Many venture capitalists, from Keith Rabois to Ethan Kurzweil, have switched firms or spun out of prestigious venture capitalist institutions to launch their own funds this year. These hiring changes are surprising because, unlike many other fields, venture capitalists traditionally don't move around much, especially once they reach partner or general partner level.
VC funds have a 10-year life cycle, and partners have good reasons to stay the course. In some cases, the firm's fund may have a “key person” in it, meaning that if that key person leaves, the fund's LPs have the right to withdraw their capital if they wish. Many partners and GPs have some of their own money invested in the firm's fund, giving them an additional reason to stay.
Big name investors aren't the norm in venture capital, but it has appeared to be happening in recent months, with notable cases this year of investors returning to their old companies, starting their own ventures, or simply taking a break from investing altogether.
The people known so far are:
September
James da Costa announced on September 17 that he would be joining Andreessen Horowitz as a partner focusing on B2B software and financial services. This marks da Costa's first venture investment. He was previously co-founder of African neobank Fingo. On September 11, Jacob Westphal announced that he was leaving Andreessen Horowitz. Westphal was a partner at a16z for three and a half years. He left to become a portfolio leader at Will Ventures.
August
Freestyle VC announced on August 15 that Maria Palma has joined the firm as a San Francisco-based general partner. Palma was most recently a general partner at London-based Kindred Capital, where she has backed companies including Moov, Novo and Lottie.
July
Alex Cook is preparing to leave Tiger Global after about seven years there, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. During his time at Tiger Global, Cook led deals including TradingView, Scalapay, and TrueLayer. Prior to Tiger Global, he worked at Apollo. Bessemer Venture Partners announced on July 22 that it had hired Lori Moore as a partner. Moore was previously a partner at Foundation Capital for two years and an operator at LinkedIn before that. Moore will focus on early-stage investments in areas such as data, AI, and developer tools. On July 17, DCVC announced that it had hired Milo Werner as a general partner to lead the firm's climate investment practice. The firm is currently launching its first dedicated climate fund. Werner most recently served as general partner at Engine Ventures for two and a half years. Prior to that, Werner was a partner at Ajax Strategies. Ann Lee Skates announced on July 11 that she was leaving Andreessen Horowitz, where she had been a partner on the consumer team since 2019. She added that she was leaving to do her “life's work” and would post more about her plans in the coming days. At Andreessen, she backed companies such as Whatnot, Kindred, and Prismz.
June
On June 17, Spencer Peterson announced that he would be leaving Bedrock after five years as a partner to become a general partner at Coatue. Peterson has invested in companies such as OpenAI and Rippling. Amanda “Robbie” Robson announced her departure from Cowboy Ventures in a LinkedIn post in early June. Robson had been with Cowboy Ventures since October 2019, and prior to that was with Norwest Venture Partners for three years. Robson plans to launch her own fund.
May
Allison Stillman, founding partner of Serena Ventures, announced she would be leaving the firm on May 14 after working with tennis star Serena Williams for nearly six years. Stillman did not announce her next steps. Teri Barnes announced on May 13 that she would be launching a new venture firm called Type Capital. Barnes was previously GV's first black female partner and left the firm in 2022. Her new fund will focus on pre-seed and seed-stage startups. Last week, TechCrunch scooped that Eva Ho, co-founder of Fika Ventures, would be leaving the firm after Fika wraps up operations for its current fund. Ho is leaving for personal reasons. The move was confirmed by the firm in a blog post on May 9. On May 9, Allison Lange Engel announced she would be taking on the role of CEO of Ceros, an AI-powered design firm. To take up the role, Lange Engel left Greycroft in December, where he had been a partner since 2019. After 15 years, Vic Singh Announced X announced that he will be leaving Eniac Ventures on May 1. Singh, who helped found the company in 2009, will be starting his own new company.
April
April 30, Ethan Kurzweil Announced He left Bessemer Venture Partners after 16 years as a partner. Axios reports that Kurzweil plans to start an early-stage investment firm. Kurzweil will lead the firm. Christina ShenOn March 29, he left Andreessen Horowitz after four years, and Mark Goldberg left Index Ventures after eight years last fall. On April 1, Christina Farr Announced Farr announced that he will be leaving OMERS Ventures after serving as a lead investor and head of the company's health tech business since December 2020. At X, Farr announced that he will be writing a health tech newsletter, writing a book focusing on the power of storytelling in business, and consulting to health tech founders.
march
Ethan Choi, a partner at Accel for six years, announced in March that he was leaving the firm to join Khosla Ventures. At his new firm, Choi will focus on growth-stage investments and has backed companies like Klaviyo, Pismo, and 1Password. While many of the recent moves into venture capital are driven by people looking to start something new or take on different opportunities, that's not the case for everyone. On March 13, Chamath Palihapitiya's Social Capital Announced The firm fired partners Jay Zaveri and Ravi Tanuk. Bloomberg reported that this was due to issues with fundraising for AI startup Groq. Rabois is not the only one looking to return to his old company amid a flurry of investor turnover. On March 5, Myles Grimshaw announced that he would return to Thrive Capital as a general partner after three years at Benchmark Capital. Grimshaw joined Thrive Capital in 2013 and has backed companies such as Airtable, Lattice, and Monzo. The transition from operator to venture capital is a common career step in the startup ecosystem, but not everyone can do it. On March 4, Sam Blond announced that he had come to that conclusion and was leaving Founders Fund, where he had been a partner for about 18 months. Blond said he was returning to operations and has held roles at companies such as Brex, Zenephys, and Echosign.
January
Connie Chung announced she would be leaving Andreessen Horowitz on January 23 after 12 years at the firm. Chung had served as one of the firm's general partners for the past five years, backing companies such as Cider, Kobbold and Whatnot. Prominent venture capitalist Keith Rabois announced on January 9 that he was leaving Founders Fund to return to Khosla Ventures. Rabois served as a general partner at Founders Fund for nearly five years and returned to Khosla as a managing director, his previous role.
TechCrunch is keeping an eye on recent venture activity and will continue to update this article as things develop. If you have any tips or suggestions you'd like to share with us, please reach out to us at rebecca.szkutak@techcrunch.com.
This post was originally published on May 1. It was subsequently updated on May 13, July 12, August 15, and September 23 to include additional developments within the venture.
This post has been updated to better reflect Anne Lee Skates' investments at Andreessen Horowitz.