For startup founders, fundraising is a high-stakes game of balancing growth, runway, and ownership. While traditional venture capital rounds follow a predictable path—Seed, Series A, Series B, and so on—many startups find themselves in need of interim financing between these rounds. Enter the bridge round: a short-term funding injection meant to “bridge” the company to its next major milestone or financing event.

But do bridge rounds actually work? Do they help startups reach their next big funding round, or do they simply delay the inevitable? Let’s break down the data behind bridge round survival rates, their impact on long-term success, and whether founders should consider raising one.

How Much Equity Startups Sell in Each Round

Recent data from Carta shows that dilution remains significant at the early stages, with priced seed and Series A rounds each seeing a median of 20% equity sold per round. As companies progress, dilution per round decreases:

• Seed & Series A → 20% median dilution
• Series B → 14.6% median dilution
• Series C → 11.0% median dilution
• Series D → 8.8% median dilution

However, bridge rounds tend to be less dilutive than primary rounds, with median dilution ranging from 10.4% at seed stage to just 3.3% at Series D.

At first glance, this makes bridge rounds seem like a founder-friendly alternative to full venture rounds—but the real question is whether they actually lead to long-term success.

Do Bridge Rounds Lead to the Next Funding Round?

One of the biggest concerns around bridge rounds is whether they truly help startups reach their next funding milestone. Many founders hope that an extra few months of runway will allow them to hit critical metrics and raise a larger round. However, industry data suggests that many startups that take bridge funding never actually secure their next major investment.

Historically, around 50–75% of startups at top-tier firms have successfully graduated from Seed to Series A in strong markets. However, in recent years, that number has declined. In 2023–2024, a large share of startups had to raise bridge rounds or extensions instead of full follow-on rounds, signaling difficulty in securing new lead investors.

One key insight: new investors are often reluctant to fund a startup that just took a bridge round unless they see significant progress. If a bridge round is seen as a last-ditch effort to stay alive rather than a strategic extension, it can create a negative perception that makes securing new capital even harder.

Key Takeaway:
Many startups that raise bridge rounds fail to secure a new institutional lead investor, making survival much more difficult.

How Often Do Bridge Rounds Lead to a Successful Exit?

For many startups, the ultimate goal isn’t just raising more funding—it’s achieving a successful exit via IPO or acquisition. But do bridge rounds help or hurt that process?

Unfortunately, the data suggests that startups that rely on bridge rounds have a much lower likelihood of reaching a high-value exit.

• 70% of VC-backed exits in 2023 were below the total capital invested—meaning investors took losses, often because startups that had previously raised bridge rounds had to accept lower valuations to get acquired.

• Startups that take multiple bridge rounds without a clear path forward often end up in soft “acquihires” or shutting down rather than securing high-value exits.

• Only a small percentage of bridge-funded startups ever go public, since the need for interim financing often signals underlying challenges with growth or scalability.

That said, there are exceptions. Some successful startups, like Notion, raised a bridge round as a strategic move rather than a sign of distress. The key factor? Whether the bridge round was used to extend runway during a period of strong momentum or to patch over deeper issues.

Key Takeaway:
While a few bridge-funded startups succeed, most struggle to achieve high-value exits, with many being forced into acquihires or shut down.

How Many Startups Fail After a Bridge Round?

One of the harshest realities of bridge rounds is that many don’t actually save the company—they just delay an inevitable shutdown.

• Running out of cash is the #1 reason startups fail, accounting for ~29% of all shutdowns.

• Bridge rounds often indicate that a startup is struggling to raise a proper round, making failure much more likely.

• Carta data from 2023 showed that startup shutdowns doubled year-over-year, including many companies that had previously raised bridge rounds.

In essence, many bridge rounds become a “bridge to nowhere.” Founders raise a small amount to keep going, but if they don’t drastically improve their metrics, they often find themselves out of options when the bridge capital runs dry.

Key Takeaway:

For many startups, a bridge round only postpones failure rather than preventing it—especially if they don’t use the capital to make a meaningful turnaround.

Should Founders Raise a Bridge Round?

Bridge rounds can be a powerful tool or a dangerous trap—the difference depends on why and how they are raised.

✅Good reasons to raise a bridge round:

• You have clear momentum but need extra time to hit a major milestone.
• Your existing investors are leading the round, signaling confidence.
• You’re in a bad funding market but expect conditions to improve soon.

❌Bad reasons to raise a bridge round:

• You’re running out of cash but have no clear plan to raise another round.
• No new investors are interested, forcing existing investors to “rescue” the company.
• Your key metrics are stagnant or declining, making future funding unlikely.

The best bridge rounds are offensive, not defensive—they extend runway during a period of strong traction, rather than just keeping a struggling company afloat.

Final Verdict: To Bridge or Not to Bridge?

So, should founders raise a bridge round?

The answer depends on whether the company can use the capital to create meaningful upside.

If you’re growing but need time to hit key milestones:

A bridge round can be a smart move—but only if investors believe in the long-term potential.

If you’re struggling to raise capital and need a bridge just to survive:

The harsh truth is that many of these startups fail, and a bridge round often just postpones the inevitable.

The best founders approach bridge rounds with a clear strategy—they secure investor buy-in, extend runway with purpose, and focus on hitting the metrics that will turn their next round into a true success.