Raising VC for Early-Stage AI: Lindsey Mignano on Challenges, Trends and Opportunities for Female Founders

Lindsey S. Mignano is the founder of SSM Legal, an entrepreneurial Silicon Valley corporate lawyer representing emerging technology companies and industry-adjacent firms and small businesses. Her practice spans technology company business formation and expansion into US markets, M&A (flips, entity or asset sales), commercial and technology transactions, and venture financing. Lindsey has been recognized as a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers every year from 2016-2024, an honor awarded to only 2.5% of attorneys under the age of 40. In 2025, she was awarded the Super Lawyers distinction for the first time at the age of 40, an honor awarded to only 5% of attorneys. Separate from her law practice, Lindsey speaks often about diversity issues in the fields of law, tech, and venture. In 2023, Lindsey founded Venture Betches, a venture fund of funds, and Syndicate Betches, a real estate syndicate fund of funds, both with a social justice mission to bring investment opportunities to historically underrepresented accredited limited partners who identify as female and/or BIPOC/minorities.

🔑Key Takeaways🔑

💰 🚀 Fewer Early-Stage Deals, But Bigger Checks for the Chosen Few: While overall early-stage investment (seed & Series A) is down sharply, those who do close are raising larger rounds. AI startups are a bright spot—median deal size for early-stage AI is $4.6M vs. $3.5M in other sectors.

🛠️🔥The Funding Bar Is Higher Than Ever: VCs are pickier, demanding traction, ARR, and "proof" even at seed stage. This can be a real Catch-22 for founders who need funding to hit those milestones.

👩‍🔬🛑 The Gender Gap Persists—And Is Widening: Female founders face staggering disparities in deal count and dollars. In 2025, only 5.3% of all deals went to all-female teams, and a shocking 0.8% of total venture dollars. The dynamic is especially tough for solo women founders in technical AI, who often face pressure to take on male CTOs and cede equity to "pass" the VC filter.

✨💡 Tips for Women and Diverse Founders: Feeling daunted?

• Seek out emerging venture managers and female-run funds for your first checks—but be mindful of not being pigeonholed at the next funding stage.

• Build authentic relationships with decision-makers (not just associates).

• Don't hesitate to get creative about showcasing traction, even with limited resources.

• Find legal and business partners who share your values and play the long game.

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More about Lindsey at SSM Legal