AI investing
Diffusion ONE closes $1.252 billion debut AI fund, far above its target
TechCrunch went through October's SEC filings and found a busy month for venture funds. The largest new AI vehicle is Diffusion ONE, the debut fund from former Benchmark partners Victor Lazarte and Kris Fredrickson, which raised $1.252 billion against a target of $800 million reported in May. It has already co-led Harvey's $550 million Series H with Lightspeed and joined Etched's $300 million Series C. Elsewhere, 8VC filed for a $400 million fund plus a small AI Fund XI that has raised $13.5 million, Benchmark filed four partner-only funds, and Industry Ventures raised at least $1.7 billion for secondaries.