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World Fertility Collapse Threatens Growth And VC Theses

A new paper by researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation finds that global fertility rates have fallen below replacement level, with the average number of births per woman dropping from 5.1 in 1960 to 2.2 in 2021. The decline is reshaping growth forecasts and venture capital investment theses, particularly in robotics, automation, and AgeTech, as companies and investors anticipate labor shortages and an aging population.

read1 min views1 publishedAug 19, 2026
World Fertility Collapse Threatens Growth And VC Theses
Image: Machinebrief (auto-discovered)

By Josipa Majic Predin, ContributorSource:

Forbes InnovationA new paper finds humanity has fallen below replacement fertility, reshaping growth forecasts and VC bets on

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