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. Apr 2022
    Arrington Capital backed Levana at Seed
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 29 first cheques, 17 in Finance & Blockchain, 7 in Software & Developer Tools.
  2. Apr 2022
    FinTech Collective backed Immo at Series B
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 21 first cheques, 14 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  3. Apr 2022
    Floodgate backed Loris at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 28 first cheques, 23 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
  4. Apr 2022
    MicroVentures backed Buddy at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in North America, 1 in Southern Europe.
  5. Apr 2022
    OCA Ventures backed Buddy at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 25 first cheques, 23 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
  6. Apr 2022
    Rockaway Ventures backed Spotawheel at Series B
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 16 first cheques, 13 in CEE, 2 in DACH.
    Source
  7. Apr 2022
    Thoma Bravo backed NextGen at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 22 first cheques, 18 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  8. Apr 2022
    Visionaries Club backed Choco at Series B
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 21 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  9. Mar 30, 2022
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 17 first cheques, 17 in Benelux & France.
  10. Mar 24, 2022
    Wintermute backed Archway at Seed
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 29 first cheques, 22 in Finance & Blockchain, 5 in Artificial Intelligence & Data.
    Source
  11. Mar 22, 2022
    Sabadell backed Livelink at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 20 first cheques, 18 in Southern Europe, 1 in Benelux & France.
    Source
  12. Mar 9, 2022
    Boldstart Ventures backed Upstream at Series A
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 29 first cheques, 22 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Finance & Blockchain.
  13. Mar 2022
    4Founders Capital backed Zerod at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in Southern Europe, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  14. Mar 2022
    E14 backed Videm at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 22 first cheques, 19 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  15. Mar 2022
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 63 first cheques, 54 in North America, 3 in UK & Ireland.
  16. Mar 2022
    Gilde Healthcare backed LUMICKS at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 27 first cheques, 21 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
  17. Mar 2022
    HubSpot backed Payhawk at Series B
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 21 first cheques, 19 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  18. Mar 2022
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 19 first cheques, 17 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  19. Mar 2022
    MetaProp backed Acasa at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in LATAM. Before: 42 first cheques, 35 in North America, 3 in APAC.
    Source
  20. Mar 2022
    Next47 backed Metadata.io at Series B
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 40 first cheques, 25 in Software & Developer Tools, 9 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  21. Mar 2022
    OrbiMed backed Harvest Ministries at Series A
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 127 first cheques, 106 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 9 in Software & Developer Tools.
  22. Mar 2022
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 18 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
  23. Mar 2022
    Quona Capital backed Sokowatch at Series B
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 45 first cheques, 26 in Finance & Blockchain, 11 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  24. Mar 2022
    RA Capital Management backed Lyra at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 132 first cheques, 114 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 11 in Software & Developer Tools.
  25. Mar 2022
    Ring Capital backed BLOK at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 16 first cheques, 13 in Benelux & France, 2 in North America.
  26. Mar 2022
    Spectrum Equity backed Customer360 at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 34 first cheques, 29 in North America, 2 in DACH.
  27. Mar 2022
    Vista Equity Partners backed Flash at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 47 first cheques, 40 in North America, 5 in UK & Ireland.
  28. Mar 2022
    Workday Ventures backed Sanctuary at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 27 first cheques, 20 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  29. Feb 28, 2022
    Hack VC backed BetDEX at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 20 first cheques, 17 in North America, 1 in Benelux & France.
    Source
  30. Feb 24, 2022
    Fabric VC backed Fabric at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 8 in Finance & Blockchain, 8 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  31. Feb 16, 2022
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 15 first cheques, 12 in Nordics, 1 in North America.
  32. Feb 4, 2022
    Lighthouse Ventures backed Workee at Pre-seed
    New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 35 first cheques, 29 in CEE, 2 in DACH.
    Source
  33. Feb 2022
    24 Haymarket backed Kelda at Pre-seed
    New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 31 first cheques, 25 in UK & Ireland, 2 in North America.
    Source
  34. Feb 2022
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 40 first cheques, 34 in North America, 2 in APAC.
  35. Feb 2022
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 10 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
  36. Feb 2022
    Daphni backed Starton at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 30 first cheques, 24 in Benelux & France, 3 in North America.
    Source
  37. Feb 2022
    Framework Ventures backed Brahma at Seed
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 7 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Finance & Blockchain.
  38. Feb 2022
    Hiinova Capital backed InterCloud at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Commerce & Marketing.
  39. Feb 2022
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 12 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services, 9 in Software & Developer Tools.
  40. Feb 2022
    Presto Ventures backed Intiaro at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in North America. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in CEE, 1 in DACH.