Startup funding stages are the standard sequence of capital raises a venture-backed startup typically progresses through. They begin with pre-seed and seed rounds and continue through Series A, B, C, D, and beyond, with each successive round usually larger in size and higher in valuation than the previous one. Each stage funds a specific phase of company growth and reflects the milestones investors expect the company to have achieved.
The typical progression, with 2026 reference ranges from Carta and PitchBook: pre-seed ($100K to $1M, idea or earliest product, often friends and family, angels, or accelerators); seed ($2.5M to $4M median, MVP and early traction, post-money valuations around $24M); Series A ($10M to $15...