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.
- May 2026New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 110 first cheques, 95 in DACH, 6 in North America.
- May 2026New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 9 in Finance & Blockchain, 5 in Software & Developer Tools.
- May 2026New regionFirst deal in North America. Before: 17 first cheques, 17 in Nordics.
- May 2026SourceNew regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 27 first cheques, 22 in Southern Europe, 2 in North America.
- May 2026SourceNew 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.
- May 2026SourceNew regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 15 first cheques, 12 in North America, 1 in Benelux & France.
- May 2026SourceNew sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Energy, Environment & Mobility.
- May 2026New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in North America, 1 in APAC.
- Apr 30, 2026SourceNew sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 29 first cheques, 19 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Commerce & Marketing.
- Apr 30, 2026SourceNew sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 26 first cheques, 19 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Apr 26, 2026New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 12 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Apr 23, 2026SourceNew sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
- Apr 22, 2026New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
- Apr 20, 2026New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 21 first cheques, 17 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
- Apr 15, 2026New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 27 first cheques, 23 in DACH, 3 in North America.
- Apr 15, 2026New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 14 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 5 in Industry & Hardware.
- Apr 15, 2026New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 48 first cheques, 40 in North America, 4 in APAC.
- Apr 9, 2026New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 14 in Finance & Blockchain, 1 in Industry & Hardware.
- Apr 2, 2026New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 9 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 3 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Apr 2026
- Apr 2026SourceNew regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 25 first cheques, 24 in North America, 1 in LATAM.
- Apr 2026New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 30 first cheques, 23 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Apr 2026SourceNew regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in Benelux & France, 2 in DACH.
- Apr 2026Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 44 entries with a sourced stage, 17 at Series C+, 16 at Series A.
- Apr 2026SourceNew sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 7 in Energy, Environment & Mobility, 5 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
- Apr 2026New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 24 first cheques, 22 in DACH, 1 in Benelux & France.
- Apr 2026SourceNew regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 23 first cheques, 19 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
- Apr 2026New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 17 first cheques, 15 in Benelux & France, 1 in North America.
- Apr 2026SourceNew regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 22 first cheques, 19 in APAC, 2 in North America.
- Apr 2026New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 75 first cheques, 57 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 10 in Software & Developer Tools.
- Apr 2026SourceEarlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 16 entries with a sourced stage, 7 at Series C+, 6 at Series A.
- Apr 2026
- Apr 2026Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 18 entries with a sourced stage, 10 at Series A, 7 at Series B.
- Apr 2026SourceNew regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 23 first cheques, 19 in DACH, 1 in UK & Ireland.
- Apr 2026
- Mar 30, 2026New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 47 first cheques, 38 in UK & Ireland, 3 in North America.
- Mar 24, 2026New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 53 first cheques, 36 in Software & Developer Tools, 8 in Finance & Blockchain.
- Mar 23, 2026SourceNew regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 50 first cheques, 42 in APAC, 6 in North America.
- Mar 17, 2026SourceNew sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 16 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Finance & Blockchain.
- Mar 13, 2026New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 15 first cheques, 12 in North America, 1 in DACH.