Series B
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A growth-stage funding round, typically $20-60M, raised to scale a proven business model across markets and customer segments.
Series B is the growth round. The company has proven its model (Series A) and now needs capital to scale aggressively. Series B rounds typically range from $20M to $60M and fund significant expansion: new markets, new products, larger teams, and international growth.
Series B investors expect clear metrics: strong revenue growth (2-3x year-over-year), improving unit economics, and a credible path to a large outcome. The company should be past the 'does this work?' stage and into the 'how fast can we grow?' stage.
At Series B, the company often has 50-200 employees, a VP-level leadership team, and multiple GTM motions running simultaneously (self-serve, sales-assisted, enterprise). Dilution per round decreases as valuations rise.
Examples
A SaaS company raises a Series B.
At $10M ARR growing 150% year-over-year, the company raises $40M at a $200M valuation. The capital funds expansion into Europe, an enterprise sales team, a new product line, and doubling the engineering team from 30 to 60.
A Series B comes with operational expectations.
The Series B lead expects quarterly board meetings with detailed financial reporting, a formal budgeting process, and VP-level hires for sales, marketing, and engineering. The company transitions from startup to scale-up.
A company raises a Series B earlier than planned.
Revenue is growing faster than expected. The market is competitive. The CEO decides to raise a Series B 12 months after the Series A instead of 18. The strong growth makes the round easy to close at a premium valuation.
In practice
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Series A and Series B?
Series A proves the model works. Series B scales it. Series A companies have initial traction ($1-3M ARR). Series B companies have proven growth ($5-15M ARR and growing fast). Series A builds the playbook. Series B runs it at scale.
What growth rate do Series B investors expect?
Typically 2-3x year-over-year revenue growth. A company at $5M ARR should be growing to $10-15M. At $10M ARR, growing to $20-30M. The faster the growth, the higher the valuation multiple investors are willing to pay.
Related terms
The first major institutional funding round, typically $5-20M, raised after a startup demonstrates product-market fit and initial traction.
Late-stage funding rounds that finance category dominance, acquisitions, international expansion, or preparation for IPO.
The estimated worth of a company, determined during a funding round by negotiation between founders and investors.
A form of private equity financing where firms invest fund money in high-growth startups in exchange for equity.
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