It seems like there is some buzz in venture capital. Are venture capital firms becoming Private Equity firms? Some firms are, like Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst. This often involves becoming Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs), enabling a more hands-on role in acquiring, building, and managing portfolio companies.
What does all of that mean? I believe it is a response to a changing landscape, but only for those firms. Nothin substantial is going to change in venture capital. Here’s my logic;
These firms are jumping on the AI bandwagon, making a strategic choice to be more hands-on. They see a big opportunity in making vertical AI companies. And are willing to make a big bet. These VCs are equipping themselves not just to fund, but to help forge these businesses. Be more hands-on. And that means restructuring their setup.
For founders, this suggests a changing dialogue: an opportunity for capital that comes with deeper, more operational collaboration. It points towards a future where investors are more like co-builders in the long craft of creating sustainable, category-defining companies. This is less a revolution, more a considered evolution in the art of venture.