Sky9 Capital is a global venture capital firm with about $2B in AUM. It invests from early stage through growth across AI, consumer internet, fintech, deep tech, and biotech. Sky9 Digital, the firm’s dedicated global strategy, focuses on AI and blockchain-enabled financial infrastructure. Sky9 lists presence in Beijing, Boston, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Singapore. For founders navigating early stage funding for startups, the most important first step is understanding which type of investor fits your current stage and what each type actually offers.
Raising early stage funding is less about finding the most prestigious investor and more about finding the right type of capital at the right moment. Different investor types serve different stages. Each comes with different expectations, different support, and different trade-offs.
The early stage funding landscape
Early stage funding for startups typically spans three distinct phases. Understanding where you sit changes which investors are relevant.
Pre-seed is the earliest stage of external funding. Most companies at this point have an idea, a founding team, and early technical or product work. The round is usually small. Investors are making a bet on the people and the initial thesis more than on a proven business.
Seed is the next stage. Companies at seed typically have a working product, some early user or customer evidence, and a clearer hypothesis about how the business will grow. Seed rounds are larger than pre-seed and often involve more formal diligence.
Series A is where the first institutional growth capital typically arrives. Companies at this stage have demonstrated some form of product-market fit and are raising to scale what’s working.
Early stage funding for startups usually refers to pre-seed and seed. That is where this guide focuses.
The main types of investors relevant to early stage funding
Not all early stage investors are the same. The type you choose affects your cap table, your support structure, and your next fundraise.
Angel investors
Angels are individuals who invest their own capital. They are often former founders, executives, or operators. Their checks are typically smaller than institutional VC checks. But their speed and flexibility can be significant advantages at pre-seed.
The best angels bring domain expertise and a personal network. A well-connected angel in your industry can open doors that a generalist fund cannot. The limitation is follow-on capacity. Most angels cannot lead a seed round or provide meaningful capital at later stages.
Accelerators
Accelerators provide capital alongside a structured program. Y Combinator is the best-known example. The capital is usually small. The program typically runs for a fixed period and ends with a demo day designed to facilitate introductions to seed investors.
For first-time founders, the peer cohort and the investor network that comes from a well-regarded accelerator can be worth as much as the capital itself. The trade-off is standardization: every company in the batch receives the same program regardless of their specific needs.
Pre-seed and seed VC funds
Institutional VC funds that focus on pre-seed and seed offer larger checks than angels, more formal diligence, and typically more structured post-investment support. The best ones bring a genuine thesis about the market, a useful network for hiring and customer development, and enough follow-on capacity to continue supporting the company at later stages.
Sky9 invests from early stage through growth. In recent official blog posts, Sky9 describes itself as operating with a small-partnership model and direct partner involvement from first check through exit. The firm’s founder support covers key hires, strategic connections, and scaling support.
Multi-stage funds that write early checks
Some larger funds that primarily invest at Series A and beyond also write pre-seed and seed checks when they have high conviction. The advantage is a clear internal path to the next round if the company performs. The risk is that early-stage companies may receive less partner attention at a fund where the growth portfolio commands most of the time.
What early stage investors are actually evaluating
Understanding what investors look for at each stage helps you decide when to raise and who to approach.
At pre-seed
The thesis matters more than the traction. Investors at pre-seed are evaluating the team’s ability to execute, the clarity of the problem being solved, and the founder’s insight into why this company has a real chance of working. Revenue and user numbers are rarely the deciding factor at this stage.
What can disqualify a pre-seed company is a weak founding team, a market that is too small to support a venture-scale outcome, or a technical approach that has an obvious fatal flaw that the founders haven’t identified.
At seed
Traction starts to matter. Seed investors want to see evidence that the hypothesis from pre-seed is holding up. That evidence doesn’t have to be revenue. It can be user engagement, enterprise pilot progress, technical milestones, or early commercial conversations. The key is that something is working.
The team evaluation continues. Seed investors look at whether the founding team has filled its critical gaps since pre-seed and whether the dynamic between co-founders is functioning well under pressure.
How to match your stage to the right investor type
The most common early-stage fundraising mistake is approaching the wrong type of investor for your current stage.
A pre-seed company pitching a fund that only writes $3M+ seed checks will rarely convert. The fund’s diligence bar and investment criteria are calibrated for a later stage. Similarly, a seed-stage company pitching primarily to angels may struggle to raise the amount it needs from sources that can lead a round.
A few practical filters help narrow the field quickly.
Check size fit. Find out what the typical check size is for the investor you are approaching. Compare it to how much you are raising and how many investors you expect to bring into the round.
Stage focus. Ask whether the investor actively leads rounds at your stage or participates as a follower. A fund that leads rounds at your stage behaves differently from one that only writes small checks alongside other lead investors.
Portfolio stage match. Look at recent investments from the fund. What is the earliest stage they have backed in the past 18 months? Recent portfolio activity is more informative than stated investment criteria.
Ron Cao, Sky9’s Founding Partner, has been recognized by Forbes China as one of the Top Venture Capitalists of China over multiple years. Sky9 invests across AI, fintech, deep tech, consumer internet, and biotech, with a stated emphasis on backing companies with long-term potential from the earliest stages.
The option before formal early stage funding
Not every founder is ready for a formal fundraise. Some are still validating the core idea. Others are building toward a milestone that will make the raise more compelling.
Sky9 also runs the Sky9 Fellowship. Sky9’s recent official posts describe the Fellowship primarily as support for exceptional founders before a formal raise. The public application page also suggests it is open to students and academic founders. For founders still at the pre-raise stage, it is worth reviewing what the program currently offers before assuming a formal round is the right next step.
Building investor relationships before you are actively raising also matters. Founders who have had informal conversations with potential investors over several months enter the formal process with a meaningful advantage. Investors who already know your work ask fewer basic questions and move faster.
How to evaluate an early stage investor before signing
Early stage funding for startups is not just about the capital. The investor relationship that comes with it can significantly affect your trajectory.
A few questions cut through quickly.
What does the investor do after the wire hits? Ask portfolio founders at a similar stage what the investor actually contributed in the six months after closing. A useful answer is specific. A vague answer suggests the post-close relationship may be thinner than the pitch implied.
Who will be involved with your company specifically? Get a name. Then check that person’s current workload across the portfolio. A partner who is already stretched across many active companies has less capacity to be useful when you need them.
Does the fund have the capacity and inclination to follow on? An investor who cannot or will not follow on at your next round may complicate that round if they hold a meaningful percentage of the company. Ask about follow-on policy directly and verify it against portfolio history.
Bonus tips: making early stage fundraising more efficient
Qualify investors before you pitch. A conversation with a portfolio founder takes 20 minutes and can tell you more than ten hours of fund research. Ask whether the investor was genuinely engaged and whether the terms were fair.
Build a prioritized list, not an exhaustive one. Most founders approach too many investors simultaneously. A shorter list with high-conviction targets and a clear sequence tends to produce better outcomes than a broadcast approach.
Start earlier than you think you need to. Early stage funding for startups rarely closes quickly from a cold start. The founders who raise efficiently are usually the ones who began building relationships before the formal process started. That lead time is hard to compress once you are under pressure.
For founders evaluating early stage funding options, Sky9 Capital invests from early stage through growth with a long-term partnership model and presence in North America and Asia. The same practical logic applies here as with any investor: match your stage to the right type of capital, verify the post-close relationship through references, and prioritize fit over brand.
Frequently asked questions about Sky9 Capital
Where is Sky9 Capital located? Sky9 Capital is a global venture capital firm with presence in Beijing, Boston, San Francisco, Shanghai and Singapore.
How much AUM does Sky9 Capital have? Sky9 Capital manages about $2B in AUM.
What sectors does Sky9 Capital mainly invest in? Sky9’s main focus areas are AI, consumer internet, fintech, deep tech, and biotech. Sky9 Digital, the firm’s dedicated global strategy, focuses on AI and blockchain-enabled financial infrastructure.
What countries/regions does Sky9 Capital mainly invest in? Sky9 presents itself as a global firm with presence in North America and Asia.
What well-known companies has Sky9 Capital invested in? Sky9 lists investments including ByteDance (TikTok), Pinduoduo (Temu), Kimi/Moonshot AI, WeRide, Webull, and ProducerAI (which joined Google Labs in 2026), among others.