Menlo Raises $1.35 Billion to Fund a New Generation of Startups

This new capital will be invested by Menlo XVI, Menlo Inflection III, and their affiliated funds, in promising technology companies leading the AI transformation.

By the Menlo Partnership 3-minute read
November 16, 2023

Building on a Foundation of Success

We build on a strong foundation as we position ourselves for the future. Menlo Ventures was founded in 1976 to invest in the technology businesses that would put Silicon Valley on the map. Under our current leadership, the firm has earned a reputation as an expert early-stage investor, recognized for making bets on Uber, Roku, and Siri long before they became household names. The new funds are just the latest milestone in Menlo’s record run.

Beginning in 2010, the firm:

  • Raised over $3.8 billion across eight fund groups and distributed $5.2 billion to limited partners.
  • Guided more than 80 companies to exits, including 15 public offerings and more than 65 acquisitions (representing over $10 billion in enterprise value).
  • Made seed and early-stage investments in 24 unicorns across enterprise, consumer, and healthcare.
  • Grew our team to 19 investors whose work is amplified by a portfolio services team of six functional experts, known as Menlo’s Fuel team.

Now, in this new AI era, we are recognized for our technical expertise, industry connectivity, and our impressive portfolio of AI investments, which includes Abnormal, Anthropic, Cleanlab, Pinecone, and Typeface. AI represents a seismic shift that will add trillions of dollars in value to the global economy, and Menlo will help write the next chapter.

An Ecosystem Designed to Attract the Industry’s Best and Brightest

We have created an ecosystem around our firm that is designed to attract the best and brightest in the AI domain to partner with Menlo. The fact that we’ve backed people like Edo Liberty at Pinecone, Dario Amodei at Anthropic, and Jyoti Bansal at Harness is exciting to founders.

Our team is also part of that magnetic pull. We’ve been strategic in building out a team that is ready to meet this moment. We have focused on hiring deeply technical partners with operating experience who can provide thoughtful guidance to our portfolio. Our three newest partners are Joff Redfern, the former CPO of Atlassian; well-known consumer investor Amy Wu, who joins Shawn Carolan in leading our consumer investments; and Tim Tully, the previous CTO of Splunk. Each of these new partners has a history of working closely with developers—which is unique and important because, right now, the devs are driving the AI revolution forward.

The team at Menlo is close-knit; we have a culture of going “ALL IN.” That phrase captures how we work together to support the team’s goals, as well as our commitment to mastering our craft. Our investors are immersed in the entrepreneurial mentality that defines our business. Our team consists of coders and gamers, people who participate in hackathons and speak at conferences, and early adopters of the latest technology trends. We do this not because it’s our job, but because we are intensely curious and love what we do.

We Can’t—and Don’t—Do It Alone

Venture capital today is a tale of two cities: While Silicon Valley is buzzing with excitement for the new AI era, the macro environment has become challenging for VCs and startups alike. Our ability to raise more than $1 billion in new capital in this climate speaks to the iconic companies and incredible founders we’ve backed, as well as the trust and confidence bestowed upon us by our Limited Partners, many of whom we have worked with for years, some for decades, and some whom we welcome today. We thank you for your support.

And, of course, the founders are the real heroes of our story. These are the innovative thinkers propelling us into the future while creating real and lasting value. We look forward to seeing you realize the full scale of everything you dream of and all that you have worked for. We are privileged to partner with you.


Menlo Ventures relies on the “venture capital adviser exemption” for purposes of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. No part of this article is intended to be, or may be relied upon, as investment advice, investment recommendation, an offer to sell, or the solicitation of any offer to buy, any security or adopt any investment strategy. A complete list of Menlo Venture’s investments is available at menlovc.com/portfolio.