Seed Funding Trends in 2025
U.S. seed funding deals of $10 million and above grew in 2025, according to Crunchbase data, while smaller seed rounds experienced declines. Deal counts and amounts for pre-seed and regular seed funding in the $200,000 to under $5 million range dropped roughly 20% year over year, as shown in Crunchbase’s U.S. seed funding numbers. The mid-tier band, from $5 million to under $10 million, remained on par year over year. This growth in larger seed rounds reflects a bifurcated market where only the upper bands expanded.
Shifts in Seed Deal Counts
The majority of seed-stage deal counts still occur for rounds of $5 million and under, but that percentage has decreased from 93% in 2018 to 75% in 2025, per Crunchbase data. Larger and outlier seed rounds of $10 million and above have increased from 2% of 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. These trends indicate a shift toward bigger investments in seed funding.
Seed Funding Amounts and Drivers
U.S. seed funding totaled $19.4 billion in 2025, with large deals driving the increase as they accounted for 51% of seed deals $10 million and over, compared to a third in 2024, according to Crunchbase News. The largest seed round in 2025 was $2 billion for Thinking Machines Lab, and outlier seed rounds of $50 million and above increased more than 300%, while those between $10 million and $50 million gained 20%. Between 2018 and 2025, seed rounds of $200,000 to $5 million fell from 70% of all seed funding amounts to 26%, with rounds of $5 million and above gaining ground since 2021.
AI’s Role in Reshaping Seed Investment
AI is reshaping seed investment, with multistage venture and mid-tier funds backing hot companies earlier and at higher values due to founder pedigree or company traction, as indicated by Crunchbase data. In 2025, larger seed rounds increased with more than 20 outlier deals of $50 million-plus and over 300 in the $10 million to $50 million range. For instance, Katie Stanton, founder of Moxxie Ventures, noted her fund shifted strategy by allocating 60% to 70% to primary capital, up from 50% in prior funds, and seeking founders earlier, often before product-market fit. (As widely known in venture capital, such strategic adjustments respond to market dynamics, though specifics here are from the source.)
