Almost half of all global venture funding in 2025 went into AI — over $150 billion. But the money is concentrated in a handful of funds that have become the kingmakers of the AI economy. Here are the 15 most active and influential, what they look for, and how much they deploy.
Tier 1: The AI Mega-Funds
1. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
AI AUM: $7.5 billion dedicated AI fund
Portfolio: Mistral AI, Character.AI, ElevenLabs, Anysphere (Cursor)
Check Size: $10M-$500M
What they want: Frontier model companies, AI-native apps with real moats, infrastructure plays. They co-lead and take board seats.
Track record: Early in GitHub ($7.5B acquisition) and Databricks ($134B valuation).
2. Sequoia Capital
AI AUM: Undisclosed (estimated $10B+ across funds)
Portfolio: OpenAI (early), NVIDIA, Harvey, Glean
Check Size: $1M-$1B
What they want: Generational companies. They backed Google, Apple, and now OpenAI. They're looking for the next platform-defining AI company.
Track record: Their OpenAI stake alone is worth billions at $300B+.
3. Lightspeed Venture Partners
AI AUM: $7.1 billion Fund IV
Portfolio: Mistral AI, Stability AI, Applied Intuition
Check Size: $10M-$200M
What they want: Enterprise AI with revenue traction. Differentiated model companies.
4. Tiger Global Management
AI AUM: Undisclosed (one of the most active by deal count)
Portfolio: Databricks, Scale AI, Stripe, Figma
Check Size: $20M-$1B
What they want: High-growth, revenue-stage AI. Tiger moves fast and writes big checks with minimal governance strings attached.
Tier 2: Specialist AI Investors
5. Khosla Ventures
Focus: Deep tech, AI for science and healthcare
Portfolio: OpenAI (early), Recursion Pharmaceuticals
Check Size: $5M-$100M
Edge: Vinod Khosla evaluates deals personally. Strong conviction that AI replaces 80% of knowledge work.
6. Radical Ventures
Focus: Pure-play AI fund
Portfolio: Cohere, Waabi, Deep Genomics
Check Size: $5M-$50M
Edge: Founded by AI researchers. Serious technical due diligence.
7. Lux Capital
Focus: Deep tech, frontier AI, robotics
Portfolio: Anduril, Shield AI, Figure AI
Check Size: $5M-$100M
Edge: Strong at the AI + defense/robotics intersection.
Tier 3: Corporate AI Investors
8. Google Ventures (GV)
AI AUM: $2.4B under management
Portfolio: Anthropic ($2B+), DeepMind (acquired), Uber, Slack
Strategic value: Google Cloud access, TPUs, distribution.
9. Microsoft Ventures / M12
Portfolio: OpenAI ($13B+), Mistral AI
Strategic value: Azure integration, enterprise distribution, GitHub/LinkedIn access.
10. NVIDIA Ventures
Portfolio: CoreWeave, Recursion, AI infrastructure
Strategic value: GPU allocation priority, CUDA ecosystem support.
What This Means for Founders
If you're raising:
- Tier 1 funds ($100M+ checks) want $1M+ ARR or genuinely breakthrough technology
- Tier 2 specialists are more reachable at seed/Series A with strong AI differentiation
- Corporate VCs add value beyond cash — cloud credits, distribution, partnerships
If you're investing in AI:
- These funds' portfolios are a roadmap of where smart money sees AI heading
- Following their bets (public via Crunchbase, PitchBook) is free market intelligence
What Smart Money Thinks
15 funds control much of the AI investment landscape. They collectively poured over $80 billion into AI in 2025. For founders, understanding their thesis and portfolio helps you target the right investors. For everyone watching, their bets signal which AI segments will matter most in the years ahead.
