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Menlo Ventures Raises $3 Billion, Largest in 50-Year History, While Warning of Scam SPVs in Anthropic Shares
The venture firm announced the raise Tuesday, citing returns from its early stake in Anthropic. The investment has grown to an estimated $14 billion value.
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Menlo Ventures announced $3 billion in new funds on Tuesday, the largest raise in its 50-year history, TechCrunch reported. The firm attributed the size of the raise to gains from its artificial intelligence investments, particularly its position in Anthropic. Menlo Ventures led a $750 million investment in Anthropic in 2024 that quadrupled the startup’s valuation to $18.4 billion.
The firm structured about $500 million of that round through a special purpose vehicle and added $250 million from its own fund and contributions by firm insiders. Its stake in Anthropic is now valued at about $14 billion, sources told Bloomberg. Menlo Ventures had invested in Anthropic before the company had a product and later participated in the startup’s Series E and Series F rounds.
Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI researchers including CEO Dario Amodei and president Daniela Amodei, had also secured a $4 billion agreement with Amazon. In 2024 Menlo Ventures and Anthropic launched a $100 million startup fund called Anthology. The fund has since deployed closer to $250 million and backed more than 60 companies, a source with knowledge of the fund said.
Two portfolio companies, Graphite and Astrix Security, have already been acquired by Cursor and Cisco, respectively. Menlo Ventures’ broader AI portfolio includes OpenRouter, Higgsfield, Legora, Lovable and OpenEvidence. Last month Anthropic warned that unauthorized special purpose vehicles and secondary markets offering its shares were scams.
