Well, $3m+ for a true seed round is getting “too big for comfort” for many investors. Many true seed investors get nervous when you raise much more than $2m or $2.xm for a true seed round. And most true seed VCs invest $250k-$1m per deal. So yes, it’s too much for those VCs.
But …
The terms are confusing. The round after a true seed round is often called “Series Seed” even though it’s what used to be call Series A. So you can see $6m, $10m+ “Seed” rounds but really they are a stage later.
A different way to think about a VC firm. First, of course look at their website. Then, if it’s not clear what stage they invest in, bear in mind the “sweet spot” is probably around 2–3% of the fund for each initial check.
So a $50m fund is comfortable writing an initial $1m check, but probably not $3m.
A $150m fund can easily write a $3m fund can write a $3m-$4m check easily, but there may be stress past that point.
And similarly, a check size < 1% of the fund may be too small, usually. A $1b+ fund doesn’t usually want to write checks too much smaller than $6m-$8m, unless it’s with an expectation they’ll write another, larger, check soon.
etc. rough guidelines.
