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SAFEs (the acronym for “Simple Agreement for Future Equity”) are a widely used financing tool for companies seeking to raise capital quickly and with minimal friction—particularly early‑stage companies that are not yet ready for a priced equity round. In recent years, we have seen many early-stage companies attract M&A interest before their outstanding SAFEs have converted. This trend makes it especially timely to revisit how the standard Y Combinator forms of SAFE address investor payouts when a company is sold prior to conversion, and whether investors should demand more for their high-risk investments.
Around this time of year, I always get a note from a panicked startup company that has logged in to pay their annual Delaware franchise tax and has seen an eye-watering number.
While it’s true that every year you will have to pay our good friends in DE for the pleasure of existing (death and taxes being the two certainties in life), it is also true that DE is not in the habit of bankrupting its fledgling companies with onerous franchise tax bills.
In this special edition of MintzTech Connect, we introduce the Series SAFE Preferred — a novel early-stage financing instrument designed by the Mintz VC & Emerging Companies team. SAFEs transformed early-stage investing, but lingering questions — particularly around Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) — remain unresolved. The Series SAFE Preferred combines the speed and simplicity of a SAFE with the QSBS certainty and stockholder rights of preferred stock, without forcing a premature priced round.
What We’re Thinking
SAFEs (the acronym for “Simple Agreement for Future Equity”) are a widely used financing tool for companies seeking to raise capital quickly and with minimal friction—particularly early‑stage companies that are not yet ready for a priced equity round. In recent years, we have seen many early-stage companies attract M&A interest before their outstanding SAFEs have converted. This trend makes it especially timely to revisit how the standard Y Combinator forms of SAFE address investor payouts when a company is sold prior to conversion, and whether investors should demand more for their high-risk investments.
Around this time of year, I always get a note from a panicked startup company that has logged in to pay their annual Delaware franchise tax and has seen an eye-watering number.
While it’s true that every year you will have to pay our good friends in DE for the pleasure of existing (death and taxes being the two certainties in life), it is also true that DE is not in the habit of bankrupting its fledgling companies with onerous franchise tax bills.
California recently passed the Transparent in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (SB 53), which is the first comprehensive state-level AI safety framework in the United States. This law applies mostly to the large AI developers training models with extreme compute (10^26 FLOP) or earning $500m+ annually.
If you are a founder of a tech startup, it is not likely that this law applies directly to you. However, SB53 may still materially impact your startup business. SB 53 introduces regulatory, commercial, and reputational dynamics that are likely to extend well beyond the Golden State.
Below is a summary of what founders of early-stage AI companies and their investors should be preparing for
Our Videos
Mintz hosted the Sustainable Media Center at our New York Office for a candid conversation on Gen-Z, politics, and social media in America. Dan DeWolf provided opening remarks and the fireside chat featured bestselling author Kurt Andersen and journalist Kanika Mehra.
Dan DeWolf talks with Vince Molinari on FINTECH.TV about the state of the venture capital markets and why Congress needs to look at some "common sense" legislation that will help drive the economy.
In this video, Jeremy Glaser explains simple and fast ways to write an executive summary.
Our Podcasts
Mintz’s From the Edge is a podcast geared toward helping entrepreneurs thrive by learning from the experiences of executives in the technology, biotech and finance fields. On this podcast, Mintz partners who work with growing companies raising capital, building great management teams and achieving successful liquidity events will discuss with investors and entrepreneurs the key reasons that they were able to build successful companies and important lessons learned along the way. Mintz is a nationally leading law firm focused on helping emerging growth companies achieve success.
In this episode of Client Corner, Josh speaks to Suono Bio’s CEO Scott Kellogg and COO Skip Farinha. Scott and Skip discuss the importance of active listening in managing a team, strategies for navigating the medical device approval process in the US, key factors to consider when selecting investors, and insights on managing unforeseen challenges.
In this episode of Client Corner, Josh speaks to Paul Le Floch, Co-founder & CEO of Axoft. Paul discusses his journey from growing up in France to becoming a founder and the CEO of a neurotechnology startup. He provides insight into forming Axoft and navigating the fundraising process and offers advice to individuals starting new ventures.
Podcaster Richard Hsu interviewed San Francisco Managing Member Steve Osborn on his podcast Hsu Untied. In the episode, Steve reflects on his career journey, including his start in law school to becoming an attorney advising on international work in London and Hong Kong, and his rise from launching a boutique firm to his current role as a tech and life sciences-focused Managing Member. Steve also highlights the importance of calculated risks for professional growth.