Two Ex-Benchmark VCs Raise $1.25 Billion for Debut AI Fund

Two former Benchmark investors, Victor Lazarte and Kris Fredrickson, have raised $1.252 billion for their debut AI fund, Diffusion ONE, according to October SEC filings. That figure crushes the $800 million target Forbes reported in May when the pair, each previously running smaller funds of their own, first teamed up.

The filings show established names commanding top dollar from limited partners, especially those with a specialized focus. Diffusion ONE has already deployed capital at scale. The firm co-led Harvey's $550 million Series H with Lightspeed Ventures and took part in Etched's $300 million Series C, announced in July.

What did Benchmark itself file?

Benchmark filed what appears to be four new partner-only vehicles: Benchmark Partners Founders' Fund T1, Benchmark Partners Founders' Fund 2, Benchmark Partners Founders' Fund 2-A, and Benchmark Partners Founders' Fund T1-A. They seek $220 million, $132 million, $4.5 million, and $7.5 million respectively. Jack Altman, who recently left his own firm to join Benchmark, appears in each filing.

The four-part structure suggests the firm is formalizing partner-level economics alongside its main funds, though the filings themselves do not explain the vehicles' purpose.

Who else is raising?

Trust Ventures filed Monday to raise a $400 million Fund V. Salen Churi founded the Austin-based firm in 2017 to back founders building in highly regulated industries. Koch Disruptive Technologies backed its debut fund in 2018. Trust Ventures previously sought $225 million for a Fund IV in 2023; it remains unclear whether that fund closed. Deep tech investor Interlagos Capital is also raising a $400 million Fund II.

Joe Lonsdale's 8VC filed for several new vehicles:

• $400 million for 8VC DSS III
• $30.35 million for 8VC COSC
• $20.35 million for 8VC BRSC
• 8VC AI Fund XI, which has already raised $13.5 million, including from 8VC itself

The filings follow July news that 8VC raised $1.5 billion for Fund VII.

Notable Capital, a backer of Anthropic, Airbnb, and Square, filed earlier this month to raise a fifth fund. Neil Mehta's Greenoaks, which co-led Anthropic's $65 billion Series H, filed to raise Greenoaks 7. According to PitchBook, Greenoaks has also backed Ramp and Anthropic.

Why does the Anthropic angle matter?

Timing. Anthropic just took another major step toward going public, meaning both firms can already market themselves to LPs on the prospect of handsome returns from their positions. A public listing would give those stakes a mark the market can price, strengthening the pitch for the new vehicles now in registration.

How big is the secondaries push?

Industry Ventures has raised at least $1.7 billion for a secondaries fund that opened in late July. The size signals how central that market has become, as appetite grows for buying into hot private companies heading toward exits. One family office advisor told TechCrunch last month how popular secondaries trading has become.

Emily Zheng, a senior VC analyst at PitchBook, said stakes in Anthropic and OpenAI are some of the "most contested real estate in venture."

Taken together, the October filings show LP money concentrating in two places: specialized managers with proven checkbooks, and vehicles positioned to monetize positions in companies approaching the public markets.