Is the equity a company gives in Round A of VC funding different from other rounds (B, C, etc)?

The answer to your questions depends on what you mean. Are you talking about the type of instrument, the terms or the amount of equity? Basically, however, the answer is "yes" to all of the above. The typical series A round usually indicates early stage which means higher risk and the amount of equity required by investors will be higher with more onerous terms (typically defined by the preferences inherent in the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement). Later stage financing rounds can be common stock or vanilla preferred stock with few preferences. The preferences and terms are dictated by the level of risk that the investor perceives in the company, its products and management team. It is important for founders to understand all of the preferences and terms that are proposed by investors because they can cost you millions in an exit if you don't understand how they are applied in a "liquidation event" vs. an IPO, for example. Be sure to get good advisors before you sign the term sheet and listen to them!

In addition to above the A round is typically pre revenue, B is when you are about to launch and the funds are needed to fill out distribution channel, C is for growth once you have your product and distribution established. Also A rounds may not include VC's but B onward is where you raise institutional money. Terms of the subsequent rounds based on how well the company is doing. One last comment is that people get hung up on the Pre Money valuation. The real issue is the percent of the company sold for the money being raised along with the size of your option pool. Once you know these three things the pre money valuation is a fall out.

Preferred stock is the vehicle used for VC investment. Alpha designations typically reflect serial rounds, though there are occassions that companies raise using A1, A2 for example. With that being said, rights afforded each round are negotiated and provide most favorable terms to that round's investors. If it is an identical group of the same investors before, there may not be any changes. However, most times there are. Its typcially liquidity preferences of who gets paid first and how much that is the area of focus. As mentioned above, there are many resoruces that give general information on what are the most common preferred rights requested and these fluctuate some with market dynamics. Some law firms track VC investments and the rights provided on a quarterly basis. Ask the law firm you are dealing with and they should be able to provide you with some expectations for the round you are raising. As Peter mentioned, it is very important to make sure you have a relatively "market" deal, as any unusual terms may prevent the Company from raising money in the future. Or at least severly limit the population of potential investors, which can significantly impair the valutation of the prospective round.

There can be significant differences and I concur with the other respondents that the things to watch for are liquidation preferences as well as other rights later stage investors may want. Keep in mind that every dollar of equity raised dilutes the founder's shares so be careful and prudent. Another thing to consider is having everyone's interests aligned when you want to exit. If the liquidation preference is much sweeter for your Series B or C than it is for A, you may not get the consents you need for that critical decision. I would also recommend getting software to track your equity instead of relying on your attorney or spreadsheets. Modeling exit scenarios can be very tricky with added preferences or conversion rights and trust me, your investors will rely on you and your representation of the captable for their decision making.