Austin-based venture firm 8VC, led by controversial Palantir founder Jon Lonsdale, has raised $880 million in its fifth fund.
of blog post 8VC’s general partner, Lonsdale, says 8VC’s mission is to “fix the broken world.”
Lonsdale didn’t specify which industries the new fund will target or the average check size, but 8VC now manages “more than $6 billion of committed capital,” invests “at every step,” and invests in the company itself. announced plans to build a He also shared that the 8VC team has grown to more than his 60 people.
In 2020, 8VC is famous Head office relocation From San Francisco to Austin, Texas.At that time, Lonsdale murmured that austin “It’s *much* more tolerant of ideological diversity than science fiction.” He added: “It’s common to have great left hippies around for great culture/music/food etc. It’s a good idea for the people.In fact, not all of them run the state.”
Today, he writes, 8VC’s new headquarters in the Texas capital has become “a place that attracts entrepreneurs and builders from around the world.”
The fund The largest Texas-based venture fund for startups, according to. austin inno.
Lonsdale’s post about the new fund struck a philosophical tone. “Certainly there are great challenges facing our civilization, and there are challenges for entrepreneurship,” he wrote. “But as entrepreneurs, broken things are opportunities. If we look deeper, we see amazing changes happening all around us. AI is transforming the world, both inside and outside the computer. Genome engineering and new scientific knowledge are changing the world of cells Advanced manufacturing is changing the world of machines New business models, incentives and innovation Transform the way you receive healthcare. These are some of our frontiers. “
Over the years, 8VC has invested in companies across a variety of industries including logistics, life sciences, healthcare, IT infrastructure, government and defense, financial services, consumer and enterprise. According to Pitchbook, it has In total, we made about 500 investments. Among them Portfolio company Asana, Blend, Flexport, hims and hers, Mammoth Biosciences, Elon Musk’s The Boring Company, Qualia, Wish.
Lonsdale sometimes draws as much attention to himself as to the companies in which he invests.Earlier last year, he made headlines after tweeting and ruffled some feathers On the Diversity of “Awakened” TechnologiesOther controversies he has been involved in include: A breakup with a former investment partner and a high-profile lawsuit filed by a former Stanford student that was later dropped.
Lonsdale also said in connection with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s paternity leave, murmured .
He has often defended himself against the ensuing backlash, saying his words were misunderstood or taken out of context.
In an article in The New Yorker this month about Austin’s transformation from a liberal stronghold to Austin “closer to libertarianism than to liberalism,” Lonsdale spoke with the article’s author about the city he adopted, describing its appeal. Some said it was something politics could do. Discussed in a civil way.
“In San Francisco,” Lonsdale was quoted as saying: So Texas is still very healthy. I really hope it can be kept like this. “
8VC has closed its last flagship fund with a capital commitment of $640 million in 2021, according to SEC filings. The filing also indicates that the company has procured a number of special purpose vehicles in recent years.
