Keep pulling the thread on Karri Saarinen.
Linear became "default alive" (able to sustain operations without new funding) two years after its founding.
Linear has not spent the capital it has raised and still holds it in the bank.
Linear has raised approximately $70 million to $80 million in total funding.
Most major AI companies are customers of Linear.
At the time of its Series A, Linear had approximately 5 employees and was generating just under $1 million in ARR.
At the time of its Series B, Linear had grown to 20 employees and was generating between $10 million and $15 million in ARR.
Linear did not participate in the Y Combinator accelerator program.
Sequoia led Linear's Seed and Series A funding rounds.
Accel led Linear's Series B and Series C funding rounds.
Linear decided to raise a Series B round partly to signal stability and trustworthiness to larger potential enterprise customers who were hesitant about a Series A company.
Karri Saarinen believes that raising capital at rapidly increasing valuations is detrimental to employees because it reduces the potential upside for future hires.
Karri Saarinen intentionally manages Linear's valuation during fundraising to preserve equity upside for employees.