Capital is concentrating in fewer deals. Higher valuations tell us what successful fundraises look like, but founders also need to understand the evidence, dilution and runway required to get there.
The honest state of early-stage funding: Data-driven signals from 128 tracked rounds in H1 2026
What pre-seed investors look for when there are no metrics yet
What does the data say about Israeli pre-seed in 2025? Benchmarks on valuations, check sizes, dilution, and what founders should expect when raising their first round from Israeli VCs.
Pre-seed in 2026 looks different. The bar has moved on traction, team, and product. What do investors actually expect before writing a check at the earliest stage of a startup?
Mega-seed rounds may grab the headlines, but for founders launching in 2026, the capital-efficient, unpriced round remains the smartest path to Series A.
At the pre-seed stage, we’re often among the very first investors founders speak to. Sometimes there’s no deck yet. Often the product is still under wraps. And LinkedIn profiles are intentionally vague, as they should be. That’s not a bug,…
Founder: “I’ve got it. The gap in the market everyone missed. With the new Agentic AI workflows, we can automate the entire middle-ware layer. It’s a billion-dollar play.” Me: “The architecture sounds solid. Who’s building it? Where’s your CTO?” Founder:…
Founder: “We’re pre-revenue, pre-MVP… and we’re raising $5M.” Me (VC): “Got it. I’m a pre-seed investor, so I’m probably not the right fit at that check size. If you decide to raise less, I’d be happy to take a look.”…
The capital is there… but the "flight to quality" is at an all-time high.
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