Menlo Ventures, a prominent Silicon Valley VC firm and major investor in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, announced a partnership to launch the “Anthology Fund,” a $100 million initiative focused on investing in pre-seed and Series A artificial intelligence companies.
Menlo Ventures recently became one of Anthropic’s key backers, leading an over $750 million funding round in the company, as reported by a reliable source familiar with the situation.
The capital for the Anthology Fund has been set aside from Menlo’s latest $1.35 billion fund raised in November, according to Matt Murphy, a partner at Menlo Ventures, who spoke with TechCrunch.
Describing the collaboration, Murphy stated, “We are strong supporters of Anthropic and their innovative work. This initiative allows us to partner together, identify promising companies in the AI ecosystem built on Anthropic’s technology, and make strategic investments.”
Using its close ties and investments in one of the leading foundational model companies globally, Menlo Ventures aims to identify and invest in AI-first startups through the Anthology Fund.
Startups can apply for funding from the Anthology Fund, with investments starting at $100,000 and additional credits worth $25,000 for utilizing Anthropic’s models.
Interested startups can submit their applications online through a form on Menlo Ventures’ website. Menlo will evaluate applications using its proprietary machine learning tool, streamlining the diligence process for potential investments.
Menlo Ventures intends to support subsequent funding rounds for promising companies backed by the Anthology Fund, providing long-term investment opportunities.
