Investor behaviour

VCs breaking their thesis

A focused fund's first cheque outside its own track record: a new sector, a new region, or an entry far earlier than usual. The thesis is what each fund's earlier first cheques show (15 or more, 80% inside the focus). Follow-ons never count. Each deal is checked against the round's sources, and a deal whose article lists other investors and not the fund is left out.
907
VCs broke their pattern since 2020
495
of them in 2025 and 2026
14%
of focused VCs investing in 2026 (283 of 2023)
884 / 1087 / 31
new sector / region / earlier stage
VCs breaking their pattern, per month
Jan 2020Oct 2026

843 breaks are rounds known only by their year. They count in the totals and the list, not in the monthly bars.

  1. Oct 14, 2026
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 15 in Energy, Environment & Mobility, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
  2. Oct 9, 2026
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 137 first cheques, 111 in North America, 11 in UK & Ireland.
  3. Oct 8, 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 23 first cheques, 19 in APAC, 3 in North America.
  4. Oct 2026
    New regionFirst deal in CEE. Before: 62 first cheques, 52 in North America, 6 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  5. Oct 2026
    Eiffel Investment Group backed Archeon Medical at Series A
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 8 in Energy, Environment & Mobility, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  6. Oct 2026
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 20 first cheques, 19 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  7. Oct 2026
    IVP backed Scuba at Pre-seed
    Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 120 entries with a sourced stage, 55 at Series C+, 39 at Series B.
    Source
  8. Oct 2026
    OpenOcean backed Ubitium at Seed
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 59 first cheques, 44 in Software & Developer Tools, 7 in Commerce & Marketing.
    Source
  9. Oct 2026
    Oregon Venture Fund backed UniSieve at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 23 first cheques, 19 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  10. Oct 2026
    Redwood Ventures backed GMI Cloud at Series B
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 16 first cheques, 13 in LATAM, 2 in North America.
    Source
  11. Oct 2026
    Restive backed Harbor at Seed
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  12. Sep 30, 2026
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 14 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  13. Sep 24, 2026
    LD Capital backed Konnex
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 13 in Finance & Blockchain, 5 in Software & Developer Tools.
  14. Sep 21, 2026
    N49P backed Thri5 at Seed
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  15. Sep 17, 2026
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  16. Sep 15, 2026
    Heavybit backed Antfly at Pre-seed
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 15 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  17. Sep 15, 2026
    Standard Investments backed The Observer
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 7 in Industry & Hardware, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
  18. Sep 6, 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in APAC, 1 in DACH.
    Source
  19. Sep 6, 2026
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  20. Sep 2026
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 16 first cheques, 13 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  21. Sep 2026
    Lunar Ventures backed Zenithon
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  22. Sep 2026
    Lunar Ventures backed Zenithon AI at Seed
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  23. Sep 2026
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 23 first cheques, 18 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Artificial Intelligence & Data.
    Source
  24. Sep 2026
    Surveyor Capital backed Enveda at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 38 first cheques, 33 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  25. Sep 2026
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 16 first cheques, 14 in Nordics, 1 in North America.
    Source
  26. Aug 21, 2026
    Xfund backed Onyx Odds at Series A
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 21 first cheques, 14 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  27. Aug 20, 2026
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 40 first cheques, 33 in North America, 3 in DACH.
  28. Aug 3, 2026
    Momenta Ventures backed OctaiPipe at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 9 in Industry & Hardware, 7 in Software & Developer Tools.
  29. Aug 2026
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  30. Aug 2026
    Otium Capital backed Food Escapes
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 30 first cheques, 25 in Benelux & France, 3 in Southern Europe.
  31. Aug 2026
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 16 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  32. Aug 2026
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 18 first cheques, 15 in North America, 2 in Benelux & France.
    Source
  33. Aug 2026
    Ten13 backed Vexev
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 8 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  34. Aug 2026
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 8 in Finance & Blockchain, 5 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  35. Jul 22, 2026
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 23 first cheques, 15 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  36. Jul 15, 2026
    Blu Ventures backed E3 Electric.Ai at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 23 first cheques, 19 in North America, 2 in DACH.
  37. Jul 10, 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 16 first cheques, 14 in North America, 1 in DACH.
  38. Jul 7, 2026
    Bankinter backed 8Layers at Pre-seed
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 19 first cheques, 18 in Southern Europe, 1 in North America.
    Source
  39. Jul 2, 2026
    Elephant Partners backed TJM Labs at Series B
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 19 first cheques, 15 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Finance & Blockchain.
  40. Jul 2026
    Mätch VC backed Letel at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 15 first cheques, 12 in DACH, 2 in North America.