Series C+ post-money benchmarks

Cap-table mechanics at this stage

Wide distribution. Late-stage rounds in 2026 are increasingly bifurcated: a few mega-rounds (AI infra, hyperscalers, model labs) pull the high end; the broad middle is more conservative than 2021 peaks.

Typical post-money breakdown

For a series c+ round at the cohort median ($500M post-money, average check 115.0M, 8% option pool refresh): new investor takes roughly 23.0% of post-money. Option pool refresh of 3-8% of post-money consumes additional founder + existing-investor allocation. Existing holders absorb the dilution proportionally.

AI-labelled series c+ rounds price +55% above non-AI. AI Series C+ post-money median: approximately $775M. The cap-table implication: AI rounds have higher absolute valuations but similar dilution percentages — the absolute dollar value of the new investor's stake is materially higher.

Source

Source: Carta Q4 2025 + PitchBook-NVCA Q1 2026 · Verified 2026-06-03.