The Best Venture Capital Firms (2023)
Let’s talk about funding. If you have a startup or are considering starting a startup, you might be in a situation where you need cash to support the business.
Venture capital is a popular option for early-stage companies, especially those businesses in the internet and mobile markets. This type of funding is typically provided by investment firms or individual investors who are looking to invest in high-growth businesses. But who are the best venture capital firms?
Benefits of Venture Capital
The advantage of venture capital is that it can provide a lot of growth capital for businesses. They most likely have staff members that have built startups as well and will provide advice on the various challenges you may face.
This is important as the top VC firms can be great partners to your business. Smart VC firms want to help solve meaningful problems with all of their assets.
The right firms may be able to pair your company with other companies they own in order to create a much stronger competitive business. This is not the only reason to choose one VC firm over another but strong business partnerships should always be considered.
Think of taking money from a VC as a marriage… if you pick the wrong partner, you’re in for a rocky relationship pretty quickly.
Negatives of Venture Capital
The downside to venture capital is that they typically want a significant equity stake (and board of director seats) in the business. This means giving up a certain amount of control in the company you created.
Think seriously about this since many startup founders have been forced out or fired from their own businesses when the Board feels another CEO could do better. In fact, this is more commonly the norm than the exception, so be prepared to work your butt off for your new partners.
You may not even be doing a bad job of running the company. They may just have a more preferred person that they want leading their company. This kind of switch often leaves a founder completely shocked and surprised.
Founders may be most interested in product development, but investors tend to prioritize revenue and ROI. Investors can lose patience fairly quickly when large amounts of money are involved. Try not to give them a reason to replace you.
Why Go With the Best Venture Capital Firms?
Experience does matter. Think twice about going with a small VC firm as opposed to one of the large ones.
- Large firms know what it takes to succeed and tend to have better track records.
- Large firms will have a more established network that they can tap into to help you succeed.
- Large firms can pair you up easier with other companies to increase your market share.
- Large firms will have a more established team to help with a sale. This is incredibly important.
This is not to say you can’t find success with smaller firms. But the large firms we list are the biggest for a reason. They get results, and that is what you want.
Maximize your chances for success.
The Leading Venture Capital Firm List
If you’re still interested in who are the best VC firms, keep reading. Be sure to also read the post about the best startup blogs to follow to quickly grow your SaaS business since there are VC blogs mentioned in there as well.
Accel
Accel is one of the top venture capital firms in the world with offices located in Palo Alto, London, Bangalore, New York, and Beijing.
Accel provides early-stage funding and growth capital to startups across a wide range of industries.
The firm has notable investments in leading companies such as Atlassian, Etsy, Facebook, Rovio, and Trulia.
Andreessen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz (often referred to as “a16z”) is a leading venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
The firm manages approximately $30 billion of assets, making it one of the largest and most active venture capital firms in the world.
They have made notable investments in some of the most successful tech startups of the past decade, including Facebook, Airbnb, Lyft, and okta.
Benchmark
Benchmark is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco that focuses on early-stage investing. They have over $100 billion in assets under management, making them the largest firm on this list.
Founded in 1995, the firm has invested in some of the most successful tech startups, such as eBay, Uber, Snapchat, Instagram, and Dropbox.
Benchmark’s investments span a variety of sectors including consumer, enterprise, and healthcare technology.
Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm with offices in the United States, India, and Israel. Founded in 1911, it was one of the first venture capital firms in the world.
Bessemer’s investments cover a variety of sectors from financial services to healthcare technology and consumer products.
Some of its most successful investments include LinkedIn, Yelp, Pinterest, Twilio, and Wix.
Canaan Partners
Canaan Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in early and growth-stage companies across a variety of industries.
Founded in 1987, it has invested in more than 300 startups, including Ancestry.com, ZipCar, DocuSign, and Brightcove.
Canaan’s investment portfolio covers sectors such as healthcare technology, financial services, consumer products, and enterprise software.
Dragoneer Investment Group
Dragoneer Investment Group is a venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco. They have $25 billion in assets under management.
Founded in 1999, it has investments across industries such as consumer technology, enterprise software, and healthcare technology.
Dragoneer’s most successful investments include DoorDash, Etsy, Atlassian, and Uber.
Founders Fund
Founders Fund is a venture firm based in San Francisco that focuses on early-stage venture capital investments.
With $11 billion under management, it was founded in 2005 by Peter Thiel, and has made investments in companies such as Facebook, SpaceX, Lyft, and Airbnb.
The firm invests across various industries including healthcare, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Founders Fund also provides operational advice to its portfolio companies.
GGV Capital
GGV Capital is a venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley, China, and Southeast Asia. It currently has nearly $10 billion in assets under management.
Founded in 2000, the firm invests in early-stage startups across various sectors including consumer technology, enterprise software, healthcare technology, and artificial intelligence.
It has investments in companies such as Airbnb, slack, and Alibaba.
Greylock Partners
Greylock Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups in the technology industry. They have $3.5 billion in assets.
Founded in 1965, Greylock has invested in companies such as Airbnb, Coinbase, Facebook, and Figma.
The firm has offices located in Silicon Valley and Boston and focuses on investments across enterprise software, enterprise infrastructure, consumer products, and healthcare technology sectors.
GV
GV (formerly Google Ventures) is the venture capital investment arm of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. They were founded in 2009 and headquartered in Mountain View, California. They operate independently of Google.
It invests across sectors such as consumer technology, enterprise software, and healthcare technology. They currently have approximately $8 billion in assets under management.
Some of GV’s notable investments include Uber, 23andMe, and HubSpot.
Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a European venture capital firm that invests in early and growth-stage startups across the technology industry.
Founded in 1996, it has offices located in London, San Francisco, and Geneva. They have assets of approximately 2 billion Euros.
The firm’s notable investments span a variety of sectors including enterprise software, consumer products, and healthcare technology. Some of its most successful investments include Dropbox, Facebook, MySQL, Etsy, and Zendesk.
Intel Capital
Intel Capital is the venture capital arm of tech giant Intel.
Founded in 1991, it has invested in more than 1,600 startups across a variety of industries including artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and robotics.
Its notable investments span sectors such as consumer products, enterprise software, and healthcare startups. Some invested companies include WebMD, MySQL, Box, Inktomi, and LogMeIn.
Insight Partners
https://www.insightpartners.com
Insight Partners is a venture capital firm with offices located in London and New York. They have an incredible $97 billion in assets under management.
Founded in 1995, they focus on investments across sectors such as consumer technology, enterprise software, and healthcare technology.
Insight’s successful investments include Monday.com, WalkMe, Wix, Udemy, and Shutterstock.
IVP
IVP is a venture capital firm with offices located in Menlo Park and San Francisco. They have approximately $8.7 billion in assets under management and focus on both growth fund and later-stage investments.
Founded in 1980, it has made notable investments in over 400 companies across various sectors including consumer products, enterprise software, and healthcare technology.
IVP’s most successful investments include Snap, Slack, Coinbase, Twitter, and DataDog.
Khosla Ventures
Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2004 by Vinod Khosla. They have approximately $15 billion in assets under management.
It has offices located in Menlo Park and San Francisco and focuses on investments across sectors such as consumer products, enterprise software, and healthcare technology.
Some notable investments include Square, DoorDash, and Instacart.
Kleiner Perkins
https://www.kleinerperkins.com
Kleiner Perkins is a venture capital firm that invests in early and growth-stage technology companies.
Founded in 1972, it is one of the oldest and most successful venture capital firms in the world.
They have offices located in Menlo Park, San Francisco, Beijing, and Shanghai. Investments span various industries including enterprise software, consumer products, and healthcare technology.
Kleiner Perkins’ most successful investments include Amazon, Google, Netscape, Cisco, Intuit, Sun Microsystems, and Genentech.
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a venture capital firm with offices located in Menlo Park, Beijing, and Shanghai.
Founded in 2000, it invests in early and growth-stage startups across multiple sectors including consumer technology, financial technology industries, enterprise software, and healthcare technology.
Lightspeed’s most successful investments include BlueNile, Rubrik, The Honest Company, Snapchat, AppDynamics, and GrubHub.
Menlo Ventures
Menlo Ventures is a venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley. The company has over $5 billion in assets under management.
Founded in 1976, it focuses on investments across sectors such as consumer technology, enterprise software, and healthcare startups.
The firm has made notable investments in companies such as Warby Parker, Roku, and 3Com.
New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is a venture capital firm with offices located in Menlo Park, San Francisco, and Cambridge. They have approximately $25 billion in assets under management.
Founded in 1978, it focuses on investments across industries such as consumer products, enterprise software, and healthcare companies.
NEA’s successful investments include Box, MongoDB, IFTTT, Patreon, and Upwork.
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that has offices located in Menlo Park, San Francisco, and Beijing. They have approximately a whopping $85 billion in assets under management.
Founded in 1972, it focuses on investments across sectors such as consumer products, enterprise software, and healthcare technology.
Some of Sequoia’s most successful investments include Apple, Cisco, Google, Instagram, Reddit, Paypal, LinkedIn, and Zoom.
TCV
TCV, formerly known as Technology Crossover Ventures, is a venture capital firm with offices located in Menlo Park and San Francisco. They have $25 billion in assets.
Founded in 1995, it focuses on investments across sectors such as consumer technology, enterprise software, and healthcare technology.
TCV’s most successful investments include Dollar Shave Club, Expedia, GoFundMe, Netflix, Spotify, and Zillow.
Always Do Your Homework
The best venture firms have a few things in common. They are led by experienced professionals, they invest in companies with large potential markets, and they focus on industries that are growing rapidly. If you’re looking for a firm to invest in your startup, keep these factors in mind.
Do some research on each firm and see which one would be the best fit for your company. You should also meet with different partners at each firm to get a better idea of who they are and what they can do for your business.
As always, please comment below if you have anything to add to this article. Good luck!
