Raiseward Ventures finds startups waited longer for Series A in 2025

Raiseward Ventures says the median time from seed funding to Series A rose 5.9% in 2025, with the biggest delay among startups already taking the longest to raise. The study warns founders and investors to plan for wider funding timelines and more cash runway needs.

Why it matters: - Longer waits between seed and Series A can force startups to carry product and operating costs for more months before fresh capital arrives. - Even small delays can mean meaningful extra runway needs for founders and larger follow-on planning for investors.

What happened: - Raiseward Ventures analyzed 188 companies to measure how long startups took to move from seed funding to Series A. - The median time from seed to Series A rose from 22.3 months for the 2024 cohort to 23.7 months for the 2025 cohort. - The third quartile increased from 30.2 months to 38.8 months, showing the largest shift among companies with the longest fundraising gaps. - The middle half of startups widened from a 13.6-to-30.2-month range to a 12.8-to-38.8-month range. - Some startups reached Series A in less than a year, while others took more than three years.

The details: - U.S. startups in the sample saw the median time to Series A shorten by 1.35 months between cohorts. - Companies outside the United States saw the median increase by 2.02 months. - In Fintech, the median interval fell from 23.9 months to 20.4 months, even as the number of fintech companies in the sample increased. - In High Tech, the median rose from 24.1 months to 26.2 months. - Enterprise Applications recorded a decline of 5.8 months. - Enterprise Infrastructure recorded an increase of about four months. - Raiseward Ventures used a $100,000 monthly net cash burn example to show that an extra 1.3 months before Series A would require about $130,000 more funding. - At a $200,000 monthly burn rate, the added need would be $260,000. - The burn-rate example assumes monthly spending stays flat. - The study used the public Global Startup Funding Rounds 2019–2026 dataset. - The sample included 89 companies in the 2024 cohort and 99 companies in the 2025 cohort. - The findings describe the sample and are not estimates for the entire startup market.

Between the lines: - The data points to a more uneven fundraising environment, where some startups still move quickly while a larger share takes materially longer to close the next round. - Longer timing does not automatically signal trouble; startups may use the extra time to improve products, grow revenue or seek better valuation terms. - The split across geographies and sectors suggests funding timelines are being shaped by business model and market dynamics, not just company quality.

What's next: - Founders may need to model multiple Series A timing scenarios instead of assuming a single fundraising timeline. - Venture funds can use the same type of timing analysis to plan portfolio support and follow-on capital needs. - Capital efficiency, revenue growth and business-model resilience are likely to matter more as gap lengths vary more widely.

The bottom line: - Raiseward Ventures' study suggests startups should plan for a longer and less predictable road from seed to Series A, with runway discipline becoming more important in 2025.