The median size of Series A rounds fell for the fourth straight quarter, but seed deals have not experienced a similar dip, signaling a divergence in how VC investors are thinking about these two early stages amid a broader VC slowdown.
Let’s take a closer look at the discrepancy:
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Cash raised: In Q1, median cash raised for a Series A round on Carta dropped 20% to $6.4 million, down from $8 million the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the median cash raised for a seed round on Carta saw a 3% bump to $3.1 million, up from $3 million in Q4 2022.
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Declines from 2022 peaks: The Q1 median cash raised for a Series A round was down 47% from the highs reached in Q1 2022, when it peaked at $12 million. In contrast, the Q1 median cash raised for a seed round was down only 11% off the peak of $3.7 million reached in Q2 2022.
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Capital invested still way down:In Q1, the capital invested in seed deals totaled roughly $1.3 billion, down 63% from some $3.5 billion in the same period a year earlier. Capital invested in Series A deals took a similar dive, dropping 62% from $8.2 billion in Q1 2022 to $3.4 billion this past quarter.
The drop in Series A deal size is part of a broader slump in the venture ecosystem. Capital invested for late-stage VC deals has cratered since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in early 2022: The median cash raised for a Series D deal dropped 67% YoY in Q1 and Series E+ dropped 77% during the same timeframe, according to Carta data. The pullback has had a cascading effect, with Series C, then Series B, and finally Series A feeling the impact of a cautious investing environment characterized by longer due diligence cycles and less capital invested.
Nate Leung, a partner at Sapphire Partners who specializes in early-stage venture fund investments, witnessed the recent Series A dip across the board as a limited partner. He attributes part of the decline to VC firms slowing their deal pace and looking for Series A companies with higher ARR (annual recurring revenue), a closely watched metric that helps determine valuations for startups.
“The bar for Series A deals has gone back to pre-Covid norms,” Leung says. “Now startups need at least $1 million in ARR.”
Leung says that some VCs have simply opted to execute a SAFE or convertible note instead of going through with a Series A, with only the most sought-after Series A startups drawing elevated valuations. Many VCs have opted to raise a bridge round rather than a traditional Series A deal. In Q1, roughly 40% of investments in Series A companies were bridge rounds.
The turbulence at Series A has caused some VCs to think differently about the seed stage—and it’s changing the character of seed investment.
VCs have traditionally viewed seed deals as a high-risk, high-reward investment strategy. A majority of seed investments fail, but a fund only needs one or two seed companies to succeed to make the fund a success.
Seed investors also focus less on a startup’s revenue and unit economics, and more on providing capital and getting the product to market. Seed-stage startups don’t experience the same volatility in investment size and valuations experienced by late-stage counterparts that are vulnerable to macroeconomic conditions like rising interest rates and geopolitical risks. As a result, seed deals have become a way to hedge against the current private market slowdown.
Leung says upmarket funds raised in 2021 and 2022 that invest at multiple stages have shifted some focus away from Series B and growth deals and increasingly directed that capital toward seed deals. The influx of new capital has made seed deals more competitive than Series A investments, Leung says. That trend won’t subside until investors get more comfortable in a less favorable investing environment.
As Leung says, “Seed remains the safest place to invest.”
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