-16%

est. 2Y upside i

AI & MLSeries A

Collate uses AI to create and streamline paperwork for diagnostic, medical device, and drug development companies—from concept to market. Our mission is to accelerate life-saving innovations by creating accurate documentation for the life sciences industry.

Rank

#3816

Sector

Data Management, AI/Data Governance

Est. Liquidity

~5Y

Data Quality

Data: Medium

Collate's equity carries meaningful downside risk that should give any candidate pause.

Last updated: May 14, 2026

Bull (5%)+200%

Collate's AI semantic graph gains strong enterprise traction and growth reaccelerates to 50%+ YoY, enabling a Series B at $300M+ by 2027–2028; common shareholders see roughly 200% appreciation in grant value. This requires a significant reversal of current 3.5% YoY growth dynamics and successful displacement of entrenched incumbents.

Base (45%)+20%

Growth inches up to 10–15% YoY as Collate carves a niche via OpenMetadata and AI governance tooling, with valuation edging to ~$120M by 2028; employee common stock sees ~20% nominal appreciation before dilution. The severe preference stack ($40M preferred on a $100M cap) means real per-employee gains are marginal even in this outcome.

Bear (50%)-70%

With only 3.5% YoY growth on $18M ARR the company fails to reach Series B metrics, resulting in a down round at $50–60M or an acqui-hire at a modest premium to assets. After satisfying $40M in liquidation preferences, common stockholders recover little to nothing—effectively a 70–90% loss on current grant fair value.

Est. time to liquidity~5.0 years

Preference Stack Risk

severe

Funding Intensity

40%

$40M in total liquidation preferences sit atop a $100M valuation, meaning preferred shareholders absorb the first 40 cents of every exit dollar before common stock participates at all.

Dilution Risk

high

As a Series A company likely requiring 2–3 additional rounds before any liquidity event, each subsequent financing round (typically 15–25% dilution) will materially erode the per-share value of grants issued today.

Secondary Liquidity

none

At 64 employees and $18M ARR Collate is far too early-stage for any secondary market activity; all equity is effectively illiquid until an IPO or acquisition event.

Questions to Ask at the Interview

Strategic questions based on Collate's data — designed to show you've done your homework.

  • 1

    “What specifically drove growth down to 3.5% YoY and what concrete leading indicators—pipeline coverage, net revenue retention, new logo ACV—give the leadership team confidence that growth will reaccelerate, and on what timeline?”

  • 2

    “How does net revenue retention trend across your named accounts like Carrefour Brazil and Decisiv—are customers expanding usage, and what is the average contract value for new enterprise wins versus SMB?”

  • 3

    “Given $40M in total funding against a $100M cap, what are the board-agreed milestones required to raise a Series B at a step-up, and what is the current runway if those milestones are not hit?”

Community

Valuation Sentiment

Our model estimates -16% upside. What do you think?

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Disclaimer: This analysis is AI-generated and does not constitute financial or career advice. Always conduct your own due diligence.