Their losses over the years:

• 2019: $4.5 billion
• 2020: $6.6 billion
• 2021: $10.2 billion
• 2022: $13.7 billion
• 2023: $16.1 billion
• 2024: $17.7 billion
• 2025: $19.2 billion

$88 billion down the virtual drain

Source: Morning Brew

In China, nearly all are trading above.

Source: Manish Singh

Growth in visits from the top seven countries sending traffic to Gen AI tools in 2025 (compared to December 2024)

Japan is growing at 210%

Source: similarweb

Vibe coding has unleashed a torrent of new iOS apps in the app store.

After basically zero growth for the past three years, new app releases surged 60% yoy in December (and 24% on a trailing twelve month basis).

Source: a16z

Approximate trends across VC reports:

Higher conversion:

• B2B SaaS
• Dev tools
• Infrastructure
• Fintech (regulated but sticky)

Lower conversion:

• Consumer social
• Marketplaces (supply-demand balance hard)
• D2C brands
• Hardware-heavy startups

Markets matter more than founders admit.

Aggregated from founder reports and VC blogs:

• Market too small
• Weak distribution strategy
• Unclear differentiation
• Team gaps
• Timing concerns
• Poor unit economics
• “Come back with more traction”

Most rejections are usually pattern-based. Which one do you hear most?

Startup survival data (various studies):

• ~90% of startups fail
• ~10% reach Series A
• ~3–5% reach Series B
• <1% reach IPO or large exit

Failure timing:

• ~38% fail due to running out of cash
• ~35% fail due to lack of market need
• ~20% fail due to team issues

Median time to failure: 20–24 months

Most startups fade quietly instead of making a loud noise. If your startup crossed 2 years, you’re already in the minority.