Future Ventures, the VC firm co-founded by longtime Silicon Valley investor Steve Jurvetson, has closed on $169 million for a AI-focused fund, according to a regulatory filing.
Founded in 2018, Future Ventures has recently cut checks to buzzy artificial intelligence companies such as GV-backed imaging startup Glass, aerospace company Xona Space Systems, and Elon Musk’s xAI.
Jurvetson, a close friend and ally of Musk, made a name for himself in part through early investments into SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company. Jurvetson co-founded one of Silicon Valley’s oldest VC firms, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, now known as Threshold Ventures.
Future Ventures did not respond to PitchBook’s request for comment.
The firm invests in frontier technologies spanning space exploration, robotics, deep learning and manufactured meat. It has closed five other funds, ranging in size between $50 million and $210 million, including three vehicles under its “Final Frontier” strategy, according to PitchBook data. The latest vehicle, Future Ventures AI, is the only one with a named AI focus.
Specialist AI funds have become increasingly popular as LPs and GPs fear missing out on the upsides of the generative AI wave that has swept the venture capital industry. Both Salesforce and IBM‘s corporate venture arms have launched nine-figure AI funds dedicated to investing in AI and machine learning startups.
But there are signs that some venture capitalists are stepping back from the AI frenzy. In Q1 2024, seed-stage funding for generative AI companies fell 76% from its peak in Q3 2023, according to PitchBook data.
Jurvetson departed DFJ in 2017 after an internal investigation into sexual harassment allegations, at the time telling Recode that he was “leaving DFJ to focus on personal matters, including taking legal action against those who have defamed me.”
Future Ventures’ co-founder, Maryanna Saenko, was previously a principal at Khosla Ventures and led Future Ventures’ investments in climate mitigation specialist Earthshot Labs, women’s reproductive health startup Gameto and anti-aging biotech company Cambrian Bio.
