A16z ushers in new fund strategy with $2.75B
Axios reported this morning that Andreessen Horowitz, the storied venture capital firm with investments in Airbnb, BuzzFeed and Coinbase, has closed on $2.75 billion for two new funds.
The firm has raised $2 billion for a growth fund led by their most recent hire and 15th general partner David George. Additionally, a16z has lassoed $750 million for early stage deals. We’ve reached out to the firm to confirm.
This comes about a month after Forbes explained a16z’s new status as a financial advisor rather than a traditional venture capital fund.
The a16z model, one that couples capital with agency-like services, has for years been replicated by other big venture firms. Now, a16z expects to lead the charge again by turning itself into a registered investment advisor.
The move will allow a16z to experiment in new areas, including the public markets, other VC funds and cryptocurrencies.
George is investing across industries, offering up his knowledge of late-stage economics, valuations and underwriting to a16z’s large and growing team of deal-makers. George is the at least the fourth high-level addition to the team in the last year, including Katie Haun, who joined in June to lead a16z’s cryptocurrency investment effort. Angela Strange and Connie Chan, additionally, were promoted to GP last summer.
“This is a market where entrepreneurs have lots of choices and they are making choices on the expertise of the individual partner,” a16z managing director Scott Kupor told TechCrunch earlier this year. “The purpose of having more GPs is about having the appropriate domain expertise and coverage so we can be in front of the most opportunities out there.”
A16z’s fifth flagship venture fund closed on $1.5 billion in 2016. The firm also deploys capital out of a $300 million crypto fund, a bio fund and a cultural fund, which boasts limited partners including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Shonda Rhimes and Jada Pinkett Smith.
from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2GMUIDq
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