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 2020
    High-Tech Gründerfonds backed Orbex at Series B
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 216 first cheques, 184 in DACH, 16 in Benelux & France.
    Source
  2. Dec 2020
    Kurma Partners backed Dnk at Seed
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 18 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
  3. Dec 2020
    MetaProp backed Dnk at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 21 first cheques, 20 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  4. Dec 2020
    New regionFirst deal in North America. Before: 24 first cheques, 23 in UK & Ireland, 1 in APAC.
    Source
  5. Dec 2020
    Sting backed Ed.Ai
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 77 first cheques, 62 in Nordics, 8 in DACH.
  6. Nov 19, 2020
    Casdin Capital backed Aphea.Bio at Series B
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 17 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 17 first cheques, 15 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  7. Nov 19, 2020
    Comcast Ventures backed ZATAP at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 94 first cheques, 82 in North America, 4 in UK & Ireland.
  8. Nov 18, 2020
    Valor Equity Partners backed K Health at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 23 first cheques, 20 in North America, 3 in Benelux & France.
    Source
  9. Nov 12, 2020
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 8 in Commerce & Marketing, 5 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  10. Nov 6, 2020
    HgCapital backed Eucon at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 8 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Finance & Blockchain.
  11. Nov 6, 2020
    Venrock backed Mable at Series A
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 27 first cheques, 21 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 5 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  12. Nov 5, 2020
    New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 22 first cheques, 20 in Southern Europe, 1 in North America.
    Source
  13. Nov 2020
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 16 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
  14. Nov 2020
    CapitalG backed Manbang at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  15. Nov 2020
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 15 first cheques, 14 in North America, 1 in MEA.
  16. Nov 2020
    Crosslink Capital backed RealBlocks at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 32 first cheques, 31 in North America, 1 in DACH.
    Source
  17. Nov 2020
    Next47 backed Zesty.co at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 18 first cheques, 16 in North America, 2 in DACH.
  18. Nov 2020
    New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in UK & Ireland, 3 in North America.
  19. Nov 2020
    Sorenson Ventures backed garden at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 20 first cheques, 17 in North America, 1 in APAC.
  20. Nov 2020
    Workday Ventures backed Northstar at Series A
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 11 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  21. Oct 28, 2020
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 29 first cheques, 20 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
  22. Oct 21, 2020
    New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 32 first cheques, 26 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  23. Oct 7, 2020
    Anthemis backed Hometree at Series A
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 24 first cheques, 16 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  24. Oct 2020
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 16 first cheques, 15 in APAC, 1 in North America.
  25. Oct 2020
    Base Ventures backed Armory at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  26. Oct 2020
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 7 in Energy, Environment & Mobility, 6 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  27. Oct 2020
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 18 first cheques, 16 in North America, 1 in Benelux & France.
  28. Oct 2020
    Forerunner Ventures backed Fabric at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 16 first cheques, 14 in North America, 1 in Nordics.
  29. Oct 2020
    Sapphire Ventures backed Medable at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 51 first cheques, 40 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  30. Oct 2020
    Sisu Ventures backed Thirdverse at Series A
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 13 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services, 1 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
    Source
  31. Oct 2020
    Storm Ventures backed Syte at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 33 first cheques, 27 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
  32. Sep 29, 2020
    Costanoa Ventures backed Coiled at Seed
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 14 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  33. Sep 10, 2020
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 20 first cheques, 18 in North America, 1 in MEA.
  34. Sep 2, 2020
    Upfront Ventures backed InfoSum at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 22 first cheques, 20 in North America, 1 in Benelux & France.
    Source
  35. Sep 2020
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 14 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 3 in Software & Developer Tools.
  36. Sep 2020
    Bullpen Capital backed BlueBoard at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 28 first cheques, 23 in North America, 4 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  37. Sep 2020
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 39 first cheques, 37 in DACH, 1 in North America.
  38. Sep 2020
    Initialized Capital backed Range at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 26 first cheques, 22 in North America, 2 in LATAM.
  39. Sep 2020
    Meritech Capital Partners backed Willow at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 25 first cheques, 18 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Finance & Blockchain.
  40. Sep 2020
    New regionFirst deal in LATAM. Before: 15 first cheques, 14 in North America, 1 in DACH.