Disruptive raises $10 billion fund to back at least 10 late-stage companies

Why This Matters

• The fund can write checks of up to $1 billion into at least 10 late-stage companies, concentrating large sums in AI and defense, two fields the firm describes as capital-intensive.
• It is Disruptive's first blind-pool fund, a shift from its deal-by-deal special purpose vehicles, so investors have committed without knowing which companies will be backed.
• At $10 billion, it is one of the biggest fundraises of the year and, according to the Dallas Business Journal, the largest venture fund raised in Texas history.

Background

Disruptive was founded in 2012 by Alex Davis, a grandson of the late oil magnate Marvin Davis, and has built a track record in late-stage investing. Its known bets include Palantir, Airbnb and Spotify, and more recently chip startup Groq and AI voice-generation startup ElevenLabs. The firm told its limited partners it has returned more than $6 billion on roughly $1.9 billion invested in startups, as reported by Bloomberg. The new fund marks a structural change for the firm, which previously raised capital project by project rather than through a single pooled vehicle, and targets sectors where large-scale development costs are high.

What to Watch

• Which late-stage companies receive the first checks, and how the capital is split between AI and defense.
• Whether the fund closes at its full $10 billion, after the at least $7.5 billion in commitments reported earlier this month.
• How the new fund performs against the firm's stated record of returning more than $6 billion on roughly $1.9 billion invested.