Silicon Valley venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners recently announced a successful fundraising of $9 billion, setting a new record for the company. This substantial amount of funding will enable Lightspeed to continue investing in AI startups that require significant capital.

After a period of prosperity in the venture capital market in 2021, many investment firms failed to achieve the expected returns. This led limited partners, including endowment funds, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds, to channel more capital into a few well-performing, established investment companies. Lightspeed is one of them, with its focus on artificial intelligence attracting widespread attention.

Lightspeed's portfolio includes several well-known AI companies, such as Anthropic, xAI, Databricks, and Mistral. The company stated that it has invested in 165 AI-focused startups, demonstrating its commitment to this emerging field. With this newly raised capital, Lightspeed plans to make significant investments in these capital-intensive AI companies. For example, Lightspeed co-led Anthropic's $1.3 billion funding round in September and provided $1 billion in financial support.

The funds raised from this round will be distributed across six funds, including a $3.3 billion opportunity fund specifically designed to provide follow-on investments for fast-growing portfolio companies. In addition to Lightspeed, other large venture capital firms have also successfully raised substantial amounts of capital recently. For instance, Founders Fund raised $4.6 billion earlier this year, General Catalyst secured $8 billion in 2024, and Andreessen Horowitz raised $7.2 billion.

Meanwhile, many younger and smaller venture capital firms are facing difficulties in attracting new funding. According to PitchBook, 2025 is expected to be the year with the fewest closed venture capital funds in the past decade.

Key Points:

🌟 Lightspeed Venture Partners successfully raised $9 billion, marking the largest fundraising in the company's history.

💼 The company is committed to investing in AI startups and has supported 165 AI-related companies, showcasing its strong capabilities in this field.

📉 Smaller venture capital firms are facing challenges in securing funding, and 2025 is expected to see the lowest number of closed venture capital funds in the past decade.