"The median seed deal is now $1.6 million, according to Pitchbook, up from about $500,000 five years ago. That's more in line with what big venture firms used to invest."

Cost of living, office space, employees (due to the cost of living) has to be a factor here. Maybe $500k was viable a few years ago in the Bay Area, but imagine these days a company NEEDS a larger seed round in order to get to a viable state.