Greylock Ventures is keeping its 18th fund at $1.5 billion, despite having the capacity to raise significantly more capital in today’s competitive market.
The 61-year-old Silicon Valley firm announced the new capital on Tuesday, a figure that is a 50% increase over its previous vehicle from 2023 but falls short of the massive capital raises seen across much of the venture industry. Greylock partner Saam Motamedi said the firm easily could have raised a “multiple” of the $1.5 billion target.
Motamedi suggested the partnership decided restraint was the better path, noting that the firm prides itself on being the most important partner to the most important entrepreneurs. This support model includes introducing portfolio companies to top engineers and potential customers, a strategy Motamedi says requires keeping the number of companies backed small.
With 10 partners making only one or two new investments annually, Greylock estimates the new fund will result in roughly 25 portfolio companies. They focus primarily on incubating companies from the earliest stages and leading seed and Series A rounds.
Greylock has a strong track record of starting companies from scratch, most notably security giant Palo Alto Networks, which launched inside Greylock’s offices 21 years ago, and the email security startup Abnormal, which Greylock incubated in 2018. The firm’s investment approach is similar to that of other venture capital firms, such as those investing in AI identity management.
Greylock does not stick strictly to early-stage deals. It will also back high-potential, later-stage companies even if it “missed them early on.” The firm’s 17th fund included three such growth-stage bets: Anthropic, Revolut, and Wiz.
Motamedi estimates that roughly 15% of the new fund will be deployed into later-stage startups, though he maintains that Greylock remains fundamentally an early-stage investor. The firm’s investment process is built around relationships rather than deals.
When the partners meet every Monday to review their investment pipeline, the agenda consists primarily of people’s names rather than company names. Motamedi said this approach allows the firm to get to know entrepreneurs even before they start a company, stating, “We’re getting to know people even before they start a company. It’s really a bet on the person.
Often the company doesn’t even exist.’” This hands-on approach creates a network effect that helps companies scale. Greylock used this strategy to support Baseten, an AI infrastructure startup that is now valued at $13 billion, after first investing in its Series A in 2022.
The firm’s largest investment in history was made when it invested in Anthropic when the AI company raised its Series F at a $183 billion valuation. They continue to prioritize people over companies in their investment approach.
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