Top VC funds, ranked | PitchBook News Summary

1. Key Themes

Track record is the currency that wins LPs, and rankings are getting more granular

PitchBook's new league tables break down manager performance by strategy, signaling that LPs are demanding more segmented, comparable performance data rather than blanket fund reputations.

"When it comes to wooing LPs, few qualities matter more than a solid track record."

Impact investing can deliver top-tier venture returns, not just feel-good capital

DBL Partners, an explicitly mission-driven "double bottom line" fund, topped the VC rankings — undercutting the notion that impact investing means sacrificing performance.

"Within VC, DBL Partners TIAB fund family tops our rankings with a score of 95.4... DBL Partners, whose name is an acronym of 'double bottom line,' is an impact investor that has backed several of Elon Musk's companies."

Female-founder-focused VC is scaling up and moving into deep tech

A wave of new funds dedicated to female founders is closing large rounds, and capital is increasingly flowing into hard-tech categories rather than traditional consumer/SaaS.

"Female-focused VC funds are piling up this year as women-founded startups pull in more capital." "Funding for female founders is increasingly leaning into deep-tech areas, such as semiconductors, robotics and quantum."

Private equity's liquidity crunch is creating a structural secondary market opportunity

Aging, unsold PE portfolios ("zombie funds") are forcing LPs to seek liquidity through secondaries, creating a growing, discount-priced asset class for buyers.

"Private equity funds are holding on to their assets longer than ever, leading to a rise in the number of so-called 'zombie funds'... roughly 40% of PE-backed companies in the US, representing more than $860 billion in net asset value, had been held for seven years or longer." "It also creates opportunities in the secondary market that LPs could exploit as sellers or buyers."

2. Contrarian Perspectives

Impact/values-aligned funds can outperform, not just satisfy mandates

The conventional wisdom is that impact-focused vehicles trade returns for mission alignment. The data contradicts this: DBL Partners' TIAB fund family posted the single best VC performance score in the entire league table.

"DBL Partners TIAB fund family tops our rankings with a score of 95.4."

"Zombie" doesn't mean broken — it means mispriced

Rather than viewing aging, unexited PE holdings as failures, the article frames them as a durable value opportunity for savvy secondary buyers, since the underlying companies are fine — just illiquid.

"These PE zombie funds are operational and solvent, but hold companies that lack a clear path to a timely exit and a targeted return." "Stakes in funds eight years or older are typically transacting at 35% to 45% discounts to their NAV."

3. Companies Identified

DBL Partners — Impact-focused VC firm ("double bottom line" investor). Mentioned as the top-ranked VC fund family in PitchBook's performance league tables and for backing several Elon Musk companies. "DBL Partners TIAB fund family tops our rankings with a score of 95.4."
G Squared — VC secondaries fund. Mentioned as the top-scoring VC secondaries fund in the league tables. "G Squared Fund scored best among VC secondaries funds."
Peakview Capital — Venture fund-of-funds. Mentioned as the top-ranked venture-focused fund-of-funds. "Peakview Capital was the top venture-focused fund-of-funds."
Auxxo — Berlin-based VC investor. Closed its second Female Catalyst Fund, one of the largest direct funds for female founders in Europe. "Auxxo closed its second Female Catalyst Fund at €33.3 million to back pre-seed and seed female-founded startups."
Arāya Ventures / Sie Ventures (Arāya Sie Fund) — Joint venture VC/accelerator partnership. Cited as part of the wave of new female-founder-focused vehicles. "Arāya Sie Fund... secured £7.5 million in its first close."
Bootstrap4F / Women Backing Women fund — Fund-of-funds created via UK's Invest in Women Taskforce. Notable for its large first-close size. "The Women Backing Women fund... raised £130 million in its first close."
Quobly — French quantum computing startup. Cited as an example of female-founder-linked deep-tech funding. "French quantum computing startup Quobly raised a €115 million Series A."
Theker — Barcelona-based AI robotics company. Cited as another deep-tech example of large female-founder-linked rounds. "Barcelona-based AI robotics company Theker secured an $85 million Series A."
Elm Capital — Placement agent and advisory firm. Cited as the source for secondary market pricing data on aging PE funds. "Hamza Khaldi, a principal at placement agent and advisory firm Elm Capital, said stakes in funds eight years or older are typically transacting at 35% to 45% discounts to their NAV."

4. People Identified

Hamza Khaldi — Principal at Elm Capital. Cited as the expert source on secondary market discount pricing for aging PE fund stakes. "Stakes in funds eight years or older are typically transacting at 35% to 45% discounts to their NAV. Less mature funds can trade close to par or even at a premium."
James Thorne — Senior Managing Editor, PitchBook. Author of the VC fund rankings piece.
Leah Hodgson — Deputy Editor, European Private Markets, PitchBook. Author of the female founders VC piece.
Jessica Hamlin — Senior Funds Columnist, PitchBook. Author of the PE zombie funds/secondary market piece.

5. Operating Insights

For fund managers/GPs raising capital: Segmented, strategy-specific performance benchmarking (not just overall fund reputation) is what differentiates managers to LPs now — get your numbers into recognized league tables.
For LPs and secondary buyers: Funds older than eight years are trading at steep discounts (35-45% off NAV); this is a systematic, repeatable opportunity as more PE portfolios age past their typical hold periods — worth building sourcing relationships with placement agents like Elm Capital.
For founders (especially female founders) in deep tech: Capital is actively flowing toward hard-tech categories (quantum, robotics, semiconductors) within the female-founder investing niche — a signal of where specialized capital pools are concentrating and where founders might find receptive, mission-aligned investors.

6. Overlooked Insights

The female-founder funding rebound is quantifiable and trackable in near-real time: "Deal value currently stands at €9.7 billion this year... almost reaching 2025's annual total," with 2026 "tracking to be the third-highest year for female founders" — suggesting the rebound is broad-based and accelerating, not just a few outlier mega-rounds.
The root cause of the secondary market's growth is a cash-flow mechanics problem, not just a sentiment issue: "private equity portfolios rely on distributions from mature assets to fund new capital calls, LPs who are not receiving the cash flow they had modeled are increasingly generating liquidity through secondary sales" — implying secondaries volume is structurally linked to exit-market conditions and will keep growing as long as exits stay slow.