Bessemer Raises $5.75 Billion for AI Seed and Growth Funds
Bessemer raises $5.75 billion for AI, allocating $1.75 billion to seed and early-stage deals and $4 billion to growth startups across the full AI stack.
Summary
Bessemer Venture Partners announced two AI funds totaling $5.75 billion on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. It allocated $1.75 billion to seed and early-stage investments and $4 billion to growth startups across compute, infrastructure, foundation models, developer tools, application-layer companies and agentic technology. Its portfolio includes Anthropic, Cognition, Legora, Perplexity, Ramp, Shopify and Waymo.
Since 2022, Bessemer says it has invested $3 billion in more than 260 AI-native companies, extending an enterprise software record that includes Box, Docusign and Gainsight. Partner Byron Deeter said AI-native companies are scaling faster than any technology category the firm has previously backed. He also described companies remaining private longer as a permanent structural shift requiring venture firms to build larger capital reserves. Bessemer now presents AI as a defining investment opportunity, although it has not disclosed deployment timelines for the new funds.
Positives
- $5.75 billion across two funds gives Bessemer substantial capital for AI investments from seed through growth.
- $1.75 billion is reserved for seed and early-stage companies, expanding funding capacity for younger AI startups.
- $4 billion targets growth startups as successful AI companies require larger financing rounds while remaining private longer.
- More than 260 AI-native investments since 2022 give Bessemer broad exposure across infrastructure, models, tools, applications and agents.
- $3 billion already invested in AI provides an established base for the two new funds.
Risks & concerns
- $4 billion goes to growth companies, leaving less than one-third of the new capital for seed and early-stage startups.
- Bessemer’s opportunity-of-a-lifetime framing concentrates the new funds around AI and its continued investment momentum.
- Companies staying private longer require venture firms to maintain increasingly large capital reserves, according to Byron Deeter.
- Deployment timelines and specific investment targets for the $5.75 billion remain undisclosed.