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. 2021
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 49 first cheques, 45 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Software & Developer Tools.
  2. 2021
    Ibex Investors backed Bluedot at Series B
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
  3. 2021
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 23 first cheques, 18 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
  4. 2021
    Longitude Capital backed Rivus at Series A
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 35 first cheques, 33 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  5. 2021
    Makers Fund backed Zenith at Series A
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 23 first cheques, 18 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services, 5 in Software & Developer Tools.
  6. 2021
    Medicxi Ventures backed Rivus at Series A
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  7. 2021
    NexTech Invest backed Profound at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 24 first cheques, 24 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  8. 2021
    One Peak Partners backed Habito at Series B
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  9. 2021
    PayPal Ventures backed Paxos Health at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 8 in Finance & Blockchain, 7 in Software & Developer Tools.
  10. 2021
    Perceptive Advisors backed OnKure at Series B
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 68 first cheques, 61 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  11. 2021
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  12. 2021
    RA Capital Management backed Interius at Series A
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 71 first cheques, 59 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 9 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  13. 2021
    Raine backed Cyrus Biotechnology at Series B
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 36 first cheques, 19 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services, 11 in Software & Developer Tools.
  14. 2021
    Rally Ventures backed Influ2 at Series A
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 19 first cheques, 16 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  15. 2021
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 19 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Software & Developer Tools.
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 20 first cheques, 17 in North America, 2 in DACH.
  16. 2021
    Ribbit Capital backed QuintoAndar at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 18 in Finance & Blockchain, 5 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  17. 2021
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
  18. 2021
    SaaS Capital backed EveryoneSocial at Series A
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  19. 2021
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 18 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  20. 2021
    Samsara Ventures backed OnKure at Series B
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 18 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  21. 2021
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 9 in Energy, Environment & Mobility, 4 in Commerce & Marketing.
    Source
  22. 2021
    Shell Ventures backed Detect at Series B
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 9 in Energy, Environment & Mobility, 4 in Commerce & Marketing.
  23. 2021
    Tesi backed Finnforel at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 9 in Industry & Hardware.
  24. 2021
    Tesi backed Singapore Airlines at Pre-seed
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 9 in Industry & Hardware.
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 22 first cheques, 20 in Nordics, 1 in North America.
  25. 2021
    Valar Ventures backed Simpl.Rent at Series B
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 21 first cheques, 12 in Finance & Blockchain, 5 in Software & Developer Tools.
  26. 2021
    Versant Ventures backed Genomatica at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 19 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Software & Developer Tools.
  27. 2021
    Vertex Ventures backed Licious at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  28. 2021
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 33 first cheques, 21 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 8 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  29. Dec 24, 2020
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  30. Dec 16, 2020
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 48 first cheques, 45 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Industry & Hardware.
  31. Dec 16, 2020
    Redmile backed Neuron Inc at Series B
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 19 first cheques, 19 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    New regionFirst deal in LATAM. Before: 19 first cheques, 17 in North America, 2 in DACH.
  32. Dec 2020
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Industry & Hardware.
  33. Dec 2020
    Kurma Partners backed Dnk at Seed
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 18 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
  34. Nov 19, 2020
    Casdin Capital backed Aphea.Bio at Series B
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 17 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 17 first cheques, 15 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  35. Nov 12, 2020
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 8 in Commerce & Marketing, 5 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  36. Nov 6, 2020
    HgCapital backed Eucon at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 8 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Finance & Blockchain.
  37. Nov 6, 2020
    Venrock backed Mable at Series A
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 27 first cheques, 21 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 5 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  38. Nov 2020
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 16 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
  39. Nov 2020
    CapitalG backed Manbang at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  40. Nov 2020
    Workday Ventures backed Northstar at Series A
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source