Greylock raises $1.5bn fund, resists venture capital mega-trend
Silicon Valley venture firm Greylock has raised a $1.5 billion fund, deliberately bucking the industry's mega-fund trend to maintain concentrated support for startups like London-based Revolut.
Greylock Ventures announced a $1.5 billion 18th fund on Tuesday. The figure is 50% higher than its previous $1 billion vehicle from 2023. Yet the 61-year-old Silicon Valley firm deliberately stopped short of raising more.
Partner Saam Motamedi said Greylock could have easily raised a “multiple” of that figure. The decision represents a deliberate resistance to the ballooning fund sizes that have come to define the top tier of the venture capital industry.
For European founders, the firm's capital deployment strategy carries particular weight. Transatlantic funding is often associated with massive late-stage rounds, but Greylock's approach prioritizes selectivity. Its previous fund included growth-stage investments in London-based fintech Revolut, alongside Anthropic and Wiz.
The firm entered Anthropic during the AI company's Series F, which valued it at $183 billion. “It’s the largest investment in the firm’s history,” Motamedi said.
Roughly 15% of the new $1.5 billion fund will go toward similar late-stage opportunities. However, Motamedi emphasizes that the firm remains fundamentally an early-stage investor, focusing primarily on incubating companies and leading seed and Series A rounds.
To maintain this focus, Greylock keeps its portfolio highly concentrated. The firm’s 10 partners make only one or two new investments each year. This pace means the new fund will ultimately back roughly 25 companies.
Motamedi argues this restraint allows for deeper operational support, such as connecting startups with key engineers and customers. The firm incubated security startup Abnormal in 2018, now valued at $5.1 billion, and backed AI infrastructure company Baseten at its Series A in 2022, a business now valued at $13 billion. Security giant Palo Alto Networks also launched inside Greylock’s offices 21 years ago.
“Our mission is to be the most important partner to the most important entrepreneurs,” Motamedi said. The firm's weekly investment meetings focus on individuals rather than existing business plans.
“We’re getting to know people even before they start a company. It’s really a bet on the person,” he said. “Often the company doesn’t even exist.”
