Raising a Series A in deep tech.
At Series A, deep tech investors want the core science de-risked and the question shifted to engineering and manufacturing. Expect expert technical diligence and hard questions on cost to scale.
Deep tech
Deep tech investors judge three things before anything else: a technical breakthrough with a clear path to proof, a plan that turns long R&D timelines into funded milestones, and a market that will pay once the science works.
What Series A investors expect in deep tech
The questions get harder and more technical. Expect expert diligence on each of these.
Science de-risked
- Key technical milestones hit and documented
- Results checked by outside experts or partners
- Patents granted or pending on the core approach
A path to production
- A pilot line, manufacturing partner or scale-up plan
- Unit cost today and the curve to a viable price
- Supply chain risks named and managed
Commercial pull
- Paid pilots, purchase orders or development contracts
- Partners who will help sell or integrate
- A first market where you can win before others
How the round comes together
Series A deep tech rounds are usually led by venture funds with technical partners, often with strategics and grants alongside.
- 1 · A venture fund leads
- 2 · Insiders and strategics
- 3 · Grants top up
Multi-stage VCs
Often leads
Venture funds with deep tech partners lead most Series A rounds.
Corporate VCs
Often follows
Industrial strategics invest when your technology fits their products.
Pre-seed & seed funds
Often follows
Seed funds that backed the early science usually take their pro-rata.
Grants & non-dilutive
Sometimes
Later-phase government grants and contracts fund scale-up work.
Family offices
Now and then
Patient families co-invest beside a lead.
A priced round with a board
Series A is priced equity with a lead setting the valuation and taking a board seat. Strategic investors may ask for rights to license or buy your technology. Check those against your other options.
The slides investors read first
Milestones
Technical risks retired, with data.
IP
Patents and what they protect.
Scale-up
Manufacturing plan and unit cost curve.
Customers
Pilots, orders and development contracts.
The plan
What the round buys and the milestones for B.
Questions founders ask
What is technical due diligence in deep tech?
Investors bring in outside experts to test your claims, review data and visit your lab or line. Prepare clean records of experiments, failures included.
Should I accept a strategic investor's right of first refusal?
Be careful. Rights to license or buy your technology can scare away other partners and buyers. Ask a lawyer how it limits your options before you agree.
Sources
Sources: government research grant program guidance; university technology transfer practices; investors' published criteria; industry reports. Editorial content, reviewed quarterly. Not financial or legal advice.
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