Venture
Benchmark raises its first-ever growth fund as part of $2B capital haul
The legendary Silicon Valley VC firm abandons its more than 20-year tradition of keeping its funds to about $425 million.
Section
Venture
VCFundraisingDealsPrivate MarketsM&A
Venture
Defense tech is flooded with money, but who's built to last?
Watch as XYZ Venture Capital founder and early Anduril backer Ross Fubini joins Equity to discuss the defense tech boom and what separates the startups that win government contracts from those that don't.
Venture
Ross Fubini wrote Anduril’s first check. Here’s what he’s looking for in defense tech.
XYZ Venture Capital founder and managing partner Ross Fubini joins Equity to discuss the new wave of new startups is chasing government contracts, and what separates the survivors from the rest.
Venture
Zigging when most are zagging, ex-Meta CTO raises $250M climate fund
Mike Schroepfer's Gigascale Capital has raised a large fund to back founders building climate-friendly solutions for the world's energy and material shortages.
Venture
The groupthink boom: what 3 top VCs really think about the AI frenzy
"If you're 22 years old in San Francisco and building something in AI, there may be a seed term sheet in your inbox — but if you're 19, oh my God, this means you're really good; you might already have a Series A ," said one, half-kiddingly.
Venture
SoftBank says it will invest up to €75B to build French data centers
The goal, the firm said, is to develop and operate up to 5 gigawatts of additional data center capacity.
Venture
ClickHouse triples annualized revenue to $250M, charting a path toward an IPO
The database provider is eyeing a public debut within the next few years.
Venture
Convective Capital raises an $85 million fund to build disaster resilience
After launching to invest in fire tech, Convective is broadening its mandate to disaster resilience.
Venture
Theo Baker spent four years investigating Stanford. Before he leaves, here's what he found.
"There's a common refrain among people in this world that it's easier to raise money for a startup right now than to get an internship. Which is remarkable, right?"
Venture
For Eclipse, the $2.5B Cerebras win is just the start of realizing its physical-world thesis
Investing in the real world was lonely for Lior Susan 10 years ago. Now his firm finds itself at the center of the tech world's action.
Venture
General Catalyst posted VC rage bait and it worked, especially on a16z
Compulsive X user Marc Andreessen himself couldn't resist responding, many, many times.
Venture
Cerebras IPO makes billions for Benchmark but VC Eric Vishria almost didn't take the meeting
Benchmark almost never backs hardware startups. So Eric Vishria dragged his feet 10 years ago before agreeing to hear Cerebras' pitch.
Venture
Khosla Ventures is betting $10M on Ian Crosby, whose first startup, Bench, imploded
Crosby is building Synthetic, a fully autonomous AI bookkeeping service for other startups.
Venture
Kevin Hartz’s A* just closed its third fund with $450M
The firm takes a generalist approach, backing companies across categories such as AI applications, fintech, healthcare, and security. The average check size for this fund will be between $3 million and $5 million, with the aim to back at least 30 startups.
Venture
Anthropic warns investors against secondary platforms offering access to its shares
"Any sale or transfer of Anthropic stock, or any interest in Anthropic stock, offered by these firms is void and will not be recognized on our books and records," the company's support page reads.
Venture
Riding an AI rally, Robinhood preps second retail venture IPO
Robinhood files confidentially for its second venture fund, this time targeting growth and early-stage startups.
Venture
The hottest place for startups to strike a deal? The F1 paddock
F1 Grands Prix have emerged as a new place to see and be seen if you are a founder or investor.
Venture
Nvidia has already committed $40B to equity AI deals this year
Nvidia continues to be a big investor in the AI ecosystem.
Venture
Mother Ventures is looking at moms as the 'economic engine'
The VC firm, which focuses on mothers as consumers, raised a $10 million debut fund.
Venture
Last 24 hours to get 50% off a second pass to Disrupt 2026
Last day to buy one, and get a second pass at 50% off to Disrupt 2026. Bring a partner, co-founder, or colleague at half off. Register now.
Venture
2 days left: Get 50% off a second pass to Disrupt 2026
2 days left to save up to $410 on your pass, and get a second one at 50% off to Disrupt 2026. Offer ends May 8, 11:59 p.m. PT. Register here.
Venture
Kalshi doubles valuation in 5 months, hitting $22B
Prediction market startup Kalshi has raised a $1 billion Series F round led by Coatue.
Venture
Exhibit at Disrupt 2026 in front of 10,000 decision-makers
If startup visibility, traction, and real deals matter, you should be on the Disrupt 2026 exhibit floor. Get your exhibit table now.
Venture
Insurance startup Corgi hits $1.3B valuation 4 months after its Series A
Corgi announced on Wednesday a $160 million Series B, led by TCV, valuing the startup at $1.3 billion.
Venture
Robinhood's venture fund IPO attracted 150,000+ retail investors, CEO says
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says more than 150,000 retail investors joined the fintech’s new venture fund, which offers exposure to private tech companies like OpenAI, Stripe, Databricks, and Oura before they go public.
Venture
All your M&A questions will be answered at Disrupt 2026
Leaders from Coinbase, M13, and Mignano Law Group talk about how M&A is an early-stage strategy at Disrupt 2026. Register here to hear this live.
Venture
3 days left to lock in 50% off a second ticket to Disrupt 2026
Buy one Disrupt 2026 ticket, and get a second ticket at 50% off. Gain more visibility in the tech industry. Offer ends May 8, 11:59 p.m. PT.
Venture
As crypto cools, a16z crypto raises a $2.2B fund
As some of the biggest VCs in crypto start to consider funding AI startups, a16z crypto's new fund will stay the course.
Venture
ElevenLabs lists BlackRock, Jamie Foxx, and Eva Longoria as new investors
ElevenLabs reveals new investors, hits $500M ARR, and expands enterprise footprint as voice AI becomes a critical interface.
Venture
Get 50% off a second Disrupt 2026 pass to make more deals faster
Make more deals faster by bringing your +1 at 50% off to Disrupt 2026. Offer ends May 8. Register here.
Venture
Katie Haun raises $1B for new venture funds
Katie Haun announced on Monday that $1 billion has been raised across new funds to continue the firm’s thesis of backing crypto and blockchain startups.
Venture
5 days to get 50% off a second Disrupt 2026 pass
Buy one pass to Disrupt 2026 and get 50% off a second of the same ticket type until May 8. Save here.
Venture
Nicolas Sauvage is betting on the boring parts of AI
The portfolio he has assembled since 2019 is dotted with technologies that have become more widely interesting to VCs over the last year.
Venture
Musely secures $360M from General Catalyst without giving up equity
The DTC skin, hair, and menopause care brand will use the non-dilutive capital to super-charge customer acquisition.
Venture
Coatue has a plan to buy up land for data centers, possibly for Anthropic
Coatue, one of the biggest names in venture capital, has a new venture that is reportedly buying land near large power sources.
Venture
Sources: Anthropic potential $900B+ valuation round could happen within 2 weeks
Anthropic is asking investors to submit allocations for the AI company’s latest fundraise within the next 48 hours, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Venture
SpaceX backer 137 Ventures raises $700M for two growth-stage funds
VC firm 137 Ventures has raised over $700 million to back growth-stage startups. Its portfolio includes SpaceX, Anduril, Hadrian.
Venture
Sources: Anthropic could raise a new $50B round at a valuation of $900B
The maker of Claude has received multiple preemptive offers at valuations in the $850 billion to $900 billion range, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Venture
BMW i Ventures has a new $300M fund and AI is riding shotgun
BMW i Ventures is interested in startups working on agentic AI and physical AI, as well as industrial software, advanced materials, and manufacturing and supply chain technologies.
Venture
Exclusive: How one venture firm is investing in an increasingly fragmented world
Geopolitical turmoil has made venture investing challenging, leading Kompas VC to carve out a niche in startups focused on the physical world.
Venture
Bill Gurley, Jack Altman back startup Pursuit, which helps companies sell to government
On Wednesday, Pursuit announced a $22 million Series A round led by Mike Rosengarten, the co-founder of OpenGov, with big-name VCs participating.
Venture
To buy this Bay Area home, you’ll need Anthropic equity
Someone’s offering an unusual deal for a 13-acre property in Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco.
Venture
The Stanford freshmen who want to rule the world … will probably read this book and try even harder
Can a book like this actually change anything? Or does the spotlight, as it always seems to, send more students racing to the place?
Venture
The climate tech IPO window could finally be cracking open
Nuclear startup X-energy went public and geothermal startup Fervo is about to. Could this be the moment that climate tech investors have been waiting for?
Venture
India's Snabbit seeks fresh funding at a $400M valuation, sources say
Snabbit has scaled rapidly, crossing 1 million jobs in March, amid growing investor interest.
Venture
Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga joins stacked StrictlyVC SF lineup for April 30 event
Surprise! StrictlyVC San Francisco, which will kick off this year’s events lineup for on April 30 at the Sentro Filipino Cultural Center, is getting a new addition to its increasingly stacked lineup of speakers. Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga will join the rest of the lineup to discuss operating at scale in the age of AI.
Venture
ComfyUI hits $500M valuation as creators seek more control over AI-generated media
ComfyUI, whose tools give creators more control over AI image, video, and audio generation, just raised $30 million.
Venture
Bob Iger rejoins Thrive Capital as advisor after Disney exit
The former Disney CEO hold a stake in Thrive and has previously held the role of the venture partner at the firm.
Venture
Tim Cook is stepping down. What happens to Apple now?
Watch as ’s Equity podcast takes a closer look at Apple's new era, SpaceX's $60B option on Cursor, and more of the week's headlines.
Venture
Steve Ballmer blasts founder he backed who pleaded guilty to fraud: 'I was duped and feel silly'
Steve Ballmer wrote a fiery letter in the sentencing of disgraced founder Joseph Sanberg documenting all the harm that's befalling him as an investor.
Venture
The first StrictlyVC of 2026 kicks off in a week in San Francisco
StrictlyVC San Francisco is in just a week. Now’s the time to grab yourself a ticket. Join VCs and founders at Sentro Filipino on April 30.
Venture
Bret Taylor's Sierra buys YC-backed AI startup Fragment
Sierra, the AI customer service agent startup founded by technologist Bret Taylor, announced today that it has acquired the YC-backed French startup Fragment.
Venture
Fusion doesn't have a normal startup timeline, and investors are fine with that
DCVC general partner Rachel Slaybaugh joins Equity to break down why serious investors are finally treating fusion as a real asset class, and what the return thesis actually looks like when no one expects a power plant in their fund lifetime.
Venture
Esther and Anne Wojcicki back new healthcare accelerator, fund
Mary Minno launches early-stage startup accelerator program, Treehub, and an early-stage firm, AI Health Fund, aimed at backing startups working at the intersection of healthcare and AI.
Venture
The 12-month window
A lot of AI startups exist partly because the foundation models haven't expanded into their category yet. As many jokingly acknowledge, that won't last forever.
Venture
VC Ron Conway says he has a ‘rare form of cancer’
Conway wrote that he “will be stepping back from some of my usual activities,” but he will “continue to support” founders backed by his firm SV Angel.
Venture
New leaders, new fund: Sequoia has raised $7B to expand its AI bets
The fundraise is the first major capital raise under Sequoia's new leadership, with Alfred Lin and Pat Grady now serving as co-stewards of the 54-year-old firm.
Venture
Upscale AI in talks to raise at $2B valuation, says report
AI infrastructure company Upscale AI is reportedly in talks to raise its third funding round since launching just seven months ago.
Venture
Accel raises $5B to back late-stage bets
Accel announced on Tuesday that it raised $5 billion in fresh capital to back late-stage companies building AI.
Venture
Anthropic shrugs off VC funding offers valuing it at $800B+, for now
VCs are frothing at the mouth to write more checks to Anthropic at a valuation that matches or beats OpenAI's.
Venture
In just a couple weeks, StrictlyVC San Francisco brings leaders from TDK Ventures, Replit, and more together
The first StrictlyVC of the year will be coming to San Francisco before you know it. There are still a few tickets available to join us and our stacked speaker lineup April 30, so register today!
Venture
Financial risk management platform Pillar raises $20M seed in round led by a16z
Pillar hopes to offer sophisticated, institutional-grade tools to small and medium-sized enterprises. "Our goal is to make hedging as accessible and ubiquitous as payments or accounting software," he said.
Venture
Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch signals IPO readiness as AI agents fuel revenue surge
While many startups founded prior to the emergence of ChatGPT are struggling to position themselves for the AI era, Vercel, a 10-year-old dev tool and website hosting platform, is benefiting from the explosion of AI-generated apps and agents.
Venture
Nvidia-backed SiFive hits $3.65B valuation for open AI chips
The deal is interesting for a number of reasons, including that SiFive's chip designs are based on RISC-V, not x86 or ARM.
Venture
Final 24 hours: Save up to $500 on your Disrupt 2026 pass
Tonight is your last chance to lock in savings of up to $500 for your Disrupt 2026 pass. These discounts end at 11:59 p.m. PT. Register here.
Venture
Final 2 days to save up to $500 on your Disrupt 2026 ticket
Ticket discounts of up to $500 will end April 10 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Miss this, and you’ll be paying more for the same access. Register now for the savings.
Venture
Collide Capital raises $95M fund to back fintech, future-of-work startups
Collide Capital, founded by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, announced the close of a $95 million Fund II.
Venture
Final 3 days to save up to $500 on your Disrupt 2026 pass
Save up to $500 on your Disrupt 2026 pass until April 10, 11:59 p.m. PT. Secure your spot at the center of the tech ecosystem. Register here.
Venture
The AI gold rush is pulling private wealth into riskier, earlier bets
On a recent episode of Equity, we talked to Arena Private Wealth to explore a growing trend: family offices bypassing VCs to gain direct exposure to AI startups, turning them from passive investors into active participants.
Venture
VC Eclipse has a new $1.3B fund to back — and build — ‘physical AI’ startups
Eclipse will put some of that money towards incubating, or building startups.
Venture
4 days left to save close to $500 on Disrupt 2026 passes
4 days left to save up to $482 on your Disrupt 2026 pass. These low rates will disappear on April 10 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Register here.
Venture
OpenAI alums have been quietly investing from a new, potentially $100M fund
Zero Shot, a new venture capital fund with deep ties to OpenAI, is aiming to raise $100 million for its first fund. It has already written some checks.