Analysis of venture capital (VC) activity in the United States reveals a mixed landscape marked by stalled deal flow and declining graduation rates from seed to Series A funding. Data from Pitchbook shows that the value of the largest US VC-backed exits exceeding $10,000 has doubled approximately every five years since 2005, indicating strong growth in top-tier outcomes. However, recent trends highlight challenges for early-stage startups, with the Series A deal count dropping by 79% between the first quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2025, and nearly half of seed deals in Q1 2025 being bridge rounds, signaling funding difficulties. Graduation rates from seed to Series A have plummeted from 40% to 15.5% after eight quarters, with hardware startups performing relatively better than other sectors. Additionally, the median dilution in Series A rounds has decreased to 17.9% in Q1 2025 from 20.9% a year earlier, while down rounds accounted for just over 19% of new rounds, consistent with rates since early 2023 but higher than pre-2023 levels. The total number of funding rounds completed in Q1 2025 was 1,122, the lowest first-quarter total since 2018, reflecting investor caution. In response to these market conditions, some major VC firms are shifting strategies by expanding into private equity and public stocks, prompting some partners to pursue more specialized independent investing.