Looking back on our $1 billion AI commitment — it turns out we’re just getting started

• More than $1 billion invested in AI in 2.5 years — and we’re just getting started
• More than two-thirds of our AI investments have been early-stage
• AI-native investments made across nine roadmap categories: data and cloud infrastructure, vertical SaaS, horizontal SaaS, developer platforms, fintech, healthcare, deep tech, consumer and cybersecurity

In early 2023, we made a big, public bet: a $1 billion commitment to back the next wave of AI-native startups. At the time, this felt bold and ambitious, but also appropriate given what we were seeing. Now, fast forward a couple years later, we’re excited to share that we’ve put that capital to work—and it is clear it’s only just beginning. AI has quickly established itself as the central nervous system for applications across every sector of the economy.

We’re not shy about debating ideas and embracing nonconsensus decision making. But with AI, the usual back-and-forth turned into something rare at Bessemer: unanimous conviction. It was clear that this wasn’t just another wave of hype. This felt different. It felt foundational. Like the kind of platform shift that only comes around once in a generation.

Just as we have invested for decades in the earliest stages of companies that defined past eras we’re taking the same approach with AI. Investing early is core to who we are.

Most of our AI bets? They’re at inception and in early stage builders. More than two-thirds of our AI investments have been in pre-seed, seed, and Series A companies that are shaping the future of their industries. We’ve also jumped in at the mid and growth phases when we believe something is truly special, like we did with Anthropic.

Our approach is simple: go deep, go early, and go big on breakthroughs. We’re investing across the entire AI stack—from the apps you use every day to the tools developers rely on, down to the foundation models powering it all. We’re not here for incremental tweaks; we’re here for the truly transformative ideas. The founders we seek to back are agile, technical, and unencumbered by the status quo.

AI-native businesses are scaling from $0 to $100 million in ARR faster than any other companies in cloud history. It’s the highest number of hyper-growth startups we have ever seen. We’re fortunate to work with visionary teams at companies who are redefining their industries, a sampling you can see here:

We work closely with scientists, PhDs, and research labs to identify and nurture the brightest AI talent who are on the cusp of something great. We’ve also created programs and collaboration spaces, like Bessemer Beam, Founders Garage in San Francisco, and Bessemer Concept in Israel, to bring together promising talent at the earliest stages, often before their companies are officially incubated. We’re not just dedicated to investing in AI, but committed to actively shaping its future.

We’re all-in on what comes next in AI, learning alongside the founders we back. Whether it’s consumer or enterprise, applications, infrastructure, or robotics; from healthcare to fintech, and every vertical in between—we’re there. As AI rapidly transforms every sector, protecting sensitive data and building trust are critical for the future of disruptive technology, making security and cybersecurity more important than ever.

We’re here to back the AI disruptors. We’re backing bold founders at every stage, from first pitch to IPO, and in every corner of the world.

We are committed to sharing resources to support early stage entrepreneurs with the benchmarks, best practices, and insights to grow enduring businesses and bring research to reality. Just as we built the laws of cloud and a library of resources for the cloud revolution, we’re building foundational resources for the AI era— a reflection of the fundamental transformation we’re witnessing and our firm-wide commitment to championing the next era of innovation.

You can read our 2025 State of AI report here.