Tech watchers have been itching to write Silicon Valley’s epitaph for years (indeed, many already have). While America’s preeminent tech hub is not dead yet, the data shows it is beginning to give up ground to smaller startup hubs across the country.

The Bay Area has for decades claimed the lion’s share of venture capital deals in the US. That hasn’t changed. But lately, its share of deals has been gradually declining. This year, predict analysts at the private equity research firm PitchBook, it will drop below 20% for the first time in their dataset, which stretches back to 2006. READ MORE