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Pre-seed startup funding in Q1 2026 matches recent quarters, suggesting a stabilization of the market.

Pre-seed startup funding in 2025 exhibited a concentration of capital, with fewer overall instruments issued but some companies raising massive amounts.

The total cash raised and count of instruments both dipped a bit in Q3, but the broader picture shows that total pre-seed funding activity in 2025 will likely outpace 2024.

Fundraising has declined, but that's only part of the pre-seed story. Valuation caps have risen for the smallest rounds, suggesting investors now foresee higher upside for very early-stage startups, likely influenced by productivity gains from AI.

Data from more than 5,000 convertible instruments raised in the first quarter, and more than 110,000 instruments raised since 2020, reveals major pre-seed trends on dilution, discount percentages, industry comparisons, and more.

Last year began as a promising one for growth in the pre-seed market—so how did it end up? We have all the key trends on SAFEs, convertible notes, dilution, and much more.

See the latest pre-seed data on deal sizes, management fees, valuation caps, a breakdown of SAFEs compared to convertible notes, and a map of the states where the most pre-seed activity takes place.

Pre-seed investing continues to evolve. Carta's Q2 2024 report on pre-seed investing examines trends in financings at the earliest stage of the startup lifecycle.

Fundraising for pre-seed companies stayed robust in Q1 2024, dominated by SAFEs and convertible notes; valuation caps remained flat.

Introducing our first State of Pre-seed fundraising report.