Andreessen Horowitz expanded its fifth growth fund to $8.5 billion, adding $1.75 billion since the fund launched in January at $6.75 billion, general partners David George and Raghu Raghuram said Monday, according to a16z's own announcement and TechCrunch.
The expansion comes days after a16z closed a separate $1.1 billion Machine Age Fund dedicated to AI hardware and infrastructure, including chips, memory, networking and storage, TechCrunch reported.
"Companies are reaching the growth stage faster and gobbling up more cash at higher valuations than ever," George said, according to TechCrunch. The growth fund has now backed more than 100 companies over seven years, and a16z's broader growth practice manages more than $24 billion across five fund vintages, the firm said.
The firm also expanded its Growth Platform, adding staff focused on sales and marketing leadership, AI native go to market strategy and pricing support, according to a16z's post.
Two funds totaling nearly $10 billion in a single week show how much capital VC firms are stacking specifically for AI infrastructure and late stage AI bets. Whatever stage a startup is at, the money chasing AI hardware and scaled AI companies just got deeper pocketed competition.