# Early-Stage Investors in 2026: What 10,000 Funds Invest In Original data on 10,000+ funds: who invests at Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A, in which sectors and countries, and what it means for founders raising now. Canonical: https://www.heyrupert.com/articles/early-stage-investor-report/ Published: 2026-11-03 Author: [Dori Fussmann](https://www.heyrupert.com/about/#dori-fussmann) ## 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: 1. **"Seed fund" and "Series A fund" are mostly the same funds.** 84% invest at both. 2. **Pre-seed is a real market.** 923 funds invest there, and they are younger and more focused on AI than the rest. 3. **AI leads, but most funds are specialists.** 37% list AI/ML; half list just one to three verticals. 4. **US capital is concentrated.** California, New York and Massachusetts hold 58% of US early-stage funds. 5. **Borders matter less than founders think.** About half of early-stage funds 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](/articles/biggest-venture-capital-firms-in-silicon-valley/). --- ## 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 1. **Widen the list before you narrow it.** The universe is thousands of funds, not ten. Start broad, then filter hard for fit. 2. **Filter on behavior, not labels.** Stage words overlap; look at whether a fund leads, its check size and its recent deals. 3. **Don't wait to be "ready enough" for pre-seed.** Hundreds of funds invest there, and they skew toward newer managers looking for momentum. 4. **Favor specialists.** A fund that lists your vertical among a few is a better target than a generalist. 5. **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](/database/) and [how Rupert runs outreach](/how-it-works/). --- ## 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](https://news.crunchbase.com/seed/data-bigger-deals-longer-seriesa-2026/), the founders best placed are the ones who reach the right specialists, at home and abroad, rather than only the best-known firms. ## Key Takeaways - 4,229 funds in Rupert's database invest at Pre-Seed, Seed or Series A; 84% of them do both Seed and Series A, and 58% stop at Series A. - 923 funds invest at pre-seed; 72% were founded since 2015, and 52% list AI/ML. - AI/ML (37%), fintech (31%) and SaaS (30%) lead, but half of funds list only one to three verticals. - California, New York and Massachusetts hold 58% of US early-stage funds. - About half of early-stage funds, and one in three US ones, list geographies beyond their home country. ## FAQ ### How many venture funds invest at pre-seed? In Rupert's database of more than 10,000 funds, 923 say they invest at pre-seed: 22% of the 4,229 funds active at Pre-Seed, Seed or Series A. Pre-seed funds skew young (72% were founded since 2015) and lean toward AI (52% list AI/ML as a focus). ### Do seed funds also invest at Series A? Mostly, yes. 84% of early-stage funds in Rupert's database say they invest at both Seed and Series A, and only 3% invest at Seed without Series A. What separates funds in practice is whether they lead, their check size and how early they'll go, not a Seed or Series A label. ### Which sectors do early-stage investors focus on in 2026? AI/ML leads, listed by 37% of early-stage funds, followed by fintech (31%), SaaS (30%), healthtech (20%) and life sciences (19%). Most funds are specialists: half list one to three verticals and only 2% list ten or more. ### Where are early-stage investors based? About half (2,166 of 4,229) are headquartered in the US and 27% in Europe. Within the US, California, New York and Massachusetts hold 58% of early-stage funds, followed by Texas and Florida. Outside the US, the UK, Germany, Canada and Israel have the most. ### Do early-stage funds invest outside their home country? Often. About half of early-stage funds in Rupert's database list at least one geography beyond their home country, and so do about one in three US early-stage funds. Fit with a fund's thesis matters more than where the company is based. ## Sources - [Crunchbase: seed deals and the longer road to Series A](https://news.crunchbase.com/seed/data-bigger-deals-longer-seriesa-2026/) - [Carta: VC fundraising benchmarks 2026](https://carta.com/data/linkedin-vc-fundraising-benchmarks-2026/) - [NVCA Yearbook](https://nvca.org/nvca-yearbook/)