So for a while, it did feel like SaaS was dead in VC. Somewhere from March 2024 to October 2024 or so. Then, many SaaS leaders started to re-accelerate growth, and their market caps in many cases went up 40%+ or more. AI was often the accelerant. And it’s clear now, at least for now, SaaS is back.
So the latest data from Carta is helpful.
Of 1,302 seed-stage rounds on Carta this year. 308 or 24% were into SaaS — and it was the largest category:
Now of course, definitions vary, and many of those SaaS deals were “AI SaaS” or fueled by VCs looking for AI growth first, SaaS second.
But still very helpful to see the actual data.
The bar in SaaS has gone up, and VCs really want to see AI-fueled growth. But SaaS is back. It never really went away, but it did get harder, and it has changed a lot.
