Typically refers to the first financing round of a startup company led by a Venture Capital fund or other professional institutional investor. Series A financings typically have most or all of these characteristics:
- The company and the largest investor negotiate the terms of the financing and the pre-money valuation at arm's length.
- The largest investor is an institutional VC fund or strategic corporate investor.
- The largest investor conducts more legal, financial, commercial and technical due diligence than is typical in a seed financing round.
- The parties use venture financing documents similar to the model documents published by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).
- The company raises at least $1,000,000, typically by issuing preferred equity securities convertible into common stock.
In most cases, a startup has already completed one or more seed rounds before conducting a Series A financing round.