a16z Brings Fifth Growth Fund to $8.5B Days After Launching $1.1B Machine Age Fund

Andreessen Horowitz has expanded its fifth growth fund to $8.5 billion, adding $1.75 billion since the fund launched in January at $6.75 billion. The move comes days after a16z raised a separate $1.1 billion 'Machine Age Fund' targeting AI hardware startups in chips, memory, networking, and storage. Over seven years, the growth fund has backed more than 100 companies.

In this age of AI, companies are reaching the growth stage faster and gobbling up more cash at higher valuations than ever.