Seed Funding Trends in 2025
U.S. seed funding deals showed growth only in the upper bands of larger rounds—those $10 million and above—in 2025, according to Crunchbase data. Deal counts and amounts for pre-seed and regular seed funding ranges, from $200,000 to under $5 million, declined roughly 20% year over year, while the mid-tier band from $5 million to under $10 million remained on par. The majority of seed-stage deal counts still occurred for rounds $5 million and under, but this percentage trended down from 93% in 2018 to 75% in 2025.
Changes in Deal Counts
Larger and outlier seed rounds of $10 million and above climbed from 2% of all seed deals in 2018 to 9% in 2025, meaning roughly 1 in 10 seed deals over $200,000 in 2025 were in this category, numbering around 360. Katie Stanton, founder of seed fund Moxxie Ventures, described the market as bifurcated, with her fund shifting strategy to allocate 60% to 70% for primary capital, up from 50% in prior funds, and seeking founders earlier, often before product-market fit. According to Crunchbase News, this reflects a broader trend where seed deals are concentrating on high-growth areas like AI.
Shifts in Funding Amounts
U.S. seed funding totaled $19.4 billion in 2025, with large deals driving the increase: seed deals of $10 million and over accounted for 51% of the total, compared to a third in 2024. The largest seed round in 2025 was $2 billion for Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab, and outlier seed rounds of $50 million and above increased more than 300%, while rounds from $10 million to $50 million gained 20%. Between 2018 and 2025, seed rounds of $200,000 to $5 million fell from 70% to 26% of all seed funding amounts, and rounds of $5 million and above have remained elevated since 2021.
Market Reshaping by AI
Crunchbase data indicates that AI is reshaping seed investment, with multistage venture and mid-tier funds backing companies earlier due to founder pedigree or traction, leading to more than 20 outlier deals of $50 million-plus and over 300 in the $10 million to $50 million range in 2025. Stanton noted that seed fund managers are adapting, as smaller rounds can still lead to breakthroughs, though the environment has made it easier to build products but harder to build businesses. As widely known in venture capital, seed funding often serves as an entry point for innovation, and these shifts highlight ongoing evolution in the sector, according to Crunchbase News.
