SaaStr 799: The Series A Landscape in 2025: Insights from Chemistry VC’s Ethan Kurzweil

SaaStr 799: The Series A Landscape in 2025: Insights from Chemistry VC’s Ethan Kurzweil

SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin and Ethan Kurzwiel, previously partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and now founding partner at Chemistry VC, took us through a deep dive of exactly where Series A funding is right now in 2025.

Current State of Early-Stage Venture Market

The early-stage venture landscape has experienced significant shifts since the peaks of 2021. We’re seeing:

1. Deal activity decline: From the highs of 2021 (around 3.5B raised in Q4 2021), we’re seeing a return to baseline levels but still below pre-zero interest rate era volumes.
2. Longer funding timelines: Seed to Series A timelines have stretched from approximately 12 months to 25 months on average, requiring founders to plan for longer runways.
3. More capital into fewer deals: While total capital deployment is returning to pre-2021 levels, it’s being concentrated in fewer companies, making the environment more binary and competitive.
4. Graduation rates plummeting: The percentage of seed companies successfully raising Series A has dropped significantly across all industries, creating a “crunch” for many startups.

Listen in for more!

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