Bessemer raises $5.75 billion across two funds to fuel AI investments
Bessemer Venture Partners announced it has raised $5.75 billion across two new funds, allocating $1.75 billion for seed and early-stage startups and $4 billion for growth companies. The firm has already invested $3 billion in AI-related startups since 2022, backing firms like Anthropic, Perplexity, and Waymo. Partner Byron Deeter said AI-native companies are scaling faster than any technology category the firm has previously backed.
Bessemer's history in enterprise software includes early backing of Box, DocuSign, and Gainsight, establishing the firm as a notable picker of SaaS winners. The new capital is split strategically, with $1.75 billion earmarked for seed and early-stage deals while $4 billion targets growth-stage companies. Since 2022, the firm has deployed $3 billion across more than 260 AI-native startups spanning compute, infrastructure, foundation models, developer tools, application layers, and agentic technology.
Partner Byron Deeter emphasized that AI-native companies are scaling faster than any technology category the firm has previously supported. He also pointed to a structural shift in which companies remain private longer, requiring venture firms to maintain larger reserves. Bessemer's portfolio includes Anthropic, Cognition, Perplexity, Ramp, Shopify, and Waymo, reflecting its broad reach across the AI ecosystem.
This fundraise could concentrate venture capital further around AI as the dominant investment thesis, potentially narrowing the diversity of startups that receive funding. Founders may benefit from deeper pockets and longer runways, but non-AI companies could struggle to attract attention. Employees and consumers may see accelerated product development cycles as AI firms scale quickly, though the long-term societal effects of such concentrated investment remain uncertain.