Best of LinkedIn: Venture Capital CW 17/ 18

Venture capital over the period shows a market that is recovering in headline value, but not yet in breadth. Capital is flowing disproportionately into AI, deeptech, secondaries, and large funds, while founders face tougher diligence, clearer proof requirements, and sharper regional differences. The strongest signal is not “VC is back”, but that VC is becoming more concentrated, more data-driven, and more selective.

Date

May 7, 2026

Venture Capital

Methodology: Every two weeks we collect most relevant posts on LinkedIn for selected topics and create an overall summary only based on these posts. If you´re interested in the single posts behind, you can find them here: https://linktr.ee/thomasallgeyer. Have a great read!

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Market Momentum and Capital Concentration

Venture activity showed headline strength, but the market became increasingly top-heavy
Mega-deals and leading AI companies absorbed a disproportionate share of capital
Large funds captured most newly raised capital, while smaller funds remained structurally disadvantaged
LPs stayed cautious toward emerging managers due to diligence limits, career risk, and incumbent bias
Clear fund values became a stronger LP conversion lever by making allocation decisions easier to justify

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Founder Fundraising Playbook

Fundraising narratives became simpler, with round labels mattering less than capital use
Investors expected stronger proof, diligence readiness, and market-specific positioning
Pre-emptive data rooms became a competitive advantage for founders preparing new rounds
Customer-funded paths gained relevance where VC was not the right instrument
Fundraising was framed as a trade for speed and time, not as external validation

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AI, Vertical Software, and Venture Power Laws

Vertical AI emerged as the clearest software investment theme across specialist workflows
AI opportunities clustered around investment banking, legal, customer service, and revenue operations
The strongest AI moats moved beyond models toward proprietary data, workflow depth, and retention
Enterprise AI adoption shifted from experimentation to paid deployment
AI also started reshaping VC workflows, from pitch screening to portfolio and fund operations

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Europe, Scale-Up Capital, and Regional Competitiveness

Europe’s strategic issue was no longer startup formation, but scale-up capital
Public initiatives were viewed as positive, but insufficient without faster and larger private-market execution
Pension fund underallocation remained a structural constraint for European VC and climate financing
Germany showed strength in seed investing and AI robotics, but continued to face a severe gender funding gap
Poland’s VC market improved, while seed-to-Series A conversion remained a material bottleneck

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Deeptech, Climate, Defence, and Semiconductors

Deeptech moved from niche theme to structural allocation priority in European VC
AI, defence, security, resilience, and space attracted stronger investor attention
Semiconductor-focused capital gained visibility as hardware founders remained underserved by generalist VCs
Climate VC stayed active, but funding remained below the scale required for transition needs
In hard tech, capital was available, but top talent and credible execution became the scarce resources

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Sector Hotspots

Crypto VC showed renewed resilience despite broader volatility
Prediction markets and stablecoins were highlighted as key drivers of renewed crypto investor appetite
Gaming VC contracted overall, but specialist funds remained active in early-stage rounds
Saudi Arabia remained a key MENA VC market, with gaming becoming especially prominent
Cannabis, wellness, consumer goods, and retail themes showed selective but visible funding activity

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New Funds, Vehicles, and Strategic Capital

Earlybird’s new fund reinforced continued appetite for AI infrastructure and applied AI founders
BMW’s new corporate venture fund showed that strategic CVC remains active despite broader pullbacks
Peak XV’s Australian investments pointed to more cross-border APAC capital flows
Healthcare VC continued moving toward more specialized and hybrid private-equity-style structures
Fund differentiation increasingly depended on sourcing, media reach, platform support, and LP narrative clarity

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Products, Tools, and Knowledge Assets

HSBC Innovation Banking’s VC Term Sheet Guide stood out as a major transparency asset for UK venture
The guide highlighted AI, late-stage recovery, investor optimism, and the role of EIS and VCT funding
Harlem Capital’s VC syllabus offered a broad education resource across sourcing, diligence, valuation, and exits
The VC secondaries directory reflected the professionalization of private-market liquidity
SenseAI’s State of AI 2026 report provided a structured view of AI investment and enterprise adoption

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Liquidity, Exits, and Secondaries

Liquidity remained the central unresolved issue across venture capital
Secondaries increasingly acted as an alternative exit market while IPO recovery stayed uncertain
VC secondaries showed growing relevance as LPs looked for distributions outside public listings
Longer fund lifespans and slower distributions increased pressure for secondary sales
Exit strategy became less about IPO timing and more about portfolio liquidity management

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Diversity, Talent, and Founder Quality

The gender funding gap remained severe, especially for female-founded startups in Germany and Europe
Female founder visibility improved through awards and ecosystem initiatives, but capital allocation remained uneven
Warm introductions continued to matter strongly in funded VC deals
Founder quality was framed around mission, integrity, first-principles thinking, and resilience
The market rewarded founders who combined ambition with disciplined execution

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