If Your Seed Investor Wants 30 Percent Show Them This Chart

If Your Seed Investor Wants 30 Percent Show Them This Chart

Author

Peter Walker

|

Read time: 

1 minute

Published date: 

April 11, 2025

Only 10% of primary software seed rounds sold more than 30%—this is the third data point in a series showing founders can and should push back on excessive...

LinkedIn: If Your Seed Investor Wants 30 Percent Show Them This Chart

Founders - if investors are asking for 30% in your seed round, point them to this chart.

Less than 10% of software seed rounds in the last 6 months have sold 30% or more.

Data covers 904 primary priced rounds raised by US startups on Carta. And that "primary" piece is important - this excludes a lot of little bridge / extension financings.

Here's what the market is today:

𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱

  • Median is 20% sold in this round

  • Under 10% is more common than over 30%

𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔

  • 18% is median, slightly down from earlier in 2024

𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕

  • 15% median, but a pretty wide range under 25%

𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖

  • Nearly half go for less than 10% sold

  • 10.5% is the median across all rounds in this stage

Now, is this your only term sheet? Do you absolutely need the cash? There are valid reasons to sell 30% sometimes.

But "this is market" is not one of them 😁

Caveat: hard tech businesses like biotech, hardware, etc may see higher dilution per round.

Share with a fundraising founder!

#startups #founders #fundraising #dilution #VC #seed

Fresh data out weekly - subscribe to our newsletter at the link in graphic!

Peter Walker
Author: Peter Walker
Peter Walker runs the Insights team at Carta, focused on discovering key data and narratives across the private capital ecosystem. In a former life, he was a marketing executive for a media analytics startup and led the data visualization team at the Covid Tracking Project.

DISCLOSURE: This communication is on behalf of eShares, Inc. dba Carta, Inc. ("Carta"). This communication is for informational purposes only, and contains general information only. Carta is not, by means of this communication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business or interests. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business or interests, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. This communication is not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Carta does not assume any liability for reliance on the information provided herein. © 2026 Carta. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.