diff --git a/pkg/sql/catalog/tabledesc/BUILD.bazel b/pkg/sql/catalog/tabledesc/BUILD.bazel
index 5f1e15b597ca..83cbf03c972d 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/catalog/tabledesc/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/pkg/sql/catalog/tabledesc/BUILD.bazel
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ go_library(
         "//pkg/sql/types",
         "//pkg/sql/vecindex/vecpb",
         "//pkg/util",
+        "//pkg/util/buildutil",
         "//pkg/util/errorutil/unimplemented",
         "//pkg/util/hlc",
         "//pkg/util/interval",
diff --git a/pkg/sql/catalog/tabledesc/structured.go b/pkg/sql/catalog/tabledesc/structured.go
index 3bfbf1a5a9c0..cafa664162f2 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/catalog/tabledesc/structured.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/catalog/tabledesc/structured.go
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sem/tree"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sqlerrors"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/types"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/buildutil"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/errorutil/unimplemented"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/hlc"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/intsets"
@@ -636,6 +637,14 @@ func (desc *Mutable) AllocateIDs(ctx context.Context, version clusterversion.Clu
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// The virtual table descriptors are entirely under our control. Since
+	// validating is expensive, skip it for virtual tables if this code is running
+	// in a test environment. This step was found to be a bottleneck in TestServer
+	// startup.
+	if desc.IsVirtualTable() && buildutil.CrdbTestBuild {
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	// This is sort of ugly. If the descriptor does not have an ID, we hack one in
 	// to pass the table ID check. We use a non-reserved ID, reserved ones being set
 	// before AllocateIDs.
diff --git a/pkg/sql/virtual_schema.go b/pkg/sql/virtual_schema.go
index a87bf186ac1f..413f062ecd32 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/virtual_schema.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/virtual_schema.go
@@ -41,10 +41,12 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sessiondata"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sqlerrors"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sqltelemetry"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/ctxgroup"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/errorutil/unimplemented"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/hlc"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/iterutil"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/stop"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/syncutil"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/errors"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/redact"
 )
@@ -444,9 +446,6 @@ type VirtualSchemaHolder struct {
 	orderedNames  []string
 
 	catalogCache nstree.MutableCatalog
-	// Needed for backward-compat on crdb_internal.ranges{_no_leases}.
-	// Remove in v23.2.
-	st *cluster.Settings
 }
 
 var _ VirtualTabler = (*VirtualSchemaHolder)(nil)
@@ -930,10 +929,6 @@ func NewVirtualSchemaHolder(
 		schemasByID:   make(map[descpb.ID]*virtualSchemaEntry, len(virtualSchemas)),
 		orderedNames:  make([]string, len(virtualSchemas)),
 		defsByID:      make(map[descpb.ID]*virtualDefEntry, math.MaxUint32-catconstants.MinVirtualID),
-
-		// Needed for backward-compat on crdb_internal.ranges{_no_leases}.
-		// Remove in v23.2.
-		st: st,
 	}
 
 	order := 0
@@ -985,16 +980,29 @@ func NewVirtualSchemaHolder(
 			return tableDesc, entry, nil
 		}
 
+		// Initialize virtual tables concurrently. This happens all at once during
+		// server startup, which is a bottleneck for startup time, especially in
+		// the TestServer used by unit tests. Adding concurrency here speeds up
+		// TestServer startup by about 7% in SharedTenant mode.
+		g := ctxgroup.WithContext(ctx)
+		var mu syncutil.Mutex
 		for id, def := range schema.tableDefs {
-			tableDesc, entry, err := doTheWork(id, def, false /* bumpVersion */)
-			if err != nil {
-				return nil, err
-			}
-			defs[tableDesc.Name] = entry
-			vs.defsByID[tableDesc.ID] = entry
-			orderedDefNames = append(orderedDefNames, tableDesc.Name)
+			g.GoCtx(func(ctx context.Context) error {
+				tableDesc, entry, err := doTheWork(id, def, false /* bumpVersion */)
+				if err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+				mu.Lock()
+				defer mu.Unlock()
+				defs[tableDesc.Name] = entry
+				vs.defsByID[tableDesc.ID] = entry
+				orderedDefNames = append(orderedDefNames, tableDesc.Name)
+				return nil
+			})
+		}
+		if err := g.Wait(); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
 		}
-
 		sort.Strings(orderedDefNames)
 
 		vse := &virtualSchemaEntry{
diff --git a/pkg/util/ctxgroup/ctxgroup.go b/pkg/util/ctxgroup/ctxgroup.go
index f2bc811b5d78..8e2d5fca2461 100644
--- a/pkg/util/ctxgroup/ctxgroup.go
+++ b/pkg/util/ctxgroup/ctxgroup.go
@@ -166,6 +166,16 @@ func WithContext(ctx context.Context) Group {
 	}
 }
 
+// SetLimit limits the number of active goroutines in this group to at most n. A
+// negative value indicates no limit. A limit of zero will prevent any new
+// goroutines from being added. Any subsequent call to the Go method will block
+// until it can add an active goroutine without exceeding the configured limit.
+// The limit must not be modified while any goroutines in the group are active.
+// This delegates to errgroup.Group.SetLimit.
+func (g Group) SetLimit(n int) {
+	g.wrapped.SetLimit(n)
+}
+
 // Go calls the given function in a new goroutine.
 func (g Group) Go(f func() error) {
 	g.wrapped.Go(f)