Seed and Series A Mega-Rounds Explode — 40%+ of Early-Stage AI Funding Goes to $100M+ Rounds, AI Seed Premium Hits 42%
Crunchbase News·medium signal
Over 40% of seed and Series A investment in 2026 has gone to rounds of $100M or more, fundamentally altering early-stage dynamics. Seed-stage AI companies command a 42% valuation premium over non-AI startups, with AI-powered SaaS raising $15-20M at Series A versus $8-12M for traditional SaaS. The bifurcation is stark: mega-round concentration at the top alongside healthy broad-based early-stage activity, but the premium for 'AI-native' positioning at seed has never been higher.