Stanford's 2026 AI VC ranking: a16z tops with 22,509 points, Menlo Ventures climbs to No. 3
deedydas · x · 2026-10-21
Stanford GSB professor Ilya Strebulaev released the 2026 Strebulaev–Jackson AI Venture Ranking, scoring VC firms solely on investments in US-based AI companies.
- a16z leads with 22,509 points, roughly 1.6x second-place Lightspeed (14,422)
- Menlo Ventures ranks No. 3 (13,464) and No. 1 among firms under $25B AUM, with 50 unicorns and only 20 investors
- Sequoia, ICONIQ Growth, Thrive, Founders Fund and Tiger Global round out the top 10
The methodology rewards early entry, leading rounds, valuations, exits and recency. Menlo partner deedy notes the firm rebuilt its team around low-volume, high-conviction bets, backing Anthropic, OpenRouter, Lovable, Suno, Fireworks, Modal and others.
Related event: Stanford's 2026 AI Venture Ranking: a16z Tops the List(4 posts)→
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