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The latest

Hamza Shad
Author: Hamza Shad
Date: February 2026
featured article
State of Pre-Seed: 2025 in Review
Pre-seed startup funding in 2025 exhibited a concentration of capital, with fewer overall instruments issued but some companies raising massive amounts.

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Q4 2025 VC Fund Performance

How are the last eight years of venture capital funds performing so far? This report highlights the latest Carta data on several of the industry’s most closely watched metrics, including IRR, TVPI, DPI, LP check sizes, and more.

The Australian Startup Outlook 2026

A survey of 500 senior decision-makers at Australian startups reveals that 96% of founders remain committed to an IPO, eyeing dual listings and international exchanges as they prioritize governance and long-term optionality over immediate liquidity.

Founder Ownership Report 2026

How do startups divide their equity among co-founders and other key shareholders? This first-of-its-kind data report offers a comprehensive guide.

2026 PE Executive Equity Report

How do PE-backed portfolio companies use their equity as a tool to attract and retain talent? Dig into our full breakdown of ESOPs, equity types, vesting schedules, performance conditions, and more.

Q4 2025 VC Fund Performance

The Australian Startup Outlook 2026

Founder Ownership Report 2026

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The Data Minute podcast

Data Desk | Podcast | Episode with Arian Ghasghai
Podcast
January 2026
Why VCs Should Be Pirates
Peter sits down with Arian Ghashghai, Founding Partner at Earthling VC, to discuss his thesis of investing in "weird stuff early."
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Data Desk | Podcast | Episode with Ashley Neville
Podcast
January 2026
2026 Market Outlook
In this special New Year’s episode of The Data Minute, Peter sits down with his colleague Ashley Neville from Carta’s Insights Team to dissect the data that defined 2025 and forecast the trends shaping the year ahead.
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Podcast A Thumbnail
Podcast
December 2025
The AI-First VC
Peter sits down with Ben Orthlieb, Founding Partner at Blue Moon VC, for a look under the hood of a firm that has completely re-engineered the venture capital process using AI.
Watch now
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Events

Fund Economics: Demystifying Operations, Fees, and Expenses
Virtual Event

Fund Economics: Demystifying Operations, Fees, and Expenses

RAISE Emerging Manager Fund Analysis
Virtual Event

RAISE Emerging Manager Fund Analysis

The New Dynamics of Venture, Private Equity, and Credit: Five Trends Shaping the Private Market
Virtual Event

Five Trends Shaping the Private Market

[VE] Fundraising in 2026: Benchmarks, Trends, and What’s Different Now
Virtual Event

Fundraising in 2026: Benchmarks, Trends, and What’s Different Now

This webinar recording analyzes fundraising trends across priced rounds, including volume, valuation trends, bridge and down rounds, dilution, and time between raises.
Fund Economics: Demystifying Operations, Fees, and Expenses
Virtual Event

Fund Economics: Demystifying Operations, Fees, and Expenses

RAISE Emerging Manager Fund Analysis
Virtual Event

RAISE Emerging Manager Fund Analysis

The New Dynamics of Venture, Private Equity, and Credit: Five Trends Shaping the Private Market
Virtual Event

Five Trends Shaping the Private Market

View all events

Read our data stories

Ranking the top startup ecosystems of 2025
Data & Research
March 2026
Ranking the top startup ecosystems of 2025
The San Francisco Bay Area was the top U.S. metro area for startup fundraising in 2025, with 41.3% of overall cash raised. Which ecosystems come next on the list?
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A disappearing middle: Why the pre-seed market is growing increasingly barbell-shaped
Data & Research
March 2026
A disappearing middle: Why the pre-seed market is growing increasingly barbell-shaped
The smallest pre-seed rounds are growing more common, and the largest pre-seed rounds keep growing. Instead of a bell curve, the pre-seed funding market is assuming a very different shape.
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At early stages of VC, rising round sizes and record-breaking valuations
Data & Research
March 2026
At early stages of VC, rising round sizes and record-breaking valuations
The median post-money valuation climbed to $24 million at the seed stage in Q4, and to $78.7 million at Series A. Why do these numbers keep on going up?
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Should investors be concerned about 2021 venture funds?
Data & Research
February 2026
Should investors be concerned about 2021 venture funds?
The 2021 vintage of venture funds is still relatively early in its lifecycle. But the early data on returns may soon be cause for concern.
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Five ways that fund economics differ between large and small VC funds
Data & Research
January 2026
Five ways that fund economics differ between large and small VC funds
The GPs of small venture funds tend to have more skin in the game than the GPs of large funds. How else do the fund economics of small and large VC funds compare?
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Will falling interest rates spark another VC boom?
Data & Research
December 2025
Will falling interest rates spark another VC boom?
While today’s picture may mirror what happened when the Fed dropped rates four years ago, there are also several significant ways in which the current environment differs for VCs.
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How VC secondaries became ‘release valve’ for startup liquidity pressures
Data & Research
December 2025
How VC secondaries became ‘release valve’ for startup liquidity pressures
In recent years, the secondary market has become the primary place where many startups and their investors are able to fill the void created by an extended quiet period in the IPO market.
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Startup salaries are on the rise in 2025—especially for AI engineers
Data & Research
December 2025
Startup salaries are on the rise in 2025—especially for AI engineers
Engineers of all kinds command some of the highest salaries of any startup employees. But the meteoric ascent of AI tools and technology has pushed salaries even higher.
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New regulations are spurring VC dealmaking in crypto
Data & Research
November 2025
New regulations are spurring VC dealmaking in crypto
Years of regulatory muddiness created uncertainty among crypto startups, but a wave of new regulation could represent an opening of the floodgates for VC funding.
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View all data stories

About our data

Carta helps more than 50,000 startups and 1,700,000 security holders manage over $4.2 trillion in equity. We share insights from this unmatched dataset about the private markets and venture ecosystem to help founders, employees, and investors make informed decisions and understand market conditions.

The customer data that we publish is aggregated and anonymized. Companies that have contractually requested that we not use their data in anonymized and aggregated studies are not included in our analysis.