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
New sectorNew regionEarlier stage
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.
- Sep 2023Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 72 entries with a sourced stage, 29 at Series A, 22 at Series B.
- Sep 2023New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 37 first cheques, 24 in Finance & Blockchain, 7 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Sep 2023SourceNew regionFirst deal in LATAM. Before: 22 first cheques, 18 in Nordics, 1 in North America.
- Sep 2023
- Aug 30, 2023New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 38 first cheques, 33 in Nordics, 5 in North America.
- Aug 29, 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 56 first cheques, 38 in Software & Developer Tools, 9 in Finance & Blockchain.
- Aug 17, 2023New regionFirst deal in CEE. Before: 18 first cheques, 16 in DACH, 2 in North America.
- Aug 16, 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Commerce & Marketing.
- Aug 2, 2023New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 43 first cheques, 39 in North America, 2 in MEA.
- Aug 2023
- Aug 2023New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 36 first cheques, 26 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Finance & Blockchain.
- Aug 2023New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 14 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Commerce & Marketing.
- Aug 2023New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 28 first cheques, 16 in Energy, Environment & Mobility, 7 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Aug 2023New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Artificial Intelligence & Data.
- Aug 2023New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 28 first cheques, 14 in Software & Developer Tools, 9 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
- Aug 2023SourceNew regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 27 first cheques, 22 in North America, 2 in MEA.
- Aug 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 31 first cheques, 29 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Industry & Hardware.
- Aug 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 37 first cheques, 33 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Industry & Hardware.
- Aug 2023New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 43 first cheques, 29 in Software & Developer Tools, 7 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
- Jul 18, 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Commerce & Marketing.
- Jul 17, 2023New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 44 first cheques, 43 in UK & Ireland, 1 in DACH.
- Jul 17, 2023New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 21 first cheques, 19 in North America, 1 in Benelux & France.
- Jul 17, 2023New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 23 first cheques, 16 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Jul 17, 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 7 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Finance & Blockchain.
- Jul 2023New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 21 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
- Jul 2023SourceNew regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 30 first cheques, 25 in North America, 2 in LATAM.
- Jul 2023New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 52 first cheques, 43 in APAC, 7 in North America.
- Jul 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 37 first cheques, 25 in Finance & Blockchain, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Jul 2023New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 44 first cheques, 41 in DACH, 2 in Benelux & France.
- Jul 2023New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Finance & Blockchain, 3 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
- Jul 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 26 first cheques, 16 in Software & Developer Tools, 8 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
- Jul 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Artificial Intelligence & Data.
- Jul 2023New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 18 first cheques, 16 in North America, 1 in APAC.
- Jun 27, 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 14 in Energy, Environment & Mobility, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
- Jun 23, 2023SourceNew regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 26 first cheques, 22 in North America, 2 in MEA.
- Jun 20, 2023New regionFirst deal in LATAM. Before: 35 first cheques, 28 in UK & Ireland, 3 in Benelux & France.
- Jun 14, 2023SourceNew regionFirst deal in LATAM. Before: 26 first cheques, 22 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
- Jun 7, 2023SourceNew regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 24 first cheques, 22 in DACH, 1 in North America.
- Jun 2023SourceNew sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 12 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Jun 2023New regionFirst deal in North America. Before: 27 first cheques, 23 in Benelux & France, 2 in DACH.