Seed rounds typically range from $500k to $2M. Most investors at this stage want to see some early traction - that could be users, revenue, or strong market validation. They're betting on your team and the problem you're solving, but you'll need more than just an idea. Expect to give up 15-20% of your company, and look for investors who can lead your round with follow-on capital for Series A.
Quick list
Y Combinator: Backed Airbnb's seed round and continues leading early-stage investments with $500k standard checks plus $375k MFN
Sequoia Capital: Led Stripe's seed round at $20M valuation and remains one of the most active seed investors globally
a16z (Andreessen Horowitz): Invested in Coinbase at seed stage and writes $1M-$2M seed checks for technical founders
Accel: Early investor in Facebook and Dropbox, now leading 20-30 seed rounds annually
General Catalyst: Led Snap's seed round and focuses on deep tech and marketplace startups
Founder Collective: Seed investor in Uber and Buzzfeed, writes $500k-$1M checks for first-time founders
First Round Capital: Backed Square at seed stage with strong operational support for early teams
Homebrew: Pre-product investor in Plaid and Cruise, focuses on product-first founders
Lux Capital: Deep tech seed investor that led Anduril's early rounds
Initialized Capital: Coinbase and Instacart seed investor, co-founded by Garry Tan
Village Global: Seed fund backed by tech executives, invested in Carta and Calm early
Hustle Fund: Writes $25k-$250k checks for pre-product startups, very fast decisions
K9 Ventures: Single-partner fund that led Lyft's seed round
SV Angel: Angel group that invested in Twitter, Pinterest, and Airbnb at seed
Haystack: Solo-GP fund that backed DoorDash and Postmates early
Precursor Ventures: Pre-seed and seed investor in Instacart and Patreon
Boldstart Ventures: Enterprise software seed investor, led BigID and Snyk early rounds
Version One Ventures: Canadian seed fund that invested in Wave and Top Hat
Picking the right seed investor
Most seed funds write $500k-$2M checks, though some smaller funds go as low as $250k.
Check size matters because you don't want five investors each writing $200k - that's too many people on your cap table this early.
Lead vs. follow becomes important at seed stage. Some funds only lead rounds and set terms, others only follow after you have a lead investor. You need at least one lead who'll negotiate your valuation and commit first. The rest can follow.
Speed varies wildly. Smaller funds can move in 2-3 weeks, larger seed funds take 4-8 weeks from first meeting to term sheet. If they're taking longer than that, you're probably not their top priority.
Follow-on reserves separate good seed investors from tourist investors. Check if they reserve capital for your Series A. A fund with less than 30% follow-on rate is a warning sign - it means most of their companies can't raise again or they don't have capital to support them.
Communication during fundraising tells you everything. Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your financial projections vs. who just skims the team page. If they don't open your deck within 48 hours, they're not interested.
Value beyond money is mostly overstated at seed stage. Look at whether their portfolio companies successfully raised Series A. That's the only metric that matters. Generic promises about being "hands-on" don't mean much - ask their founders directly.
How to approach seed investors
Research stage fit before reaching out. If a fund's average check is $5M, they won't write your $1M seed round. Look at their recent deals from the past 12 months. Most firms list portfolio companies on their website with investment stages.
Build your narrative around the problem you're solving and why now. Seed investors care about market timing and unfair advantages. Your traction matters, but they're really betting on whether you can figure things out over the next 18 months.
Share your pitch deck with individual tracking links. Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on - seed investors spend more time on team slides than financial projections. If they skip your go-to-market section, that's a bad sign.
Get warm introductions through your network. Other founders, accelerator partners, or angels you know all work. Cold emails have roughly 2-3% response rate at seed stage. Save your time and find someone who can intro you.
Target the right partners at each firm. Don't email info@ addresses. Find the partner who invests in your category and reach out to them specifically. Most seed partners manage 15-20 active companies, so they're selective about new deals.
Time your outreach when you have momentum. Seed investors want to see month-over-month growth, even if it's just user numbers. Don't fundraise when your metrics are flat. Wait until you can show 3 months of consistent growth. Shield your pitch deck with dynamic protection tools to preserve confidentiality across investor discussions.
Prepare your data room early. Set up an Ellty data room before investor meetings. Seed-stage investors will ask for your cap table, incorporation docs, and any revenue data within a week of showing interest. Have it ready.
Structure initial conversations around your progress and learnings. Lead with what's working, be honest about what isn't. Seed investors fund teams that can iterate quickly. Show them you're not attached to your first idea. As due diligence intensifies, DPA-aligned sharing practices become non-negotiable for handling sensitive disclosures.
Why seed funding matters in 2026
Seed valuations dropped 30-40% from 2021 peaks but stabilized in 2025. Most rounds now close between $8M-$15M post-money, down from the $20M+ valuations of 2021. That's actually better for founders - lower valuations mean easier Series A raises when you need to show 3x growth.
The seed market separated into pre-seed ($250k-$500k) and seed ($1M-$2M) over the past two years. Know which stage you're actually raising. Pre-seed investors expect pre-product or minimal revenue. Seed investors want some product-market fit signal, even if it's just strong user retention or early revenue.
18 top seed investors
1. Y Combinator
The most active seed investor globally, funding 400+ companies per year through their accelerator program.
- Recent Deals: Valet (healthcare, $500k, 2025), Spark (fintech, $500k, 2025), Indent (security, $500k, 2026)
- LinkedIn: Dalton Caldwell
- Check Size: $500k standard investment + $375k on MFN
- Stage Focus: Pre-seed and seed
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: ycombinator.com
2. Sequoia Capital
Leads large seed rounds for technical founders with global ambitions.
- Recent Deals: Nubank (fintech, $1.5M seed, 2013 - now $50B valuation), Notion (productivity, $2M, 2018)
- LinkedIn: Shaun Maguire
- Check Size: $1M-$3M
- Stage Focus: Seed to growth
- Location: Menlo Park, USA
- Website: sequoiacap.com
3. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Backs technical founders building developer tools and crypto infrastructure at seed stage.
- Recent Deals: EigenLayer (crypto, $14.5M seed, 2023), Ramp (fintech, $750k seed, 2019)
- LinkedIn: Marc Andreessen
- Check Size: $1M-$2M
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series C
- Location: Menlo Park, USA
- Website: a16z.com
4. Accel
One of the most consistent seed investors, leading 20-30 rounds annually across categories.
- Recent Deals: Webflow (no-code, $2.1M seed, 2014), Ethos (insurtech, $1.5M seed, 2016)
- LinkedIn: Andrew Braccia
- Check Size: $1M-$2M
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series B
- Location: Palo Alto, USA
- Website: accel.com
5. General Catalyst
Focuses on marketplace and infrastructure seed deals with strong unit economics early.
- Recent Deals: Livongo (digital health, $1.5M seed, 2014), Guild Education (edtech, $1M seed, 2015)
- LinkedIn: Hemant Taneja
- Check Size: $1M-$2.5M
- Stage Focus: Seed to growth
- Location: Cambridge, USA
- Website: generalcatalyst.com
6. Founder Collective
First-time founder friendly, moves fast on decisions and writes checks in 2-3 weeks.
- Recent Deals: PillPack (healthtech, $1M seed, 2013 - acquired by Amazon), The Trade Desk (adtech, $1M seed, 2009)
- LinkedIn: David Frankel
- Check Size: $500k-$1M
- Stage Focus: Seed only
- Location: Cambridge, USA
- Website: foundercollective.com
7. First Round Capital
Strong post-investment support with platform team for recruiting and marketing help.
- Recent Deals: Roblox (gaming, $1M seed, 2005), Warby Parker (e-commerce, $1.5M seed, 2010)
- LinkedIn: Josh Kopelman
- Check Size: $500k-$1.5M
- Stage Focus: Seed and Series A
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: firstround.com
8. Homebrew
Pre-product investors who back technical founders before they have revenue.
- Recent Deals: Plaid (fintech, $2.8M seed, 2013), Cruise (autonomous vehicles, $3M seed, 2014)
- LinkedIn: Hunter Walk
- Check Size: $500k-$1M
- Stage Focus: Pre-seed and seed
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: homebrew.co
9. Lux Capital
Deep tech and hard science seed investor with 10+ year holding periods.
- Recent Deals: Anduril (defense tech, $1.6M seed, 2017), Zipline (drones, $2M seed, 2014)
- LinkedIn: Josh Wolfe
- Check Size: $1M-$2M
- Stage Focus: Seed to Series B
- Location: New York, USA
- Website: luxcapital.com
10. Initialized Capital
Moves quickly on technical founders with clean code and early user traction.
- Recent Deals: Coinbase (crypto, $600k seed, 2012), Flexport (logistics, $1M seed, 2014)
- LinkedIn: Garry Tan
- Check Size: $500k-$1.5M
- Stage Focus: Seed only
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: initialized.com
11. Village Global
Backed by tech executives, offers strong network effects for early founders.
- Recent Deals: Carta (cap table, $1M seed, 2014), Calm (mental health, $1.5M seed, 2014)
- LinkedIn: Anne Dwane
- Check Size: $500k-$1M
- Stage Focus: Seed
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: villageglobal.vc
12. Hustle Fund
High-volume seed investor writing 100+ checks per year, very fast decisions.
- Recent Deals: Fluent (edtech, $100k seed, 2019), Levels (health tech, $25k pre-seed, 2019)
- LinkedIn: Elizabeth Yin
- Check Size: $25k-$250k
- Stage Focus: Pre-seed
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: hustlefund.vc
13. K9 Ventures
Single-partner fund with concentrated portfolio, very hands-on with companies.
- Recent Deals: Lyft (rideshare, $1M seed lead, 2012), Twitch (streaming, $500k seed, 2011)
- LinkedIn: Manu Kumar
- Check Size: $500k-$1M
- Stage Focus: Seed
- Location: Palo Alto, USA
- Website: k9ventures.com
14. SV Angel
Angel syndicate that moves fast and brings strong operator network to companies.
- Recent Deals: Pinterest (social, $500k seed, 2011), Postmates (delivery, $750k seed, 2011)
- LinkedIn: Ron Conway
- Check Size: $250k-$500k
- Stage Focus: Pre-seed and seed
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: svangel.com
15. Haystack
Solo-GP fund that makes quick decisions and focuses on marketplace startups.
- Recent Deals: DoorDash (delivery, $500k seed, 2013), Gusto (HR tech, $1M seed, 2012)
- LinkedIn: Semil Shah
- Check Size: $250k-$750k
- Stage Focus: Seed
- Location: Palo Alto, USA
- Website: haystack.vc
16. Precursor Ventures
Pre-seed and seed specialist backing underestimated founders before traction.
- Recent Deals: Patreon (creator economy, $400k seed, 2013), Instacart (grocery, $2.3M seed, 2012)
- LinkedIn: Charles Hudson
- Check Size: $250k-$500k
- Stage Focus: Pre-seed and seed
- Location: San Francisco, USA
- Website: precursorvc.com
17. Boldstart Ventures
Enterprise SaaS seed investor focused on developer tools and security startups.
- Recent Deals: Snyk (security, $3M seed, 2015), BigID (data privacy, $2M seed, 2016)
- LinkedIn: Ed Sim
- Check Size: $1M-$2M
- Stage Focus: Seed
- Location: New York, USA
- Website: boldstart.vc
18. Version One Ventures
Leading Canadian seed fund backing technical founders in fintech and SaaS.
- Recent Deals: Wave (accounting, $1.2M seed, 2011), Top Hat (edtech, $500k seed, 2010)
- LinkedIn: Boris Wertz
- Check Size: $500k-$1M
- Stage Focus: Seed and Series A
- Location: Vancouver, Canada
- Website: versionone.vc
Start tracking your seed fundraise
These 18 seed investors closed deals from 2025 to 2026. Most will want to see some early traction before taking a meeting - that could be 10k users, $5k MRR, or strong engagement metrics.
Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. Seed investors typically spend 3-5 minutes on your deck initially. You'll see exactly which slides they view and whether they skip your go-to-market plan or spend time on your team background.
When you get to diligence, share an Ellty data room with your cap table, incorporation docs, and any customer references. It's faster than email attachments and you'll know when they actually review your documents. Most seed investors will ask for this within 48-72 hours of a promising first call.
Common questions
How much should I raise in a seed round?
Raise 18-24 months of runway based on your burn rate. Most seed rounds are $1M-$2M, which gives you time to hit Series A metrics without rushing.
Do I need a lead investor for seed?
Yes. Your lead investor sets the terms and commits first. Other investors won't follow without a lead. Expect your lead to take 10-15% of the company and get a board seat or observer rights.
What metrics do seed investors want to see?
Monthly active users, revenue growth rate, and retention. If you're pre-revenue, show user engagement and organic growth. Seed investors care more about momentum than absolute numbers.
How long does seed fundraising take?
Plan for 3-4 months from first meetings to money in the bank. Smaller funds can move in 4-6 weeks, larger institutional seed funds take 8-12 weeks for diligence and partner approvals.
Should I raise from angels or VCs?
VCs if you need $1M+. Angels for $250k-$500k rounds. Angel rounds are faster but you'll have more investors on your cap table. VCs typically reserve capital for your Series A, angels rarely do.
What's the difference between pre-seed and seed?
Pre-seed is $250k-$500k for pre-product companies. Seed is $1M-$2M for companies with some product and early traction. The terms have gotten clearer since 2023 as more funds specialized in one or the other.
