What funding round labels mean
Startup rounds follow a loose naming convention. A pre-seed or seed round funds early product work. Series A typically backs a company that has shown some evidence of demand; Series B and later rounds fund expansion. The labels are not regulated, and a "Series A" at one company may be larger than a "Series C" elsewhere.
When we report a round, we give the amount, the lead investor and, where disclosed, the valuation. We also note whether the valuation is pre-money (before the new cash) or post-money (after it), because headlines often blur the two.
Terms that rarely make the headline
- Liquidation preferences decide who is paid first if a company is sold.
- Convertible notes and SAFEs, the Simple Agreement for Future Equity popularised by Y Combinator, defer the valuation question to a later round.
- Down rounds raise money at a lower valuation than before and can dilute earlier holders sharply.
- Secondary sales let existing shareholders sell stock without new money reaching the company.
These details often matter more to employees and earlier investors than the headline figure. We report them when they are public.
IPO filings and public markets
A U.S. initial public offering begins with a registration statement, usually Form S-1, published on the Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR database. The filing contains audited financials, risk factors and share structure. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority oversees listings on the London Stock Exchange. We summarise filings from the documents themselves rather than from press releases, and we flag dual-class share structures that give founders extra voting power.
Fact or analysis? Revenue figures in a filing are fact. A company's description of its "total addressable market" is its own claim and is attributed as such. Our judgement on the business is labelled analysis.
Product bets
Large technology companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Nvidia announce products and capital spending plans that ripple through suppliers and competitors. We focus on numbers the companies disclose: capital expenditure guidance, segment revenue and stated launch dates. For artificial intelligence in particular, we separate what has shipped to customers from what has been demonstrated or promised.
Regulation
Tech rules increasingly shape strategy. The EU's Digital Markets Act sets obligations for designated "gatekeeper" platforms; the EU AI Act introduces a risk-based framework for artificial intelligence systems with obligations phased in over several years; the UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act gives the Competition and Markets Authority new powers. We report what each rule requires and when, and attribute interpretations to the regulators or companies making them.
What we avoid
We do not publish unverified valuation rumours as news, rank founders, or treat a product demo as a product launch.
