# Seed-stage startups: what the stage means and who raised a seed round recently

> What makes a startup seed stage, how seed differs from pre-seed and Series A, and the seed-stage startups that announced a round in the last 90 days, with every amount linked to its source, by industry and accelerator.

- URL: https://recentfunding.com/blog/seed-stage-startups/
- Published: 2026-09-29
- Updated: 2026-11-02
- Data snapshot: 2026-11-02
- Tags: seed, funding rounds, founders
- Publisher: Recent Funding (https://recentfunding.com/)

A **seed-stage startup** has raised, or is raising, its first institutional round: the money that takes it from a product and early users to the traction a Series A investor expects. On November 2, 2026, Recent Funding listed 8528 seed-stage companies and 3538 at pre-seed; for 3056 of the seed companies the latest round has an amount linked to its source.

## Pre-seed, seed and Series A

- **Pre-seed** is the first money in, often from the founders, angels or an accelerator, sometimes before there is a product.
- **Seed** funds the first team, the search for product-market fit and early revenue. It is usually led by a seed fund or an angel syndicate, increasingly by larger funds too.
- **Series A** comes once there is repeatable traction, and is priced on it.

The labels are not strict: 2026 seed rounds range from well under a million dollars to rounds larger than many Series As. Recent Funding records the stage the announcement uses rather than inferring it from the amount.

| Stage | Companies | With a sourced amount | Of those, crypto |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pre-seed | 3538 | 747 | 42 |
| Seed | 8528 | 3056 | 156 |

## Seed rounds announced in the last 90 days

Since August 4, 2026, 599 seed-stage startups announced a round with a linked amount. The 25 newest:

| # | Company | Industry | Stage | Amount | Announced | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Unify Foodworks](https://recentfunding.com/companies/unify-foodworks/) | food-agriculture | seed | [$526.8K](https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/food-services/unify-foodworks-raises-rs-5-crore-seed-funding-to-expand-moes-casa-mexicana-carvel-in-india/135452353) | 2026-11-02 | retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com |
| 2 | [NanoForge AI](https://recentfunding.com/companies/nanoforge-ai/) | ai | seed | [$10.93M](https://wowtale.net/2026/10/30/267209/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ai-%25ea%25b8%25b0%25eb%25b0%2598-%25ec%258b%25a0%25ec%2586%258c%25ec%259e%25ac-%25ea%25b0%259c%25eb%25b0%259c-%25eb%2582%2598%25eb%2585%25b8%25ed%258f%25ac%25ec%25a7%2580%25ec%2597%2590%25ec%259d%25b4%25ec%2595%2584%25ec%259d%25b4-146%25ec%2596%25b5%25ec%259b%2590-%25ec%258b%259c%25eb%2593%259c-%25ed%2588%25ac) | 2026-10-30 | wowtale.net |
| 3 | [Mintive](https://recentfunding.com/companies/mintive/) | ai-agents | seed | [$7M](https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/mintive-raises-7m-seed/) | 2026-10-30 | thesaasnews.com |
| 4 | [Dulo](https://recentfunding.com/companies/dulo/) | robotics-hardware | seed | [$130M](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/sebastian-thrun-raises-130-million-ai-engineering-startup-dulo) | 2026-10-29 | theinformation.com |
| 5 | [Ravical](https://recentfunding.com/companies/ravical/) | fintech | seed | [$17M](https://tech.eu/2026/10/29/ravical-raises-17m-to-break-the-link-between-accounting-firms-growth-and-hiring/) | 2026-10-29 | tech.eu |
| 6 | [Jingshuo Technology](https://recentfunding.com/companies/jingshuo-technology/) | ai | seed | [$10.51M](https://www.sohu.com/a/1094356312_120988576?scm=10001.325_13-325_13.0.0-0-0-0-0.5_1334) | 2026-10-29 | sohu.com |
| 7 | [AlloX](https://recentfunding.com/companies/allox/) | bio-health | seed | [$10.5M](https://tech.eu/2026/10/29/allox-closes-105m-seed-financing-to-scale-drug-discovery-platform/) | 2026-10-29 | tech.eu |
| 8 | [Neuron Industries](https://recentfunding.com/companies/neuron-industries/) | ai | seed | [$10M](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/29/3391788/0/en/neuron-industries-raises-an-oversubscribed-10-million-seed-round-to-cut-industrial-automation-development-from-months-to-days.html) | 2026-10-29 | globenewswire.com |
| 9 | [SpendRule](https://recentfunding.com/companies/spendrule/) | bio-health | seed | [$4M](https://www.citybiz.co/article/926595/spendrule-raises-4-million-seed-round-led-by-mark-cubans-radical-investments/) | 2026-10-29 | citybiz.co |
| 10 | [Green Growth](https://recentfunding.com/companies/green-growth-co/) | energy-climate | seed | [$3.16M](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000020.000114719.html) | 2026-10-29 | prtimes.jp |
| 11 | [Copy Geek](https://recentfunding.com/companies/copy-geek/) | defi | seed | [$1.41M](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/copy-geek-raises-a-2m-pre-seed-to-bring-its-copy-trading-engine-to-more-exchanges-1036684793) | 2026-10-29 | markets.businessinsider.com |
| 12 | [Urologic Design](https://recentfunding.com/companies/urologic-design/) | bio-health | seed | [$1.2M](https://www.finsmes.com/2026/10/urologic-design-raises-1-2m-in-pre-seed-funding.html) | 2026-10-29 | finsmes.com |
| 13 | [ISLAND Beauty](https://recentfunding.com/companies/island-beauty/) | ecommerce-retail | seed | [$270.8K](https://entrackr.com/snippets/island-beauty-raises-rs-258-cr-from-aj-vc-to-expand-skincare-range-12763206) | 2026-10-29 | entrackr.com |
| 14 | [Rendezvous Robotics](https://recentfunding.com/companies/rendezvous-robotics/) | robotics-hardware | seed | [$20M](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/rendezvous-robotics-raises-20-million-130000449.html) | 2026-10-28 | finance.yahoo.com |
| 15 | [American Advanced Materials](https://recentfunding.com/companies/american-advanced-materials/) | robotics-hardware | seed | [$12.5M](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-28/jake-paul-backs-project-to-revive-us-titanium-sponge-output?srnd=phx-finance) | 2026-10-28 | bloomberg.com |
| 16 | [Birch Hill](https://recentfunding.com/companies/birch-hill/) | fintech | seed | [$4M](https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/birch-hill-raises-4-million-seed-round-led-multicoin-capital-bring-us-credit) | 2026-10-28 | natlawreview.com |
| 17 | [Lets Game Now](https://recentfunding.com/companies/lets-game-now/) | gaming | seed | [$3.15M](https://www.indianretailer.com/news/funding-alert-gaming-platform-lets-game-now-raises-rs-30-cr-funding-round) | 2026-10-28 | indianretailer.com |
| 18 | [Offe Market](https://recentfunding.com/companies/offe-market/) | ecommerce-retail | seed | [$3M](https://www.citybiz.co/article/925530/offe-market-raises-3m-seed-round-led-by-slauson-co/) | 2026-10-28 | citybiz.co |
| 19 | [Snow Mountain AI](https://recentfunding.com/companies/snow-mountain-ai/) | ai | seed | [$2.31M](https://hk.marketscreener.com/news/snowmountain-ai-private-limited-announced-that-it-has-received-inr-220-million-in-funding-from-blume-ce785cd2d98df52d) | 2026-10-28 | hk.marketscreener.com |
| 20 | [Manicule](https://recentfunding.com/companies/manicule/) | ai | seed | [$1.3M](https://www.finsmes.com/2026/10/manicule-raises-1-3m-in-seed-funding.html) | 2026-10-28 | finsmes.com |
| 21 | [NoorNation](https://recentfunding.com/companies/noornation/) | energy-climate | seed | [$1.05M](https://innovation-village.com/egypts-noornation-raises-1-05m-seed-round-to-expand-solar-powered-energy-and-irrigation-solutions/) | 2026-10-28 | innovation-village.com |
| 22 | [Machenta](https://recentfunding.com/companies/machenta/) | robotics-hardware | seed | [$40M](https://tech.eu/2026/10/27/london-robotics-startup-machenta-raises-40m-seed-investment/) | 2026-10-27 | tech.eu |
| 23 | [Atlas Bio](https://recentfunding.com/companies/atlas-bio/) | bio-health | seed | [$12.5M](https://tech.eu/2026/10/27/swiss-startup-atlas-bio-secures-125m-to-tackle-drug-developments-70-failure-rate-and-move-beyond-animal-testing/) | 2026-10-27 | tech.eu |
| 24 | [Lette](https://recentfunding.com/companies/lette/) | proptech | seed | [$6.5M](https://tech.eu/2026/10/27/lette-raises-65m-to-scale-ai-automation-for-uk-rental-operators/) | 2026-10-27 | tech.eu |
| 25 | [EchoTwin AI](https://recentfunding.com/companies/echotwin-ai/) | ai | seed | [$5M](https://app.dealroom.co/news/note/echotwin-raises-5m-seed-to-turn-city-vehicles-into-ai-inspectors) | 2026-10-27 | app.dealroom.co |

Every seed round, updated daily, is on [seed-stage startups](https://recentfunding.com/stages/seed/). For the largest seed rounds of the year, see [the largest seed and pre-seed rounds](https://recentfunding.com/blog/largest-seed-and-pre-seed-rounds-september-2026/). Check very large seed amounts at the source: an announcement sometimes gives a total across rounds, or a valuation.

## What seed-stage startups are building

All seed-stage companies on Recent Funding, by industry:

| Industry | Companies |
| --- | --- |
| ai | 2283 |
| bio-health | 1001 |
| robotics-hardware | 559 |
| consumer-social | 433 |
| fintech | 414 |
| infra-devtools | 354 |
| energy-climate | 340 |
| enterprise-software | 306 |
| ecommerce-retail | 270 |
| security-privacy | 231 |
| payments-stablecoins | 222 |
| data-analytics | 210 |
| food-agriculture | 204 |
| logistics-mobility | 203 |
| defi | 192 |
| ai-agents | 187 |
| media-marketing | 171 |
| proptech | 159 |
| other | 152 |
| gaming | 143 |
| hr-work | 119 |
| edtech | 118 |
| trading-markets | 93 |
| insurtech | 64 |
| legal-gov | 38 |
| defense | 29 |
| crypto-infra | 7 |
| crypto-gaming | 3 |

2105 of them came through an accelerator, including 598 from [Y Combinator](https://recentfunding.com/accelerators/yc/), 790 from [500 Global](https://recentfunding.com/accelerators/500/) and 205 from [Plug and Play](https://recentfunding.com/accelerators/pnp/). Their founders are on [founders](https://recentfunding.com/founders/), and [recently funded startup founders](https://recentfunding.com/blog/recently-funded-startup-founders/) breaks them down by team size and title.

## Get this data

```sh
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $RF_KEY" "https://recentfunding.com/api/v1/companies?stage=seed&sort=announced&limit=2"
```

Every parameter is in the [API docs](https://recentfunding.com/docs/).

## Related on Recent Funding

- [Startup funding data: the last 30 days in charts](https://recentfunding.com/data/)
- [Recently funded startups, updated daily](https://recentfunding.com/)
- [Money flow: raises, acquisitions and new funds](https://recentfunding.com/money-flow/)
- [Stealth startups](https://recentfunding.com/stealth-startups/)
- [Pre-seed funding: what it is, how startups raise it, and who raised in 2026](https://recentfunding.com/blog/pre-seed-funding/)
- [Startup lead generation: recently funded startups as sales leads](https://recentfunding.com/blog/startup-lead-generation/)
- [Stealth startup founders: who is building in stealth, and how to find them](https://recentfunding.com/blog/stealth-startup-founders/)
- [Recent Funding API docs](https://recentfunding.com/docs/): every endpoint behind this post; a [free API key](https://recentfunding.com/dashboard/?from=blog-related) takes just an email