Today we are excited to announce the closing of two new funds, bringing our total assets under management to nearly $16.5 billion. While many things in our industry have changed since we started the firm in 2009, closing these funds represents a continuation of our core strategy.
We continue to believe in:
- Software eating the world. We will continue to look for new verticals in which the application of software can create compelling investment opportunities.
- Investing in the best companies, regardless of stage. We have dedicated early-stage and growth funds, and collaborate closely among all of our investing teams, to ensure that we have the opportunity to invest in the most exciting businesses, from seed through later-stage growth investments.
- Investing heavily in network development. Approximately 100 of our 185 employees are dedicated to creating the deepest and broadest network among institutions and people who seek business relationships with our portfolio companies. These deep connections help our portfolio accelerate their own growth efforts.
- The power of entrepreneurship. We remain optimistic about the power of technology and the innovation that entrepreneurship brings to market. Ultimately, we seek to build a venture capital firm that respects the entrepreneurial process and that supports entrepreneurs in realizing their vision.
A little more on each of the funds we are announcing today:
- Fund VII – $1.3 billion. This is an early-stage fund to invest in consumer, enterprise, and financial services technologies. With eleven primary investing partners (across these three verticals), Fund VII will continue to invest in seed and early-stage venture rounds.
- Growth II – $3.2 billion. This is a later-stage fund that invests across all of the core a16z vertical domains: consumer, enterprise, financial technology, bio, and crypto. With three primary investing partners working in partnership with all of our early-stage investing partners, Growth II has the ability to back companies that already exist within other a16z early-stage funds and in companies with which we do not have an existing investment. Growth II looks for companies that have demonstrated product-market fit and are looking to expand their go-to-market footprint.
As always, we are grateful to the limited partners who have entrusted us with their capital and to the ingenuity of each of the entrepreneurs we’ve had the chance to work with over the past 11-and-a-half years. The future remains bright and we look forward to seeing new entrepreneurs make that future a reality.
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