What Israeli Founders Need to Know About Raising in H2 2026
The honest state of early-stage funding: Data-driven signals from 128 tracked rounds in H1 2026
Category Pre-seed
Diligence Before Data
What pre-seed investors look for when there are no metrics yet
The State of Israeli Pre-Seed in 2025: What the Data Says (and How It Compares to the US)
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.
The Bar Has Moved: What Pre-Seed Actually Means in 2026
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?
Pre-Seed Is Stronger than ever, but less startups are getting funded
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.
Pre-seed is sometimes like a high stakes game of Guess Who
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,…
Why “Funding-Contingent co-Founders” are a Non-Starter
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:…
A Fundraising Conversation I Have Almost Every Week
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.”…
Raising a Pre-Seed in 2026: The New Bar for Israeli Founders
The capital is there… but the "flight to quality" is at an all-time high.
The State of Seed and Pre-Seed in 2025: Bigger Bets, Leaner Teams, and the AI Distortion Field
If 2023 and 2024 were defined by correction and caution, 2025 is shaping up to be the year of concentration. 50% of all the venture capital raised in 2025 went to 1% of the companies… and as you may have…