Carta’s 2025 AI Funding & Equity Insights | Peter Walker
Everyone has opinions about founder equity, funding timelines, and valuations—but Peter Walker holds the data. In this special live Agentic session, I sat down with Peter, Head of Insights at Carta, to unpack what’s actually happening beneath the surface in early-stage AI startups. Peter’s team has a privileged vantage point—cap tables, valuations, and hiring data across 45,000 startups and 83% of U.S. unicorns. We explore:a common equity mistake that’s quietly killing fundraising chanceswhy AI founders are raising bigger rounds… and keeping more of their companieshow lean teams are pushing out serious ARR—and what that means for hiringthe valuation delta between AI and non-AI startups—and why that window may be closingIf you’re raising, hiring, or advising an AI startup in this market, this one’s for you.If you’re in the early innings of building something in AI, especially if you’re figuring things out from first principles—let’s chat. Connect with us here:Peter Walker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjameswalker/George Bandarian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/Untapped Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures00:00 Trailer01:26 Introduction02:44 Untapped Ventures08:39 Carta10:34 Early Equity25:05 Venture Context34:47 AI Story51:04 Questions54:48 Outro
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Show Notes
Everyone has opinions about founder equity, funding timelines, and valuations—but Peter Walker holds the data.
In this special live Agentic session, I sat down with Peter, Head of Insights at Carta, to unpack what’s actually happening beneath the surface in early-stage AI startups.
Peter’s team has a privileged vantage point—cap tables, valuations, and hiring data across 45,000 startups and 83% of U.S. unicorns.
We explore:
- a common equity mistake that’s quietly killing fundraising chances
- why AI founders are raising bigger rounds… and keeping more of their companies
- how lean teams are pushing out serious ARR—and what that means for hiring
- the valuation delta between AI and non-AI startups—and why that window may be closing
If you’re raising, hiring, or advising an AI startup in this market, this one’s for you.
If you’re in the early innings of building something in AI, especially if you’re figuring things out from first principles—let’s chat.
Connect with us here:
- Peter Walker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjameswalker/
- George Bandarian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/
- Untapped Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures
00:00 Trailer
01:26 Introduction
02:44 Untapped Ventures
08:39 Carta
10:34 Early Equity
25:05 Venture Context
34:47 AI Story
51:04 Questions
54:48 Outro