Greylock Ventures just raised a $1.5 billion fund—its 18th—but could have secured far more. The firm chose restraint over the industry’s growing appetite for mega-funds.
Why Greylock capped its fund at $1.5B
While competitors race to raise larger pools, Greylock insists smaller is better. Partner Saam Motamedi told TechCrunch the firm could have raised a “multiple” of $1.5 billion but opted for discipline. The reason? A laser focus on being the “most important partner to the most important entrepreneurs.”
That means backing fewer companies—just 25 from this fund—with deeper support. Greylock’s 10 partners make only one or two new investments each year, prioritizing early-stage bets like seed and Series A rounds. This approach built its reputation, from incubating Palo Alto Networks in its offices to backing Abnormal Security, now valued at $5.1 billion.
Early-stage focus with room for late-stage bets
Greylock’s sweet spot is early-stage, but it leaves 15% of the new fund for later-stage standouts. Recent examples include Anthropic (its largest investment ever at an $18.3B valuation), Revolut, and Wiz. Still, Motamedi stresses the firm remains “fundamentally early-stage.”
Proof? Weekly partner meetings focus on people, not pitches. “We’re getting to know founders even before they start a company,” Motamedi said. “Often the company doesn’t even exist.”
