News & Analysis as of

Seed Financing

Cooley LLP

Q1 2026 Venture Financing Report - $39.9B Invested Across 165 Deals; Median Pre-Money Valuations Trend Upward; Up Rounds Reach 86%

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Cooley handled 165 reported venture capital financings in Q1 2026, representing $39.9 billion of invested capital. Deal volume fell to its lowest level since Q3 2016. Compared to Q4 2025, deal volume declined across Series C...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Early Stage Funding Considerations — SAFEs and Convertible Notes

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In this episode of The Founder's Hour, hosts Laura Cicirelli and Eric Weiner discuss SAFEs and convertible notes as early stage funding options, explaining the similarities and differences between the two. They cover both the...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

SAFE Financings: Navigating investor rights

Nick Feldman and Cody Peterson, partners in Orrick's Technology Companies Group, walk through what happens when a SAFE financing gets more complicated and how founders can evaluate investor rights requests before signing....more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

SAFE Valuation Caps and Dilution

Nick Feldman and Cody Peterson, partners in Orrick's Technology Companies Group, break down how to think about SAFE terms and valuation caps for pre-seed companies. Learn: Why thinking in terms of dilution is more productive...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Choosing SAFE Investors: What early-stage founders should consider

Nick Feldman and Cody Peterson, partners in Orrick's Technology Companies Group, share practical guidance on building an early investor base. Learn about: The administrative burden of managing many small investors through...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Food Venture Financing News – Weekly Issue No. 271

Food Venture Financing Trends - The Bland Company, a UK-based startup, has raised $2.67 million to functionalize plant proteins from ag side streams....more

Cooley LLP

Q4 2025 Venture Financing Report: Up and Flat Rounds Increased; Recapitalization, Pay to Play and Redemption Decreased

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Cooley handled 221 reported venture capital financings in Q4 2025, representing $8.9 billion of invested capital. In Q4, deal volume decreased slightly across Series Seed, B, D and higher rounds, while Series C deal volume...more

Hogan Lovells

JPM 2026: Panelists advise on early-stage financing, IP strategy, and VC expectations for leadership - Pharmaceutical &...

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Speaking at the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, John Osborn, senior advisor in the Hogan Lovells life sciences and financial services practices, moderated a panel discussion with HL corporate & finance partner Andrew...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Food Venture Financing News – Weekly Issue No. 266

Food Venture Financing Trends - Biographica, a startup working to improve and accelerate the crop trait development process through machine learning, announced that it raised £7 million in a seed round....more

Cooley LLP

Q3 2025 Venture Financing Report

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Cooley handled 217 reported venture capital financings in Q3 2025, representing $23 billion of invested capital. Deal volume decreased slightly since last quarter. In Q3, deal volume decreased across Series Seed, A and C...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

Strategic Early-Stage Financing: Navigating SAFEs and Convertible Notes

For early-stage founders and investors attempting to structure investment in an early stage (pre-seed) company, the choice between a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) and a Convertible Note significantly impacts the...more

Pillsbury - Propel

Pro Rata Rights: What Founders and Investors Should Know

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In startup financing, certain investor rights show up so often that they feel like part of the background. One of the most common (and most misunderstood) is pro rata rights. Whether you are a founder or an investor,...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Seeded Sponsors: A Middle Ground Between the Bootstrapped Independent Sponsor and Committed Fund

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Over the past 15 years, the meaning of the term "sponsor" in the private equity context has evolved to include several alternatives to the standard committed private equity fund model. These "nontraditional" or "alternative"...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Secondaries, Founder Liquidity & SAFEs: Inside the Evolving Deal Terms Q2 2025

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Founder preferred stock is on the rise, featured in nearly 11% of companies that closed priced equity rounds in H1, up from 6% in 2023. These provisions often support tax-efficient founder liquidity structuring and may signal...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Food Venture Financing News – Weekly Issue No. 255

Food Venture Financing Trends - Scindo, a U.K.-based startup building an AI-powered enzyme discovery and design platform, has raised a $5.4M seed round....more

Cole Schotz

Initial Financing Options for Start-Ups and Emerging Companies

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Even before formation, it is critical to consider how a business will be funded, both initially and in the long term. A business’s initial capital structure can have important implications for the type of financing it is able...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Early-Stage Momentum Holds Strong in Q2 2025, Even as Late-Stage Pulls Back

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Seed through Series C deal activity gained ground in Q2 2025, with deal sizes up between 5.5% and 22% and valuations rising by as much as 60% compared to Q1. While this reflects improving confidence in early-stage ventures,...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Food Venture Financing News – Weekly Issue No. 252

Food Venture Financing Trends - Orchard Robotics, an agtech startup, has raised a $22 million Series A round....more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

What Sets Fundable Startups Apart—Lessons from the Trenches

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The journey from idea to building a startup to receiving investment is rarely straightforward. For every startup that secures funding, many more struggle to break through. We’ve worked with thousands of founders and their...more

Pillsbury - Propel

ASAs vs. SAFEs vs. Convertible Loan Notes: A Primer for Founders and Investors

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Startups continue to have an increasingly international presence (or, at the very least, an international plan), and investors continue to scour the globe for investment opportunities. ...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

UK Founder Series: Maximising Funding Opportunities for UK Tech Startups with SEIS and EIS

Orrick's Founder Series offers monthly top tips for UK startups on key considerations at each stage of their lifecycle, from incorporating a company through to possible exit strategies. ...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Q2 2025 Venture Beacon: Key VC Market Trends

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If you’re raising early-stage capital, the outlook appears strong, but for late-stage companies, the bar is higher than ever. In partnership with Aumni, a J.P. Morgan company, we’re pleased to share the Q2 2025 edition of the...more

Potomac Law Group, PLLC

When SAFEs Get Complicated: Hidden Pitfalls in Early-Stage Financing

Last month, a startup’s Series A nearly fell apart when investors and founders realized their different calculation methods produced a $750,000 variance. The culprit was not deception or bad faith, but rather a complex...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Food Venture Financing News – Weekly Issue No. 249

Food Venture Financing Trends - Daring Foods, a vegan chicken brand, announced that it has been acquired by V2food, a large Australian plant-based meat producers....more

Fenwick & West LLP

Q1 2025 Deal Structures Reflect Shift Toward Portfolio Support

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Fundraising dynamics continued to evolve in Q1 2025, with early-stage companies seeing a modest uptick in down rounds while late-stage companies experienced fewer. Down rounds rose to 20.8% of deals at the Seed through Series...more

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