Venture capital firm IVP announced closing its 18th fund at $1.6 billion. The firm said that this fund is closing during a sweeping technological shift with AI at a time when capital markets are resetting. These periods create significant opportunities for companies with product market fit and organic momentum.
IVP’s portfolio companies include Abridge, Glean, Cortex, Perplexity, Jasper, Productiv, Superhuman, Hopin, Brex, Crowdstrike, Datadog, G2, Amplitude, Grammarly, Discord, MuleSoft, Coinbase, GitHub, Zenefits, Zendesk, Indiegogo, Klarna, Snapchat, Care.com, Twitter, Netflix, and Zynga.
The firm also pointed out that it is a bittersweet time to announce the new fund along with the passing of Reid W. Dennis, who founded IVP in 1980. Over the last few decades, Dennis supported CEOs, colleagues, and the Silicon Valley community in many ways..
KEY QUOTES:
“Entrepreneurs today are by far the most battle-tested I’ve seen in the 19 years since I joined IVP. They have seen so much in the last four to five years — both the highs and lows. And it’s often the most battle-tested entrepreneurs who build the biggest companies.”
— Somesh Dash, General Partner
“This isn’t a raucous, Roaring Twenties kind of time. This is a time to build prudently, create value and understand that building a business is a gradual and persistent process. Our best entrepreneurs are both very persistent and very resilient.”
— Steve Harrick, General Partner
“Instead of saying, “We’re going to triple headcount,” the best founders are saying, ‘We’re going to do more with less, and maybe we’ll hire five people if we really need them.’ I think that’s great. I’m a frugal Minnesotan and love to help people figure out the right constraints and how to work within them.”
— Cack Wilhelm, General Partner
“Free money didn’t just impact valuations and financings. It impacted the downstream customers. People are budget-conscious, and they’re reducing their investments in both their own soft and hard costs. So everything’s just a little harder, a little more muted. And that’s fine. We’re transitioning from an era that was unrealistic and unsustainable to one that is more realistic and sustainable.”
— Eric Liaw, General Partner
“Ironically, the worst times in some ways were in 2021, when things went haywire. It felt good, but it was so damaging. Now is a great time to build a business. There are fewer competitors, fewer dollars sloshing around, and things are more normal. It’s a great time to raise money and beat your competition.”
— Tom Loverro, General Partner
“Overfunded startups with sky-high valuations will start to struggle — and that will have ripple effects throughout our industry. Talent will become more available, and breakout companies with strong business models will accelerate by bringing on the best execs and engineers, fast. “
— Alex Lim, General Partner
“When you’re a high-growth CEO, you need to recruit great people and great talent. So high-growth CEOs have to be good storytellers. You can’t outbid Google or Meta for an AI engineer, but you can get them to resonate with your vision and come join you to build something special.”
— Steve Harrick, General Partner
“I hope by the second half of 2025, all the incredible high-quality growth-stage companies at scale that are ready to go public will begin to access the market. But there’s a ton of work that goes into that. Now is the time to start preparing for an IPO, and it helps to work with experts who can help you hire strategic finance leaders, identify new growth levers for your business, and navigate the best path to a public exit.”
— Ajay Vashee, General Partner
