Companies in the DMV collectively raised close to a billion dollars in the first quarter of 2026, nearly half the totals of last year’s record-breaking third and fourth quarters.
What remains true: A relatively small handful of companies are nabbing those funds. Private companies in the region raised $949.7 million invested across 61 deals, according to the latest Venture Monitor report released quarterly by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association, mirroring a national trend.
Across the US this quarter, just five deals represented more than 70% of all deal activity, according to PitchBook EVP Nizar Tarhuni.
“Over the last two years, we’ve seen material tick up across the DMV,” [Industrious Vice President and Head of Real Estate Growth Peri Demestihas said. “But really, this year towards the end of last year, the CBD itself, core D.C. itself [saw] material increases, which is great.”
The city was an early adopter of coworking. Operators quickly gobbled up space between 2015 and 2019, becoming one of the top drivers of D.C.’s office demand and making it one of the largest coworking markets in the country. The nation’s capital now ranks No. 4 for its number of coworking locations
Former D.C. United midfielder Clyde Simms didn’t take his sister Kendra seriously when she suggested opening a D.C. location of Rev’d, the fitness chain he founded after retiring from Major League Soccer.
The roughly 3,000-square-foot gym — with both indoor team cycling and Powerhouse, a pilates-like full-body workout — will feature 35 stationary bikes and seven Xformer machines. It will be located at 1330 First St. SE inside the Urby, a 13-story multifamily building lined by ground-floor retail.
“We ended up starting in Boston, ultimately, but always dreamed of being in D.C., so this is great for us and the brand, and we’re really excited about it,” Clyde told me.
The plant-centric restaurant that offers a reusable bowl program has opened a new location at 1919 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.
Just Salad also lists on its website a forthcoming location at 5300 Wisconsin Ave. Suite D in Friendship Heights. An opening date has yet to be announced.
Its other locations are in the East End at 1201 F St. NW and at 1900 M St. NW near Dupont Circle. The Dupont location was its first in the District, opening last summer.
The D.C. outpost will have some architectural elements in common with New York, including an art deco style. At the same time, [John] Meadow [founder and president of New York-based LDV Hospitality] is not looking to just copy and paste. He said D.C. is a town with a lot of history and distinctive architectural character, and his goal is to design something with “equal parts brand DNA and localized.”
“D.C. has such a point of view, architecturally, historically, culturally, civically,” he said. “We’d be nuts not to tap into that, and when you tap into that, you get an authentic restaurant.”