Raiseward Ventures finds startups are taking longer to secure funding

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Raiseward Ventures finds startups

A wider divide in the time needed to secure Series A

In the 2024 group, startups typically spent 22.3 months between their seed investment and Series A. That figure reached 23.7 months for companies completing Series A in 2025. The difference became more pronounced further along the distribution. At the 75th percentile, the waiting period expanded by 8.6 months, moving from 30.2 to 38.8 months. The middle half of the sample also became more dispersed. Its boundaries shifted from 13.6 and 30.2 months in 2024 to 12.8 and 38.8 months the following year.

This divergence reveals two very different experiences. While certain businesses advanced to Series A in under 12 months, others remained between funding stages for over 36 months. Those facing extended timelines had to support ongoing development and everyday expenses for considerably longer.

Geography and industry shaped fundraising speed

The research revealed that the direction of change depended on where startups operated. U.S.-based companies completed the transition a median of 1.35 months sooner than their counterparts in the previous cohort. For businesses headquartered elsewhere, the process became 2.02 months longer.

Industry comparisons produced similarly mixed outcomes. Fintech stood out for its faster progression, with the median falling from 23.9 to 20.4 months. This occurred despite greater fintech representation in the 2025 dataset. High Tech companies, by contrast, saw the figure climb from 24.1 to 26.2 months.

Another notable difference emerged between enterprise technology categories. Enterprise Applications shortened its median fundraising period by 5.8 months, whereas Enterprise Infrastructure experienced an extension of roughly four months. The contrasting results demonstrate why aggregate figures alone cannot fully describe fundraising conditions across different startup segments.

The financial cost of waiting longer

An extended funding cycle has implications for cash management, particularly for businesses that have yet to achieve profitability. Consider a startup whose net monthly expenditure exceeds its income by $100,000. Covering another 1.3 months without fresh investment would add approximately $130,000 to its financing needs. If that monthly deficit were $200,000, the same extension would translate into $260,000. These examples, presented by Raiseward Ventures, assume a stable burn rate. Actual costs would depend on how spending and revenue evolve.

Additional time before Series A is not always a negative development. Founders might postpone a round to refine their technology, establish stronger commercial traction or negotiate from a better position.

Implications for startup financing strategies

For startup leadership teams, the findings reinforce the need to build financial plans around multiple possible fundraising dates. Cash reserves must be sufficient to cover essential activities even when negotiations or investment decisions take longer than expected.

Investors also benefit from looking beyond the number of months separating rounds. Commercial performance, disciplined spending and the durability of a company's revenue model can help distinguish productive development periods from emerging financial pressure. Portfolio planning may therefore require more flexible assumptions about when additional funding will be necessary.

Overall, the Raiseward Ventures analysis points to greater variation in the journey toward Series A. The ability to manage available resources while continuing to demonstrate business progress becomes especially valuable when the timing of new capital is uncertain.

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