pre-seed

0G Labs launches with whopping $35M pre-seed to build a modular AI blockchain

As the crypto space heats back up, so has funding for new startups. 0G Labs, a web3 infrastructure firm,” has raised $35 million in a pre-seed round, the team exclusively told TechCrunch. If $35 mil

Pre-seed investor Wonder Ventures secures $102M, including new later-stage fund

Wonder Ventures is the latest to inject additional capital at the pre-seed stage, an area where general partner Dustin Rosen and other investors continue to be bullish.

Zelda Ventures’ new pre-seed fund backs serial entrepreneurs

Suzanne Fletcher invested in 10 companies from the new fund, so far, and plans to invest in 40 companies in total.

Bee Partners closes fourth fund to add more capital for pre-seed founders in deep tech

The San Francisco-based venture capital firm invests in companies focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and frontier technologies.

How to stretch your venture dollars

If you haven’t found traction with customers and aren’t generating revenue, you should be in fundraising mode already.

Some VCs are turning away from crypto, but CoinFund is diving deeper with latest $158M fund

A fund like this could help revive growth in the ecosystem, but it will take many like this in order to create another wave of capital like we saw in 2021.

8 VCs say they are still bullish on SAFE rounds, but it’s not 2021 anymore

SAFE rounds, or simple agreements for future equity, have been around since Y Combinator invented them a decade ago. But they took on a different role in 2021 when they became a fast-moving tool that

Ascend raises $25 million for pre-seed AI startups in the Pacific Northwest

Investing in artificial intelligence (AI) startups is the latest bandwagon VCs are piling onto. But as last year’s crypto experts quickly work to rebrand as AI experts, they’ll have to com

Funds offering ‘friends and family’ checks could bring the change underrepresented founders need

Even the matter of branding a firm as a “friends and family” venture rather than “pre-seed” may attract founders from communities in which venture language isn’t common.

Cowboy Ventures goes bigger with $260M across two new funds, including an opportunity fund

Cowboy Ventures, the now-10-year-old, Bay Area-based seed-stage focused fund founded by renowned investor Aileen Lee, has closed on two new funds totaling $260 million in capital commitments. The outf

Sequoia injects $195 million into an ever-eager seed environment

Sequoia Capital, a storied venture capital firm, announced today that it has launched a $195 million dedicated seed fund, its fifth. The vehicle will be used to back founders across the United States

Is it time for a Common App for startup founders?

Is it time for a Common App that helps startup founders pitch a ton of investors all at once? Afore Capital wants to make it happen.

Frosty fundraising environment may change early startups’ DNA for the better

Many startups getting off the ground today won't be able to rely on venture capital as much as in recent years. This is a good thing.

Early-stage startups say no runway, no problem heading into 2023

Despite strong economic headwinds, many young startups don't think the current market will materially impact their runway or headcount.

Precursor Ventures’ first hire just spun out to start her own venture firm

Sydney Thomas, who was the first hire at Precursor Ventures, a seed and early-stage focused fund that backs first-time founders, is starting her own venture firm. The investor is going from principal

Felt’s $15 million chance to prove that maps are the next big medium

Despite economic turmoil in the tech world, an Oakland-based startup shows that moonshots are still getting funded. Felt, co-founded by Sam Hashemi and Can Duruk, wants to disrupt the role of maps in

Afore’s fresh $150 million fund includes a plan to standardize the pre-seed world

Venture firm Afore Capital first splashed on the scene with the aim to institutionalize that angels, friends and family round. Now, after investing in over 80 companies over five years, the eight-pers

Social commerce platform Tushop set for Kenya growth after raising $3 million pre-seed funding

Tushop, a social-commerce platform in Kenya that enables the group buying of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), is set for expansion across Nairobi after raising $3 million in pre-seed funding in a r

South Park Commons, an ‘anti incubator’ founded by early FB and Dropbox engineers, gains momentum

When South Park Commons (SPC), a community of tens of engineers in San Francisco’s South Park neighborhood, came together, it mostly flew under the radar, save for a New York Times profile in 20

Our favorite startups from YC’s Summer 21 Demo Day, Part 2

From beaming actors into the class room to plucking things out of space, the second day of Y Combinator’s S21 Demo Day was a fresh snapshot of what nearly 200 startup teams believe is the future of
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