附近上门

When Americans think about Philadelphia, hometown of the Super Bowl-bound , images that first come to mind likely revolve around cheesesteaks, Rocky and the Liberty Bell.

Startups, not so much.

In reality, however, Philly and its environs actually constitute one of the larger U.S. hubs for health and biotech founders. The City of Brotherly Love is also no slouch in the tech and fintech departments.

Funding numbers back up that assessment. Since 2022, investors have poured over $2.5 billion into venture and growth rounds for local companies, according to an analysis of 附近上门 data. Life sciences funding increased sharply year over year for the region, even as overall U.S.venture funding declined, with the seven biggest financings highlighted below:

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of positive momentum,鈥� said , co-founder of the , a cell and gene therapy contract development, manufacturing and testing organization. The King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company closed on $350 million last year in the metro area鈥檚 largest startup funding round.

Not the underdog

With the Eagles poised for what could be their second Super Bowl victory in six years, Greenberg sees similarities between the local football and life science trajectories. The common theme: A city with a longtime underdog reputation is staging a serious comeback.

It鈥檚 a notion Greenberg likes to promote with two of her favored hashtags: #NotTheUnderdog and #celliconvalley. While the first could refer to either sports or science, the second one is definitively a nod to Philadelphia鈥檚 history as a hub for cell and gene therapy.

In recent years, the , and the on-campus , in particular, have gained a reputation as research pioneers in immuno-oncology, cell and gene therapy. The 鈥� for a rare form of retinal blindness 鈥� had its roots in local labs. And Philadelphia-based (now owned by ), played a lead role in clinical trials and commercializing breakthrough gene therapies.

Among U.S. life sciences hubs, Philly consistently makes the top 10 lists by such metrics as local talent pool, square footage of , and venture funding. While Boston, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area are bigger for now, Philadelphia has been steadily moving up in the ranks.

Affordability, Whiz and provolone

Local startup boosters see affordability as one driver of growth. While greater Philly isn鈥檛 exactly cheap, the cost of living is significantly lower than Boston and major California metros, with housing in particular far more affordable.

For better or worse, Philly鈥檚 startup scene is also pretty suburban. Out of total funding to the metro area, less than half went to companies in Philadelphia proper, with the rest going to surrounding towns and smaller cities.

In practice, what this means is mental images of scrappy startups in gritty urban digs probably aren鈥檛 too representative of actual reality. While the archetypal Philadelphian may be someone scarfing a Whiz-laden cheesesteak on a street corner, the typical startup worker is more likely to order lunch from some place in the suburbs with provolone聽1 as the default cheese.

Still, Philly proper does attract its share of startups too. For 2022, the top tech funding recipient was , a developer of data engineering tools that pulled in $222 million in Series D financing. At the earlier stage, , a sales commission tracking platform, also landed a big round, with $41 million in an April Series B.

On the biotech side, meanwhile, one of the top funding recipients based in the city is , a startup with ties to the children鈥檚 hospital, that is developing technology to help premature babies acclimate outside the womb. The company has raised $100 million to date.

Contender to winner

With the IPO market mostly on hold and M&A action fairly quiet, Philly鈥檚 startup scene hasn鈥檛 delivered a big exit recently. However, one local biotech 鈥� hypertension therapy developer 鈥� did move closer to its debut, submitting an this month to raise up to $160 million in a planned IPO.

Given the sizable concentration of well-funded biotechs in the area, one would expect a series of other offerings should the market show signs of a sustained thaw.

Once that happens, the hope for Philadelphia鈥檚 startups is that their fortunes will look a little more like the Eagles鈥� track record this season: Few losses and lots of big wins.

笔丑辞迟辞:听, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons