Data sourced from Dakota Private Markets, the private fund performance platform powered by Dakota. Learn More | Request Access
The median venture fund from the 2010 to 2021 vintages has returned a 10.50% net IRR, according to Dakota Private Markets performance benchmarks as of Q2 2026. Getting into the top quartile takes 16.96%. But vintage changes the picture: the oldest funds in the dataset have returned roughly three times what the newest have.
Venture returns vary widely from fund to fund, so a single number says little without context. This post lays out the benchmarks venture managers are measured against, how they shift by vintage, and what that means for managers raising capital.
The Data
The figures come from Dakota Private Markets venture capital performance benchmarks, vintages 2010 through 2021, as of Q2 2026.
The Benchmarks: What Top Quartile Takes
|
Metric
|
3rd Quartile
|
Median
|
1st Quartile
|
|
Net IRR
|
4.02%
|
10.50%
|
16.96%
|
|
TVPI
|
1.23x
|
1.60x
|
2.39x
|
|
DPI
|
0.29x
|
0.83x
|
1.39x
|
Source: Dakota Private Markets, venture capital benchmarks, vintages 2010 to 2021, as of Q2 2026.
The median fund has returned most of its paid-in capital in cash, with the rest of its value still unrealized. A top-quartile fund has returned all of it and more. For a manager in market, those two lines are the ones allocators will hold a track record against.
Benchmarks by Vintage
|
Vintage Cohort
|
Median Net IRR
|
Median TVPI
|
|
2010 to 2013
|
17.71%
|
2.70x
|
|
2014 to 2017
|
14.62%
|
2.15x
|
|
2018 to 2021
|
5.80%
|
1.30x
|
Source: Dakota Private Markets, venture capital benchmarks, as of Q2 2026.
The 2010 to 2013 funds have had time to exit their winners, and the numbers show it. Newer funds aren’t necessarily worse. Their marks simply haven’t converted to exits yet. That is why a raw comparison across vintages misleads: a fund should be judged against its vintage peers, not the whole market.
Top-Quartile Performance Doesn’t Always Repeat
Many managers with a first-quartile fund also have a later fund in the bottom half. Only a handful, have put together long runs of first-quartile funds. Allocators know this, and they underwrite the next fund, not the last one.
What This Means for Venture Managers Raising Capital
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Know your quartile before allocators do. Benchmark each fund against its vintage peers, not the whole market.
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Lead with DPI if you have it. The median fund has returned about 0.8x in cash. A track record with distributions above that line answers the question allocators ask first.
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Address the weaker fund head on. If a strong fund was followed by a weak one, allocators will find it. Explain what changed in the strategy, team or market before they ask.
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Show the multiple beside the IRR. An IRR without a TVPI invites skepticism, especially above 40%.
See Fund-Level Performance in Dakota Private Markets
Dakota Private Markets shows fund-level net IRR, TVPI, DPI and quartile rank by vintage, so you can see exactly where your funds and your peers’ funds stand.
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