Funding Round Types

MAGNiTT classifies every funding round into one of eleven stage tags. These definitions are aligned with global standards and adapted for Emerging Venture Markets, where disclosure norms and round labelling conventions differ from US and European markets.

Stage definitions

Pre-Seed — First institutional cheque into a company with no prior institutional backing, typically at concept or MVP stage. Classified when the round amount falls within the typical pre-seed range based on MAGNiTT’s proxy calculations for the relevant geography and year.

Seed — Explicitly labelled seed rounds, or rounds where the company has no prior VC backing and the amount falls within the typical seed range. This is the most common stage across Emerging Venture Markets.

Pre-Series A — Bridge or interim financing between Seed and Series A. Classified only when explicitly labelled as Pre-Series A by the company or investors.

Series A — Explicitly labelled, or the first priced equity round following Seed. Typically represents the company’s first institutional growth round.

Pre-Series B — Bridge or interim financing between Series A and Series B. Classified when explicitly labelled.

Series B — Explicitly labelled, or the second priced equity round following Series A.

Series C — Explicitly labelled Series C. Companies at this stage typically have proven product-market fit and are scaling operations.

Series D — Explicitly labelled Series D.

Venture Growth — Series E or later, or rounds classified as venture growth based on company age, prior rounds, and participating investors.

Angel — Equity round led by individual angel investors only, with no institutional VC participation.

Undisclosed — Stage cannot be determined. Fallback classification used only when no other rule applies.

PE Growth (excluded from VC totals)

Rounds into mature companies (typically 10+ years old) with stable operations and an operational (rather than technological) risk profile are classified as PE Growth and excluded from venture capital reports. Earlier VC rounds by the same company remain in the historical dataset.

How stages are determined

MAGNiTT applies a classification hierarchy: (1) explicit disclosure from source, (2) series naming from credible sources, (3) amount-based proxy using geography and year-specific ranges, (4) factor-based fallback using company age and investor profile. This ensures consistent classification even in markets where round labelling is inconsistent.

🔗 LINK: /data-methodology for the full classification hierarchy

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