Seed-stage AI startups are closing rounds at valuations that would have been considered Series A territory just two years ago. Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz are among the firms that have revised their internal benchmarks upward.
The dynamic reflects genuine product momentum from AI-native founders and competitive pressure among top-tier funds who cannot afford to miss the next wave. The result: a seed market where $20–30 million pre-money valuations are becoming unremarkable.
Don Valentine built Sequoia on backing founders before the market sees what they see. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz built a16z on the belief that software would eat the world. Both firms are now paying seed prices reflecting a shared conviction: AI eats software next.
