Menlo Ventures announced the completion of $3 billion in fund-raising, the largest in 50 years. An important factor driving this round of fund-raising is its ongoing portfolio in the AI area, in particular in relation to Anthropic. By reference to sources, Bloomberg claimed that Menlo ' s Anthropic shares were currently worth approximately $14 billion.
In 2024, bets became the key turn.
Menlo dominated Anthropic ' s D round in 2024, with a total investment of $750 million. At that time, the round raised the valuation of Anthropic to $18.4 billion, a significant increase over the previous period.
Given the market environment at the time, the transaction was unusual. While the industry has just recovered from the downside of the epidemic, significant investments remain low. In order to complete the transaction, Menlo adopted the special purpose vehicle SPV structure, which involves a single project with multi-pooled funds.
At that time, it was revealed that approximately $500 million was raised through SPV, with an additional $250 million from Menlo own funds and internal sources. Since then, Menlo has also continued to participate in the Anthropic E and F rounds of financing.
AI single project fund-raising model rapidly spread
The article mentions that SPV transactions around AI have since increased rapidly, and Anthropic has also been the focus of market pursuits. Anthropic warned last month that any unauthorized SPV or secondary market transaction claiming to sell its shares was a fraud because of the warming of the secondary market and unauthorized fund-raising activities.
However, for the investors involved in the Menlo authorized transaction, this radical bet has yielded significant returns. Anthropic valuation continues to rise, strengthening Menlo ' s market reputation in the AI area of investment.
The joint fund with Anthropic has invested over 60 companies
In addition to its direct shareholding, Menlo launched in 2024, together with Anthropic, an entrepreneurial fund called Anthony, with an initial size of $100 million. TechCrunch cites sources who claim that the cumulative amount of the fund is now close to $250 million.
The fund has invested more than 60 companies and provides support such as Anthropic management resources and Claude's level of use to the participating enterprises. Examples of exits that have occurred include the acquisition of Gramphet by Cursor and the acquisition of Astrix Security by Cisco.
With the return on Anthropic's investment, Menlo further expanded its distribution in AI start-ups. The portfolio currently also includes OpenRouter, Higgsfield, Legora, Loveable and OpenEvidence AI.