Illustration of Anthropic and Menlo Ventures Launch $100 Million AI Startup Fund

Anthropic and Menlo Ventures Launch $100 Million AI Startup Fund

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Anthropic, a leading AI startup, is teaming up with venture capital firm Menlo Ventures to create a new fund aimed at supporting AI startups. Menlo Ventures will supply the capital for the $100 million “Anthology Fund,” while Anthropic’s experts and AI technology will help identify promising startups. Initial funding for early-stage startups through this fund will begin at $100,000. The focus will be on startups developing AI safety tools and AI applications that provide societal benefits, aligning with Anthropic’s mission to promote responsible AI.

“We are particularly interested in ventures that use AI to enhance human capabilities and productivity in fields such as healthcare, legal services, education, energy, infrastructure, and scientific research,” said Anthropic President Daniela Amodei. “We look forward to collaborating closely with Menlo and the exceptional founders supported by this Fund to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve.”

Anthropic co-founders Daniela and Dario Amodei, former OpenAI engineers, left their previous startup due to concerns about the rapid scaling of its technology without adequate safeguards. The creation of their startup fund mirrors the path of OpenAI, which launched a $175 million fund for AI startups in 2021. Despite being valued at a quarter of OpenAI’s worth, Anthropic recently received a significant investment from Amazon.

Venture capital funding for AI has played a crucial role in sustaining private capital markets amid a challenging macroeconomic climate. According to a recent PitchBook report, nearly half of all U.S. venture capital funding in 2024 has gone to AI startups. In the second quarter, multi-billion dollar funding rounds for AI startups CoreWeave and xAI made up more than a quarter of the total value of all deals.

By the numbers:

– $100 million: Capital for Anthropic and Menlo Ventures’ Anthology Fund
– $175 million: Value of OpenAI startup fund
– $80 billion: Value of OpenAI
– $18 billion: Value of Anthropic

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