We are proud to present Venture Capital Journal’s 40 Rising Stars under the age of 40. The list celebrates some of venture capital’s brightest talent.
This year’s list includes 24 women, which is the same amount of women in the 2025 list, while 15 are men. And like last year’s Rising Stars, the 2026 installment is a diverse array of people.
Several who are on this year’s list work at big, well-known managers, such as Bessemer Venture Partners, Insight Venture Partners and Khosla Ventures, as well as large law firms such as Gunderson Dettmer, Morrison Foerster and Proskauer Rose. But there is a large selection of stars at firms and businesses readers may not be familiar with, including Northern Gritstone, a deep-tech venture firm; Shakti VC, an early-stage emerging manager; Strut Consulting, which helps VC firms with investors relations and internal operations; and Jasper Ridge Partners, a $41 billion multifamily office and investment manager.
Congratulations to everyone who made this year’s list.
MEET THE 2026 RISING STARS
Meet venture capital’s 2026 Rising Stars
We are proud to present Venture Capital Journal’s seventh annual list of 40 Rising Stars under the age of 40.
RISING STARS | PREVIOUS YEARS
This year’s list is more diverse than ever and includes 24 women and 16 men, nearly the opposite of last year’s, which was made up of 23 men and 17 women.
We should note that we have never set a quota in the six years that we have done the list. We received roughly the same number of nominations for both sexes, but women just happened to outnumber men when the editors were asked to choose those most deserving of recognition.
You will find lots of familiar firm names on this year’s list, including Anthemis, Bessemer, General Catalyst, Iconiq, Insight, NEA and Sofinnova. That should come as no surprise given that large, established firms rightly make it a priority to develop and recognize their talent.
You will also find some new firms you may not be familiar with, such as Soul Street Ventures of Houston, Cybernetix Ventures of Boston and Boyd Street Ventures of Norman, Oklahoma. Each of their Rising Stars has an interesting story to tell.
Congratulations to everyone who made this year’s list.
The list, now in its fifth year, celebrates some of venture capital’s brightest talent.
These top performers come from not only traditional venture funds, but also LPs such as the Korea Investment Corporation, corporate VCs like Shell Ventures and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, accelerators like High Impact Innovators, and law firms such as Proskauer Rose and Goodwin Procter.
As we saw last year, California’s geographical dominance in the venture space continues to ebb, with almost 60 percent of US finalists based outside of the Golden State. However, with fewer nominations for executives outside of North America, the US remains dominant.
As ever, the editorial team had a tough time settling on these 40 Rising Stars, with so much young talent being attracted to the asset class. And amid the macro trials and tribulations we face, the inspiring stories of our fifth class of Rising Stars can’t help but leave one feeling hopeful for the industry’s future.
The 2024 list has grown more international, with stars hailing from Singapore to South Africa, and with a broader domestic representation within the US, pushing out of California. It also saw a higher number of platform/talent stars, reflecting proficiencies outside fundraising and LP relationship management.
As was the case with our first list in 2020, we struggled to choose just 40 professionals out of more than 200 candidates. All are worthy of recognition.
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