Venture Math · UC Berkeley Extension · Fall 2026

Seed-Stage Benchmarks

Session 01 · Seed & First Institutional Capital
Data: Carta · re-visualized for classroom use
Front — Raising a seed round & your ownershipTEAL = YOU KEEP · CLAY = YOU GIVE UP

Six in ten seed rounds are under $5M

Share of 2025 seed rounds by amount raised — the two teal bars are ≈61% of the market. Small figure ≈ the check a lead writes.

31.4%29.5% 17.9%7.7%4.2%2.7%6.6% ~$1M~$2M~$3M~$4M~$6M~$7M~$8M Under $2.5M$2.5–4.9M$5–7.4M$7.5–9.9M$10–12.4M$12.5–15M$15M+

Carta · 1,429 seed rounds · US · 2025

A priced seed sells about a fifth

Median % sold to investors — primary vs. bridge. 25th · median · 75th.

0%10%20%30% Primary 13.5%26.1% 20.4% Bridge 7.7%20.5% 14.4%

Carta · 3,368 priced rounds · Jan–Sep 2024

Fewer founders, a bigger slice each

Median equity held per founder at seed, by number of founders.

0%15%30%45% 34% 26% 23% 2 founders34

Carta · 5,857 startups · median per founder

The more you raise on a SAFE, the more you give up

Expected dilution in post-money SAFE rounds — dot = median, line = middle-50% range.

0%10%20%30% Angel roundPre-seedSeed & above 3.2% 7.1% 11.2% 17.2% 22.1% 21.7% <$250K$250–499K$500–999K$1–2.4M$2.5–4.9M$5M+

Carta · 2,414 startups on post-money SAFEs · US · 2024

Back — The bigger picture valuations, the odds & how equity vestsDATA: CARTA

Founders' majority fades as valuations rise

Median ownership split at seed / Series A, by post-money valuation.

Founding team Pool Investors $10M–$25M 54.8%12.0%33.2% $25M–$49M 38.4%13.8%47.8%

Carta · 10,809 US software startups · rounds raised 2019–2024

Seed valuations grew fastest at the top

Post-money seed valuation by percentile, 2018 → 2025. Growth in teal.

95th90th75th50th25th $30.6M$80M $22.5M$55M $15.1M$32.8M $10M$20M $6M$12.1M

Carta · 12,229 US seed rounds · Q1 2018–Q3 2025

Pricey seeds make more unicorns — cheap ones 50× more often

Became a unicorn50× seed value
0%2%4%6% 0.8% 6.2% 1.5% 4.4% 2.6% 4.1% 5.6% 4.8% Low val.Low-midHigh-midHigh val. seed valuation quartile (1st → 99th pct)

Carta · 5,700 US startups · seed 2016–2020 · by highest val

Each round, most of the field drops out

The class of 2018, stage by stage — share of the original cohort still advancing. Outcomes as of Jan 2025.

4,369 incorporated in 2018 · 100% 2,464 raised a Seed · 56.4% 1,588 raised Series A · 36.4% 643 raised Series B · 14.8% 194 raised Series C · 4.4% 50 raised Series D+ · 1.1% By Jan 2025: 62% closed · 32% still live · 5.5% M&A · 1.3% unicorn · 0.3% IPO

Carta · 4,369 companies incorporated 2018 · status as of Jan 1, 2025

How each role vests its equity

Most common vesting terms by role in a U.S. startup — the schedule that turns a grant into ownership you keep.

Persona / equity typeVests overCliff?Frequency
Founders · Incentive stock options4 years1 year (or none)Monthly
Advisors · Non-qualified stock options2 years6 monthsMonthly
Independent board · Non-qualified stock options4 years1 yearQuarterly
Employees · Incentive stock options or RSUs4 years1 yearMonthly

Carta · most common values across 500,000+ equityholders at Carta companies