Funding benchmark · last 12 months

The typical pre-seed round in the United States

From 54 pre-seed rounds announced in the United States over the last twelve months, each read from a named source. Half of them raised between $1.8M and $4.5M.

See the roundsAll benchmarks

Pre-seed United States
Median round$3.0M
$1.0M1 in 10 below$1.8M – $4.5Mmiddle half$9.7M1 in 10 above

54 rounds counted · recounted nightly

Rounds counted54pre-seed rounds in the United States, last 12 months
Against worldwide+50%vs the $2.0M worldwide median
Since last round-too few earlier rounds on record
Lead named65%of these rounds name the investor who led

The trend

Median pre-seed round, quarter by quarter

From $2.5M in 2025 Q1 to $4.2M in 2026 Q3. Quarters with fewer than five rounds are left blank.

'24 Q43 rds
$2.5M'25 Q110 rds
$4.2M'25 Q26 rds
$2.6M'25 Q37 rds
$2.0M'25 Q411 rds
$2.1M'26 Q16 rds
$2.0M'26 Q27 rds
$4.2M'26 Q314 rds

Who leads

The most active leads

The firms that led the most pre-seed rounds in the United States this year.

  1. 1Y Combinator1 led
  2. 2BoxGroup1 led
  3. 3Menlo Ventures1 led
  4. 4HSG1 led
  5. 5Precursor Ventures1 led
  6. 6Uncork Capital1 led

Recent examples

Pre-seed rounds in the United States, latest first

How to read these figures

They come from announced rounds. Large rounds are almost always announced and many small ones never are, so the true typical round is probably a little smaller than shown, most of all at pre-seed and seed. Every round behind them is in the record with its source. How we read rounds.

Other stages in the United States

Seed$9.0MSeries A$25MSeries B$60MSeries C$100MSeries D$190MGrowth$200M

Pre-seed elsewhere

AI$2.1MFintech$2.4MSoftware$2.0MUnited Kingdom$2.0M

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Q&A

How big is a typical pre-seed round in the United States?

The median is $3.0M, from 54 pre-seed rounds announced in the United States in the last twelve months. Half of them raised between $1.8M and $4.5M; one in ten raised more than $9.7M.

Which rounds are counted?

Rounds announced in the last twelve months with a stated amount and stage, each read from a named article or filing. A page is only published where at least 30 rounds stand behind it.

Are these figures biased?

Towards larger rounds, yes. Big rounds are announced; many small ones never are. So the true typical round is probably a little smaller than the figure here, especially at pre-seed and seed.

How often does it change?

The figures are recounted from the record every night, as new rounds are read.