# New PE/VC funds: week of 21–27 September 2026 > 19 new PE and VC funds were announced, with $11.0B in headline sizes. Bessemer and Siguler Guff made up 80% of it. Europe launched the most funds, and AI led the sectors. Newsletter · 1 October 2026 · by Giorgio Fenancio · https://privateequitylist.com/intelligence/new-funds-week-2026-09-28

Key takeaways

```chart type: stat 19 | new funds | 21–27 September 2026 $11.0B | total fund size | as announced $55M | typical fund | the median 7 | still raising | first or second close, or an anchor ``` ```chart type: column title: 19 new funds on week of 21–27 September 2026 17 Aug | 23 24 Aug | 23 31 Aug | 16 7 Sep | 21 14 Sep | 27 21 Sep | 19 source: Private Equity List database ``` ```chart type: pie title: Fund distribution by geography center: 19 funds North America | 6 Europe | 8 Asia | 5 source: Private Equity List database ``` ```chart type: line title: Share of new funds focused on AI, last 6 weeks suffix: % 17 Aug | 43.5 24 Aug | 56.5 31 Aug | 37.5 7 Sep | 28.6 14 Sep | 40.7 21 Sep | 42.1 source: Private Equity List database ``` ## North America: 6 funds, $9.0B - **[Bessemer Venture Partners](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/bessemer-venture-partners)** raised $5.75B: $1.75B for seed and early-stage startups and $4B for growth rounds, mostly in AI, SaaS and developer tools. - **[Siguler Guff](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/siguler-guff-united-states)** raised more than $3B for its small buyout strategy, including Small Buyout Opportunities Fund VI, the strategy's biggest raise yet. The money goes to small and lower-middle-market US companies. - **[Zero Infinity Partners](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/zero-infinity-partners)** closed Fund II at $156M, about 50% larger than its debut, to write seed and Series A cheques in infrastructure, energy and mobility. - **[Misumi Americas](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/misumi-americas)** launched Misumi Ventures, a $50M fund for seed and Series A startups in robotics, hardware and aerospace. Misumi Group is its only LP. - **[Captain Ventures](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/captain-ventures)** closed its $33M first fund. It never leads and plans 25–30 seed deals in B2B companies, at about $750K each. - **[Breed](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/breed)** closed Breed VC Fund II at $15M, with $250K–$750K cheques for pre-seed and seed founders in crypto and AI. ## Europe: 8 funds, $781M - **[DTCP](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/dtcp)** held a €455M ($500M) first close for DTCP Defence Fund I. Defence, cybersecurity and aerospace companies from Series B onwards get cheques of €10–30M. - **[Bramble Partners](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/bramble-partners)** held a first close for Fund I, which targets $127M, with Tesco as its anchor investor. Foodtech is the whole focus, from Series A to late stage. - **[Connect Ventures](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/connect-ventures)** reached a $55M first close for Fund V, on the way to $80M. The fund is for technical pre-seed founders across Europe in AI, robotics and biotech. - **[VORNvc](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/vornvc)** reached a €41M ($45M) second close towards a €50M target, investing from pre-seed to Series A in tech startups in North Rhine-Westphalia. - **[Educapital](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/educapital)** secured €20M ($22M) from the European Investment Fund for Educapital III and is still raising. Its target is edtech and future-of-work companies at seed to Series B. - **[Energy Revolution Ventures](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/energy-revolution-ventures)** held the first close of ERV Fund II, anchored by $13.5M from Centrica, towards a $50M target. Its seed and Series A cheques go to energy storage, grid tech and new materials. - **[NewSchool VC](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/newschool-vc)** closed NewSchool Fund I at €10M ($11M). Solo GP Christophe Morbee writes €100K–€500K pre-seed and seed cheques in B2B tech, SaaS and AI. - **[Project Ventures](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/project-ventures)** launched a $7.4M debut fund for pre-seed and seed deep tech and AI startups from Imperial College London; over 80% of its LPs are Imperial alumni. ## Asia: 5 funds, $1.2B - **[Kotak Alternate Asset Managers](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/kotak-alternate-asset-managers)** held the final close of its $522M Kotak Yield & Growth Fund, a real estate fund raised entirely from Indian investors. - **[Lakeshore Capital](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/lakeshore-capital)** closed Fund III at its $305M hard cap, oversubscribed against a $250M target. Late-stage consumer, business services and healthcare companies are its focus. - **[Carpediem Capital](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/carpediem-advisors)** plans Fund III with a $210M target, about three times its previous fund, which closed in 2023 at about $70M. It will back business services companies from Series A to late stage. - **[Unicorn India Ventures](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/unicorn-india-ventures)** and IIT Madras Research Park held a first close for IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I, which targets $120M. Seed cheques go to deep tech in defence, space, semiconductors and AI infrastructure. - **[Lavni Ventures](https://privateequitylist.com/investors/lavni-ventures)** reached its $24M target for Fund II, aimed at seed and Series A deep tech in health and climate. ## FAQ ### How many new PE and VC funds were announced 21–27 September 2026? 19 funds, with $11.0B in headline fund sizes converted to USD. Bessemer Venture Partners ($5.75 billion) and Siguler Guff (more than $3 billion) account for about 80% of that total. ### What was the largest new fund this week? Bessemer Venture Partners raised $5.75 billion: $1.75 billion for seed and early-stage investing and $4 billion for growth investments. ### Which of this week's new funds write pre-seed or seed checks? NewSchool VC (€100,000 to €500,000), Breed ($250,000 to $750,000), Captain Ventures (average $750k, never leads), Connect Ventures (pre-seed) and Project Ventures (pre-seed and seed) all focus on the earliest rounds. ### Which of these funds are still raising? DTCP, Connect Ventures, Energy Revolution Ventures, VORNvc, Bramble Partners, Unicorn India Ventures and Educapital announced a first or second close or an anchor commitment, so they are still raising. Carpediem Capital announced a $210m target for Fund III. ### Where does this data come from? From the Private Equity List fund tracker, which logs fund announcements from public news sources and links each fund to the investor's PEL profile. Sizes are shown as announced, in the original currency.