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IRR, TVPI, and DPI benchmarks for venture capital funds by vintage year — top quartile vs. median, sourced from Carta, PitchBook, and Cambridge Associates data.
| Vintage Year | Top Quartile TVPI | Median TVPI | Bottom Quartile TVPI | Maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3.8x+ | 2.1x | 1.2x | Mature (realized) |
| 2016 | 3.5x+ | 2.0x | 1.1x | Mature (realized) |
| 2017 | 3.2x+ | 1.9x | 1.0x | Mostly realized |
| 2018 | 3.0x+ | 1.8x | 0.9x | Late stage |
| 2019 | 2.8x+ | 1.6x | 0.8x | Mid-late stage |
| 2020 | 2.5x+ | 1.5x | 0.7x | Mid stage |
| 2021 | 1.8x+ | 1.1x | 0.6x | Early-mid (down round era) |
| 2022 | 1.4x+ | 0.9x | 0.5x | Early stage |
| Fund Size | Top Quartile Net IRR | Median Net IRR | DPI (Top Quartile) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro (< $50M) | 25–35% | 12–18% | 1.8–2.5x |
| Emerging ($50M–$150M) | 22–30% | 10–16% | 1.5–2.2x |
| Mid ($150M–$500M) | 20–28% | 9–14% | 1.3–2.0x |
| Large ($500M–$1B) | 18–25% | 8–13% | 1.2–1.8x |
| Mega ($1B+) | 15–22% | 7–12% | 1.0–1.6x |
The primary performance metric — total value of remaining portfolio plus distributions, divided by total capital called. Top-quartile funds targeting 3x+ TVPI by end of fund life. Median VC funds return 1.5–2.0x.
Cash actually returned to LPs divided by capital invested. DPI is the 'proof of concept' metric. Most funds don't hit meaningful DPI until years 7–10. Top-quartile 2015–2018 vintage funds show 1.5–2.5x DPI.
Internal rate of return after management fees and carry. The J-curve effect means early vintages show negative IRR before rebounding. Top-quartile net IRR historically runs 20–30%+ for mature funds.
Unrealized portfolio value divided by paid-in capital. High RVPI relative to peers signals either strong portfolio or slow realization. In the 2021–2023 markdown era, many funds saw RVPI compress by 20–40%.
VC funds typically show negative returns in years 1–3 (fees drag, no exits) before turning positive. A flat J-curve suggests a disciplined manager. Most institutional LPs expect breakeven by year 4–5.
Only ~30–35% of top-quartile VC funds repeat top-quartile performance in their next fund, per Cambridge Associates. Unlike PE, VC has weaker performance persistence — making manager selection harder than it looks.
A good TVPI for a mature VC fund (vintage 2015–2019) is 2.5x or higher. Top-quartile funds target 3x+ TVPI by end of fund life. The median VC fund returns 1.5–2.0x TVPI. Per Carta and Cambridge Associates, only about 25% of VC funds return 3x or more to LPs.
A good net IRR for a VC fund is 20%+ for top-quartile managers, and 10–15% for median funds. Net IRR accounts for management fees (typically 2% annually) and carry (20% of profits above hurdle). The relevant benchmark is the public market equivalent (PME) — most institutional LPs expect net IRR to exceed the S&P 500 PME by at least 300–500 basis points.
Most VC funds don't return meaningful DPI until years 7–10. The average time to first significant distribution is 6–8 years. Top-quartile funds from 2015–2018 vintage are now showing 1.5–2.5x DPI as exits have accelerated through IPOs, M&A, and secondary sales.
Vintage year has a huge impact on VC performance because it determines the market environment at deployment. The best VC vintages historically are 2009–2012 (post-GFC low entry prices) and 2015–2017 (pre-unicorn bubble). The 2021 vintage is widely expected to underperform — high entry prices and the subsequent down-round cycle have hurt unrealized marks significantly.
TVPI (Total Value to Paid-In) includes both realized distributions AND unrealized portfolio value. DPI (Distributions to Paid-In) only counts actual cash returned to LPs. TVPI can be inflated by unrealized paper gains. DPI is the definitive proof of returns — LPs increasingly weight DPI over TVPI, especially after 2021–2023 when many high-TVPI funds saw major markdowns.