Emerging VCs Spot 2x More Outlier Deals per Investment Than Megafunds, Dealroom Data Shows
adityaag · x · 2026-10-08
An analysis based on Dealroom data circulating in VC circles finds that emerging managers back more than twice as many outlier profiles per investment as megafunds. Pooling five EM portfolios significantly widens the range of investments, while the same doesn't hold for more homogeneous megafunds.
The argument: early-stage VC is built on discovery, and innovation relies on appetite for companies outside "legible" categories. Megafunds' revealed preference is to dominate existing categories rather than drive discovery, so the market will keep relying on small and emerging managers for it. VC adityaag shared the report in agreement, framing early-stage VC's role as backing non-consensus, poorly understood bets.
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