This week’s Moves in VC contains 12 Moves and 11 new fund announcements, compiled from 40+ sources.
Raghu Raghuram, a16z’s newly announced Managing Partner, and I overlapped at VMware
He was in product and I was in PSO. Which meant that practically every week I was out in the field with customers (usually in a flyover state … but also this one time in Kosovo) while he was back at HQ making sure we were shipping the right things to our customers.
Fortunately I have some friends who worked closely with Raghu over a long period of time. And I pinged one of them to get their take today about the news. Here’s what they said about him:
- “Quietly humble, but incredibly thoughtful”
- “Brilliant product strategist”
- “I was always impressed by his thinking on … how to build winning products and win markets”
- “Pensive, persuasive vs. ‘perspirational’ leader … definitely erred more on the pensive and persuasive end of the spectrum vs. hard-nose top-down leadership.”
There’s a firm building lesson in all of this.
Most funds these days try to go heavy on ex-operators – folks who have built from zero-to-exit. a16z has a number of those folks on the team, of course.
But they’ve also made a point of bringing on product strategists. Folks who are playing chess … while everyone else in a market is playing checkers.
Raghu’s hiring is the most recent example. But you could also look at when they brought on Steven Sinofsky. Or when Benedict Evans joined the firm.
Do you think VC firms need strategists? Or are ex-founders with exits “enough” to build a generational firm?
Hit ‘Reply’ and let me know. I’d love to hear what you think, and I read everything you send my way.
ICYMI
🔵 Christopher Walsh joined Antler as a Partner. Christopher previously worked at 7GC & Co as a Partner. Antler is a global early stage venture capital firm and accelerator.
WESTERN US
🟣 Raghu Raghuram joined Andreessen Horowitz as a Managing Partner. Raghu previously worked at VMware as Chief Executive Officer.
🟣 Olga Chumanskaya was promoted from Chief of Staff to VP of Platform at Khosla Ventures.
🟣 Katie Mishra was promoted from Associate to Partner at Khosla Ventures.
🟣 Darcy Yee joined Menlo Ventures in Marketing and Communications. Darcy previously worked at Opendoor as a Communications Lead.
🟣 Monica Black joined LL3 Ventures as a Managing Director. Monica previously worked at Resolute Ventures as a Partner. LL3 Ventures backs early stage startups and fund managers.
🟣 Kerry Wei was promoted to Partner at Prysm Capital. Prysm Capital is a venture capital firm focusing on the technology and consumer sectors.
EASTERN US
🟠 Kyle Libra joined Gravity Labs as an Operating Partner. Kyle previously worked at Paxos as a Product Lead. Gravity Labs is an early stage incubator for finance startups.
🟠 Stephanie Simon joined Collide Capital as a Director of Platform. Stephanie previously worked at Practical Venture Capital as a Director of Operations. Collide Capital is an early stage venture capital fund backing underrepresented founders building in fintech, supply chain, and the future of work.
🟠 Bryce Johnson left his role as an Investor at Primary Venture Partners and started a new role as an Investor at Legion VC.
EUROPE
🟢 Hugh Shields joined Maxwellian as a General Partner. Hugh previously worked at Huawei as a Director. Maxwellian Capital is a venture capital firm focusing on AI startups.
🟢 Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty joined Plural as a Partner. He previously worked at Uber as a Delivery Senior Vice President. Plural is an early stage venture fund.
ASIA
⚪ Neil Harounian, Alexandre Tang, and Jerome Ong cofounded and launched Maximum Frequency Ventures (MFV). Neil and Alexandre previously worked at Aptos Labs as the Head of Ecosystems and at Aptos Ascend respectively. Jerome worked at Aptos Foundation as an APAC Ecosystem Lead. MFV is a $50M operator led crypto company-creation engine and venture fund.
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NEW FUNDS
These firms are ready to write checks, with new funds recently closed.
🔴 Goldman Sachs is acquiring Industry Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on seed and early-stage investing to late-stage secondaries and VC-backed companies transitioning to buyout.
🔴 Switzerland-based Lisk launched a $15M Lisk EMPower Fund to back Web3 startups in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
🔴 US-based Origin Ventures closed its sixth $140M fund to back AI infrastructure, AI-native software, and AI frontier tech companies.
🔴 Palo Alto-based TCGX closed its third $1.3B fund to support next-generation therapeutics and disruptive innovations.
🔴 Florida-based Ascenta closed their $325M inaugural biotech fund.
🔴 US-based Mythos Ventures announced their second $30M pre-seed fund backing founders building a brighter future for human civilization.
🔴 Salt Lake City-based Fund Launch Partners closed their first $30M fund to invest in emerging fund managers.
🔴 San Francisco-based DVC closed its $75M fund to back series A and B AI startups.
🔴 Boulder-based Markd reopened its debut fund and secured $500M in new capital commitments. The fund will invest in companies that are focusing on the future of the insurance industry.
🔴 New York-based Jefferson River Capital launched Jefferson Life Sciences, a new healthcare and biotech-focused investment fund backing innovative medical businesses.
🔴 New York-based Energy Impact Partners closed its third $1.36B fund to focus on scaling solutions in decarbonization, electrification, grid modernization, and clean energy infrastructure.
EVENTS
⭕️ Chicago, IL: Hyde Park Venture Partners Founder Breakfast Club | Hosted by Hyde Park Venture Partners, October 22, 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM CDT. A curated group made up of the Hyde Park Venture Partners team, accomplished executives in their portfolio and early-stage founders in the Chicago area. Check out more details here.
⭕️ Kings County, NY: NYC Pre-Seed Happy Hour | Hosted by WorkBench, October 22, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT. Meet and connect with founders and operators building the next generation of NYC’s top B2B software companies. Check out more details here.
⭕️ New York, NY: NYC Coffee Club: Fundraising Early-Stage B2B Tech Founders & Investors | Hosted by Forum Ventures, October 24, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM EDT. A casual coffee meetup for early-stage B2B tech founders and funders. Check out more details here.
⭕️ New York, NY: Human Performance Innovation: Data, Insights & Analytics | Hosted by Denis Cranstoun, October 30, 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT. Start the NYC Marathon Weekend exploring Data, Insights & Analytics applications in Human Performance with founders, funders, executives, scientists, and athletes. Check out more details here.
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FOR EMERGING MANAGERS
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Stay tuned for next week’s VC moves!
