风险投资支持的首席财务官状况（英）

April 2026 3Letter From the Author5Key Takeaways6Survey Demographics8AI Adoption12Revenue and Efficiency16Hiring, Pay and Benefits21Vendors and Services Nearly half of CFOs ranked AI adoption as the top external factoraffecting their business—more than government regulations, tariffsor interest rates. Nine in 10 encourage employees to use AI at workand half say AI spending is producing measurable ROI. The leadinglarge language models (LLMs) are broadly valued, but so are dozensof vertical-specific AI tools across many functions (page 23). Chef Alice Waters, of famed Berkeley farm-to-table restaurant ChezPanisse, once said, “When you have the best and tastiestingredients, you can cook verysimplyand the food will beextraordinary because it tastes like what it is.” You could say the same of this report. The insights in State of theVenture Capital-Backed CFO were grown in our own backyard. Wesurveyed 230 finance leaders at top-performing companies acrossthe innovation economy. These CFOs are largely succeeding at adifficult thing, and their answers tell us much about how they aredoing it. From benchmarking benefits and software vendors todeciphering how AI adoption is sweeping through enterprises, weasked dozens of questions and received remarkably thoughtfulresponses. The innovation economyis in the middle of atransformative shift. AIadoption is quicklyforcing CFOs to pressure-test assumptions abouthiring, spending andorganizational structurethat have guided startupmanagement for ageneration.” At the same time, the financial picture is improving for many. Medianrevenue growth for the companies we surveyed was 30%, an uptickfrom last year. Runway is lengthening. More companies areprofitable, and fewer are facing down rounds or other distresseddeals (though bridge rounds are still common). However, hiring is amixed bag. Headcount growth rates vary widely across stages. AI ishaving an impact on how companies make staffing decisions. One-third of respondents said they are hiring fewer junior-level employeesbecause of AI, 26% are forgoing backfills and 5% have conducted AI-related layoffs. Critically, CFOs expect each of these trends tocontinue into the next year (page 10). What emerged this year—our sixth year conducting the survey—isa view of CFOs balancing competing priorities in a fast-changingenvironment. The innovation economy is in the middle of atransformative shift. AI adoption is quickly forcing CFOs to pressure-test assumptions about hiring, spending and organizational structurethat have guided startup management for a generation. In addition toleading finance teams, more than half of tech CFOs are responsiblefor investor relations and legal teams as well. And more than a thirdalso oversee HR and facilities. Now, AI budgeting and evaluation islanding on their desks. The innovation economy has never moved faster, and the CFOs inthis report are keeping pace, building leaner and smarterorganizations while keeping business growing. While thesedatapoints comprise a snapshot, they point to a clear picture: CFOsare defining the new era. Bon appetite! Jennifer Friel GoldsteinHead of Relationship ManagementTechnology and Healthcare Bankingjgoldstein@svb.com Among the external factors affecting businesses, it’s nogreat surprise that AI adoption is top of mind for startupCFOs.Among the VC-backed companies we surveyed,62% ranked AI adoption as a top-two issue, up from49% from last year. No single issue had a higherconcentration of number one rankings.As we’ll see inthe analysis of AI spending and adoption trends in thefollowing section, companies are moving quickly toembrace the technology, incorporating AI into theirproducts and internal workflows. Beyond AI adoption, companies remain broadly focusedon the impact of government regulations, which ranked asthe second-highest category of concern, with 25% ofrespondents listing it as the chief external impact. That’sslightly up from last year, when 23% named it the numberone issue. Climate tech and healthcare companies ledthe way here, while enterprise software and fintechcompanies also showed high sensitivity to regulations.These sectors are generally more exposed to policychanges. For example, climate tech companies aresensitive to grant funding and tax incentives, while healthcare companies are impacted by changes to insurancecoverage and research funding. Concerns overgeopolitical tension are rising quickly with 36%1listinggeopolitics as a top-three factor impacting their business,up from 20% in 2025. AI is the most impactful macro trend for startups;62% now rank it as a top-two issue, up from 49%. Companies with AI products are growingtwice as fast as those not incorporating AI. Jump to Page Jump to Page Employees are using AI. Over 90% of companiesencourage AI use at work, up from 68% last year. Distressed deals are in decline. Bridge rounds,debt restructurings and down rounds all fell. Jump to Page Jump to Page CFOs expect spending on AI tool