Funding stages, from angel to Series C

Startup rounds have names, but the names describe a stage of the company more than a fixed amount of money. This guide breaks down each stage, the check sizes that are typical today, and what investors, and founders, should be thinking about for diligence at each one.

How to read the numbers

Round sizes vary widely by sector, geography and whether the company is in AI. The figures below come from Carta, Crunchbase and other published data and are cited at the bottom of the page. Treat them as reference points, not rules.

The stages at a glance

Stage	Typical size	Usual instrument	What it signals
Angel	Individual checks often around $25,000; a round is usually a few hundred thousand dollars¹	SAFE or convertible note	An idea and a team that people who know them will back
Pre-seed	Average check about $276,000 (Q2 2026); few rounds exceed $2.5 million²	SAFE in about 90% of rounds³	A product being built, early signs of demand
Seed	Median raise $4.5 million (Q4 2025)⁹; median post-money about $20 million⁴; about 18% dilution at the median⁵	SAFE or first priced round	A product in market and evidence customers want it
Series A	Median raise $13.5 million (Q4 2025)⁹; median pre-money $55 million for non-AI companies (Q1 2026)⁶; dilution typically near 20%⁷	Priced preferred stock	Repeatable revenue and a plan to scale it
Series B	Crunchbase's US median was $28 million in 2023⁸; median dilution 12–13%⁵	Priced preferred stock	A working business model ready for faster growth
Series C and later	Crunchbase's US median Series C was $42 million in Q1 2023⁸; about 9% dilution⁵; Series D rounds for software often $50–100 million⁵	Priced preferred stock	Scale, expansion, acquisitions or a path to exit

Angel

What it is. The first outside money, usually from individuals who invest their own funds: former founders, operators, friends of the founders. A 2016 survey by the Angel Capital Association and Wharton put the average American angel check at about $25,000.¹

Diligence focus. At this stage investors are mostly assessing the founders. But a few basics matter from day one:

The company is properly formed, usually as a Delaware C corporation if you plan to raise venture capital.
Founders have signed agreements assigning their intellectual property to the company.
Founder stock is issued with vesting, and 83(b) elections were filed on time.
Every check is documented, with the same terms for investors in the same round.

Pre-seed

What it is. Money to build the product and find early customers. Carta counted more than 11,500 pre-seed instruments in Q2 2026, with an average check of $276,000, a record in more than four years of its data.² SAFEs made up about 90% of pre-seed rounds on Carta in Q1 2025.³

Diligence focus.

A clean cap table, including every SAFE and note, and a model of how they convert.
Domain, trademark and product names that the company actually owns.
Any customer or pilot agreements in writing.
For investors: whether the company is likely to qualify for QSBS. See our QSBS guide.

Seed

What it is. Capital to find product-market fit. Carta's data puts the median seed raise at about $4 million and the median post-money valuation at about $20 million,⁴ and its Q4 2025 median raise was $4.5 million.⁹ The median time from seed to Series A is now 2.1 years, up from 1.5 years in 2019, and about half of seed companies reach Series A within four years.⁴

Diligence focus.

Revenue and usage numbers that tie to source data.
Material contracts, including any terms that change on a change of control.
Employment and contractor agreements with IP assignment.
A basic check of the external record: registries, liens, trademarks and sanctions screening of founders.

Series A

What it is. The first large institutional round, usually led by a venture firm that takes a board seat. Carta reported a median Series A pre-money valuation of $55 million for non-AI companies in Q1 2026, against $300 million for AI foundation-model companies.⁶ Dilution is typically around 20%,⁷ and Carta's Q4 2025 median Series A raise was $13.5 million.⁹

Diligence focus. This is usually the first full diligence process.

A data room with financials, cap table, contracts, IP and corporate records.
Revenue quality: recurring versus one-time, customer concentration, churn.
Market size claims that hold up against public data.
A clean external record, since the lead investor and its counsel will check it.

Series B

What it is. Capital to scale what is working: more sales capacity, new markets, more product. Crunchbase reported a US median Series B of $28 million in 2023,⁸ and Carta's recent data shows median dilution of 12–13% for software companies.⁵ Carta also reported median Series B pre-money valuations up 17.2% year over year in Q1 2026.⁶

Diligence focus.

Unit economics and how they change with scale.
Financial controls and, often, a quality-of-earnings review.
Compliance with data, privacy and industry rules.
Any subsidiaries or foreign entities and their standing.

Series C and later

What it is. Growth capital for expansion, acquisitions or the path to an exit. Crunchbase reported a US median Series C of $42 million in Q1 2023.⁸ Carta's software data shows about 9% dilution at Series C, and Series D rounds of $50–100 million at valuations in the billions.⁵

Diligence focus.

Diligence that looks more like M&A: legal, financial, tax, commercial and technology.
Acquired companies and whether their records were cleaned up after the deal.
Ongoing monitoring of the external record, since the company now has years of history.

The pattern

Diligence gets deeper at every stage, but it builds on the same foundation. A company that keeps its entity, cap table, IP and public record clean from the first check has less to fix at every round after.

Rubicon platform

By Workflow

By Role

By Area

Funding stages, from angel to Series C

The stages at a glance

Angel

Pre-seed

Seed

Series A

Series B

Series C and later

Sources