Venture firms’ push into AI continues to gain momentum, with Menlo Ventures announcing that has raised $1.35 billion in fresh capital to invest in tech companies “leading the AI transformation.”
Menlo joins a growing list of firms and large tech companies that have raised dedicated AI funds or have unveiled AI strategies:
- Earlier this month, IBM said it had launched a $500 million venture fund “to invest in a range of AI companies – from early-stage to hyper-growth start-ups.”
- In October, Sound Ventures, a firm co-founded by actor Ashton Kutcher and music manager Guy Oseary, disclosed that it had raised another $26 million for its Sound Ventures AI Fund, boosting the total to $265.8 million.
- Also last month, Greycroft, which in April raised more than $1 billion for new early-stage and growth funds, told its LPs that it would refocus its core strategy around AI start-ups, Axios reported.
- In July, Mayfield unveiled a dedicated vehicle called AI Start, supporting it with $250 million from its existing funds and hiring a new partner with deep AI investing experience.
Menlo said in a statement that the newly raised capital will go to its flagship venture fund Menlo XVI, Menlo Inflection III and affiliated funds, “with a mandate to invest in promising technology companies leading the AI transformation.”
“With this $1.35 billion in new capital, we’re making a commitment to support the forthcoming generation of AI start-ups,” said Menlo partner Venky Ganesan. “Focusing on AI, we will continue on our mission to identify outlier companies before they are obvious, to back and build category leaders, and to support them as they grow.”
Menlo partner Shawn Carolan added, “The entire tech sector is buzzing with excitement for what’s to come. AI will introduce entirely new categories of products and supercharge existing ones.”
Founded in 1976, Menlo Ventures has $5.8 billion in assets under management. It targets the consumer, enterprise and healthcare sectors and made early-stage investments in Uber, Roku and Siri.
