Pre-Seed
The earliest institutional round, usually before meaningful revenue.
Pre-seed funds the period between an idea and a product with early traction. Cheques typically run from $50,000 to $500,000, mostly from angels and specialist pre-seed funds.
At pre-seed there is rarely enough data to evaluate, so investors are backing the founders, the market, and the specific insight behind the company. Team quality dominates the decision.
Pre-seed capital is expensive in dilution terms because the valuation is lowest. Raising only what is needed to reach a seed-worthy milestone is usually better than taking the largest available cheque.