Pre-seed funding is the earliest outside capital a startup raises, typically $250K-$1.5M, occasionally up to $2M for hot teams or sectors. It is used to validate a problem, build a working prototype, or assemble a founding team before there is meaningful revenue, and almost always raised via post-money SAFEs rather than priced equity rounds. It exists as a distinct round because seed rounds grew substantially through the 2010s, creating a gap below them that pre-seed now fills.
The 2025 benchmarks (Carta and PitchBook):
| Metric | 2025 typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Round size | $250K-$1.5M | Up to $2M for hot teams or AI/deep-tech sectors |
| SAFE cap (valuation cap) | $5M-$15M | Hot teams or specific sectors can push to $20M-$25M |
| Dilutio... |