All terms
Fundraising
Series A
A company's first priced equity round after seed. Typically raised at $2-6M ARR (US SaaS median) with a $2-15M round size and a lead investor taking a board seat.
By Maya Okonkwo · Last updated July 22, 2026
In plain English
The round where a real VC leads, you get a board of directors, and you're expected to have repeatable go-to-market. The stakes step up: quarterly board decks, real reporting, higher bar for the next round.
Example
2026 median US SaaS Series A: $10M raised at $50-70M post-money, ~2-3x ARR multiple on ~$2.5M ARR, growing 3x YoY.
Why it matters
Series A is the graduation from 'we're figuring it out' to 'we're executing a plan.' Metrics that were narrative at seed become required at A: net dollar retention, CAC payback, weighted pipeline.
Common mistakes
- Raising Series A before finding one repeatable channel — round closes but growth stalls in month 6
- Optimising for valuation over lead-investor quality — a $70M post from a passive VC is worse than $50M from a helpful one
- Under-hiring for the first 90 days post-close — the runway gets rebuilt around a bigger team; get it built early