Pre-money
Pre-money
Company value before the new cash. In a priced round, new money is added on top. On older SAFEs, the cap pointed here. Investor ownership is not locked the same way as a post-money cap at the same number.
Pre-Money vs Post-Money
Pre-money vs post-money: why the label changes your ownership
Reviewed August 15, 2026 by Robb
The words look like accounting trivia. They are not. The same headline number on a pre-money vs post-money instrument produces different founder ownership — especially once more than one SAFE is in the file. Confirm which label you are signing. Then model it.
Post-money
Post-money
Value after the new cash — or, on a post-money SAFE, the cap already includes that investor’s slice. Ownership for that paper is easier to lock. Founders take the residual. This is the common SAFE form you will see now.
A priced-round example in plain language
If the company is worth ten before the check and you take two, post-money is twelve and the new money is two-twelfths. That arithmetic is not the hard part. The hard part is whether the term sheet’s number is the ten or the twelve, and whether the option pool is carved from the pre-money — which is more founder dilution — or handled after.
Why stacked SAFEs surprise people
Post-money SAFEs make each investor’s percentage easier to state. Additional SAFEs then dilute the founder, not the earlier SAFE holders, in the usual construction. A ten-million cap that is post-money is not the same deal as a ten-million cap that is pre-money. Stack three of them without a model and you will meet your real ownership at the priced close.
Always include the option pool
Model after conversion and after the pool refresh. Skipping the pool is how people discover their percentage at closing. We put the refresh on the same sheet as the SAFEs. If counsel and the lead are arguing about a pool that is not in your model, you are negotiating blind.
Frequently asked questions
Which do priced rounds use?
Both numbers exist. Confirm which the term sheet cites — usually pre-money — and where the option pool is taken from.
Why did post-money SAFEs become common?
Investors wanted a known percentage. Founders need to model the stack, not the slogan. Market paper is still paper you can run the numbers on.
Are pre-money SAFEs gone?
You will see them less often. If one shows up, do not treat the cap as interchangeable with a post-money cap at the same figure. Relabel the column and rerun the sheet.