Q1 2026 w/Carta: What you need to raise a Series A. | Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta
From A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders by Mistral.vc
May 25, 2026 · 38 min · Season 5 · Episode 37
About this episode
Peter Walker discusses the implications of Q1 2026 venture capital trends for founders, focusing on fundraising benchmarks and the influence of AI.
The AI boom is making founders feel like the market is wide open, but the data tells a sharper story: valuations are up, round sizes are bigger, and the bar to “count” in a top-tier fund’s Monday meeting keeps rising. We sit down with Peter to translate Q1 2026 venture capital trends into founder reality, from seed-stage pricing distortions driven by AI infrastructure to the quieter pressure building across the rest of the startup market. We get specific on early-stage fundraising benchmarks...
People in this episode
Guest: Peter Walker
Topics covered
- venture capital
- fundraising
- AI impact
- startup market trends
- Series A
- seed-stage pricing
Keywords
- Series A
- venture capital trends
- AI infrastructure
- fundraising benchmarks
- startup valuations
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Carta
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