Lawrence Aragon

The Los Angeles-based early-stage venture capital firm's inaugural fund is focused on deeptech and gaming.

Talent directors Janine O’Neill, Kimber Schlegelmilch and Brandon Sligh are no longer listed on Sequoia's operator team page after reports that it let go of seven people from its operations team.

The Italian venture firm has held a first close on its third early-stage fund, United Ventures III. Backers include Italian and international institutional investors.

Venture funds worldwide raised a combined $58.1bn in the first half of 2023, down from about $100bn in the first half of last year, according to exclusive Venture Capital Journal research.

Mayfield is making a major push into AI, raising $250 million for its first AI-focused seed fund, AI Start, and hiring a veteran investor focused exclusively on AI start-ups.

"Sequoia Capital wouldn't be what it is today without Michael," Roelof Botha, who leads Sequoia, wrote to limited partners in a letter viewed by Venture Capital Journal.

The fund will incubate and build-early stage next-generation biotechnology companies in the Los Angeles region and beyond.

CoinFund, a crypto-focused venture capital firm, announced that it has closed on $158 million for CoinFund Seed IV Fund LP, beating its $125 million target.

The fund's investors include the State of Michigan Retirement Systems, which committed $35m, and the City of Ann Arbor Employees’ Retirement System, which put up $6m.

The pension system could pump more money into venture and buyout funds if it approves a recommendation to hike its target to private equity from 6 percent to 10 percent.