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. May 2026
    Companisto backed Path8 at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 110 first cheques, 95 in DACH, 6 in North America.
  2. May 2026
    Element Ventures backed Alta Voice at Seed
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 9 in Finance & Blockchain, 5 in Software & Developer Tools.
  3. May 2026
    New regionFirst deal in North America. Before: 17 first cheques, 17 in Nordics.
  4. May 2026
    JME Ventures backed Tolemy Bio at Pre-seed
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 27 first cheques, 22 in Southern Europe, 2 in North America.
    Source
  5. May 2026
    Prudence backed Fifth Dimension at Series A
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Commerce & Marketing.
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 15 first cheques, 12 in North America, 1 in Benelux & France.
    Source
  6. May 2026
    Prudence backed Fifth Dimension AI at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 15 first cheques, 12 in North America, 1 in Benelux & France.
    Source
  7. May 2026
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Energy, Environment & Mobility.
    Source
  8. May 2026
    SAIC backed Clean Watch at Series B
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in North America, 1 in APAC.
  9. Apr 30, 2026
    Begin Capital backed All3 at Seed
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 29 first cheques, 19 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Commerce & Marketing.
    Source
  10. Apr 30, 2026
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 26 first cheques, 19 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  11. Apr 26, 2026
    GMO Venture Partners backed Canary (Real Estate Services (B2C)) at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 12 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
  12. Apr 23, 2026
    Drysdale Ventures backed Sillage at Pre-seed
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  13. Apr 22, 2026
    Banneker Partners backed ResFrac at Series A
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  14. Apr 20, 2026
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 21 first cheques, 17 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
  15. Apr 15, 2026
    Spicehaus Partners backed CookieYes at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 27 first cheques, 23 in DACH, 3 in North America.
  16. Apr 15, 2026
    The Trendlines Group backed CookieYes at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 14 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 5 in Industry & Hardware.
  17. Apr 15, 2026
    Third Rock Ventures backed Terremotto at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 48 first cheques, 40 in North America, 4 in APAC.
  18. Apr 9, 2026
    Cadenza backed OhAPI at Series A
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 14 in Finance & Blockchain, 1 in Industry & Hardware.
  19. Apr 2, 2026
    Ph backed Soma Energy at Seed
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 9 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 3 in Software & Developer Tools.
  20. Apr 2026
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 14 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
  21. Apr 2026
    ABS Capital Partners backed HSP Group at Series B
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 25 first cheques, 24 in North America, 1 in LATAM.
    Source
  22. Apr 2026
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 30 first cheques, 23 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
  23. Apr 2026
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in Benelux & France, 2 in DACH.
    Source
  24. Apr 2026
    Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 44 entries with a sourced stage, 17 at Series C+, 16 at Series A.
  25. Apr 2026
    DOEN Ventures backed Foamlab at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 7 in Energy, Environment & Mobility, 5 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
    Source
  26. Apr 2026
    Gimic Ventures backed Phone 4 at Series B
    New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 24 first cheques, 22 in DACH, 1 in Benelux & France.
  27. Apr 2026
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 23 first cheques, 19 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  28. Apr 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 17 first cheques, 15 in Benelux & France, 1 in North America.
  29. Apr 2026
    IvyCap Ventures backed TraqCheck at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 22 first cheques, 19 in APAC, 2 in North America.
    Source
  30. Apr 2026
    Kurma Partners backed Alveus
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 75 first cheques, 57 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 10 in Software & Developer Tools.
  31. Apr 2026
    Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 16 entries with a sourced stage, 7 at Series C+, 6 at Series A.
    Source
  32. Apr 2026
    PayU backed map at Series B
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 13 in Finance & Blockchain, 3 in Software & Developer Tools.
  33. Apr 2026
    Phoenix Venture Partners backed GAGA at Pre-seed
    Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 18 entries with a sourced stage, 10 at Series A, 7 at Series B.
  34. Apr 2026
    Super Angels backed OTee at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 23 first cheques, 19 in DACH, 1 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  35. Apr 2026
    Tapestry backed Delivery at Series B
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  36. Mar 30, 2026
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 47 first cheques, 38 in UK & Ireland, 3 in North America.
  37. Mar 24, 2026
    PeakSpan Capital backed Lula at Series A
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 53 first cheques, 36 in Software & Developer Tools, 8 in Finance & Blockchain.
  38. Mar 23, 2026
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 50 first cheques, 42 in APAC, 6 in North America.
    Source
  39. Mar 17, 2026
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 16 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  40. Mar 13, 2026
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 15 first cheques, 12 in North America, 1 in DACH.