Startup Valuation Delta: H1 2026
Pre-seed is the earliest stage of startup fundraising, and one of the least analyzed. Because it sits before institutional capital enters the picture, it offers a uniquely unfiltered view of founder ambition and market direction. Through the first half of 2026, the data points to a market that has settled: valuations are holding steady around $5M, while founders are raising less capital and giving up less equity than at almost any point in the past three years.
"Pre-Seed" Classification: We classify ‘pre-seed’ as companies without a fully built-out product (nothing beyond an MVP) raising their first institutional round of investment (no VCs on the cap table).
Global Pre-Seed Valuation & Fundraising Trends - 2019-2026
Pre-seed valuations are a leading indicator of what's coming in later-stage fundraising. Less volatile than seed or Series A, they reflect where founders are placing their bets before the market has had its say. Through H1 2026, both valuations and capital requirements have held steady, with no sign of a return to the 2022 peak.
Pre-Seed Median Valuation & Capital Requirement
Data sourced from 3,000+ pre-seed startup valuations completed on Equidam in H1 2026
| Year | Median Valuation ($M) | Median Capital Req. ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2.49 | 0.32 |
| 2020 | 4.55 | 0.67 |
| 2021 | 5.10 | 0.66 |
| 2022 | 7.20 | 0.75 |
| 2023 | 5.71 | 0.63 |
| 2024 | 4.76 | 0.47 |
| 2025 | 5.28 | 0.65 |
| H1 2026 | 5.20 | 0.52 |
The median pre-seed valuation sits at $5.20M in H1 2026, essentially flat against the $5.28M full-year 2025 figure and in line with 2023's $5.71M. The 2022 peak of $7.20M remains a distant marker; two years on, the market has found a steadier level rather than snapping back to it. Capital requirements tell a quieter story than they did six months ago. The median pre-seed company is raising $0.52M, down from $0.65M across 2025 and close to 2024's low of $0.47M. Last edition we flagged a possible shift toward more capital-intensive businesses; the H1 2026 data suggests that was largely one strong quarter rather than a lasting change in what founders are building.
Pre-Seed Quarterly Implied Dilution Trend
| Quarter | Implied Dilution (%) |
|---|---|
| Q1 2019 | 9.50 |
| Q2 2019 | 12.60 |
| Q3 2019 | 10.50 |
| Q4 2019 | 16.70 |
| Q1 2020 | 21.30 |
| Q2 2020 | 13.30 |
| Q3 2020 | 9.90 |
| Q4 2020 | 12.10 |
| Q1 2021 | 10.60 |
| Q2 2021 | 11.30 |
| Q3 2021 | 7.00 |
| Q4 2021 | 17.50 |
| Q1 2022 | 8.80 |
| Q2 2022 | 10.70 |
| Q3 2022 | 8.30 |
| Q4 2022 | 9.50 |
| Q1 2023 | 8.30 |
| Q2 2023 | 10.60 |
| Q3 2023 | 10.70 |
| Q4 2023 | 10.90 |
| Q1 2024 | 11.70 |
| Q2 2024 | 8.40 |
| Q3 2024 | 7.40 |
| Q4 2024 | 8.00 |
| Q1 2025 | 11.20 |
| Q2 2025 | 8.40 |
| Q3 2025 | 17.40 |
| Q4 2025 | 9.20 |
| Q1 2026 | 9.70 |
| Q2 2026 | 8.50 |
Implied dilution, what a founder would give up if they raised the median capital requirement at the median valuation, has settled at the low end of its historical band. H1 2026 comes in at 9.7% in Q1 and 8.5% in Q2, against a range that has run between roughly 7% and 21% since 2019. The Q3 2025 spike to 17.4%, driven by a quarter where capital requirements jumped to $1.10M, has fully unwound. With valuations steady and capital needs modest, founders are holding onto more of their companies through the earliest round than they have in most of the past three years.
Global Valuation & Fundraising Dynamics
Regional differences in dilution reveal where capital-intensive businesses are being built. Markets with higher dilution are not necessarily weaker. They tend to be raising more capital for harder problems.
Pre-Seed Valuation, Capital & Dilution by Region - H1 2026
Pre-seed startup deal dynamics across regions, sourced from Equidam valuations.
The United States stands apart: the highest median valuation at $5.16M, the highest capital requirement at $1.90M, and the highest implied dilution at 26.9%. American pre-seed founders are raising materially more than their peers, and giving up more to do it. That fits a market that funds capital-heavy bets early. Europe, on by far the deepest sample in this data (more than 300 companies), sits mid-pack: a $3.30M median valuation and 17.7% dilution on a $0.71M capital requirement. The Middle East runs the other way: a high $5.56M median valuation paired with low 10.3% dilution, as founders there command strong valuations without raising as much. The smaller regional samples, Oceania and Southeast Asia among them, move on thinner data and are best read as directional.
| Region | Avg. Valuation ($M) | Avg. Capital Req. ($M) | Avg. Dilution (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 2.99 | 0.39 | 11.64 |
| Europe | 3.30 | 0.71 | 17.68 |
| Latin America | 2.40 | 0.45 | 15.80 |
| Middle East | 5.56 | 0.63 | 10.25 |
| Oceana | 3.26 | 1.00 | 23.50 |
| South East Asia | 3.84 | 0.57 | 12.87 |
| United States | 5.16 | 1.90 | 26.87 |
About Equidam's Startup Valuation Delta
As the leading provider of valuations to early stage companies, we provide…
- Valuations with an open, standard methodology, focused on enabling investment in the most innovative companies.
- Context on valuation data with associated capital requirements, revenue and EBITDA forecast data.
- Coverage of established markets such as the US and Europe, as well as emerging markets like Africa and Southeast Asia.
These indicators collectively offer an understanding of the financial picture and sentiment surrounding startups.
By examining these trends collectively, investors, entrepreneurs, and industry observers can gain insights into the overall health of the early-stage fundraising market. It helps identify emerging sectors, evaluate risk appetite, and make informed investment decisions. Additionally, analyzing these factors over time can provide a broader perspective on the evolving dynamics and trends within the startup ecosystem. Each quarter we will release our own analysis on this data, and what it implies for early stage fundraising.