Data Desk · Summary

Most seed startups don't reach Series A within two years

Carta's cohort data: no seed cohort since Q3 2021 has reached a 30% two-year graduation rate.

Summarized by Rubicon Research · 2 min read

Carta analyzed 12,249 seed rounds from Q1 2018 through Q3 2025 to see how many companies raised a Series A.

Key figures

  • Of the Q4 2019 seed cohort, 32.6% had raised a Series A within two years.
  • No cohort since Q3 2021 has reached a 30% graduation rate at the two-year mark.
  • Separately, Carta's 2025 review put the median time from seed to Series A at 2.1 years.

What it means

The path from seed to Series A is longer and narrower than it was. Companies that do raise are competing for fewer Series A slots, and the lead investor will run a full diligence process. Arriving with a clean record is one of the few advantages a founder fully controls.

Rubicon's take

If the raise will take longer, the preparation should start earlier. Our guide to funding stages lists what to have ready at each step.

Source

Carta, "Most seed startups never reach Series A" (analysis of 12,249 seed rounds). This post summarizes the source in our own words; figures are as reported there. Read the original for full methodology.