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. Dec 15, 2021
    2AM Ventures backed Krave Mart at Pre-seed
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 23 first cheques, 15 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 19 entries with a sourced stage, 8 at Series A, 6 at Series B.
    Source
  2. Dec 2, 2021
    Luminar Ventures backed Carla at Series A
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 7 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  3. Dec 2021
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Industry & Hardware.
  4. Dec 2021
    JMI Equity backed ButterflyMX at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 41 first cheques, 29 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  5. Dec 2021
    OpenOcean backed Surglogs at Series A
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 40 first cheques, 33 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Commerce & Marketing.
    Source
  6. Dec 2021
    ParaFi Capital backed Figurement at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 14 in Finance & Blockchain, 3 in Software & Developer Tools.
  7. Nov 23, 2021
    Telstra Ventures backed Luma Health at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 14 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Finance & Blockchain.
  8. Nov 19, 2021
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 33 first cheques, 22 in Finance & Blockchain, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  9. Nov 16, 2021
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
    Source
  10. Nov 5, 2021
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 15 in Finance & Blockchain, 8 in Software & Developer Tools.
  11. Nov 2021
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 34 first cheques, 23 in Finance & Blockchain, 8 in Software & Developer Tools.
  12. Nov 2021
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 34 first cheques, 23 in Finance & Blockchain, 8 in Software & Developer Tools.
  13. Nov 2021
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 19 first cheques, 13 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services, 3 in Software & Developer Tools.
  14. Nov 2021
    Harmony Partners backed Gradle at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 17 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  15. Nov 2021
    HashKey Capital backed Neon Labs at Seed
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 11 in Finance & Blockchain, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
  16. Nov 2021
    Makers Fund backed AudioMob at Series A
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 36 first cheques, 28 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services, 7 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  17. Nov 2021
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 11 in Finance & Blockchain, 1 in Software & Developer Tools.
  18. Oct 19, 2021
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  19. Oct 15, 2021
    Athyrium backed TEAM Services Group at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 14 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Software & Developer Tools.
  20. Oct 2021
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 38 first cheques, 19 in Software & Developer Tools, 12 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 37 first cheques, 32 in North America, 3 in UK & Ireland.
  21. Oct 2021
    Accel-KKR backed Drip Shop Live at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 51 first cheques, 34 in Software & Developer Tools, 7 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  22. Oct 2021
    henQ backed Mulberry at Series B
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 23 first cheques, 14 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Commerce & Marketing.
  23. Oct 2021
    Tola Capital backed Bild at Seed
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
  24. Oct 2021
    Verizon Ventures backed Voom at Series B
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  25. Sep 28, 2021
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 26 first cheques, 24 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  26. Sep 2, 2021
    Cowboy Ventures backed Vic.ai at Series B
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
    Source
  27. Sep 2021
    Axeleo Ventures backed InUse at Series A
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 32 first cheques, 21 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Finance & Blockchain.
  28. Sep 2021
    Breega backed Ukio at Series A
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 27 first cheques, 14 in Software & Developer Tools, 10 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  29. Sep 2021
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 8 in Finance & Blockchain, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
  30. Sep 2021
    Golden Ventures backed EnPowered at Seed
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 8 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
    Source
  31. Sep 2021
    Learn Capital backed Landed at Series B
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 19 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  32. Sep 2021
    OpenView backed Paperless Parts at Series B
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 42 first cheques, 38 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  33. Aug 17, 2021
    Zeev Ventures backed Imubit at Series B
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  34. Aug 2021
    9Point Ventures backed Kinly at Series A
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 7 in Finance & Blockchain.
  35. Aug 2021
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  36. Jul 8, 2021
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 23 first cheques, 14 in Software & Developer Tools, 8 in Energy, Environment & Mobility.
  37. Jul 2021
    aMoon backed MOBILion Systems at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 19 first cheques, 18 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Artificial Intelligence & Data.
    Source
  38. Jul 2021
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 7 in Industry & Hardware, 6 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  39. Jul 2021
    Energy Impact Partners backed Measurabl at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 21 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 8 in Energy, Environment & Mobility.
    Source
  40. Jul 2021
    Five Elms Capital backed ShippyPro at Series A
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 38 first cheques, 30 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source