765; 21014; 21009; 21015; 21040; 21001; 21078; 21050; 21085; 21047; 21154; 21084; 21017; 21132; 21034; 21005; 21160; 21028; 21130; 21010; 21018; 21157; 21158; 21787; 21048; 21776; 21791; 21757; 21088; 21666; 21620; 21617; 21619; 21638; 21658; 21651; 21640; 21623; 21668; 21649; 21657; 21607; 21644; 21628; 21656; 21670
Year Founded: 2009 or later
Ownership Status: privately held
Current Business Status: not bankruptcy; not out of business
Current Financing Status: not corporation; not private debt financed
Revenue: less than $100M
PitchBook uses a tiered industry classification system that creates mutually exclusive and specific categorizations of companies. However, the high-level category names can be vague, creating uncertainty about where a specific startup would fall (e.g., many healthcare startups are also information technology companies). PitchBook also categorizes startups by verticals; one startup may fall within many verticals. We reference these verticals as they provide a better indication of what the startups do.
- PitchBook
In this report, we show a seven-year window of capital activity in the Baltimore MSA. This allows us to present trends, rather than focusing on annual change, which can be attributed to exogenous factors.
Because of how PitchBook sources data, we believe a reasonable average margin of error is ±10% of the reported deal size.
- Startup Capital: Cash injection into startups, typically in the form of an investment. Types of capital: venture capital; venture debt; grants.
Venture Capital: A cash investment in exchange for equity from a startup. - Venture Debt: A loan investment to a startup.
- Grants (non-dilutive capital): Cash given to a startup without the expectation of repayment, typically as a prize.
- Accelerator Funding: Accelerators do not always provide funding to startups. If they do, it is typically in the form of venture capital or a grant from a pitch competition.
Baltimore MSA Zip Codes
Deal Date: From: 01-Jan-2017; To: 31-Dec-2023
Deal Size: Min: 0.01M
Deal Option: Search on a full transaction
Deal Status: Completed
Deal Types: Equity Crowdfunding; Angel; Seed; Early stage VC; Later stage VC; manually added PE Growth/Expansion deals
Manually Added Startups (due to missing location data or for PE Growth deals): Arena Analytics; AsclepiX Therapeutics; Bioenergy DevCo; Coronis Health; Fiberight; Graybug Vision; Hex Performance; Link Labs; Protego Labs; READY Robotics; Ryse Health; Sweeten; Thrive Earlier Detection; Zentility
PitchBook’s deal types do not capture the startup stages observed on the ground (i.e. pre-revenue, launch, growth, and expansion), and therefore have functional limitations for tracking information related to the continuum and conversion between early-stage and later-stage deals. UpSurge, therefore, revised the titles and definitions of several PitchBook deal types to better align with startup stages to capture more relevant insights.
Pre-seed: Angel, Equity Crowdfunding, Early Stage VC (series unknown), and Seed deals worth less than $1M
Seed: Angel, Equity Crowdfunding, Early Stage VC (series unknown), and Seed deals worth more than $1M
Series A: Tracked by PitchBook
Late Stage VC: Series B or later; PE Growth/Expansion
Series Unknown: Late Stage VC (series unknown)
Baltimore MSA Zip Codes
Deal Date: From: 01-Jan-2017; To: 31-Dec-2023
Deal Option: Search on a full transaction
Deal Status: Completed
Deal Types: Accelerator/Incubator
Baltimore MSA Zip Codes
Deal Date: From: 01-Jan-2017; To: 31-Dec-2023
Deal Option: Search on a full transaction
Deal Status: Completed
Deal Types: Debt – General
Manually Added Startups
We chose to use PitchBook exclusively because it has more funding data. Using one source allows us to make valid comparisons across years and ecosystems.
Overall, PitchBook is more sourced by and made for investors, while Crunchbase is more sourced by and made for startup founders. When you join their data and compare the source, PitchBook accounts for 81% of the total venture capital raised within the Baltimore MSA while Crunchbase only includes 65%.
- American Community Survey (ACS) Tables B24010A-I SEX BY OCCUPATION FOR THE CIVILIAN EMPLOYED POPULATION 16 YEARS AND OVER 1-year estimate for Baltimore City, Baltimore MSA, Maryland, United States from 2017 to 2022
- ACS Table B24012 Sex by Occupation and Median Earnings in the Past 12 Months (in 2022 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars) for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over 5-year estimate for Baltimore City, Baltimore MSA, Maryland, United States from 2017 to 2022
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), for the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MSA from 2017 to 2022
UpSurge takes a comprehensive view of Baltimore’s tech workforce. We use the BLS’ Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system – specifically major groups 15, 17, and 19, which are Computer and Mathematical Occupations, Architecture and Engineering Occupations, and Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations. These groups best capture occupations requiring in-depth scientific and technical knowledge and skills, and are not limited to computer and IT jobs.
In this report, we disaggregate representation, growth and wages to the smallest geographic, occupation, gender and race groups reported by the ACS. Our standard measure of growth is the 5-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of a group.
ACS reporting on the previous year is released in September, as such the most current data is for 2022.
The OEWS collects data from employers and reports down to the MSA level. It is considered the most accurate survey on employment.
The ACS collects data from households, reports down to the county level, and records demographic information for populations above a certain size.
Although both surveys report employment and wage data, we primarily reference the ACS in this report because of its more specific level of reporting. The ACS allows us to track differences in employment and wages, between Baltimore City and Baltimore MSA, and across gender, racial, and ethnic groups.