Various · Standard
Comparables (market multiples)
Comparables are best used as a triangulation check against the other methods. Treat them as 'is the answer in the right zip code', not as a precise valuation.
Best for
Sanity check against comparable transactions in similar sector + stage + geography.
Formula
Pre-money = Revenue × Industry revenue multiple OR Pre-money = Median (recent comparable round pre-moneys)Inputs needed
- Comparable transactions (PitchBook, Crunchbase, Carta) — 5-15 reasonably similar rounds
- Adjustment factors: sector premium/discount, stage premium/discount, geography
- If revenue multiple: trailing 12-month revenue or annualised current run rate
Caveats
- True comparables are rare — most 'comparables' are loose category matches
- Recent rounds may reflect distressed pricing (down rounds) or premium pricing (AI hype)
- The 2026 AI premium is real but stage-dependent — Carta's broad-cohort Series A premium is roughly +30-38% over non-AI; it is larger at seed (~+46% on the pre-money cut) and Series B (~+50%), and within AI foundational-model companies command multiples of application-layer peers
Source
↗ https://www.equidam.com/startup-valuation-methods-to-use-and-avoid/Verified 2026-08-31.
Other methods