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. 2026
    BlackRock backed Zown at Pre-seed
    Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 60 entries with a sourced stage, 38 at Series C+, 15 at Series B.
  2. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 17 first cheques, 15 in DACH, 1 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  3. 2026
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 43 first cheques, 41 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Software & Developer Tools.
  4. 2026
    Boston Seed Capital backed Founders at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 17 first cheques, 16 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  5. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 17 first cheques, 16 in UK & Ireland, 1 in MEA.
  6. 2026
    Broadhaven Ventures backed Pluo at Seed
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 8 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
  7. 2026
    Broadhaven Ventures backed Pluto at Seed
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 8 in Finance & Blockchain, 4 in Software & Developer Tools.
  8. 2026
    Better Ventures backed Brainjo at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 17 first cheques, 16 in DACH, 1 in North America.
    Source
  9. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in North America. Before: 29 first cheques, 25 in Nordics, 3 in CEE.
    Source
  10. 2026
    Cadenza backed Pangram at Seed
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 13 in Finance & Blockchain, 1 in Industry & Hardware.
    Source
  11. 2026
    Caffeinated Capital backed Nevion at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in Nordics. Before: 42 first cheques, 36 in North America, 3 in Benelux & France.
  12. 2026
    Calibrate Ventures backed Nflux at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in LATAM. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  13. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 51 first cheques, 41 in UK & Ireland, 6 in North America.
  14. 2026
    Canary backed Telepatia AI at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 56 first cheques, 46 in LATAM, 6 in North America.
    Source
  15. 2026
    Capria Ventures backed Flextock at Series A
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 8 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  16. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 17 first cheques, 17 in North America.
  17. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 27 first cheques, 25 in North America, 2 in Benelux & France.
  18. 2026
    CMT Digital backed Tbd X at Seed
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 32 first cheques, 20 in Finance & Blockchain, 8 in Software & Developer Tools.
  19. 2026
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 31 first cheques, 22 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 3 in Industry & Hardware.
  20. 2026
    Column Group backed nura at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 24 first cheques, 18 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 2 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  21. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 42 first cheques, 36 in North America, 2 in DACH.
  22. 2026
    Congruent Ventures backed Zenos at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in CEE. Before: 42 first cheques, 36 in North America, 2 in DACH.
  23. 2026
    Cyberstarts backed Glow (Glowlabs) at Series A
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 16 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Finance & Blockchain.
  24. 2026
    Decheng Capital backed Syniva at Series B
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 31 first cheques, 21 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
  25. 2026
    Decheng Capital backed Jland Biotech at Series B
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 31 first cheques, 21 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
  26. 2026
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 45 first cheques, 33 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Artificial Intelligence & Data.
  27. 2026
    Digital Future backed CreditFins at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  28. 2026
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Energy, Environment & Mobility.
  29. 2026
    EnBW New Ventures backed Hats Finance at Series A
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 22 first cheques, 12 in Software & Developer Tools, 6 in Energy, Environment & Mobility.
  30. 2026
    Euclidean Capital backed nura at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 18 first cheques, 15 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
    Source
  31. 2026
    FINTOP Capital backed Deale at Seed
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 34 first cheques, 22 in Finance & Blockchain, 10 in Software & Developer Tools.
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 33 first cheques, 27 in North America, 4 in UK & Ireland.
  32. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in CEE. Before: 24 first cheques, 21 in APAC, 3 in North America.
  33. 2026
    Flare backed Keebler at Series A
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 29 first cheques, 21 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 3 in Software & Developer Tools.
    Source
  34. 2026
    Flare backed Upside Capital Ltd at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 25 first cheques, 20 in North America, 3 in Benelux & France.
  35. 2026
    Flare backed Upsider at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 25 first cheques, 20 in North America, 3 in Benelux & France.
  36. 2026
    Flare backed Inneractive at Seed
    New sectorFirst Consumer, Lifestyle & Services cheque. Before: 29 first cheques, 21 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 3 in Software & Developer Tools.
  37. 2026
    Flare backed Logical Safety at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 25 first cheques, 20 in North America, 3 in Benelux & France.
  38. 2026
    Flare backed Current Health at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 25 first cheques, 20 in North America, 3 in Benelux & France.
  39. 2026
    Foresite Capital backed Pinnacle at Series B
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 39 first cheques, 34 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 3 in Software & Developer Tools.
  40. 2026
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 34 first cheques, 27 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Industry & Hardware.