Menlo Ventures has successfully secured $1.35 billion in fresh capital, earmarking a portion of it to bolster the emerging wave of AI startups, as declared by the venture firm in its latest announcement. Demonstrating a robust optimism for the future of artificial intelligence, the firm highlighted previous support for ventures such as Abnormal, Anthropic, Cleanlab, Pinecone, and Typeface.
Menlo Ventures Partner Venky Ganesan conveyed in an email statement, “While not every investment has to be AI-centric, we believe the most thrilling innovations will emerge from this realm.” Ganesan added that as AI evolves, there will be an increasing reliance on AI-powered tools to enhance speed, intelligence, and overall effectiveness in various domains. The novelty of AI is expected to transform into a routine and anticipated collaborator throughout daily operations.
With the new capital injection, Menlo Ventures has now amassed over $3.8 billion across eight fund groups, disbursing $5.2 billion to its limited partners (LPs). The funds will be allocated through Menlo XVI, the firm’s flagship venture fund concentrating on seed to Series A stages, Menlo Inflection III, focusing on Series B and beyond, and affiliated funds.
Menlo Ventures, recognized for early investments in companies like Uber and Warby Parker, reported raising $761.4 million for its third “special opportunities” fund in July 2022. The firm closed on Fund XV, a $500 million raise, in October 2020, currently managing $5.6 billion.
Having witnessed 80 portfolio companies exit over the years, with 15 going public, Menlo’s notable exits include Getaround, Carbonite, Gilead, Roku, and Rover. The firm also highlighted its contributions to 24 unicorn startups across enterprise, consumer, and healthcare sectors, with 65 portfolio companies being acquired, including StrataCam (acquired by Cisco), Tenor (acquired by Google), and PillPack (acquired by Amazon).
Recent investments by Menlo Ventures encompass leading Finch’s $40 million Series B and Sana Labs’ $34 million funding round. The firm remains diverse in its investment focus, spanning healthcare/digital health, consumer, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, fintech, SaaS startups, and the burgeoning field of AI.
Menlo Ventures is part of a trend where several venture firms are raising funds exceeding $1 billion. In October, Greylock Partners announced two initiatives: a $1 billion early-stage fund (its 17th) and Greylock Edge, a program supporting founders in developing ideas into companies with early revenue and product market fit.
