Thrive Capital

Venture Capital Concentrates Heavily in AI

Analysis of U.S. venture capital activity in early 2026 finds unprecedented concentration in AI: 86% of U.S. VC spending in H1 2026 went to AI companies, with just two firms (OpenAI and Anthropic) receiving 53% of venture dollars. Mega rounds over $100 million accounted for nearly 88% of deployed capital in H1 2026 while smaller rounds drew only 12.5%. Funding for non-AI sectors (biotech, fintech, healthtech, cybersecurity) has fallen roughly in half since 2021. Capital is also concentrating at the fund level: the 10 largest venture funds captured 43% of capital committed in 2025, and the three largest brand-name firms captured 48% of commitments in H1 2026. The piece warns this top-heavy allocation raises systemic risk for innovation and public-market pipeline diversity.

Thrive Capital Raises $2B, Eyes Lakers Stake

Thrive Capital announced a $2 billion outside fundraise for its AI roll-up vehicle, Thrive Holdings, at a $12 billion valuation with investors including SoftBank, Altimeter Capital and D1 Capital Partners. Founding partner Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger agreed to acquire Mark Walter’s reported 80% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers partly via a separate vehicle, Thrive Eternal. The firm is positioning three core theses: traditional venture investing (including a Thrive X allocation), AI-driven transformation via Thrive Holdings (noting OpenAI’s reported stake in the vehicle), and investments in cultural/live assets through Thrive Eternal. An investor letter disclosed strong paper returns (a 2022 vintage marked at 10.5x gross) and noted past cash returns to LPs. The piece also summarizes adjacent industry items including large raises at prediction-market operators and various AI funding moves.

OpenAI executive departures spark IPO concerns

Multiple top executives at OpenAI — including Denise Dresser, Fidji Simo and Brad Lightcap — have left the company in the weeks ahead of a planned public offering, raising investor concerns about leadership stability at the $852 billion AI company. OpenAI confidentially filed an IPO prospectus in June but has not set a timetable. The company promoted Dali Rajic (former Wiz COO) to chief revenue officer. Internal metrics cited by leadership show run-rate revenue up more than 20% month-over-month in July and enterprise growth of 32% for business customers; OpenAI says its enterprise base doubled to 2 million customers year-over-year. The departures add pressure on CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman as competition from Google, Anthropic and open-weight models intensifies.