Data sourced from Dakota Private Markets, the private fund performance platform powered by Dakota. Learn More | Request Access
Dakota Private Markets tracks performance on over 16,000+ funds across private equity, private credit, real assets, and real estate, giving investment firms the data and intelligence needed to benchmark managers, monitor vintage-year performance, and identify capital formation trends.
This post highlights the top performing 2020 vintage early stage venture capital funds in Dakota Private Markets' dataset, based on verified return reporting.
2020 Vintage Early Stage Venture Capital Funds
1. Mayfield XVI
Targets inception and early-stage investments in enterprise, consumer, and engineering biology companies, prioritizing founders at the earliest stages of product and customer development. The strategy reflects a people-first, craftsman approach to venture investing, with a small, dedicated group of investing partners who have each been founders themselves and work closely with a limited number of portfolio companies at any given time. The manager's long-tenured platform emphasizes measured fundraising cycles and focus across enterprise software, consumer technology, and life sciences.
2. FirstMark Capital V
Invests primarily at the seed and Series A stages in technology companies across the United States, Canada, and Europe, with a focus on enterprise software, artificial intelligence, consumer marketplaces, fintech, and gaming. The strategy is supported by a network-driven platform of exclusive executive communities that connect founders with top talent, customers, and technology leaders across the portfolio. The manager's close partnership approach with founders draws on deep New York-based venture roots and a track record of backing category-defining technology companies from their earliest stages.
3. Spark Capital VI
Pursues early-stage venture investments in software, consumer internet, and technology-enabled companies, applying a product-first, curiosity-driven approach that favors non-consensus opportunities over prevailing market trends. The strategy is executed by a close-knit team of dedicated venture investors who make a relatively small number of new investments each year, preferring hands-on partnership over volume-driven deployment. The manager's history of backing category-defining consumer and enterprise technology companies underpins a differentiated, conviction-based sourcing approach.
4. Accomplice Fortuity
Invests at the seed and early stages in technology startups across the United States, with a concentration in the New England ecosystem and particular focus on cybersecurity, data analytics, SMB software, emerging hardware platforms, and marketplaces. Formerly part of Atlas Venture before separating into an independent firm, the manager operates a federated venture model that combines direct fund investing with community-driven platforms designed to surface opportunities through an extended network of entrepreneurs, operators, and scouts. The firm's high-conviction, concentrated investment style and deep roots in the Boston-Cambridge startup community support a differentiated sourcing approach across consumer and enterprise technology.
5. DBL Partners TIAB 2020
Applies a "double bottom line" strategy that pairs top-tier venture capital return objectives with measurable social, environmental, and economic impact, investing across cleantech, sustainable products and services, information technology, and healthcare. The strategy targets mission-driven founders building companies where strong financial performance and positive impact are viewed as inherently connected, with active board-level engagement and support on responsible business practices. The manager's long history as a pioneer of impact-oriented venture investing supports a differentiated sourcing and value-creation approach across early and growth-stage opportunities.
Uncover Early Stage Venture Capital Market Intelligence with Dakota Private Markets
The funds highlighted here represent only a portion of the insights and data available through Dakota Private Markets' benchmarking platform. With comprehensive venture capital coverage, Dakota Private Markets enables investors to:
- Compare early stage venture capital vintages and fundraising cycles
- Evaluate GP strategy focus across sector, geography, and stage
- Analyze portfolio construction, manager pedigree, and fund series progression
- Make allocation decisions supported by institutional-grade performance data
Whether you are an LP building an early stage venture capital allocation or a GP benchmarking your strategy, Dakota Private Markets provides the transparency and analytical tools needed to navigate evolving private markets with confidence.
Request access to explore more top performing funds, compare strategies across vintages, and unlock the full power of Dakota Private Markets' fund performance intelligence.
