Felicis Ventures has announced its largest fund to date, a US$900 million Fund X.

This launch coincides with founder Aydin Senkut’s 20 years as an institutional early-stage investor.

The new fund follows the firm’s US$825 million Fund IX raised in 2023 and a US$600 million Fund XIII raised in 2021.

Since its founding in 2006, Felicis has backed over 50 unicorn companies and achieved more than 125 exits.

Notable portfolio companies include Shopify, Twitch, Ring, and Adyen.

🔗 Source: TechCrunch

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ The transformation from micro-VC to mega-fund defies conventional wisdom

Felicis’s evolution from a small fund to raising $900 million contradicts traditional venture capital performance data.

The Kauffman Foundation’s research showed that funds under $250 million significantly outperform larger funds, with 83% of large funds returning less than 1.5X compared to just 54% of smaller funds 1.

Despite this performance dynamic, Felicis has steadily increased its fund size from $600 million in 2021 to $825 million in 2023, and now $900 million in 2024. This trajectory requires increasingly larger exits to maintain returns.

This growth represents a common pattern where successful micro-VCs transition to larger funds, challenging the notion that smaller always means better performance in venture capital.

Felicis’s ability to back over 50 unicorns and achieve 125+ exits over its history suggests it has developed investment strategies that can potentially overcome the mathematical challenges larger funds typically face.

2️⃣ AI investment concentration has reached unprecedented levels

Felicis’s claim that 70% of its active portfolio consists of AI-native startups aligns with broader industry trends showing massive capital concentration in artificial intelligence.

In Q4 2024, AI-focused companies captured over 50% of all global venture capital funding, with total AI startup funding reaching $131.5 billion in 2024—a 52% increase from the previous year 2.