Many VC firms are struggling to attract new capital from their own backers amid a tepid IPO environment.
But established, brand-name firms are still able to raise large funds.
On Friday, Kleiner Perkins announced that it closed on more than $2 billion in fresh capital across two funds, a slight increase from the 52-year-old firm’s $1.8 billion previous fundraise in early 2022.
Other prominent firms that successfully defied the VC fundraising slump this year include Andreessen Horowitz, which secured $7.2 billion for several of its funds; General Catalyst, which is reportedly wrapping up a $6 billion fundraise; and Norwest, with its $3 billion capital haul.
Kleiner Perkins said in a blog post that it will continue to invest in enterprise software, consumer, healthcare, fintech and hardtech startups, as it has for its previous fund. But what’s changed is the opportunity to make these industries more efficient with the help of AI.
The firm has already backed a few buzzy AI-driven startups, including business application search tool Glean and Harvey, an AI assistant for lawyers. However, compared to other large VC firms, Kleiner Perkins’s investments in prominent AI companies remains modest.
Founded in 1972, Kleiner Perkins was once considered to be one of the most elite firms in Silicon Valley. It was an early backer of companies like Amazon, Compaq Computer, Genetech, Netscape and Sun Microsystems. While the firm lost some of its prominence in the last tech boom, it still invested in a slew of eventual winners, including Airbnb, Instacart, Slack and Robinhood.
Adept, a startup developing AI-powered “agents” to complete various software-based tasks, has agreed to license its tech to Amazon and the startup’s co-founders and portions of its team have joined…
![Amazon hires founders away from AI startup Adept](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GettyImages-1348139958.jpg?w=1024)
There are plenty of resources to learn English, but not so many for near-native speakers who still want to improve their fluency. That description applies to Stan Beliaev and Yurii…
![YC alum Fluently’s AI-powered English coach attracts $2M seed round](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Fluently-cofounders-Stanislav-Beliaev-and-Yurii-Rebryk.jpeg?w=1024)
NASA and Boeing officials pushed back against recent reporting that the two astronauts brought to the ISS on Starliner are stranded on board. The companies said in a press conference…
![NASA and Boeing deny Starliner crew is ‘stranded’: “We’re not in any rush to come home”](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/boeing-starliner-docked-to-iss-e1718849214277.webp?w=1024)
As the country reels from a presidential debate that left no one looking good, the Supreme Court has swooped in with what could be one of the most consequential decisions…
![Forget the debate, the Supreme Court just declared open season on regulators](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/GettyImages-519986690.jpeg?w=1024)
As Google described during the I/O session, the new on-device surface would organize what’s most relevant to users, inviting them to jump back into their apps.
![Android’s upcoming ‘Collections’ feature will drive users back to their apps](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Engage-SDK-11.26.39 AM.png?w=1024)
Many VC firms are struggling to attract new capital from their own backers amid a tepid IPO environment. But established, brand-name firms are still able to raise large funds. On…
![Kleiner Perkins announces $2 billion in fresh capital, showing that established firms can still raise large sums](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1211628183.jpg?w=1024)
Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje‘s weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. I…
![DEI? More like ‘common decency’ — and Silicon Valley is saying ‘no thanks’](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DEI-must-DIE.jpg?w=720)
The company “identified a security incident that involved bad actors targeting a limited number of HubSpot customers and attempting to gain unauthorized access to their accounts” on June 22.
![HubSpot says it’s investigating customer account hacks](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/hubspot-breach.jpg?w=1024)
VW Group’s struggling software arm Cariad has hired at least 23 of the startup’s top employees over the past several months.
![Volkswagen’s Silicon Valley software hub is already stacked with Rivian talent](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rivian-next-gen-r1-whole-dashboard.jpg?w=1024)
Featured Article
All VCs say they are founder friendly; Detroit’s Ludlow Ventures takes that to another level
VCs Jonathon Triest and Brett deMarrais see their ability to read people and create longstanding relationships with founders as the primary reason their Detroit-based venture firm, Ludlow Ventures, is celebrating its 15th year in business. It sounds silly, attributing their longevity to what’s sometimes called “Midwestern nice.” But is it…
13 hours ago
![All VCs say they are founder friendly; Detroit’s Ludlow Ventures takes that to another level](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screen-Shot-2024-06-25-at-6.29.41-PM.png?w=1024)
President Joe Biden’s administration is doubling down on its interest in the creator economy. In August, the White House will host the first-ever White House Creator Economy Conference, which will…
![The White House will host a conference for social media creators](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/President-Biden-Speaks-On-The-Economy.jpeg?w=1024)
In an industry where creators are often tossed aside like yesterday’s lootboxes, MegaMod swoops in with a heroic promise to put them front and center.
![Pitch Deck Teardown: MegaMod’s $1.9M seed deck](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Pitch-Deck-Teardown-MegMod.jpg?w=1024)
Google’s trying to make waves with Gemini, its flagship suite of generative AI models, apps and services. So what’s Google Gemini, exactly? How can you use it? And how does…
![Google Gemini: Everything you need to know about the new generative AI platform](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/google-bard-gemini-v2.jpg?w=1024)
There were definite differences between how the two platforms managed last night, with some saying X felt more alive, and others asserting that Threads proved that X is no longer…
![Who won the presidential debate: X or Threads?](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/presidential-debate-trump-biden.jpg?w=1024)
Ultra-low-cost e-commerce giants Shein and Temu have only recently been confirmed as subject to centralized enforcement of the strictest layer of the European Union’s digital services regulation, the Digital Services…
![Following raft of consumer complaints, Shein and Temu face early EU scrutiny of DSA compliance](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/27865863027_d3044452dd_k.jpg?w=1024)
Artyc has raised $14 million to date and has a product on the market, Medstow Micro, that helps ship temperature-sensitive specimens.
![Cold shipping might be the next industry that batteries disrupt](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/medstow-micro-vial.jpg?w=1024)
Get ready to unlock the secrets of successful fundraising in the upcoming year at Disrupt 2024. Our featured session, “How to Raise in 2025 if You’ve Taken a Flat, Down,…
![Elevate your 2025 fundraising strategy at Disrupt 2024](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/speakerpost_raisein2025.png?w=1024)
The remote access giant linked the cyberattack to government-backed hackers working for Russian intelligence, known as APT29.
![Remote access giant TeamViewer says Russian spies hacked its corporate network](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/teamviewer-cyberattack-breach-remote.jpg?w=1024)
We’ve poked through the many product announcements made by the biggest tech companies and product trade shows of the year, so far, and compiled them into this list.
![Here are the hottest product announcements from Apple, Google, Microsoft and others so far in 2024](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Apple-WWDC24-Apple-Intelligence-hero-240610.jpg?w=1024)
As a foreigner, navigating health insurance systems can often be difficult. German startup Feather thinks it has a solution and raised €6 million to help some of the 40-plus million…
![Feather raises €6M to go Pan-European with its insurance platform for expats](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Feather-cofounders-Rob-Schumacher-Vincent-Audoire.jpg?w=1024)
The salad days of fresh grocery delivery startups are over, but those that have stayed the course, and built businesses that are seeing gains, are still here and hungry for…
![Rohlik rolls up $170M to expand in European grocery delivery and sell its tech to others](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Knuspr-Rohlik-Group-delivery-copyright-Knuspr.jpg?w=1024)
The first six months of the year have seen $4.2 billion invested in robotics, putting this year well on track to beat 2023’s 12-month total of $6.8 billion.
![Robotics investments are gaining speed after post-pandemic slowdown](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/robot-arm-money-1.jpg?w=1024)
Hebbia, a startup using generative AI to search large documents and return answers, has raised a nearly $100 million Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz, according to three people with…
![Hebbia raises nearly $100M Series B for AI-powered document search led by Andreessen Horowitz](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-1984246688.jpg?w=1024)
Digit’s first job will be moving totes around a Connecticut Spanx factory — which is most definitely not a euphemism.
![Agility’s humanoid robots are going to handle your Spanx](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-27-at-3.34.17 PM.jpg?w=1024)
These days, when you hear about students and generative AI, chances are that you’re getting a taste of the debate over the adoption of tools like ChatGPT. Are they a…
![Will AI get an A+ in edtech? MagicSchool raises $15M to find out](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-1263424631.jpg?w=1024)
In the conversation, Zuckerberg said there needs to be a lot of different AIs that get created to reflect people’s different interests.
![Zuckerberg disses closed-source AI competitors as trying to ‘create God’](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/zuckerberg-interview.jpg?w=1024)
AI big shot Andrew Ng’s AI Fund, a startup incubator that backs small teams of experts looking to solve key problems using AI, plans to raise upward of $120 million…
![Andrew Ng plans to raise $120M for next AI Fund](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Andrew-Ng-Landing-AIDSC00376.jpg?w=1024)
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Am I…
![VW taps Rivian in $5B EV deal and the fight over Fisker’s assets](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rivian-next-gen-r1-limestone.jpeg?w=1024)
Specifically, according to the FCC, carriers would simply have to provide unlocking services 60 days after activation.
![FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1-fcc-seal.jpg?w=1024)
Amid a fraught environment for battery startups, Sila has raised $375 million to finish construction of a U.S. factory that will scale its next-generation battery technology for customers like Mercedes-Benz…
![As battery startups fail, Sila snaps up $375M in new funding](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Sila_KAshton-01.jpg?w=1024)