Startups & Venture Capital Correspondent
Lauren Hayes is a Startups and Venture Capital Correspondent at American Commerce Review, reporting on American startups, venture capital, private technology companies, founders, and emerging business models.
Her coverage follows companies from early-stage financing through expansion and commercialization, with particular attention to funding rounds, investor activity, startup economics, and the challenges involved in turning rapid growth into durable businesses. Hayes also covers the changing relationship between venture-backed companies, private equity, and established corporate America.
Lauren's startup coverage separates fundraising from business progress. A round size, valuation or investor name can explain access to capital, but it does not by itself establish customer demand, product-market fit or a path to durable margins. Her reporting follows what the financing is intended to fund and what later evidence shows about execution.
She also tracks the boundary between venture capital, private equity and established corporate buyers as companies mature. That gives her beat a longer time horizon than launch coverage alone, from formation and early financing through expansion, consolidation or acquisition.
Trump says Chinese carmakers could build cars in the US if they employ American workers. We examine the tariffs, connected-vehicle rules and political barriers.
Positron raised $875 million and reached a $5 billion valuation as investors pour capital into AI inference chips and alternatives to Nvidia.
US business applications rose 8.1% in July 2026 to 578,926, while projected formations within four quarters increased only 0.7%.
A guide to 20 major US venture capital firms, including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Lightspeed, Accel, Founders Fund and New Enterprise Associates.
Which US states have the most unicorn startups? California and New York lead, followed by a smaller group of states with deep venture and technology ecosystems.
Where venture-backed exits are concentrated in the United States, using PitchBook-NVCA exit data and state startup ecosystems.
The 10 US states attracting the most venture capital, led by California, New York, Massachusetts and Texas, using the latest NVCA and PitchBook state data.
A state-level look at women-owned businesses using Census and SBA ownership data, with context on why raw counts and ownership shares differ.
The US states with the largest populations of venture-backed companies, based on NVCA and PitchBook state data.
Which US states generate the most new business applications? A look at Census Business Formation Statistics and the states producing the largest entrepreneurial pipelines.