21 Top Venture Capital Firms (2024)

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Venture capital (VC) firms are investment firms that invest in industry-changing startups and entrepreneurs from early to growth stage that are poised for long-term, substantial growth. Wildly successful startups from Facebook to Slack have received startup funding in the form of venture capital, which provided them with the financial backing to reach new heights. 

If you think your startup is ready for venture capital, the next step is to decide on the right VC firm to financially back your industry-changing idea. We are here to help you decide with this guide to the top venture capital firms for startups.

Top VC Firms

Ready to launch your startup with the help of a venture capital firm? We’re here to help you wade through the options with this list to the best venture capital firms for startups and who they are right for.

Disclaimer: With so many venture capital firms around the world, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the following VC firms are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.

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Top Venture Capital Firms:

You can also browse our full collection of VC firms by industry and location.

1. Sequoia Capital

About

Sequoia is one of the most popular, well-known venture capital firms available to tech startups. Understandably so, the firm has been providing funding for startups since 1972 and boasts tech giants such as Google, Apple, and Oracle as just a few of the firm’s wildly successful alumni. 

Best For

  • Tech startups 
  • High-growth startups
  • Healthcare startups
  • Early-stage startups

2. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)

About

Based in Silicon Valley, Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, is a venture capital firm dedicated to funding seed to late-stage startups that are innovating modern life (and the future) with the power of technology. The firm boasts over $35 billion in assets under management; some of its notable investments include Stripe and Libra. 

Best For

  • Startups of all stages 
  • Fintech startups 
  • Cryptocurrency startups

3. Accel

About

Accel is one of the top venture capital firms that funds startups across all stages, from seed to growth stage. Some of Accel’s most notable investments include Facebook, Dropbox, and Slack, with the firm boasting $3 billion under management globally. 

Best For

  • Tech startups 
  • Early-stage startups 
  • Growth-stage startups

4. Kleiner Perkins

About

Behind some of the most notable companies today is Kleiner Perkins. The venture capital firm boasts a portfolio featuring Amazon, Spotify, and DocuSign, to name only a handful, and their mission is to provide funding for startups and entrepreneurs that will make history. 

Best For

  • Hardtech startups 
  • Healthcare startups 
  • Consumer product startups
  • Fintech startups

Check out our article on John Doerr, chairman of Kleiner Perkins!

5. Bessemer Venture Partners

About

As one of the oldest venture capital firms, Bessemer Venture Partners has been investing in innovative technology companies such as Pinterest, Shopify, and LinkedIn for 50 years. With close to $20 billion in assets under management today, the mission of this firm is to financially back startup entrepreneurs that will create lasting change and inform the future. 

Best For

  • Enterprise startups 
  • Consumer product startups 
  • Healthcare startups

6. Intel Capital

About

From Intel Technologies, Intel Capital is a venture capital firm built to support up-and-coming startups in emerging markets such as 5G, cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and more from seed to growth stage. Since its founding in 1991, Intel Capital has invested over $12 billion in over 1,500 companies globally across a range of tech sectors with notable exits from Switch and iZettle. 

Best For

  • Tech startups 
  • Minority founders 
  • Artificial intelligence startups

Looking for business inspiration? Check out our list of the top startups to watch in 2024!

7. New Enterprise Associates (NEA)

About

NEA is a global venture capital firm on a mission to better the world through strategic startup investments. With $25 billion in assets under management, NEA is dedicated to funding early-stage companies that are poised to disrupt major, high-growth industries such as Robinhood and Plaid. 

Best For

  • Tech startups 
  • Healthcare startups 
  • Early-stage startups

Discover more healthcare venture capital firms.

8. Khosla Ventures

About

Khosla Ventures is a unique venture capital firm that prioritizes team-focused startups with disruptive products or ideas that will dramatically change an industry. With a seed fund and main fund, there are multiple avenues for startups to find funding through this firm. Some of their most notable investments, of the $7.2 billion raised across all of its funds, include Affirm, Chain, and Everlane. 

Best For

  • Tech startups 
  • Seed-stage startups 
  • Food startups

Discover more venture capital firms for food startups.

9. Benchmark

About

Founded in 1995, Benchmark has been investing in industry-shifting startups for nearly 30 years, focusing specifically on early-stage startups with opportunities for high growth. Some of the firm's most notable investments include Tinder, Uber, and Snapchat, with a reported $9.1 billion in total assets. 

Best For

  • Early-stage startups
  • Enterprise software startups 
  • Infrastructure startups

10. Canaan Partners

About

For over 30 years, Canaan Partners has been providing venture capital investments for startups in the technology and healthcare sectors. The firm has over $6 billion under management invested in tech and healthcare companies, including Kickpay and CircleUp. 

Best For

  • Fintech startups 
  • Medtech startups 
  • Cloud startups

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11. RRE Ventures

About

RRE Ventures is a New York-based venture capital firm that invests in industry-leading, high-growth startups through the group’s extensive resources, including roughly $2.5 billion in assets. With one of their most notable investments being popular financial services app Venmo, the firm not only invests in powerful, innovative startups — they also provide invaluable resources for entrepreneurs.

Best For

  • Software startups
  • Financial services startups 
  • IoT startups

12. TCV

About

With over $13 billion invested in industry-leading startups such as NuBank and iPipeline, TCV is a popular venture capital firm that focuses on funding powerhouse tech startups that are both public and private. In addition to substantial investment opportunities, TCV also includes strategic mentorship and resources for CEOs and startup founders. 

Best For

  • Growth-stage startups 
  • Fintech startups 
  • Ecommerce startups

13. Founders Fund

About

Founders Fund, a venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco, is one of the most well-known VCs in the world.  Their $11 billion aggregate capital they managed in 2022 included some of the biggest names in the world, including Airbnb, Lyft, Spotify, and Stripe. Peter Thiel is one of the founding partners who is known for co-founding PayPal and being an early investor in Facebook.

In 2022, Founders Fund was able to raise an eighth flagship fund that accrued $5 billion in new capital, raising their overall capital under management to $11 billion.

Best For

  • Growth-stage startups
  • Tech startups
  • Space exploration startups

14. Index Ventures

About

Index Ventures is a very large firm based in Europe, although they do have a headquarters in San Francisco. The firm has been around since 1996 and has invested in some of the world’s most popular companies including Deliveroo, Etsy, and Slack. The firm focuses on technology-focused companies and has raised $5.6 billion since its inception.

The company started as a Swiss bond trading company but when the founder got his son involved, they immediately launched a separate technology arm of the company, which is how Index Ventures started.

Best For

  • Fintech startups
  • Ecommerce startups
  • Gaming startups

15. Sweater Ventures

About

On a mission to make venture capital funds more accessible, Sweater Ventures is VC that anyone can participate in due to only requiring $500 to participate in the fund. Founded in 2019, Sweater's Cashmere Fund currently has $13 million in investment capital, raised from their collective of small investors. 

Best For

  • Early-stage startups
  • CPG startups
  • Ecommerce startups

We chatted with Jesse Randall, founder and CEO of Sweater Ventures. Listen to the interview below!

16. GGV Capital

About

Even though GGV isn't as large as some of the other firms on this list, it still managed $9.2 billion in capital across 17 different funds. The company started in 2000 and has since invested in over 300 companies with a focus on technology. They have had some exits, including Affirm, AppDirect, and Hootsuite.

Out of the 200 and more companies GGV Capital has invested in, 56 of them are already valued at over $5 billion. They love focusing on companies that can use technology to transform existing markets. 

Best For

  • Growth-stage startups
  • Early-stage startups
  • Smart tech startups

17. Menlo Ventures

About

Menlo is known for being one of the oldest venture firms in Silicon Valley, as they were founded in 1976. The firm has invested in some of the most well-known companies in the world, like Uber, Rover.com, and Siri. They focus on consumer and enterprise companies with a recent interest in healthtech and robotics.

In total, the company has made investments in over 400 companies, 80+ of which have already gone public, and another 165+ have gone through mergers or acquisitions.

Best For

  • Early-stage startups
  • Consumer startups
  • Tech startups

18. Greylock Partners

About

Founded in 1965, Greylock, along with a few others on this list, is one of the oldest running venture firms. They have $3.5 billion capital under management and like to focus on consumer enterprise software and infrastructure. Greylock also hosts an event called Communities that helps startups with networking.

Best For

  • Early-stage startups
  • Consumer startups
  • Infrastructure startups

19. IVP

About

IVP is no stranger to the VC world and has been operating since 1980. With $8.7 billion of committed capital, the venture capital fund is able to invest in late-growth startups and has invested in big names like NerdWallet, Twitter, Slack, and Coinbase. They specialize in putting companies over the edge and have several invested companies go public every year.

Best For

  • Late-stage startups
  • Software startups
  • Gaming startups

20. Mindset Ventures

About

Comparatively new compared to some of the more well-established VCs, Mindset Ventures focuses on US and Israeli startups. The firm has a focus on B2B startups that involve technology in a number of different industries. 

Best For

  • Financial startups
  • Agriculture startups
  • Healthcare startups

We chatted with Jules Miller, a partner at Mindset Ventures. Read the article here, or listen to the podcast interview below!

21. Lightspeed Venture Partners

About

Lightspeed is a large firm based out of California that is no stranger to any stage of the investment process. They also have a large range of the type of startups they invest in, from seed to growth. Their portfolio showcases big names like Snap, Lady Gaga's Hause Laboratories, and Rubrik.

Best For

  • Early-stage startups
  • Healthcare startups
  • Consumer startups

Recommended: Don't just find venture capitalists—let them discover you. Systematic connects startups and investors on one AI-powered platform. Get started today.

FAQs

What is venture capital?

Venture capital is a type of private equity financing where VC firms invest in emerging companies with high growth potential. VC funding is crucial for new companies that are often unable to access traditional financing methods like bank loans. A venture capitalist provide not just financial backing but also contributes significantly to business development through their industry expertise and networks.

These emerging companies, especially in fields like technology and healthcare, rely on capital invested to fuel their growth and innovation. This investment plays a vital role in the global economy, fostering new advancements and job creation. Venture capitalists focus on these promising startups, providing capital in exchange for equity, and helping drive economic growth and innovation.

How does venture capital work?

The venture capital industry provides financing to startup companies and small businesses that are deemed to have high growth potential.

Securing VC funding involves several key steps, beginning with crafting a compelling pitch that highlights the startup's value proposition, market potential, business plan, and team expertise. Once a VC firm shows interest, the startup undergoes due diligence, a detailed review process where the firm assesses the startup's financials, market viability, and growth potential.

Successful navigation through the due diligence stage leads to discussions about valuation and investment terms. The VC firm's "investment committee" then evaluates the startup. This committee, typically consisting of senior partners and analysts, makes the final decision on funding.

If the committee approves, the VC firm and the startup company finalize an agreement. This involves negotiations about equity, board representation, and other investment terms. Once agreed upon, the funding is provided, usually in stages based on reaching specific milestones. This process demands thorough preparation, clarity in communication, and an understanding of the VC firm's interests.

What is a tier 1 venture capital firm?

A tier 1 VC firm is renowned in the industry for its track record of investing in and nurturing successful companies. The reputation of these firms hinges on their ability to identify promising startups early and provide substantial value beyond capital, through strategic support and networking.

Overall, being part of a tier 1 firm's portfolio is highly coveted by emerging companies, as it signals credibility, potential for growth, and access to a wealth of resources and industry connections.

What are some popular industries VCs invest in?

Venture capitalists actively invest in various high-growth industries. Consumer technology companies attract significant interest due to its widespread market appeal and integration into daily life. The life sciences sector, including biotechnology and healthcare innovations, is another key area, offering potential for transformative health solutions and requiring substantial R&D investment.

E-commerce remains a popular choice for VCs, driven by the scalability and global reach of online retail platforms and marketplaces. Similarly, enterprise software, with its range of business solutions like CRM and cybersecurity, is favored for its potential for steady revenue and the increasing digitalization of businesses.

Additionally, VCs are also investing in emerging sectors like clean technology, which focuses on renewable energy and sustainability solutions, and artificial intelligence, which is reshaping various industries with innovative applications. These diverse areas, with their mix of innovation and market potential, make them attractive for venture capital investments.


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