Menlo Ventures raises $3 billion fund after Anthropic success

Menlo Ventures announced on Tuesday that it has raised $3 billion in new funds. This marks the largest fundraise in the venture capital firm’s 50-year history. The milestone was driven in large part by the firm’s early and aggressive positioning in the artificial intelligence sector, particularly its investments in AI model maker Anthropic.

According to sources who spoke to Bloomberg, Menlo’s stake in Anthropic is now worth about $14 billion. This valuation follows a $750 million investment in 2024 during the model maker’s Series D round, which valued Anthropic at $18.4 billion. To secure that deal, Menlo structured about $500 million of the transaction as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)—a one-off investment entity created to pool capital from multiple sources for a single deal. The firm contributed the remaining $250 million from its own fund and insider contributions. This aggressive capital-raising strategy occurred during a period when other major investment firms, such as SoftBank and Tiger Global, were struggling following a post-pandemic venture capital downturn.

In addition to its direct investments, Menlo partnered with Anthropic in 2024 to launch a startup fund called Anthology. Originally sized at $100 million, the fund has expanded significantly. According to a source with knowledge of the fund, the capital deployed to date is closer to $250 million.

The Anthology fund’s growth and portfolio reach are characterized by:

• Capital expansion: The fund has grown from its initial $100 million size to closer to $250 million in deployed capital.
• Portfolio scale: It has backed 60+ companies, providing them with support such as access to Anthropic leaders and credits for Claude.
• Early returns: The fund has already seen successful exits, including portfolio company Graphite being acquired by Cursor, and Astrix Security being acquired by Cisco.

While authorized vehicles like Menlo’s have yielded substantial returns, the broader market has seen a rise in unauthorized activity. Anthropic has warned that unauthorized SPVs and secondary markets claiming to sell its stock are “scams.”

Why it matters

Menlo Ventures’ $3 billion fund raise, the largest in its history, underscores the firm’s successful pivot to AI investing, particularly its early and aggressive bets on Anthropic.