PreSeed Fundraising Trends Q3 2023

I consult with a lot of early-stage SaaS startups. Many are trying to raise a PreSeed round of VC funding, and most are struggling. VC fundraising has declined by over 50% since the heydays of 2021, and while preseed and seed stage deals have been hit just as hard as Series A, B, C & D. Some recent data from CBInsights, Pitchbook, and DocSend provide great qualitative and quantitative insights into what has changed in 2023.

Some Recent Data

There have been a few good recent reports that talk about the state of preseed and seed funding:

• CBInsigts State of Venture Q3’23 Report talks about the overall trends in the VC market
• PitchBook Analyst Note: Introducing the Pre-Seed Dataset provides in-depth data on global, USA, and European preseed raises 2023
• DocSend’s The pre-seed round in 2022–23: From FOMO to JOMO: VCs shift from rapid growth to long-term risk aversion provides great quantitative insights into how VCs are interacting and reacting to preseed pitch decks

Overall VC Trends

As CBInsights pointed out, the number and value of VC deals in 2023 has fallen by half in comparison to 2022: