Bridge rounds were once a signal of distress. In 2025, they've become a standard part of the funding lifecycle — roughly 40% of seed-funded companies in our portfolio raised a bridge between seed and Series A. But the outcomes are bimodal: bridge rounds either catapult companies to their next milestone or they extend the runway to nowhere.
When a Bridge Saves a Company
Bridges work when the company has a clear, specific milestone that additional capital will help them reach — and that milestone will meaningfully change their fundraising position. The best bridges I've seen share three characteristics:
- ▸The milestone is specific and measurable: '$2M ARR' or '120% NRR' — not 'more traction'
- ▸The existing investors are participating (signals continued conviction)
- ▸The timeline to milestone is 6–9 months (longer bridges usually mean the milestone is too far away)
When a Bridge Kills a Company
Bridges become destructive when they substitute for hard strategic decisions. If a company can't raise a Series A because the metrics aren't there, a bridge that doesn't change the trajectory just adds more people to the cap table who will be disappointed later.
“I've seen bridges that gave founders the runway to find product-market fit and raise a great Series A. I've also seen bridges that gave founders 12 more months of hoping something would change. The difference is whether the founder has a specific plan for what the bridge money will do.”
— Lena Fischer
Structuring the Bridge
Most bridges in 2025 are structured as SAFEs or convertible notes with a 15–20% discount to the next round. The key terms to negotiate carefully:
- 1.Valuation cap — set it at or slightly above your last round's valuation. A high cap signals unrealistic expectations.
- 2.Conversion terms — make sure the bridge converts automatically at the next priced round. Manual conversion creates complexity.
- 3.Participation rights — existing investors should have pro-rata rights but shouldn't be forced to participate.
- 4.Information rights — bridge investors at this stage should get monthly updates but not board seats.
Before raising a bridge, ask yourself: 'If I had 6 more months of runway at my current burn rate, what specific metric would change?' If you can't answer that clearly, the bridge won't solve your problem — a strategic pivot or an honest conversation with your board will.
Lena Fischer
Lena leads Northzone's AI and infrastructure practice, having invested in 15 AI-native companies since 2023. She previously built ML infrastructure at Google DeepMind.