BATON ROUGE — Louisiana’s first statewide survey of startup and early-stage companies finds a business community that is broadly planning for growth, even as founders say access to investment capital and skilled workers remains a major obstacle.
The 2026 Louisiana Startup Report, released Friday by Tulane University’s Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Louisiana Innovation, expands a research effort that began in Greater New Orleans in 2019 into a statewide benchmark.
The survey produced 143 validated responses from companies in 27 parishes. That is not a census of every Louisiana startup, and the findings should be read as a snapshot of participating firms rather than a definitive measure of the entire state economy. Even so, the results provide a new baseline for tracking whether Louisiana is retaining and growing young companies.
Among respondents, about 66 percent said they expect to add employees during the next 12 months. The figure rises to 86 percent among companies identifying as high-growth startups, while fewer than 1 percent of all respondents expect to reduce employment.
Retention was another strong result: 92 percent said they would definitely or probably keep their businesses in Louisiana. That matters because economic-development policy often focuses on recruiting companies from outside the state while homegrown firms can leave if capital, talent or customers are easier to find elsewhere.
The report also identifies the principal weakness founders see in Louisiana’s startup environment. Limited access to capital was the most frequently cited barrier to growth. More than half of respondents said business revenue was financing operations, 38 percent reported using personal savings and 36 percent relied on friends and family. Only 15 percent reported receiving venture capital.
There are signs that institutional investment is increasing. Industry data cited in the report show 38 Louisiana venture-capital deals totaling $83.9 million in 2025. During the first half of 2026, the state recorded 23 deals, tying its highest first-half deal count since 2016.
The survey also shows how quickly artificial intelligence is moving into Louisiana businesses. About 76 percent of respondents said AI had improved productivity, 48 percent reported a favorable effect on sales, and roughly two-thirds identified some form of AI as the technology most likely to have the greatest long-term impact on their industries.
Software companies made up 23.1 percent of respondents, followed by manufacturing at 12.6 percent and health care at 11.2 percent. Manufacturing companies in the survey reported the highest estimated average gross revenue by industry at $8.25 million, followed by software at $3.18 million.
For economic-development officials, the report creates something Louisiana has not previously had at the statewide level: a recurring set of startup benchmarks that can be compared over time. Louisiana Innovation says the information can help guide decisions about capital programs, workforce development and entrepreneurial support.
The most important question will be whether future reports show improvement in the weaknesses identified this year. Optimism and hiring plans are useful indicators, but young companies ultimately need customers, workers and financing to convert those plans into payrolls.
The 2026 report establishes the starting point. If Louisiana wants more of its next generation of employers to be created at home rather than recruited from elsewhere, access to growth capital may be the number to watch most closely.
Sources
Tulane University — Inaugural statewide Louisiana Startup Report, Oct. 30, 2026
