A convertible security is any instrument that starts as debt or a contractual right and later converts into equity, the umbrella term covering both SAFEs and convertible notes.
The two share the same basic purpose, getting cash into the company now in exchange for equity later, at a valuation determined by a future event rather than negotiated on the spot. What differs is structure: a note is technically debt with an interest rate and maturity date, while a SAFE isn't debt at all and carries neither.
A cap table with a stack of different convertible securities, some SAFEs, some notes, each with its own cap and discount, is exactly the kind of complexity worth modeling carefully before a priced round, rather than assuming it will simply sort itself out at conversion.
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