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A comprehensive guide for addressing the tax talent crisis
A labor shortage in tax is driving the need for a new skill set: one that blends technical tax knowledge with digital fluency.
Automation, AI and data-driven insights now define the role of tax professionals.
This new era of tax is not simply about adopting new tools, it’s about reshaping the skill set and mindset required to thrive in this field. Check out this guide for actionable insights into how to cultivate these skills with your team. See how advanced technologies can help bridge the tax tech gap to increase efficiency, ensure compliance, and drive better decision-making.
The market isn’t reopening evenly. It’s concentrating harder. Crunchbase says more than 40% of 2026 seed and Series A dollars have already gone to rounds of $100 million or more. Carta says the bottom 50% of U.S. startups that raised in 2025 captured just 14% of the cash, while the top 10% took about half. Same pattern. Fewer companies. Bigger checks. Higher prices for the names investors think can break out fast.
That matters for founders because “solid company in a big market” isn’t enough right now. You need a sharper case for why your round deserves concentrated conviction. Real adoption. A painful workflow. A founder-market edge. Proprietary data. Faster execution than the rest of your category. If your pitch still sounds broad, investors will treat you like the broad middle of the market. That’s where rounds drag. The bar now is simple: prove you’re one of the few, not one of many.
AMI Labs raised a $1.03 billion seed at a $3.5 billion pre-money valuation
Yann LeCun’s new company is building AI systems centered on reasoning, planning, and “world models,” with Cathay Innovation, Greycroft, Hiro Capital, HV Capital, and Bezos Expeditions co-leading the round. This wasn’t a traction round. It was a founder-edge round built on technical credibility and a belief that a new AI architecture could matter at platform scale. See full article.
What this means for your raise: Don’t benchmark your seed off celebrity outliers. Do benchmark how clearly they framed an irreplaceable edge. If your company has a real wedge, state it hard. If it doesn’t, don’t inflate the story.
Nscale raised a $2B Series C at a $14.6B valuation
Aker ASA and 8090 Industries led the round, and the company says the capital will expand AI infrastructure capacity for customers, including Microsoft and OpenAI. The headline here isn’t just size. It’s a visible demand. Investors are still paying up for bottlenecks that the market urgently needs to solve. See full article.
What this means for your raise: If you’re selling infrastructure, stop leading with category size. Lead with constrained demand, signed customers, and explain why the pain is happening now. Demand clarity pulls valuation up faster than narrative ever will.
Legora raised a $550M Series D at a $5.55B valuation to push harder into the U.S
Reuters reported that U.S. customers moved faster than expected from experimenting with legal AI to embedding it into their workflows, and Accel led the round. That’s the real signal. Investors rewarded workflow adoption, not novelty. See full article
What this means for your raise: Usage inside the workflow beats AI theater every time. Show where your product lives in the customer’s day, what it replaces, and what budget line it earns. That’s what turns curiosity into conviction.
Fuse raises $25M to disrupt aging credit union loan systems
Fuse raised $25 million to go after loan-origination systems that still take up to a year to integrate and lock customers into expensive multi-year contracts. TechCrunch says Fuse already has more than 100 customers and has put aside a $5 million “rescue fund” to help credit unions switch off legacy vendors. See full article.
What this means for your raise: You don’t need a flashy market. You need a broken workflow, a painful incumbent, and a wedge that makes switching feel urgent.
Choice raises $7.1M to expand AI restaurant-tech across Europe
Choice raised $7.1 million to expand into Portugal, Spain, and Italy. The company says it serves more than 30,000 restaurants, processes over 1.5 million orders per month worth about $35 million, and has surpassed $5 million in annual subscription revenue. See full article.
What this means for your raise: This is the kind of story founders should watch closely. Real usage, real revenue, and a messy customer problem still beat abstract AI positioning.
This-or-that: what should your seed narrative lead with right now?
This week’s market is punishing founders who price based on headlines rather than milestones. See full article.
Use milestone-based valuation framing.
Don’t say: “Companies in our space are raising at $25M caps.”
Say: “We’re raising $2.5M to reach $250k MRR, three enterprise logos, and 18 months of runway. We’re targeting pricing that keeps dilution in the mid-teens and gives us room for a clean step-up if we hit those milestones.”
Then ask this directly:
“Is that in your strike zone, or should we save each other time now?”
That line does three things fast. It shows you’ve done the math. It forces a real answer. And it stops you from wasting three meetings with funds that were never price-compatible.
Footwork is worth knowing if you’re post-product and can show early pull. The firm says it leads and co-leads Seed and Series A rounds, typically investing $1 million to $15 million initially, and focuses on consumer technology plus the consumerization of enterprise technology. Its public portfolio includes names like Watershed, GPTZero, Cradlewise, Table22, and Heard, and this week it also led Fuse’s Series A.
Best way in: send a crisp note with proof of usage, retention, or revenue to [email protected]. Footwork’s own positioning is clear: they want companies with early signs of product-market fit. That’s your filter before you hit send.
Learn more about Footwork.
● Record-setting early-stage valuations.
● Giant seed and Series A rounds.
● 2025 private markets review.
● Prepping your seed pitch
Market's paying for proof, not breadth. Don't raise on vibes. Send your deck, raise memo, or investor email. I'll show you where it gets stronger and where real partners check out.
I'm Marcus Cole. I spent four years on the investor side at a $200M seed fund in New York, reviewing 800+ decks a year, sitting in partner meetings, watching founders win and lose at the table.
Then I crossed over. Raised $4.2M across two companies. One got acqui-hired after a $1.4M raise. The other raised $2.8M seed and is still running.
I've been in your seat and theirs. Capital Raise is what I wish I'd had while raising: straight talk, no waste, built for founders who are actually in it.
Disclaimer: Capital Raise is a newsletter for informational purposes only. Nothing in this newsletter constitutes investment advice, financial advice, or a solicitation to invest.
Always do your own due diligence. Consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.