The latest
Firms including Spark Capital, Gigafund and Greenoaks are rewriting venture-capital rules by making large, repeated investments in more mature private companies, rather than relying mainly on early-stage bets, as they capitalize on the AI boom and a wave of expected listings.
Details
• The new model: Funds are backing companies later and continuing to invest for years instead of entering early and exiting quickly through an IPO.
• Anthropic bet: Yasmin Razavi led Spark’s $75 million investment in 2023, despite the company having no product or revenue at the time.
• Stake value: Spark’s Anthropic holding is now worth about $7 billion at the company’s latest valuation, according to people familiar with the matter.
• Funding surge: U.S. startups raised $321 billion last year, up from $84 billion in 2016, according to PitchBook.
• Larger rounds: Average late-stage rounds have climbed above $1 billion this year, compared with about $65 million for Series D financings previously.
• Less influence: Michael Moritz said venture investments increasingly resemble IPOs, with investors buying stakes without seeking meaningful control.
Between the lines
The new edge is no longer just spotting a company early. It is having enough capital and conviction to keep funding it at rising valuations.
Background
The traditional model relied on small early investments that secured large stakes and board influence, followed by an IPO within roughly five years.
What to watch
Expected listings from Anthropic, OpenAI and other companies will test whether these enormous paper gains can turn into realized returns.
