Stocks● Neutral
Social media startups draw $355M in 2026, topping last year's total
Social media startups raised $355M in 2026 through July, topping the $330M total for all of 2025. Fizz and Corner are among the companies drawing VC interest as AI-native concepts emerge.
Continue with
Venture capital is flowing back into social media startups, albeit from a low base. PitchBook data shows U.S. social media startups raised $355 million across more than 50 deals as of July 21, already surpassing the $330 million raised in all of 2025 on roughly half the deal volume.
The 2025 total was itself a comedown from the 2021 peak of 239 deals worth $2.2 billion, a year when apps like BeReal and Clubhouse drew investor excitement. Since then, the number of deals has declined each year, PitchBook said.
"Everyone fled consumer a couple years ago," Rick Heitzmann, cofounder of FirstMark Capital, told Business Insider.
That exodus left a smaller group of investors still hunting for the next breakout app. Firms including Menlo Ventures and Forerunner are backing social startups across networking, dating, and AI-native concepts. A new crop of solo VCs has also emerged in the space.
Among the startups raising capital is Fizz, an anonymous social app targeting Gen Z, which closed a strategic round as it expands globally. Corner, a social mapping app that lets users save and share local spots, is preparing a Series A.