VC generalists are becoming the dinosaurs of investing. The VC landscape is shifting toward vertical specialization. We want to see more funds focused on supply chain, deeptech, govtech, space and ethics. 🏭 Supply Chain Funds - While generalists were funding another food delivery app, these folks were quietly rebuilding global logistics infrastructure that could finally tell you why your package is actually "out for delivery" for 3 days 🔬 Deeptech Investors - They're not just funding another AI image generator, but backing the engineers creating home robots that might actually fold your laundry instead of just creating more 🏛️ Govtech Specialists - Brave souls navigating procurement cycles longer than most venture fund lifespans, saving taxpayers billions and countless headaches by building digital services that don't look like they were designed in 1997 🚀 Space-Focused VCs - Not deterred by the minor detail that their investments might literally explode on launch day, because they're funding the companies that will build the first Mars colony while the rest of us are still arguing about pizza toppings 🧠 Ethics-Centered Funds - Backing startups creating fair insurance models that don't punish you for your zip code and proving you can make money without causing societal collapse, a truly revolutionary concept in some venture circles Turns out actually understanding the industry you invest in is somehow advantageous. Who could have predicted this shocking development? Which vertical specializations do you think will deliver the strongest returns in the next decade? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Anna Radulovski
7mo
This is equal parts hilarious and spot-on. In interviews from the Chief in Tech Book, many founders shared how the most impactful investors weren’t just writing checks they were bringing deep understanding, industry context, and true partnership to the table. The future of VC is definitely fluent not just in capital, but in consequences, complexity, and category expertise. Specialization isn't just smarter, it’s how we build things that actually last, solve real problems, and move entire sectors forward. Personally? I'm watching ethics-centered funds and space tech closely. Both require courage, vision, and a willingness to bet on transformative systems, not just shiny features.
Come on Adeo Ressi… you know you can also be a specialized generalist. That’s what you do at FI and what we do at 500. Being a specialist in inception (FI) or a specialist in growth (500) also turns out to be an advange for our portfolios. This said… I’m with you on the advantage of being a vertical investor. The doomsday of generalist accelerators has been coming from decades… and it turns out the leading ones for the last 2 decades are still around. If you’re good at that you do, there’s room for returns for both generalist and vertical thesis. You just gotta do it right.
I think one that may be missed here is “Waste-Innovation” — I want to see more companies make something from garbage and scale that to profits!!! Waste and perceived waste is one of the biggest problems in the world with no tangible scalable solutions in sight for now!
🤔 Steve Jennis
7mo
Why won’t LPs hire the vertical specialists themselves and use AI agents to help them pick and manage portcos? No need for VCs so save the 2&20. Change is certainly coming but I don’t think most VCs yet see the big picture (i.e. their existential threat)
Gov tech for sure. Every municipality is going to want to update processes and slow/lagging websites now that they’ve gotten the go ahead with ChatGPT gov, etc. there’s more ambition and implicit “yes” to buy ai products and services faster than procurement can say no….t this quarter
Founder & CEO @ DueDash | AI Transformation Leader | Partnering with Enterprises & Investors to Eliminate Inefficiencies & Accelerate Growth
7moThe shift to vertical specialization is not just about returns — it’s about risk comprehension. Generalists skate across the surface of conviction, but vertical specialists understand second- and third-order effects. That’s what creates real allocation confidence, especially for LPs navigating uncertain macro. What’s missing is infrastructure — not just for founders, but for the GPs themselves. Sourcing, diligence, and reporting still operate like it’s 2009. If we’re serious about backing domain-specific funds, we need data platforms and standardization to match. We’ve seen on our side at DueDash how specialist investors use structured data rooms to assess with more precision and speed — especially in spaces like deeptech, where surface-level metrics don’t cut it. Specialization without operational excellence is just spray-and-pray with a niche label. This isn’t just a trend. It’s an institutional shift. The GPs who build for that will win the next LP wave.