{"id":16691,"date":"2026-03-04T11:58:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T11:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/why-ai-startups-are-selling-the-same-equity-at-two-different-prices\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T11:58:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T11:58:45","slug":"why-ai-startups-are-selling-the-same-equity-at-two-different-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/why-ai-startups-are-selling-the-same-equity-at-two-different-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"Why AI startups are selling the same equity at two different prices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As competition among AI startups heats up, founders and VCs are turning to novel valuation mechanisms to manufacture a perception of market dominance.<\/p>\n

Until recently, the most sought-after companies raised multiple rounds of funding in quick succession at escalating valuations. However, because constant fundraising distracts founders from building their products, lead VCs have devised a new pricing structure that effectively consolidates what would have been two separate funding cycles into one.<\/p>\n

Recent rounds employing this scheme include Aaru’s Series A. The synthetic-customer research startup raised a round led by Redpoint, which invested a large portion of its check at a $450 million valuation, The Wall Street Journal reported. Redpoint then invested a smaller portion at a $1 billion valuation, and other VCs joined at that same $1 billion price point, according to our reporting. TechCrunch was the first to report Aaru’s financing, including its multi-tiered valuation.<\/p>\n

The approach allows desirable startups like Aaru to call themselves a unicorn — valued at more than $1 billion — even though a significant portion of the equity was acquired at a lower price.<\/p>\n

“It is a sign that the market is incredibly competitive for venture capital firms to win deals,” said Jason Shuman, a general partner at Primary Ventures. “If the headline number is huge, it’s also an incredible strategy to scare away other VCs from backing the number two and number three players.”<\/p>\n

The massive “headline” valuation creates the aura of a market winner, even though the lead VC’s average price was significantly lower.<\/p>\n

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Multiple investors told TechCrunch that until recently, they had never encountered a deal where a lead investor splits their capital between two different valuation tiers in a single round.<\/p>\n

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Techcrunch event<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco, CA<\/span>
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wesley Chan, co-founder and managing partner at FPV Ventures, views this valuation tactic as a symptom of bubble-like behavior. “You can’t sell the same product at two different prices. Only airlines can get away with this,” he said.<\/p>\n

In most cases, founders offer a discount to top-tier VCs because their involvement serves as a powerful market signal that helps attract talent and future capital.<\/p>\n

But since these rounds are frequently oversubscribed, startups have found a way to accommodate the excess interest: Rather than turning away eager investors, they allow them to participate immediately, but at a significantly higher price. These investors are willing to pay that premium because it is the only way to secure a spot on a high-demand cap table.<\/p>\n

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Another startup that gave preferential pricing to its lead investor is Serval, an AI-powered IT help desk startup, according to The Wall Street Journal. While Sequoia’s lowest entry price was at a $400 million valuation, Serval announced in December that its $75 million Series B valued the company at $1 billion.<\/p>\n

While the high “headline” valuation can help recruit talent and attract corporate customers who may view the company as having a stronger market position than its competitors, the strategy is not without its risks.<\/p>\n

Even though the true, blended valuation for these startups is lower than $1 billion, they are expected to raise their next round at a valuation that is higher than the headline price; otherwise it will be a punitive down round, Shuman said.<\/p>\n

These companies are in high demand now, but they may face unexpected challenges that will make it very hard for them to justify their high valuations. In a down round, employees and founders end up with a smaller ownership percentage of the company; they can also erode the confidence of partners, customers, future investors, and potential new hires.<\/p>\n

Jack Selby, managing director at Thiel Capital and founder of Copper Sky Capital, warns founders that chasing extreme valuations is a dangerous game, pointing to the painful market reset of 2022 as a cautionary tale. “If you put yourself on this high-wire act, it’s very easy to fall off,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Why AI startups are selling the same equity at two different prices<\/sub><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As competition among AI startups heats up, founders and VCs are turning to novel valuation mechanisms to manufacture a perception of market dominance. Until recently, the most sought-after companies raised multiple rounds of funding in quick succession at escalating valuations. However, because constant fundraising distracts founders from building their products, lead VCs have devised a…<\/p>\n

Read More “Why AI startups are selling the same equity at two different prices”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}