According to Sifted, the era of easy funding round coverage is officially over. Europe saw 478 Series A rounds this year while Sifted published only 686 total news articles, with many not even covering funding announcements. Journalism has been decimated by 4,000 job cuts in 2024 across the US and UK, following 8,000 cuts the previous year. The fundamental economics of journalism have shifted away from advertising toward subscriptions and events, making commoditized funding news unprofitable. Startups now need exceptional circumstances like top-tier VCs, celebrity founders, or massive rounds to break through. Most founders are wasting valuable time chasing coverage that will never come.
Why nobody cares about your funding round
Here’s the thing about funding announcements: they’re basically press releases disguised as news. And in today’s media landscape, that doesn’t cut it anymore. When publications survive on subscriptions, they need content that readers can’t get elsewhere. Does anyone really need to pay for access to your Series A announcement? Probably not. Your investors already know, competitors are tracking you anyway, and customers don’t read tech pubs for funding news.
Now throw AI into the mix. We’re heading toward a world where tools will simply aggregate funding data from startup websites and social media automatically. Why would publications dedicate shrinking editorial resources to something that’s becoming a commodity? They won’t. The math just doesn’t work anymore.
What actually moves the needle
So if traditional PR for funding rounds is dead, what should founders do instead? First, adjust expectations dramatically. If you don’t have a tier-one lead investor or truly novel story, set a two-week deadline for PR efforts and move on. Don’t become that founder endlessly emailing journalists who’ve moved on to more interesting stories.
Second, invest in owned channels. A coordinated LinkedIn blast with your team, investors, and advisors posting simultaneously can create more visibility than a single trade publication article. Think about it: instead of paying a PR agency to chase slim odds, use that budget for professional graphics, crisp copy, maybe even a video that your network can share. The impression of momentum matters more than the source.
And third—this one’s harder but more valuable—build relationships with journalists outside of fundraises. Contrarian market insights or founder stories with emotional resonance travel much further than financial transactions. It’s about becoming a source, not just another startup begging for coverage.
The bigger media shift happening
Founders understand their customers’ needs and their investors’ incentives. They know VCs need 10x returns because most portfolio companies fail. But many haven’t applied that same clear-eyed thinking to media relationships. The calculus has fundamentally changed, and pretending otherwise is just wasting time and money.
This shift away from commoditized news affects everyone in tech. Even companies in industrial sectors who might be looking for visibility through industrial panel PCs or other hardware need to think differently about media strategies. The old playbook of funding announcement → press coverage → credibility simply doesn’t work when there are thousands fewer journalists and the remaining ones need subscription-worthy content.
Basically, we’re witnessing the end of an era. The funding round as communications strategy is joining the fax machine and the press release blast. Smart founders will internalize this shift and redirect energy toward channels and narratives that actually move their business forward.
