
Startups
Pre-Seed Funding in 2026: What It Is, Who Writes the Checks, and What Terms Look Like
In Q1 2026, roughly 3,000 U.S. startups raised $2.9B in pre-seed funding, with the median round coming in at $1M on a $4–6M post-money SAFE cap, and only 45% of those companies will reach a seed round
Jeff Barnes, MBA··11 min read

Venture Capital
Afore Capital: The Pre-Seed Fund Backing Founders Before Anyone Else Writes a Check
Afore Capital: The Pre-Seed Fund Backing Founders Before Anyone Else Writes a Check TL;DR: Afore Capital closed its fourth fund at $185M in February 2025, pushing total AUM to $500M. Every dollar…
Jeff Barnes, MBA··11 min read