Newcomer's VC Directory: Our Biggest Update Yet Adds 8 New Firms
Read on to see key investors, deals, and insider intel on 25 of Silicon Valley's most important venture capital firms
For those of you who read Newcomer to learn more about the power players in Silicon Valley, Newcomer’s VC Directory is your must-have guide.
Every few months, we put together a rundown of the top firms, their primary investors partners, and inside information on their reputation in the valley.
Who is actually a general partner? How much money do venture capital firms have to invest? What are their key deals?
Beyond the hard facts, venture capital firms’ reputations ebb and flow. What are these firms known for doing well, and which might have had their reputation affected during the downturn over the last few years?
This is our biggest update to the VC directory since we first published it. Today, eight new firms are joining: Lux Capital, Felicis, Obvious Ventures, Pear VC, Firstmark Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, and Battery Ventures.
See the bottom of this email for the entry on Lux.
If you want the rest, premium subscribers get access to info on these eight new firms plus updated entries for 18 more top firms like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. The full VC Directory is here.
The other firms in the directory include Y Combinator, Bain Capital Ventures, IVP, Spark Capital, Benchmark, Index Ventures, Greylock and many more. We’ve updated all of their entries too, so you can get the most up-to-date details on who’s running these firms and what their newest bets are.
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Lux Capital
The science and tech-focused venture capital firm Lux Capital is a backer of some of the buzziest AI startups, including Hugging Face and the robotics-software startup Physical Intelligence, which it invested in just two months ago.
Lux was founded in 2000 by Peter Hébert, Robert Paull, and Josh Wolfe. Hébert and Wolfe are the current managing partners, with Paull stepping back in 2014. Lux’s notable deals include Auris Health, which was acquired by Johnson and Johnson for up to $6 billion, and a seed check into the defense unicorn Anduril.
In recent years Lux has been a promoter of AI in New York City: the firm recently released a New York market map for startups, big tech players, and research labs building in the sector. Newcomer attended a private dinner this week hosted by the firm. The conversation highlighted the importance of New York as a growing hub for AI talent and how enterprise customers are tapping AI startups focussed on specific verticals.
The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Menlo Park, and invests primarily at the early stage, with over $5 billion in assets now under management. Several of its general partners joined from other top-tier firms, including Bilal Zuberi, who came from General Catalyst, and Deena Shakir, formerly of Google Ventures.
How Much
Assets under management: over $5 billion
Active Funds
Lux 8 (2023): $1.15 billion
Who
Josh Wolfe and Peter Hébert are the firm’s active co-founders and managing partners.
General partners are Shahin Farshchi, Brandon Reeves, Deena Shakir and Bilal Zuberi. Grace Isford is a partner, Shaq Vayda is a principal, and David Yang and Lan Jiang are investors.
Notable Investments
Recent
Nominal: Led $7.5 million seed round, which was announced in tandem with $27 million Series A round in April 2024.
Varda Space Industries: Participated in $90 million Series B in April 2024.
Ramp: Participated in $150 million Series D-2 in April 2024.
Xaira Therapeutics: Participated in $1 billion round in April 2024.
Together AI: Participated in $106 million round in March 2024.
Applied Intuition: Co-led $250 million Series E with Elad Gil, and Porsche Investments Management S.A in March 2024. Previously led Series C.
Sakana AI: Led $30 million seed round in January 2024.
Historic
MosaicML: Led $37 million funding round in 2021. Acquired by Databricks in 2023 for $1.3 billion.
Hugging Face: Led $15 million round in 2019.
Anduril: First invested in $17.5 million seed round in 2017.
Recursion: Led $12.9 million Series A in 2016. Exited via IPO in 2021.
Matterport: Led $5 million Series A in 2013. Exited via IPO in 2021.
Auris Health: Led Series A in 2012. Acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2019 for up to $6 billion.
Access the full VC Directory here.
We’ll keep adding top firms to the VC Directory—and we update the entire thing on a regular basis so the facts stay relevant. If you’re an investor, aspiring VC, founder, or someone who works with these firms on a regular basis, you should subscribe to Newcomer for continued updates.
Apply To Join The Newcomer VC Directory
If you’re a venture capital firm that wants to be highlighted in our directory, we’re accepting new submissions.
For a guide on what information we need from you, click here.
Follow the instructions on our form and submit your application to team@newcomer.co to be considered.