A16Z raises $15 billion! Cryptocurrency accounts for only 7%, revealing the gap between the slogan and the layout

A16Z completes the largest fundraising in history with $15 billion, with partner Ben Horowitz stating that the funds will be allocated to AI and crypto. However, 45% of the $6.75 billion (approximately 10-15 billion USD, 7-10%) is projected to flow into growth-stage funds. This contrasts sharply with the $4.5 billion dedicated to a single crypto fund in 2022, which ultimately suffered a 40% loss, becoming a stain in A16Z’s history.

How is A16Z’s $15 billion allocated? Revealing the six major sub-funds

This record-breaking $15 billion fundraising has been divided into six sub-funds, each reflecting different strategic priorities. The distribution of funds reveals A16Z’s true investment intentions, which are far more insightful than public statements.

Detailed breakdown of the six sub-funds

Growth Fund ($6.75 billion, 45%): Investing in proven but unlisted mature tech companies, serving as a “pipeline for the next generation of U.S. tech blue chips.”

Other Venture Strategies ($3 billion, 20%): Covering crypto, stablecoins, secondary shares, and structured transactions, acting as a flexible capital toolbox.

Apps Fund ($1.7 billion, 11.33%): Betting on AI-native applications and next-generation SaaS, incubating platform-level software built on large models.

Infrastructure ($1.7 billion, 11.33%): Covering underlying computing power, data, and developer tools for AI and blockchain.

American Dynamism ($1.176 billion, 7.84%): Focusing on defense tech, government IT, manufacturing, and critical infrastructure.

Bio + Health ($700 million, 4.67%): Concentrating on AI-driven pharmaceuticals, synthetic biology, and precision medicine.

The most notable feature of the fund allocation is that nearly half is dedicated to the growth fund. This indicates that close to half of A16Z’s capital will be invested in pre-IPO projects, emphasizing late-stage profit locking. This strategic shift suggests that A16Z now believes the clearest investment returns are in the pre-IPO stage of mature companies, rather than early-stage venture investing.

A more critical finding is that, whether in AI or crypto, there are no longer dedicated funds. Almost all capital can be invested in AI, while crypto investments are spread across Infrastructure and “Other” categories. This structural change hints that crypto’s strategic position within A16Z may be significantly diminished.

From a $4.5 billion dedicated fund to a diversified investment strategy: a strategic retreat

To understand this shift, we must revisit A16Z’s historical relationship with cryptocurrencies. Before this fundraising, A16Z’s largest single fund was the 2022 a16z Crypto Fund IV, a dedicated crypto fund raising $4.5 billion, setting a record in the crypto venture space at the time.

This crypto fund represented A16Z’s bold gamble on the Web3 era but ultimately became a stain in the firm’s history. Although early crypto funds yielded astonishing returns of up to 10x, the 2022 fund suffered a 40% loss after closing. This devastating loss occurred during the crypto winter, with FTX’s collapse, Terra Luna’s zeroing out, and massive DeFi protocol liquidations, marking the most severe confidence crisis in crypto since 2018.

The reduction from $4.5 billion to an estimated $10-15 billion is not just a numerical change but a fundamental strategic shift. The cancellation of dedicated funds signifies that crypto is no longer viewed as an independent asset class but integrated into broader technology investment portfolios. This change reflects both a reflection on past losses and a reassessment of crypto market maturity and return expectations.

From an investor confidence perspective, the disappearance of dedicated funds also subtly signals that A16Z is no longer willing to commit large amounts of capital specifically to crypto LPs (Limited Partners). This cautious stance is especially significant in the context of the 2024-2025 crypto market recovery, indicating that even if markets rebound, A16Z is unlikely to revert to its 2022 aggressive strategy.

How much money can crypto really get?

Returning to the core question: how much of A16Z’s $15 billion will actually be invested in crypto? Given the current market’s lack of new large-scale blockchain infrastructure projects, the estimated flow of funds into cryptocurrencies mainly resides within the “Other Strategies” category, which accounts for $3 billion.

A16Z publicly states that AI and crypto are “key architectures of the future,” indicating a strategic importance comparable to AI. However, from a fund allocation perspective, this appears more like a politically correct statement than a firm commitment. Considering that “Other Strategies” also include stablecoins, secondary shares, and structured transactions—non-pure crypto investments—the actual investment amount allocated to a16z crypto projects may only be about one-third to half of the “Other Strategies.”

Therefore, a conservative estimate suggests that approximately $1-1.5 billion will be allocated to a16z crypto, representing about 7-10% of the total fundraising. This proportion starkly contrasts with the dominant role of the dedicated crypto fund in 2022. Moving from 30% (4.5 billion / 15 billion) to 7-10%, crypto’s share in A16Z’s capital allocation has decreased by two-thirds.

This fund allocation strategy also reflects the current state of the crypto market. While mainstream assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum have recovered somewhat, there is a lack of revolutionary new narratives. DeFi, NFTs, Web3 social, and other hot tracks have passed their rapid growth phase. Emerging areas like RWA (Real-World Asset Tokenization) and AI+Crypto remain unproven. In this environment, large-scale dedicated investments carry higher risks.