Lightspeed Venture Partners AI investments from January 2023 to September 2026 span 287 rounds worth $167.8 billion, counting the full size of every round the firm joined. The 2026 total alone, $118.6 billion across 85 rounds in nine months, is larger than 2023, 2024 and 2025 combined. Two rounds of $10 billion or more, both in Anthropic, hold $95 billion of that 2026 value.
Take those giant rounds out and Lightspeed still ranks second among venture firms on AI round value, with $59.8 billion. The firm brought 161 new AI companies into its portfolio since 2023 and led or co-led the first round in 121 of them, yet its book keeps moving later. Series C or later rounds rose from 21% of its AI rounds in 2023 to 41% in 2026, while the median round it joined grew from $31 million to $98 million.
On this page
- Lightspeed Venture Partners AI Portfolio Overview
- Lightspeed AI Investments by Year, 2023 to 2026
- Lightspeed's Three Largest Anthropic Rounds, 2025 to 2026
- Lightspeed AI Investments Compared With Other Venture Firms
- Lightspeed Early-Stage AI Investments and First Rounds
- Lightspeed Follow-On Rounds and Later-Stage Shift
- Lightspeed AI Investments by Funding Stage
- Lightspeed Seed and Series A Bets That Became Unicorns
- Lightspeed's 2023 AI Portfolio Companies and Their Outcomes
- Lightspeed Investments in AI Agents
- Lightspeed AI Investments by Sector
- Lightspeed AI Investments by City and Country
- Fastest-Rising Companies in the Lightspeed Portfolio
- Lightspeed AI Portfolio Companies by Segment
- Lightspeed Co-Investors in AI Rounds
- Key Takeaways
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Methodology
Lightspeed Venture Partners AI Portfolio Overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| AI rounds joined, Jan 2023 to Sep 2026 | 287 |
| Value of AI rounds joined | $167.8B |
| Rounds and value by year | 2023: 43, $2.7B; 2024: 74, $13.8B; 2025: 85, $32.8B; 2026 (Jan to Sep): 85, $118.6B |
| Median round joined | $31M in 2023, $98M in 2026 |
| Largest round joined | Anthropic Series H, $65B, May 2026 |
| AI companies in the book | 196, of which 161 are new since 2023 |
| Seed and Series A bets now valued at $1B or more | 17 |
| Top city | San Francisco, 79 rounds (27.5%) |
| Rounds in US companies | 77%, against 55% of all AI rounds |
| Rounds in AI agent companies, 2026 | 46%, against 36% of all AI rounds |
- Lightspeed Venture Partners participated in 287 AI rounds worth $167.8 billion from January 2023 to September 2026.
- Until August 2025, every AI round Lightspeed had joined since 2023 added up to $29 billion across 167 rounds; three Anthropic rounds of $13 billion, $30 billion and $65 billion followed between September 2025 and May 2026.
- Without rounds of $10 billion or more, Lightspeed ranks second among venture firms on AI round value from January 2023 to September 2026, with $59.8 billion, behind Andreessen Horowitz at $90.2 billion.
- Of the 161 AI companies Lightspeed first backed between January 2023 and September 2026, 116 came in at pre-seed, seed or Series A, and Lightspeed led or co-led the first round in 121.
- Seventeen companies Lightspeed first backed at seed or Series A since 2023 were valued at $1 billion or more by September 2026, led by Reflection AI ($27.5 billion, reported) and Mistral AI ($24.4 billion).
- Series C or later rounds made up 41% of Lightspeed’s AI rounds in January to September 2026, against 13% of all AI rounds.
Lightspeed AI Investments by Year, 2023 to 2026
Lightspeed’s AI activity has grown every year since 2023. The firm joined 43 AI rounds worth $2.7 billion in 2023, 74 worth $13.8 billion in 2024 and 85 worth $32.8 billion in 2025. With three months still to go, 2026 already matches 2025 on count, at 85 rounds, and those rounds are worth $118.6 billion.
On a like-for-like basis, January to September each year, Lightspeed joined 28 rounds worth $1.8 billion in 2023, 51 worth $7 billion in 2024, 65 worth $28 billion in 2025 and 85 worth $118.6 billion in 2026. That puts 2026 at 31% more rounds and 4.2 times the value of the same months in 2025.
The record year followed a record fundraise. In December 2025, Lightspeed closed more than $9 billion in new funds, its largest raise ever. TechCrunch read the raise as money for continued “massive investments into capital-intensive AI companies.” In September 2026, Lightspeed co-led Harvey‘s $550 million round at a $15.5 billion valuation, its first round in the legal AI company.
| Year | Rounds joined | Value of rounds joined | Jan to Sep rounds | Jan to Sep value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 43 | $2.7B | 28 | $1.8B |
| 2024 | 74 | $13.8B | 51 | $7B |
| 2025 | 85 | $32.8B | 65 | $28B |
| 2026 (Jan to Sep) | 85 | $118.6B | 85 | $118.6B |
Lightspeed’s Three Largest Anthropic Rounds, 2025 to 2026
Two rounds account for most of the record 2026 value, and both are Anthropic. Until the end of August 2025, every AI round Lightspeed had joined since January 2023 added up to $29 billion. That took 167 rounds over 32 months.
Then came three Anthropic rounds in nine months: the $13 billion Series F in September 2025, the $30 billion Series G in February 2026 and the $65 billion Series H in May 2026. Together they outweigh everything that came before, and the running total reached $167.8 billion across 287 rounds by September 2026.
Lightspeed AI Investments Compared With Other Venture Firms
Counting every AI round they joined between January 2023 and September 2026, Lightspeed ranks third among venture firms on round value, with $167.8 billion. Sequoia leads with $284.3 billion and Andreessen Horowitz follows with $258.2 billion.
Drop the rounds of $10 billion or more and the order changes. Andreessen Horowitz moves to first on $90.2 billion and Lightspeed moves up to second on $59.8 billion. Sequoia falls to fourth on the same test, with $51.3 billion. Lightspeed’s rank does not rest on Anthropic.
| Firm | All AI rounds joined | Without $10B+ rounds | Rank without $10B+ rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sequoia | $284.3B | $51.3B | 4 |
| Andreessen Horowitz | $258.2B | $90.2B | 1 |
| Lightspeed | $167.8B | $59.8B | 2 |
| ICONIQ | $133.3B | $15.3B | 9 |
| DST Global | $124.4B | $21.4B | 7 |
| General Catalyst | $116.6B | $51.6B | 3 |
| Insight Partners | $95.2B | $20.2B | 8 |
| Thrive Capital | $92.0B | $42.0B | 5 |
| Greenoaks | $79.1B | $14.1B | 10 |
| Founders Fund | $57.6B | $27.6B | 6 |
Lightspeed Early-Stage AI Investments and First Rounds
For a founder, the better question is whether Lightspeed shows up early and whether it brings the term sheet. Of the 196 AI companies in Lightspeed’s book, 161 are new since 2023, and 35 were already in the portfolio before then.
Most of the new companies came in early. Lightspeed first backed 68 at pre-seed or seed and 48 at Series A, 116 in all. Another 17 entered at Series B, 25 at Series C or later, and 3 at a stage not stated. Lightspeed led or co-led the first round in 121 of the 161.
| Entry point | Companies |
|---|---|
| Already in portfolio before 2023 | 35 |
| Pre-seed or seed | 68 |
| Series A | 48 |
| Series B | 17 |
| Series C or later | 25 |
| Stage not stated | 3 |
Lightspeed Follow-On Rounds and Later-Stage Shift
Between the first half of 2023 and the first half of 2026, Lightspeed’s AI rounds per half-year went from 19 to 60. Follow-on rounds, later rounds in companies Lightspeed already held, did most of that climb, from 7 to 31. New entries rose too, from 12 to 29. Follow-ons account for 24 of the 41 rounds added over that period and new entries for 17, so the firm kept adding companies while putting more into the ones already in the book.
| Half-year | Total rounds | Follow-ons | New entries |
|---|---|---|---|
| H1 2023 | 19 | 7 | 12 |
| H2 2023 | 24 | 7 | 17 |
| H1 2024 | 35 | 12 | 23 |
| H2 2024 | 39 | 18 | 21 |
| H1 2025 | 46 | 22 | 23 |
| H2 2025 | 39 | 19 | 18 |
| H1 2026 | 60 | 31 | 29 |
| H2 2026 (Jul to Sep) | 25 | 15 | 9 |
Lightspeed AI Investments by Funding Stage
Lightspeed’s stage mix moved against the market. Series C or later rounds went from 21% of Lightspeed’s AI rounds in 2023 to 22% in 2024, 31% in 2025 and 41% in January to September 2026. Across all AI rounds, that share went from 17% in 2023 to 21% in 2024 and then fell to 13% in 2026.
Seed moved the other way. Pre-seed and seed went from 30% of Lightspeed’s rounds in 2023 to 15% in 2026, while the market’s seed share rose from 37% to 40%. The median round Lightspeed joined went from $31 million in 2023 to $98 million in 2026.
The new money fits that shift. Of the more than $9 billion Lightspeed closed in December 2025, $3.3 billion went into Lightspeed Opportunity Fund III.
Lightspeed Seed and Series A Bets That Became Unicorns
Seventeen companies Lightspeed first backed at seed or Series A since 2023 are now valued at $1 billion or more. Lightspeed led or co-led the first round in 12 of them. Four came from 2023, seven from 2024 and six from 2025.
Mistral AI is the clearest case. Lightspeed led its seed in June 2023, and the company was valued at $24.4 billion in September 2026. Reflection AI, where Lightspeed co-led the Series A in March 2025, is reported at $27.5 billion, and Skild AI, a July 2024 co-led seed, at more than $14 billion. Both of those figures come from press reports.
Saronic, which builds autonomous ships, went from a Series A that Lightspeed joined in October 2023 to a valuation of $9.25 billion. Eve, a legal AI company whose seed round Lightspeed co-led in October 2023, passed a $1 billion valuation in 2025. Lightspeed was backing legal AI at seed about three years before it paid up for Harvey.
| Company | Lightspeed’s first round | Latest valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Reflection AI | Co-led Series A, Mar 2025 | $27.5B (reported) |
| Mistral AI | Led seed, Jun 2023 | $24.4B |
| Skild AI | Co-led seed, Jul 2024 | $14B+ (reported) |
| Saronic | Joined Series A, Oct 2023 | $9.25B |
| Nexthop AI | Led Series A, Mar 2025 | $4.2B |
| Eon | Led Series A, Oct 2024 | $4B (reported) |
| Proxima Fusion | Joined Series A, Jun 2025 | $2.7B+ |
| CuspAI | Joined seed, Jun 2024 | $2.6B (reported) |
| Exa | Led Series A, Jul 2024 | $2.2B (reported) |
| Distyl AI | Led Series A, Nov 2024 | $1.8B |
| LMArena | Joined seed, May 2025 | $1.7B |
| Granola | Led seed, May 2024 | $1.5B |
| Emergent | Led Series A, Sep 2025 | $1.5B |
| Goodfire | Led seed, Aug 2024 | $1.25B |
| Eve | Co-led seed, Oct 2023 | $1B+ |
| RedotPay | Led Series A, Mar 2025 | $1B+ |
| Typeface | Joined Series A, Feb 2023 | $1B |
Lightspeed’s 2023 AI Portfolio Companies and Their Outcomes
Lightspeed backed 41 AI companies in 2023. Only eight of them have a valuation at both the 2023 round and a later point that can be compared, and three of those eight were Lightspeed companies before 2023.
Farther, a wealth management firm, is the one that grew at least fourfold on announced prices, from $131 million to at least $1 billion in May 2026, a change of 7.6 times or more. Wiz ended in a sale at $32 billion in March 2026, 3.2 times the $10 billion price of the 2023 round. Cato Networks went from $3 billion to $4.8 billion, 1.6 times. Mistral AI, Nirvana Insurance, Pika, Redpanda and Vestwell have a press-reported value at one or both ends and get no multiple.
Of the other 33, five were acquired by buyers including Snowflake, Salesforce, Thomson Reuters and Cribl. Fourteen raised again without a public price, eleven have had no new priced round, and three (Eve, Saronic and ScaleOps) have no public 2023 price.
Lightspeed Investments in AI Agents
In October 2024, Lightspeed wrote that agentic enterprise automation would be a far larger opportunity than the robotic process automation software before it. Its rounds had already moved. In 2024, 36% of Lightspeed’s AI rounds (27 of 74) went to companies building AI agents, about twice the 18% share across all AI rounds.
The share kept climbing, to 41% (35 of 85) in 2025 and 46% (39 of 85) in January to September 2026. The market has been catching up, from 15% in 2023 to 36% in 2026. Three of the 17 seed and Series A unicorns build agents or agent tools: Reflection AI ($27.5 billion, reported), Mistral AI ($24.4 billion) and Emergent ($1.5 billion).
| Year | Lightspeed agent rounds | Lightspeed share | All AI rounds share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 8 of 43 | 19% | 15% |
| 2024 | 27 of 74 | 36% | 18% |
| 2025 | 35 of 85 | 41% | 29% |
| 2026 (Jan to Sep) | 39 of 85 | 46% | 36% |
Lightspeed AI Investments by Sector
Developer tools and AI infrastructure is Lightspeed’s biggest segment, at 31.0% of its AI rounds from January 2023 to September 2026. Across all AI rounds, the share is 12.8%, so Lightspeed backs the segment at 2.4 times the market rate.
Cybersecurity runs above the market too, at 10.8% against 7.2%. Ravi Mhatre, one of Lightspeed’s co-founders, traces that bet back a long way:
“For nearly two decades, Lightspeed has invested in cybersecurity platforms, including Zscaler, Netskope, Wiz, Rubrik, Exabeam, and Cato Networks. These were bets on enablement; that enterprises would demand security, reliability, and control before committing critical applications to new platforms.” (Ravi Mhatre, partner and co-founder, Lightspeed Venture Partners, in “AI Safety vs. AI Scalability Is a False Dichotomy”, October 2025)
Legal tech is small by count, 13 rounds, but its 4.5% share of Lightspeed’s rounds is 2.2 times its 2.0% share of the market’s. In its post on the Harvey round, Lightspeed wrote that the next edge in AI “will not come from access to the same models,” and argued it would come from what organizations build on top of them.
Health and biotech goes the other way, at 12.5% of Lightspeed’s rounds against 17.9% of the market’s.
| Segment | Lightspeed | All AI rounds | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer tools and AI infrastructure | 31.0% | 12.8% | 2.4x |
| Legal tech | 4.5% | 2.0% | 2.2x |
| Enterprise software | 5.2% | 3.3% | 1.6x |
| Cybersecurity | 10.8% | 7.2% | 1.5x |
| Manufacturing and industrials | 7.0% | 9.6% | 0.7x |
| Health and biotech | 12.5% | 17.9% | 0.7x |
| Energy and sustainability | 2.1% | 7.2% | 0.3x |
| HR tech and people analytics | 0.7% | 3.1% | 0.2x |
| Food and agritech | 0.3% | 2.8% | 0.1x |
| Real estate and construction | 0.3% | 4.2% | 0.1x |
Lightspeed AI Investments by AI Type
Bot Memo also classifies startups by how they use AI. That cut shows the same lean toward the companies that build the models, chips and compute everyone else uses. AI platform companies, the ones training their own foundation models or building AI chips or compute, make up 8% of Lightspeed’s rounds across 2023, 2025 and 2026, against 2% of the market. AI adjacent companies, which sell tools, data and compute to AI builders, are 17% against 10%. AI augmented companies, which add AI to an existing product, are 23% of Lightspeed’s rounds against 33% of the market’s, and AI native companies are close to even at 52% against 54%.
Lightspeed AI Investments by Theme
Across 22 themes with 11 or more Lightspeed rounds, open source is the one Lightspeed leans on hardest, at 3.53 times its share of all AI rounds. Reasoning models come right behind at 3.50 times, followed by speech recognition at 2.7 times, AI safety at 2.6 times, and enterprise search and accounting at 2.5 times each. Only 6 of the 22 themes sit below the market, with data management lowest at 0.70 times.
Lightspeed AI Investments by City and Country
San Francisco and New York City hold 45% of Lightspeed’s AI rounds, against 20% of all AI rounds. San Francisco alone accounts for 79 rounds, or 27.5%, and New York City for 51, or 17.8%. Palo Alto follows with 16 rounds. Overall, 77% of Lightspeed’s rounds are in US companies, against 55% of all AI rounds.
Outside the US, Tel Aviv leads with 14 rounds. That is 4.9% of Lightspeed’s rounds, more than twice the city’s 2.0% share of the market. London goes the other way, at 3.8% of Lightspeed’s rounds (11) against 6.4% of all AI rounds. Munich, with 9 rounds, gets almost as many as London. By country, Israel leads the non-US book with 16 rounds, ahead of the United Kingdom with 12, Germany with 11, France with 7 and Singapore with 5.
These figures cover Lightspeed Venture Partners’ own book. Rounds that name only Lightspeed India Partners, Lightspeed China Partners or Lightspeed Faction sit outside it.
| City | Lightspeed rounds | Lightspeed share | All AI rounds share |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 79 | 27.5% | 10.5% |
| New York City | 51 | 17.8% | 9.7% |
| Palo Alto | 16 | 5.6% | 1.4% |
| Tel Aviv | 14 | 4.9% | 2.0% |
| London | 11 | 3.8% | 6.4% |
| Munich | 9 | 3.1% | 0.8% |
| Mountain View | 7 | 2.4% | 0.5% |
| Paris | 7 | 2.4% | 1.7% |
| Boston | 7 | 2.4% | 2.3% |
Fastest-Rising Companies in the Lightspeed Portfolio
Bot Memo took every company in Lightspeed’s book outside its ten largest raisers that raised at least twice since 2023, 87 companies in all, and ranked them to find the ones rising fastest. Six factors count. Four are scored against the median of those 87: how fast a company went from its first round to its latest (weight 2), how much bigger the latest round was (weight 2), valuation growth where two prices exist (weight 1.5), and how many rounds it raised (weight 1). Two are a plain count: a Lightspeed lead named in the company’s own release (weight 1), and a round in the last six months (weight 1). No segment gets more than three rows.
Granola, the London-based AI meeting notepad, tops the list with a score of 8.1. The number that put it there is a $125 million Series C in March 2026, 29 times its first round. Emergent, the San Francisco AI app builder, is second on 6.7 for three rounds between September 2025 and July 2026. Exa, a search API for AI agents, is third on 6.4 with a $250 million round, 11 times its first.
| Rank | Company | City | Latest round | Number that earned the slot | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Granola | London | Series C, Mar 2026 | $125M round, 29 times its first | 8.1 |
| 2 | Emergent | San Francisco | Series C, Jul 2026 | 3 rounds, Sep 2025 to Jul 2026 | 6.7 |
| 3 | Exa | San Francisco | Series C, May 2026 | $250M round, 11 times its first | 6.4 |
| 4 | Nominal | Los Angeles | Series B, Mar 2026 | $80M round, 11 times its first | 6.1 |
| 5 | Tabs | New York | Series B, Sep 2025 | $55M round, 7.9 times its first | 6.1 |
| 6 | Cylake | Sunnyvale | Convertible note, Sep 2026 | Seed to convertible note in 6 months | 6.1 |
| 7 | Goodfire | San Francisco | Series B, Feb 2026 | $150M round, 21 times its first | 6.0 |
| 8 | Neko Health | Stockholm | Series C, Jul 2026 | $700M round, 10 times its first | 6.0 |
| 9 | K2 Space | Torrance | Series D, Jul 2026 | $500M round, 71 times its first | 5.9 |
| 10 | Sandstone | New York | Series A, Jun 2026 | Seed to Series A in 5 months | 5.9 |
| 11 | Profound | New York | Series D, Sep 2026 | $180M round, 51 times its first | 5.8 |
| 12 | Assort Health | San Francisco | Series C, Jun 2026 | $120M round, 5.5 times its first | 5.6 |
Lightspeed AI Portfolio Companies by Segment
The market map shows Lightspeed’s seven largest segments by rounds joined and the biggest names in each. Developer tools and AI infrastructure is the biggest band, with 83 rounds in 52 companies; Anthropic and Mistral AI sit at the top of it. Health and biotech follows with 36 rounds in 28 companies, then fintech with 34 rounds in 24 companies and cybersecurity with 30 rounds in 20 companies. Manufacturing and industrials has 18 rounds in 12 companies, marketing and sales tech 14 rounds in 11 companies, and enterprise software 12 rounds in 7 companies.
| Segment | Rounds | Companies | Example companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer tools and AI infrastructure | 83 | 52 | Anthropic, Mistral AI, Goodfire, ScaleOps |
| Health and biotech | 36 | 28 | Neko, Abridge, Assort Health |
| Fintech | 34 | 24 | Ramp, Tabs, Chaos Labs |
| Cybersecurity | 30 | 20 | Wiz, Cyera, Cato Networks |
| Manufacturing and industrials | 18 | 12 | Skild AI, Nexthop AI, Nominal |
| Marketing and sales tech | 14 | 11 | Typeface, beehiiv, Gravity |
| Enterprise software | 12 | 7 | Granola, Glean |
Lightspeed Co-Investors in AI Rounds
The firms beside Lightspeed have changed too. Lightspeed’s own AI rounds went from 117 in 2023 and 2024 to 170 in 2025 and 2026 to date, 1.5 times as many, even though the second period is three months shorter.
Sequoia is now the firm Lightspeed shares the most AI rounds with, 42 in all, up from 15 shared rounds in 2023 and 2024 to 27 since. General Catalyst follows with 38. Andreessen Horowitz went from 7 shared rounds in 2023 and 2024 to 23 since, 3.3 times as many. Kleiner Perkins grew faster still, from 3 to 15, or 5.0 times. NVIDIA went from 6 to 15.
| Firm | Shared rounds 2023-24 | Shared rounds 2025-26 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sequoia | 15 | 27 | 42 |
| General Catalyst | 16 | 22 | 38 |
| Andreessen Horowitz | 7 | 23 | 30 |
| NVIDIA | 6 | 15 | 21 |
| Bessemer | 6 | 13 | 19 |
| Coatue | 6 | 13 | 19 |
| Index Ventures | 5 | 14 | 19 |
| Kleiner Perkins | 3 | 15 | 18 |
| Accel | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Menlo Ventures | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| SV Angel | 8 | 9 | 17 |
Back to Anthropic. Lightspeed joined it at a $183 billion valuation in September 2025 and again at $965 billion in May 2026. For the May round to double, Anthropic would have to be worth about $1.9 trillion, and the company is targeting an IPO worth $2 trillion. Seed checks turned into Mistral AI, Skild AI and Eve; the largest rounds Lightspeed joined were Anthropic’s, and it came into Harvey at a $15.5 billion valuation.
Key Takeaways
- Lightspeed Venture Partners participated in 287 AI rounds worth $167.8 billion from January 2023 to September 2026, and $118.6 billion of that came in January to September 2026.
- Three Anthropic rounds ($13 billion, $30 billion and $65 billion) between September 2025 and May 2026 outweigh the $29 billion across Lightspeed’s previous 167 AI rounds.
- Without rounds of $10 billion or more, Lightspeed ranks second among venture firms on AI round value at $59.8 billion, ahead of Sequoia at $51.3 billion.
- Lightspeed led or co-led the first round in 121 of the 161 AI companies it first backed since 2023, and 17 of its seed and Series A bets are now valued at $1 billion or more.
- Series C or later rounds rose to 41% of Lightspeed’s AI rounds in 2026, against 13% across all AI rounds, and the median round it joined reached $98 million.
- Developer tools and AI infrastructure took 31.0% of Lightspeed’s rounds against 12.8% for the market, and AI agent companies took 46% of its 2026 rounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much AI funding has Lightspeed Venture Partners participated in since 2023?
Lightspeed Venture Partners participated in 287 AI rounds worth $167.8 billion between January 2023 and September 2026. Each figure is the full round size, so it reads as the value of rounds Lightspeed joined, not the size of its own checks.
How many Anthropic rounds has Lightspeed joined?
Lightspeed joined five Anthropic rounds from 2024 to May 2026, including three of $10 billion or more: the $13 billion Series F in September 2025, the $30 billion Series G in February 2026 and the $65 billion Series H in May 2026. It came in at a $183 billion valuation in September 2025 and at $965 billion in May 2026.
Does Lightspeed invest in early-stage AI startups?
Yes. Of the 161 AI companies Lightspeed first backed from January 2023 to September 2026, 116 came in at pre-seed, seed or Series A, and Lightspeed led or co-led the first round in 121 of the 161. Its overall mix has moved later, though, with seed falling from 30% of its AI rounds in 2023 to 15% in 2026.
Which of Lightspeed’s early-stage AI bets are worth the most?
Among companies Lightspeed first backed at seed or Series A since 2023, Reflection AI is reported at $27.5 billion and Mistral AI was valued at $24.4 billion in September 2026. Skild AI is reported at more than $14 billion and Saronic is valued at $9.25 billion.
Which sectors does Lightspeed back most in AI?
Developer tools and AI infrastructure is Lightspeed’s largest AI segment, at 31.0% of its rounds from January 2023 to September 2026 against 12.8% for all AI rounds. Cybersecurity (10.8%) and legal tech (4.5%) also run above the market, while health and biotech runs below it at 12.5%.
Who co-invests most often with Lightspeed in AI rounds?
Sequoia shared 42 AI rounds with Lightspeed from January 2023 to September 2026, more than any other firm. General Catalyst shared 38 and Andreessen Horowitz 30, with Andreessen Horowitz rising from 7 shared rounds in 2023 and 2024 to 23 since.
Methodology
- Rounds: 287 Lightspeed rounds worldwide, January 2023 to September 2026.
- Window: January 2023 to September 2026, all amounts in USD.
- Data: Verified AI venture rounds in the Bot Memo repository.
- Attribution: Every investor on a round is credited with the full round, so figures read as rounds joined and are never added across firms.
- Round sizes: As announced. Anthropic’s $65 billion Series H includes $15 billion of investment hyperscalers had committed earlier.
- Lightspeed’s book: Rounds naming Lightspeed Venture Partners. Rounds credited only to Lightspeed India Partners, Lightspeed China Partners or Lightspeed Faction are kept apart.
- Valuations: Whole-company figures, announced at priced rounds or reported by press where marked. They are not Lightspeed’s returns.
- Segments: A company on the market map sits in one segment, while the sector chart counts a round in every segment it belongs to. That is why the map shows 83 developer tools rounds and the sector chart 89.
- AI type: Shares use 2023, 2025 and 2026 rounds, the years classified on the same four types.
About the author
Editorial Staff
The Editorial Staff at Bot Memo is a team of writers, analysts, and AI agents dedicated to mapping the global AI startup ecosystem. Led by Chintan Zalani, the team tracks thousands of funding rounds, classifies companies across verticals, and distills it all into actionable intelligence for investors and founders.
