---
title: "VC Fund Performance: Q1 2026 | Carta"
url: https://stacklist.com/card/f70a0d62-3cd9-41f1-9c45-127569c9ddf2
source_url: "https://carta.com/data/vc-fund-performance-q1-2026/"
stack: https://stacklist.com/c/finance/stack/6cfa7d26-7afc-4b86-9353-055a269e0deb
summary: "Carta's Q1 2026 VC fund performance report shows median net TVPI climbing for nearly every recent vintage over the past six quarters, reversing the post-2022 valuation reset. Despite rising unrealized valuations, realized returns (DPI) remain scarce, with less than 20% of 2017–2018 vintage funds reaching 1x DPI and most 2019–2020 funds barely returning any capital to LPs."
tags: "venture-capital, fund-performance, tvpi, dpi, fundraising, valuations, carta"
key_entities: "Carta (organization), Peter Walker (person), Kevin Dowd (person), TVPI (concept), DPI (concept), IRR (concept), venture capital fund performance (concept), Q1 2026 (event)"
classification: "analysis"
content_hash: "sha256:3d06a0a7d8351306081fb2028f937d7dbc68af0d393f5fe8a374ee2d0a51272c"
acp_version: "0.2"
token_counts_approximate: 2007
visibility: public
agent_accessible: true
status: "final"
---

# VC Fund Performance: Q1 2026 | Carta

VC Fund Performance: Q1 2026 Authors : Peter Walker, Kevin Dowd | Read time: 4 minutes Published date: June 4, 2026 Venture capital fund performance rebounded in Q1 2026: Carta funds raised $3.9B across 86 new funds, while TVPI climbed for nearly every recent vintage. Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share by Email Contents: Overview Contents VC Fund Performance: Q1 2026 Executive summary Q1 highlights Fund details Download the full report Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share by Email Subscribe Executive summary For venture fund managers, it was a promising start to the year. In Q1 2026, median net TVPI increased for nearly every recent vintage of VC funds tracked on Carta. On a slightly longer timeframe, the picture is even clearer: Over the past six quarters, median TVPIs have climbed steadily for every vintage from 2017 through 2024. This represents a welcome reversal for GPs. Three years ago, a troubling trend had started to emerge: After having skyrocketed in the previous several quarters, the median net TVPI for every vintage from 2017 through 2020 began to decline. In some cases—such as for the 2018 vintage—the drop-off was perilously steep. But from today’s vantage, it appears the VC market has turned the page. Recent declines in TVPI have come to an end, and a new phase of up and to the right has begun. The reasons for the initial downward momentum are no secret. TVPI measures the value of both the realized and unrealized assets held by a VC fund. During the early 2020s, when valuations across the startup universe were experiencing a phase of explosive growth, the value of the assets held by these recent vintages mostly went up. In 2022, the music stopped. A reset in valuations began. And in many cases, the valuations of assets held in VC funds from the late 2010s started to decline. The factors driving the recent reversal are also clear enough: Valuations have been rising once again. At most stages of VC fundraising, median valuations are significantly higher today than they were six quarters ago. At every stage, 90th percentile valuations have surged. As the value of assets goes up, the value of the funds that hold those assets go up, too. Yet this only tells half the story. And, for fund managers and their LPs, it’s the less important half. Unrealized valuations of VC-owned assets may be trending up. But realized gains—the deals that actually put cash in investors’ pockets—are still relatively few and far between. This is best demonstrated by the paucity of DPI that has been generated by most recent fund vintages. In each of the 2019 and 2020 vintages, for instance, median DPIs are still barely over zero, and less than half of all funds have begun to return any capital at all to their LPs. The 2017 and 2018 cohorts are the only recent vintages with much DPI to speak of, and even then, the return profiles remain relatively slight. Across those two vintages, less than 20% of funds have yet reached a 1x DPI, marking the point at which fund LPs start to earn a profit, rather than simply getting back the capital that they initially paid in. In the big picture, the latest data shows promising signs for the performance of recent VC funds. But the challenge for the investors managing those funds is clear. Eventually, they will need to convert the unrealized gains that these vehicles are experiencing into concrete returns, producing profits for themselves and their LPs that will allow the flywheel of venture capital fundraising to keep on spinning. Q1 highlights Top-decile IRRs top 20%: For every fund vintage from 2017 through 2024 (with the exception of 2021), the 90th percentile for net IRR is currently higher than 20%. In none of these vintages is the 75th percentile for IRR above 15.5%. At least among these funds, most of which are still being actively managed, only a small minority of vehicles are achieving the sorts of performance that many LPs expect. Fundraising starts strong in 2026: Investors on Carta raised $3.9 billion across 86 new venture funds in Q1, with the latter figure representing the most funds closed in any Q1 since 2022. The year is still young, but for now, 2026 is on pace for the most new funds and most cash raised in any full year since 2022. VC fundraising keeps getting more concentrated: About 57% of all cash raised by new funds on Carta in 2025 went to vehicles with at least $100 million in commitments. Eight years ago, that figure was just 31%. The majority of all funds closed are smaller than $25 million. But the few large funds that do close are gobbling up more and more of the total fundraising pie. Fund details This report is based on data from 2,775 venture funds on Carta closed from the start of 2017 through the end of Q1 2026. Combined, these funds raised about $119.3 billion in total capital. The bulk of these funds—about 89%—are smaller than $100 million in size. However, the majority of all capital in this sample—about 54%—resides in funds larger than $100 million. These contrasting figures demonstrate a baseline fact about venture capital fundraising: Small funds are far more common than large funds, but those relatively scarce large funds maintain an outsized degree of buying power. Investors on Carta closed 86 new VC funds during Q1 2026, marking the strongest start to a year for GP fundraising since 2022, when the post-pandemic bull market was still going strong. Total cash raised by new VC funds has ticked up steadily each of the past two years, and while it’s still early, 2026 is on pace to continue the trend. These funds closed in Q1 have already deployed about 28% of their committed capital, with the other 72% remaining as dry powder. The 2025 vintage of funds, meanwhile, has already invested about 35% of its capital. Recently closed VC funds typically aren’t wasting any time in putting their capital to work. Download the full report Author: Peter Walker Peter Walker runs the Insights team at Carta, focused on discovering key data and narratives across the private capital ecosystem. In a former life, he was a marketing executive for a media analytics startup and led the data visualization team at the Covid Tracking Project. Author: Kevin Dowd Kevin Dowd is a senior writer covering the private markets. Prior to joining Carta, he reported on venture capital and private equity at Forbes, where he wrote the Deal Flow newsletter, and at PitchBook, where he wrote The Weekend Pitch. Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share by Email DISCLOSURE: This communication is on behalf of eShares, Inc. dba Carta, Inc. ("Carta"). This communication is for informational purposes only, and contains general information only. Carta is not, by means of this communication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business or interests. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business or interests, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. This communication is not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Carta does not assume any liability for reliance on the information provided herein. © 2026 Carta. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited. Related Content article Policymakers debate future of prediction markets, crypto, and frontier AI Plus, Peirce’s parting wisdom on the future of SEC regulation, and Carta Policy participates in U.S. Chamber’s Capital Markets Summit: The Future of American Capital. View article PE firms are busy buying up secondary investment firms. What does it mean for LPs? PE firms are acquiring secondary investment firms. Explore what this consolidation means for LPs, from potential conflicts to new deal opportunities. View article January 2026 Don't Sleep on Seattle Startups View Load more