Structures of Capital and Sociotechnical Change: The Case of Tech Startups and Venture Capital

This article argues that financing shapes processes of sociotechnical change in profound yet underexamined ways. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork at two digital technology startups, we show how their dependence on venture capital (VC) influenced how they developed, marketed, and deployed products. Through this examination of VC-funded startups, we aim to make a broader point: Structures of capital should be central to studies of sociotechnical change.