Methodology
How the founder lens works
The stage medians and round sizes come from the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor Q3 2026, as of 30 September 2026, which is free to download and prints its medians as chart labels. We read the labels off the rendered chart, not the PDF text layer, which scrambles their order. The AI and non-AI split comes from the Q2 2026 edition, as of 30 June 2026, because the Q3 edition draws that chart without printing its values. Pre-seed SAFE caps and the per-stage dilution medians come from Carta's free data pages, each cited by edition where it appears. Where no source we can read publishes a figure, the page says “not published” rather than estimating one. The six valuation methods are cited to their originators. This site shares its subject with postmoneyvaluation.com, which takes the cap-table lens on the same rounds.
The math, inverted
Most calculators ask for pre-money + investment and output post-money + investor ownership. This site asks for target dilution + investment and works backwards to required pre-money. The math: investor_pct = investment / post_money; total dilution = investor_pct + option_pool_pct (founder pays for pool); post_money = investment / investor_pct.
Dilution per stage
Carta publishes two per-stage medians on its free pages: Series A dilution was 17.9% in Q1 2025, down from 20.9% a year earlier (
State of Private Markets Q1 2025), and Series B dilution was 12.9% across 2025, down from about 15% (
2025 in review). The same report puts the median across seed to Series C at about 16% in 2025. We found no free per-stage figure for pre-seed, seed or Series C, so those cells read “not published”.
The option pool gotcha
The single biggest difference between "what the VC tells you" and "what actually happens to your dilution" is the option pool refresh. When the pool is created or topped up inside the pre-money, the existing holders pay for it and the incoming investor does not, so the effective pre-money is lower than the headline. In the calculator, a pool sized as a share of post-money adds that share to your dilution on top of the investor's ownership.
AI bifurcation matters for founders
The Venture Monitor has published AI and non-AI medians side by side, so this does not have to be estimated. In the Q2 2026 edition, as of 30 June 2026, the Series A median pre-money was $83.0M for AI companies and $44.0M for everyone else; Series B $267.0M against $134.0M; Series C $648.0M against $397.6M. The blended medians the press quotes sit between each pair, which means they describe neither cohort: that quarter the $64.0M Series A blend overstated the non-AI median by 45%. The Q3 2026 edition draws the split without printing values, so these remain the latest published pairs.
Re-verification cadence
The Venture Monitor is quarterly and this site is re-checked against each new edition; the Q4 2026 report is expected in January 2027. A pre-deploy gate blocks publication when any row in the underlying data files carries a verification date more than 90 days old. Each stage and method page prints its own source and check date, so read those rather than assuming the whole site moves at once.
What this is not
Not legal or tax advice. Consult counsel before signing any term sheet. Not a substitute for a fairness opinion. No affiliate links today; we earn nothing from any cap-table platform, VC firm or accelerator named here.