Research
Research that helps make sense of venture capital.
Explore our work on fund performance, capital flows and allocation policy, alongside questions about technology and the wider venture ecosystem.
State of the Emerging Manager, Q3 2026
Who is raising new venture funds, how large, where, and at which fund number, plus what limited partners have published about returns. One report for GPs raising a fund and LPs backing emerging managers, with the Emerging Manager Class of 2026 market map. Published every quarter.
Dr. Itzel Moncada · Dr. Mariela Salas
The Architecture of Returns: Why Emerging Venture Capital Managers Are More Risk-Efficient
How do emerging and established funds compare when we look beyond headline returns? White Paper II finds higher average scores for emerging funds on two constructed risk-efficiency measures, including TVPI relative to the median for the same vintage. Read the preview for the comparison, definitions and limits.
Dr. Itzel Moncada · Dr. Mariela Salas
Why Emerging Venture Capital Managers Matter: Rethinking Institutional Portfolio Construction
Emerging funds had higher average performance in a historical sample of 2,471 U.S. venture funds. White Paper I examines how these funds differ and what the findings mean for screens based on firm age, fund sequence and assets under management.
Dr. Itzel Moncada · Dr. Mariela Salas
What actually makes a VC manager emerging?
How the Institute defines emerging managers, why the definition includes several routes into the category, and what changes when a screen uses a different definition.
What emerging manager exclusion costs, and what you can do about it
Introduces the two self-assessment diagnostics published with White Paper I, one for allocators and one for managers.
LP Diagnostic and GP Diagnostic
The two free self-assessment tools published with White Paper I. About fifteen minutes each, no account required.
Research principles
How we decide what to publish.
Useful beyond the paper
We connect the findings to questions that managers, allocators and policymakers face, while making clear where interpretation begins.
Clear about the method
Assumptions, definitions, and limitations are stated in the body, beside the finding they qualify.
Independent perspective
We describe systems and incentives, never individual firms or people.
Ready to use and cite
We publish what others can apply on their own, including the diagnostics and the full exhibit set.