Early-stage investing relationships have been predicated on face-to-face interaction, in part to mitigate inherent information asymmetries. However, the global onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced a sudden, large-scale move to digital operations, thus questioning previous assumptions about physical location. We exploit the unprecedented move to digital delivery of accelerator cohorts, where investors are exposed to large numbers of startups for potential deals. We leverage a novel, deal-level dataset of 63,660 deals spanning 5,691 financing rounds, 1,630 startups and 8326 investors. The data comprises 30 accelerator programs focused on ‘green shift’ innovation and sustainability from 2018-2023. Results point to the digital shift paradoxically broadening the investor and startup base while also increasing agency concerns. We find evidence that these changes persist after the pandemic disruptions ended.
