The 2026 VC Benchmark Report: what the data says

Affinity analyzed platform data from close to 3,000 venture firms to benchmark how they source, network, and build the relationships behind their deals. Here's what the data shows.

While most benchmarks tell you how much a firm does, the ones in this report tell you what a firm does with what it has. Volume metrics like email traffic barely move between the busiest firms and the quietest, but the relationship work underneath moves a lot.

Download the 2026 VC Benchmark Report here.

How much of its network does the typical VC firm use?

Start with the number that separates firms from each other more than any other: network activation, which is the share of a firm's tracked relationships that turn into an introduction. While the median venture firm activates 38% of its network, the bottom quarter activates under 21%, and the top quarter clears 63%.

For most firms, well over half the network never produces a single warm intro. The names are captured and the relationships exist, yet they sit unused. Since turning a dormant connection into a live introduction is the actual work of relationship-driven investing, activation is where the best firms distance themselves.

How concentrated is a VC firm's relationship capital?

One person holds a median 29% of a firm's strong relationships, and the top three people hold 65%.

If your most-connected partner leaves, roughly a third of the firm's relationship capital can walk out the door with them. This is the metric most firms have never quantified, because relationship strength lives in individual inboxes and individual memories until something forces a reckoning. Concentration simply reflects how senior dealmakers accumulate trust over years. But a firm that can’t see its concentration can’t plan around it.

How many introductions does a VC firm make each month?

The median venture firm makes 20 introductions per user per month. The spread is the widest of any activity metric: the bottom quarter sits at 10, the top quarter at 36, which is a range of roughly 4x.

This is relationship work in motion, and it is where firms differ most. Two firms can email at nearly the same volume and produce introductions at four times the rate of each other. The difference is not effort. It is whether the network is organized well enough to know who to connect, and when.

How fast do VC firms grow their networks?

The median firm adds 37 new contacts per user per month. The bottom quarter adds fewer than 23, and the top quarter adds more than 64.

Growth pace matters, but only on one condition: the new names have to get used. A firm that adds contacts faster than it activates them is building a bigger archive, not a bigger advantage. Pair this number with your activation rate to see which one you actually are.

How much do VC firms email?

Emails per user is the most uniform benchmark in the entire dataset. The median firm runs 1,094 emails per user per month, and the top-quarter firm sends barely twice the per-user volume of the bottom quarter (750 to 1,580).

That tightness makes sense. Communication volume is a rhythm firms settle into, not a lever they pull to get ahead. If email traffic were the edge, the range would be wide. It isn't, so when a firm wants to know where it stands, email count is the least useful place to look. Network activation is the most useful.

See where your firm lands

The full 2026 VC Benchmark Report breaks down each metric across the entire distribution, with two-year quarterly trends, the per-metric guidance on where your firm sits, the methodology behind every figure, and the complete comparison against private equity.

See the full distributions, two-year trends, and how your firm compares. Download the 2026 VC Benchmark Report.

Frequently asked questions

What is network activation?

Network activation is the share of a firm's tracked relationships that convert into an introduction over a given period. The median VC firm activates 38% of its network; the top quarter clears 63%.

Which VC benchmark varies most between firms?

Introductions per user, which spread roughly 4x from the bottom quarter (10 per user per month) to the top (36). Network activation shows a similar spread. Email volume varies least.

How much relationship capital sits with one person at a VC firm?

A median 29% of a firm's strong relationships are held by a single person, and 65% by the top three, a concentration most firms have never measured.

How many firms are in the benchmark?

The 2026 VC Benchmark Report is drawn from platform data across nearly 3,000 venture firms.