Seed-stage startups — and their investors — react to higher hurdles for Series A funding

Early-stage investments inherently have a higher risk of failing, but these risks also come with potentially higher rewards — getting in at the ground floor of a startup’s journey gives VCs more negotiation clout. This is particularly true at the very early pre-seed stage, where companies might barely have a functioning product to shout about. […]

Mar 27, 2023

The hurdle for Series A funding is a lot higher than it was a year ago — and investors in seed-stage companies are having to respond. They don’t have much choice if they want their startups to survive. When the market abruptly turned in the spring of 2022, late-stage companies were the first to feel […]

Dec 14, 2023

The muted late-stage funding and exit environments have left investors with few data points and examples of how to price companies.

Jun 7, 2023

In the past year, the bar for raising late-stage capital has only risen; investors are no longer just chasing momentum, as many were in the last few years — they are chasing certainty, according to Sapphire Ventures partner Cathy Gao.

Aug 2, 2025