Venture firms are filing to raise billions in new funds

Venture capital firms, the groups that put money into young companies, filed paperwork in October to raise a lot of new money. The standout is Diffusion ONE, a debut AI fund from two former Benchmark investors. It has raised $1.252 billion, well above its $800 million target.

What changed

TechCrunch combed through October filings with the SEC, the US financial regulator, to find funds that had not been widely announced. The filings suggest that established firms, especially those with a specialized focus, are getting big commitments from LPs. LPs are the investors who supply the money that venture firms then invest.

Who is raising what

• Diffusion ONE: $1.252 billion, founded by ex-Benchmark investors Victor Lazarte and Kris Fredrickson.
• Trust Ventures: filed for a $400 million Fund V to back founders in highly regulated industries.
• Interlagos Capital: raising a $400 million Fund II focused on deep tech.
• 8VC: a $400 million fund called 8VC DSS III, plus several smaller ones, after raising $1.5 billion for Fund VII in July.

Diffusion ONE has already been active. It co-led Harvey's $550 million Series H with Lightspeed Ventures and took part in Etched's $300 million Series C, announced in July.

Benchmark filed what look like four partner-only funds, seeking $220 million, $132 million, $4.5 million and $7.5 million. Jack Altman, who recently left his own firm to join Benchmark, is listed in each filing. Notable Capital filed to raise a fifth fund. Greenoaks filed for a fund called Greenoaks 7.

The AI and secondaries angle

Greenoaks co-led Anthropic's $65 billion Series H, and Anthropic just took another step toward going public. That gives firms with stakes in it a strong story to tell investors. Industry Ventures has raised at least $1.7 billion for a secondaries fund, which buys existing stakes in private companies instead of funding new ones. PitchBook analyst Emily Zheng called stakes in Anthropic and OpenAI some of the "most contested real estate in venture."

Why it matters

Where investors put their money shows which areas may get the most new products and startups, and the most competition. Right now, AI and specialized fields are drawing a lot of it. Businesses in regulated industries may also see more startups aimed at them.

What is not known yet

A filing shows a firm is seeking money, not that it has collected it. Trust Ventures sought $225 million for a Fund IV in 2023, and it is unclear if or when that fund closed. Many of the funds above have no confirmed final size.