The Short Answer
Rupert’s investor database covers more than 10,000 funds. 4,229 of them say they invest at Pre-Seed, Seed or Series A, and five findings stand out for founders raising now:
- “Seed fund” and “Series A fund” are mostly the same funds. 84% invest at both.
- Pre-seed is a real market. 923 funds invest there, and they are younger and more focused on AI than the rest.
- AI leads, but most funds are specialists. 37% list AI/ML; half list just one to three verticals.
- US capital is concentrated. California, New York and Massachusetts hold 58% of US early-stage funds.
- Borders matter less than founders think. About half of early-stage funds list a geography beyond their home country.
-
4,229
Funds active at Pre-Seed, Seed or Series A
-
84%
Of them invest at both Seed and Series A
-
923
Invest at pre-seed; 72% were founded since 2015
-
49%
List a geography beyond their home country
Source: Rupert investor database, November 2026. How the figures were built is explained in the methodology at the end.
1. Early Stage Is Most of the Market
Of the 7,672 equity funds mapped in Rupert’s database, 4,229 (55%) say they invest at Pre-Seed, Seed or Series A. Most are venture capital firms, but not all:
| Early-stage funds by investor type | Funds |
|---|---|
| Venture capital firms | 3,836 |
| Private equity firms with an early-stage mandate | 276 |
| Organized angel groups | 80 |
| Family offices | 37 |
| Total | 4,229 |
Beyond these, the database holds 2,500 debt-only funds (1,950 of them in the US, most of the rest in Europe), which are industry-agnostic and relevant when a raise includes debt. And among the early-stage equity funds, 91% invest in equity only.
What it means for founders: the investors who could fund your round are not the ten famous names. They are thousands of funds, most of them smaller and more focused.
“There is an entire broad universe of investors out there for you. The job is to tap into it.” — Dori Fussmann, founder of Rupert
2. “Seed Fund” and “Series A Fund” Are Mostly the Same Funds
| Stage pattern among early-stage funds | Share |
|---|---|
| Invest at both Seed and Series A | 84% |
| Invest at Seed but not Series A | 3% |
| Invest at Series A but not Seed or Pre-Seed | 13% |
| Invest at Pre-Seed (usually alongside Seed and Series A) | 22% |
| Stop at Series A (no Series B or later listed) | 58% |
| Also invest at Series B | 42% |
The stage label tells you little. Almost every fund that does Seed also does Series A, and the majority stop there: they are early-stage specialists, not multi-stage giants with an early-stage desk. What separates them is whether they lead, how much they write and how early they’re willing to go. Filter on those, not on the word “Seed” in a fund’s description.
3. Pre-Seed Is a Real Market, Run by Newer Funds
923 funds say they invest at pre-seed: 22% of early-stage funds. They’re a different crowd from the rest:
| Pre-Seed funds | Seed funds | Series A funds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| List AI/ML as a focus | 52% | 39% | 36% |
| List fintech | 42% | 33% | 31% |
| List healthtech | 25% | 21% | 20% |
And they’re younger: 72% of pre-seed funds were founded since 2015, against 48% of early-stage funds that don’t do pre-seed. The earlier the stage, the newer the fund and the stronger its tilt toward the sectors with the most momentum.
“If you think you’re too early, you’re wrong. A lot of funds do pre-seed. With a strong team, a real market, a clear product vision and conviction, you can earn those meetings.” — Dori Fussmann
4. AI Leads, but Most Funds Are Specialists
| Most-listed verticals among early-stage funds | Share of funds |
|---|---|
| AI/ML | 37% |
| Fintech | 31% |
| SaaS | 30% |
| Healthtech | 20% |
| Life sciences | 19% |
| Cybersecurity | 13% |
| Infrastructure | 13% |
| Deep tech | 10% |
| Marketplaces | 10% |
| Climate tech | 9% |
Most funds are focused: 49% list one to three verticals, 31% list four to nine, and only 2% list ten or more. Another 18% list no vertical at all and behave as generalists. For founders, a fund that lists your vertical among a handful is a much stronger signal than one that lists everything.
5. US Capital Is Concentrated in Three States
About half of early-stage funds (2,166) are headquartered in the US, and 27% (1,122) in Europe. Within the US:
| US state | Early-stage funds |
|---|---|
| California | 756 |
| New York | 355 |
| Massachusetts | 152 |
| Texas | 101 |
| Florida | 83 |
| Illinois | 81 |
| Colorado | 52 |
California, New York and Massachusetts hold 58% of US early-stage funds. Outside the US, the countries with the most early-stage funds are the UK (298), Germany (190), Canada (145), Israel (126), China (101), Japan (99) and India (90). For the Bay Area in detail, see our guide to Silicon Valley VC firms.
6. Borders Matter Less Than Founders Think
About half of early-stage funds (49%) list at least one geography beyond their home country, and so do about one in three US early-stage funds (32%). A founder in Toronto, London or Tel Aviv with a real fit for a US fund’s thesis is not ruled out by location, and the same is true in reverse.
“Everybody wants to tap into good investments, regardless of where. You wouldn’t pass on a good Japanese fund, and a smart Japanese fund won’t pass on a good investment opportunity.” — Dori Fussmann
Practical caveats still apply: some funds prefer companies they can reach easily, and US-led rounds often expect a US entity. Check where a fund’s recent investments are based before writing it off, or assuming it’s a fit.
7. A Young Industry
53% of early-stage funds were founded since 2015, and 22% since 2020. Only 11% predate 2000. Many of the investors most likely to back an early-stage company today are emerging managers on their first or second fund, with a strong incentive to find the next breakout company before the established firms do.
What This Means for Founders
- Widen the list before you narrow it. The universe is thousands of funds, not ten. Start broad, then filter hard for fit.
- Filter on behavior, not labels. Stage words overlap; look at whether a fund leads, its check size and its recent deals.
- Don’t wait to be “ready enough” for pre-seed. Hundreds of funds invest there, and they skew toward newer managers looking for momentum.
- Favor specialists. A fund that lists your vertical among a few is a better target than a generalist.
- Look beyond your own country, while checking each fund’s actual investing footprint.
Rupert uses this database to build each client’s investor list: funds that fit the stage, sector and geography, the investors behind the client’s funded competitors, and the funds that most resemble them. See how the database works and how Rupert runs outreach.
Methodology
- Source: Rupert’s investor database as of November 2026: 7,672 equity funds from a licensed data provider, mapped to Rupert’s stage, sector (29 industries, 34 verticals) and geography categories, plus 2,500 debt-only funds held separately. Funds added by Rupert through its own research are not included in these figures.
- Self-described: stages, sectors and geographies are what each fund says it invests in, not an analysis of its actual deals.
- Early-stage means the fund lists Pre-Seed, Seed or Series A among its stages. Percentages in sections 2 to 7 are shares of the 4,229 early-stage funds unless stated otherwise.
- Geography is by headquarters. “Beyond the home country” means the fund lists at least one country or region other than its home country.
- No firm names are published; all figures are aggregates.
- How to cite: “Rupert, Early-Stage Investor Report 2026, heyrupert.com.”
Where Things Stand
In November 2026 the early-stage investor market is broad but specialized: more than 4,200 funds say they invest at Pre-Seed to Series A, most of them do both Seed and Series A, and the newest of them cluster at pre-seed and in AI. With the path from seed to Series A lengthening for many companies, per Crunchbase, the founders best placed are the ones who reach the right specialists, at home and abroad, rather than only the best-known firms.