# Peter Walker

Peter Walker runs the Insights team at Carta, focused on discovering key data and narratives across the private capital ecosystem. In a former life, he was a marketing executive for a media analytics startup and led the data visualization team at the Covid Tracking Project.

## Latest from Peter Walker

### State of startup compensation, H1 2024
Carta data shows that companies have become leaner and salary benchmarks have remained flat across much of the ecosystem.  
[Read more](https://fund-forecasting@carta.com/sg/en/data/startup-compensation-h1-2024/)

### Series A liftoff
Series A valuations hit a record in Q2 2026, with the top 5% of rounds exceeding $500M post-money — a dramatic spike as mega-funds chase AI-era founders.  
[Read more](https://fund-forecasting@carta.com/sg/en/data/newsletter-series-a-liftoff/)

### VC Startup Fundraising Benchmarks From 1000 Rounds
Seed valuations hit $24.3M median in the last 6 months, with Series A at $80M and Series B at $191M. Dilution continues to fall across all stages.  
[Read more](https://fund-forecasting@carta.com/sg/en/data/linkedin-vc-fundraising-benchmarks-2026/)

### Rising Valuations but Fewer Startup Rounds in 2026
Median early-stage valuations are at record highs, yet the number of rounds being completed is actually falling—concentrating dollars into fewer companies.  
[Read more](https://fund-forecasting@carta.com/sg/en/data/linkedin-early-stage-valuations-rising-fewer-rounds/)

### Top Seed Valuations Hit Record Highs in Q2 2026
The 95th percentile seed valuation reached $200M in Q2 2026, up from $72.2M a year prior—the fastest climb in a decade.  
[Read more](https://fund-forecasting@carta.com/sg/en/data/linkedin-seed-valuations-95th-percentile-2026/)

### Power Laws Are Everywhere Not Just in Venture Capital
The top 10 S&P 500 stocks now represent 36% of total market cap, up from 17% in 2015, with concentration even higher in many other countries.  
[Read more](https://fund-forecasting@carta.com/sg/en/data/linkedin-power-laws-sp500-market-concentration/)

### What Revenue Do You Actually Need for Series A
VCs are raising the bar: a founder with $1.5M ARR today may not qualify for Series A, as data shows median ARR requirements have climbed sharply.  
[Read more](https://fund-forecasting@carta.com/sg/en/data/linkedin-series-a-arr-requirements-vcs/)