PitchBook recently released its 1H 2015 VC Valuations and Trends Report that breaks down over 20,000 valuations of private company financings and exits over the past 10 years. The report shows continued increase in median U.S. venture-backed company valuation across stage of investment. Not surprising, PitchBook’s conclusion is that Series Seed is the new Series A, Series A is the new Series B, and Series B is the new Series C – noting that while this is not a new finding by any means, PitchBook has more data to support it. Here are a few key findings:

  • PitchBook determined that the average age of U.S. venture-backed startups by stage in 2014 was as follows: Series Seed at 1.5 years; Series A at 3.3 years; Series B at 5.2 years; Series C at 6.6 years; and Series D+ at 8.5 years. These ages have been on a steady increase for the past decade. For example, in 2010 the average age for Series Seed was 0.8 years and for Series A was 2.9 years.
  • The median Series Seed pre-money valuation for 2014 was $5.9M (an increase from 3.2M in 2010).
  • The median Series A pre-money valuation for 2014 was $13.1M in 2014 (an increase from $6.5M in 2010).
  • The largest spike in valuation appears to be as leaders move towards their Series B valuations.
  • The median Series B pre-money valuation for 2014 was $36.9M in 2014 (an increase from $19.3M in 2010).
  • The Series B valuation range also experienced a large spike in the number of $100M+ valuations relative to other size ranges.
  • The stratification of lead, middle and bottom pack company valuations is further reinforced in the Series C round, with the median Series C pre-money valuation for 2014 at $70.5M (an increase from $38.6M in 2010).

You can find the full PitchBook report here.

Photo of Trent Dykes Trent Dykes

I am a corporate and securities attorney who represents emerging growth companies and the investors who invest in such companies. I serve as the global co-chair of the DLA Piper’s technology sector, the chair of DLA Piper’s Northwest emerging growth and venture capital…

I am a corporate and securities attorney who represents emerging growth companies and the investors who invest in such companies. I serve as the global co-chair of the DLA Piper’s technology sector, the chair of DLA Piper’s Northwest emerging growth and venture capital practice, and the managing partner of DLA Piper’s Seattle office. My practice focuses on securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and general corporate law. My clients are individual entrepreneurs, early stage, venture-backed and public companies and venture capital investors. I have assisted my clients in closing hundreds of seed/venture financings and M&A transactions and numerous initial and secondary public offerings. I enjoy helping startup companies navigate their way into successful enterprises.

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