Lightspeed raises record $9B in fresh capital
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In Brief Posted: 12:32 PM PST · December 15, 2025 Image Credits:Eduard Muzhevskyi / Getty Images Marina Temkin Lightspeed raises record $9B in fresh capital After a surge of VC investments from the 2021 bubble failed to yield strong returns from many venture firms, limited partners, such as endowments, pension plans, and sovereign wealth funds, began to funnel a greater share of their capital into a select group of established firms with proven track records. The latest huge capital haul has come to Lightspeed Venture Partners. The 25-year-old venture firm announced Monday that it raised a total of $9 billion in fresh funds, the largest fundraise in firm’s history. At a time when very few companies have managed to IPO, Lightspeed was an early investor in Rubrik, Netskope, and Navan, all of which have recently made their public market debuts. The firm has also positioned itself as a predominantly AI-focused investor. Lightspeed claims to have backed 165 AI-native companies, including Anthropic, xAI, Databricks, Mistral, Glean, Abridge, and Skild AI. Armed with its giant new fund, the firm can continue to make massive investments into capital-intensive AI companies. For instance, Lightspeed reportedly wrote a $1 billion check to Anthropic when it co-led the LLM-maker’s $13 billion investment in September. Lightspeed’s new capital is spread across six funds, including a $3.3 billion opportunity fund dedicated to follow-on investments in its fastest-growing portfolio companies. Other large VC firms that have recently raised enormous capital pools include Founders Fund, which earlier this year amassed $4.6 billion for a growth fund; General Catalyst’s $8 billion capital haul and Andreessen Horowitz’s $7.2 billion, both secured in 2024. Techcrunch event Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. San Francisco | October 13-15, 2026 WAITLIST NOW Meanwhile, younger and smaller VC firms are struggling to attract fresh funds. According to PitchBook data, 2025 is on pace to record the fewest VC fund closings in the past 10 years. Topics AI, Lightspeed Venture Capital, limited partners, Venture Dates TBD Locations TBA Plan ahead for the 2026 StrictlyVC events. Hear straight-from-the-source candid insights in on-stage fireside sessions and meet the builders and backers shaping the industry. Join the waitlist to get first access to the lowest-priced tickets and important updates.
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