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
    Scrum Ventures backed Seequent at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 15 first cheques, 14 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  2. 2026
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 31 first cheques, 24 in Software & Developer Tools, 2 in Industry & Hardware.
  3. 2026
    ServiceNow backed Genasys at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 17 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  4. 2026
    Shrug backed Project Six at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 16 first cheques, 13 in North America, 2 in Benelux & France.
  5. 2026
    Shrug backed Art Wind Sp. z o.o. at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in CEE. Before: 16 first cheques, 13 in North America, 2 in Benelux & France.
  6. 2026
    SixThirty backed Lama at Series A
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 11 in Finance & Blockchain, 6 in Software & Developer Tools.
  7. 2026
    SJF Ventures backed ZERO/3 at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in DACH. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  8. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 29 first cheques, 28 in Benelux & France, 1 in DACH.
  9. 2026
    Spectrum Equity backed ITA at Pre-seed
    Earlier stageFirst entry as early as Pre-seed. Before: 26 entries with a sourced stage, 13 at Series C+, 7 at Series B.
  10. 2026
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 18 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 5 in Finance & Blockchain.
  11. 2026
    Sumeru Equity Partners backed CENTA at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in APAC. Before: 19 first cheques, 16 in North America, 2 in UK & Ireland.
  12. 2026
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 27 first cheques, 22 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  13. 2026
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 27 first cheques, 22 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  14. 2026
    Tapestry backed Pulse at Seed
    New sectorFirst Healthcare & Life Sciences cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  15. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 130 first cheques, 127 in DACH, 2 in North America.
  16. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Southern Europe. Before: 130 first cheques, 127 in DACH, 2 in North America.
  17. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 130 first cheques, 127 in DACH, 2 in North America.
  18. 2026
    The Conduit Impact Fund backed Infyos at Series B
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in UK & Ireland, 1 in North America.
  19. 2026
    The Trendlines Group backed Agwa at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in North America. Before: 17 first cheques, 14 in MEA, 2 in APAC.
  20. 2026
    Threshold Ventures backed Hence at Seed
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 40 first cheques, 32 in North America, 3 in DACH.
  21. 2026
    New sectorFirst Energy, Environment & Mobility cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  22. 2026
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  23. 2026
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 10 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  24. 2026
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 50 first cheques, 33 in Software & Developer Tools, 8 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  25. 2026
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 277 first cheques, 257 in UK & Ireland, 10 in North America.
  26. 2026
    New sectorFirst Commerce & Marketing cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 9 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
    Source
  27. 2026
    Underline Ventures backed DELTA at Series A
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 15 first cheques, 9 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Consumer, Lifestyle & Services.
  28. 2026
    venBio backed Caldera at Series A
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 15 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Industry & Hardware.
  29. 2026
    venBio backed Therapy Brands at Series C+
    New sectorFirst Software & Developer Tools cheque. Before: 16 first cheques, 15 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 1 in Industry & Hardware.
  30. 2026
    Venture Stars backed Shelvz at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in MEA. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in DACH, 2 in North America.
  31. 2026
    Venture Stars backed Freshflow at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in DACH, 2 in North America.
    Source
  32. 2026
    Venture Stars backed Rgoods at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 15 first cheques, 13 in DACH, 2 in North America.
  33. 2026
    VIB backed Crop at Seed
    New sectorFirst Finance & Blockchain cheque. Before: 21 first cheques, 10 in Industry & Hardware, 7 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  34. 2026
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 17 first cheques, 16 in Software & Developer Tools, 1 in Commerce & Marketing.
  35. 2026
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 67 first cheques, 53 in Healthcare & Life Sciences, 7 in Software & Developer Tools.
  36. 2026
    Westwave Capital backed Antaris at Series B
    New sectorFirst Industry & Hardware cheque. Before: 33 first cheques, 25 in Software & Developer Tools, 4 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  37. 2026
    Work-Bench backed COURSIER.FR at Series C+
    New regionFirst deal in Benelux & France. Before: 21 first cheques, 17 in North America, 1 in UK & Ireland.
  38. 2026
    Workday Ventures backed CircuitMind at Series A
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 40 first cheques, 29 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Healthcare & Life Sciences.
  39. 2026
    New sectorFirst Artificial Intelligence & Data cheque. Before: 20 first cheques, 13 in Software & Developer Tools, 3 in Finance & Blockchain.
    Source
  40. 2026
    YourNest backed Imhotex Limited at Series A
    New regionFirst deal in UK & Ireland. Before: 23 first cheques, 21 in APAC, 1 in North America.