• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling

2

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent

3

'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt

1

Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling

2

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent

3

'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt
FinanceTerm Sheet

How Venture Capital Mega-Funds Are Widening the Funding Gap

By
Polina Marinova
Polina Marinova
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Polina Marinova
Polina Marinova
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 22, 2018, 9:17 AM ET
SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son Presents First-Quarter Earnings
SoftBank Group Corp. founder, Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son announces his group earnings during a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, 7 August 2017. SoftBank Group Corp. announced its consolidated earnings results for the 1st quarter (April - June, 2017) of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. (Photo by Alessandro Di Ciommo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)NurPhoto NurPhoto via Getty Images

This article originally ran in Term Sheet, Fortune’s newsletter about deals and dealmakers. Sign up here.

Let’s talk war chests.

Sequoia Capital is raising as much as $12 billion between its global growth fund and other venture capital and growth funds in the United States and China. The investment firm has set a $250 million minimum check size required for limited partners to participate in its global growth fund.

Some have claimed that VC firms are building their war chests in effort to compete (or at least keep up) with SoftBank’s mammoth $100 billion Vision Fund. For context, SoftBank poured more than $7 billion (nearly Sequoia’s entire growth fund target amount) into just one company, Uber. Some media outlets have reported that Sequoia can use its sizable war chest to lure entrepreneurs who prefer to steer clear of SoftBank.

At any rate, there is certainly no shortage of capital. Battery Ventures raised $1.25 billion across two new funds last month. General Catalyst is targeting $1 billion for its largest fund ever. And as you see in the “Firms & Funds” section at the the bottom of Term Sheet today, Khosla Ventures is raising another $400 million for a seed fund for a total of $1.4 billion across two new investment funds.

All of these funds combined would pale in comparison to the Vision Fund, but it seems that 2018 is shaping up to be “the year of the mega-fund.”

As VC firms raise larger funds and pump capital into venture-backed companies at various stages, they allow them to stay private longer. My question is: Will these trends further widen the funding gap? How will some of these macro-investing trends affect early-stage startups, for example?

I still think about what Patricia Nakache, a general partner at Trinity Ventures, said about how mega-funds are affecting her deals. She said that Softbank and its counterparts are creating a subset of untouchable companies, called “the super-haves.” From the Q&A:

It’s really altering the structure of venture pretty fundamentally. I feel like over the past three years, the venture environment had bifurcated into this world of “haves” and “have nots” where there are some companies that have struggled to raise money and some companies that have been able to raise gobs of money.

But I think what the Vision Fund has done has created this layer of “super-haves.” And the “super-haves” are almost untouchable in a way because they’re in a whole different stratosphere from a competitive perspective. If you are an early-stage venture fund, you have to be thinking pretty hard about, “I hope I’m backing the company that ultimately becomes a ‘super-have’ because they seem to have an unfair advantage.”

We saw a prime example of a “super-have” company flexing its muscles earlier this month when WeWork acquired Conductor, a content marketing platform which works with some large enterprise clients. The deal came only days after Industrious, a co-working office space startup that competes with WeWork, raised $80 million in venture funding to grow its roster of corporate customers.

Like I said before, money matters. Industrious’ total venture funding of $142 million pales in comparison to WeWork’s $6.9 billion. In today’s world, even a really well-funded startup company will have trouble competing when it’s up against a “super-have” company backed by a mega-fund.

About the Author
By Polina Marinova
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

Soldier Field in Chicago during 1994 FIFA World Cup opening ceremonies
EconomyWorld Cup
Some of the biggest U.S. sporting towns decided not to host any World Cup games, fearing a ‘major financial burden to our cities’
By Tristan BoveJune 3, 2026
35 minutes ago
CHONGQING, CHINA - JANUARY 22: In this photo illustration, a smartphone displays the logo of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP), an American provider of human capital management solutions including payroll, workforce management and business outsourcing services, in front of a screen showing the company's latest stock market chart on January 22, 2026, in Chongqing, China. (Photo illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)
EconomyLabor
AI was supposed to be killing jobs. In spring, the labor market is opening up instead
By Eva RoytburgJune 3, 2026
42 minutes ago
zhu
ConferencesCOO Summit
‘One thing after the next’: Axon and Schneider Electric supply chain chiefs talk life in permanent disruption
By Nick LichtenbergJune 3, 2026
1 hour ago
dr. oz
HealthWhite House
Dr. Oz on why Trump appointed a real-estate heir as acting intelligence chief: ‘I think Bill’s a great guy. I know him socially’
By Will Weissert, Josh Boak and The Associated PressJune 3, 2026
1 hour ago
A $245 million Bitcoin heist led police to a ‘Godfather’ who hired Sheriff’s deputies as enforcers
North AmericaCrime
A $245 million Bitcoin heist led police to a ‘Godfather’ who hired Sheriff’s deputies as enforcers
By Dave Collins and The Associated PressJune 3, 2026
1 hour ago
Kalshi reported former Rep. George Santos for allegedly placing a bet on the marketplace against his own attendance at the State of the Union
North AmericaKalshi
Kalshi reported former Rep. George Santos for allegedly placing a bet on the marketplace against his own attendance at the State of the Union
By Jake Offenhartz and The Associated PressJune 3, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling
North America
Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling
By Katie Savin, Callie Freitag, Matthew Borus and The ConversationJune 2, 2026
1 day ago
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
Environment
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 1, 2026
2 days ago
'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt
Banking
'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt
By Nick LichtenbergJune 2, 2026
1 day ago
Cognizant CEO says AI is remaking middle managers into player-coaches who can 'both  execute and develop others'
Newsletters
Cognizant CEO says AI is remaking middle managers into player-coaches who can 'both execute and develop others'
By Diane BradyJune 2, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 2, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 2, 2026
1 day ago
The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables 
Energy
The Iran conflict has disrupted oil supply. Gulf states are now looking to multi-billion-dollar investments in renewables 
By Melissa HancockJune 1, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.