Time Between Startup Rounds Hit New Records in Q1 2023

New data: how much time between rounds should founders expect right now?

Judging from recent Carta data, the number just keeps climbing.

In Q1, the average time from a Seed round to a Series A was 2.28 years. The median was 1.86.

Series A to Series B? 2.56 years on average, 1.96 years as a median.

Now those exact figures probably matter less than the rate of change. To put it another way:

• Average time between Seed and Series A has grown by 20% over the past year. Median time is up 18%.

• Average time between Series A and B is up 22%, median up 23%.

Any way you slice it though, the need to decrease burn and increase runway is clear. Thankfully we are seeing more activity in creative forms of between-round fundraising (on SAFEs, on notes, lots of ways) but that uptick only covers a little of the ground lost by fewer primary rounds.

A couple points while reading the chart below:

• Data shows the average and median days between primary financing rounds. It does not take into account things like convertible notes, SAFEs, etc.

• U.S. startups only

• Seems obvious, but the timelines can only take into account rounds that have actually happened. As we know, round velocity is way down from prior years at the moment.

More data on fundraising by location in today's Data Minute newsletter (link in first comment)

#cartadata #fundingrounds #fundraising #venturecapital #runway