Lightspeed Venture Partnersone of the greatest investment funds in Silicon Valley, has just obtained the status of Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). This regulatory change is far from anecdotal, and devotes a deep transformation of American venture capital. Like Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst or Thrive, the investment fund switches to a hybrid model mixing investment capital, business creation, wealth management and secondary operations.
A response to market saturation
The rise of the venture capital in the past fifteen years has caused an overview of capital on the best files. Faced with a relative shortage of targets, the funds are looking for new playgrounds: buyout in secondary school, stock market investments, thematic vehicles, or even acquisition of entire companies to be transformed via AI. Without the RIA status, American regulations limit these strategies to 20 % of assets under management.
Private Equity inspiration
The new RIAs of venture capital copy the codes of Private Equity. General Catalyst acquired the Summa Health Hospital, launched a private management division, and no longer presents itself as a VC but as an “investment and global transformation company”. Thrive lifts a billion dollars to create and buy companies compatible with its AI theses. Andreessen Horowitz co -financed the buyout of Twitter, developed a heritage management offer, and prepares integrated vertical new. These investment funds are no longer content to invest: they structure, operate and sometimes direct.
The fund becomes a platform
This mutation is accompanied by a functional enlargement. Marketing teams become content studios. Venture Partners are joined by profiles from the Council, the Bank or the Build-Up. Lightspeed has recruited an ex-Goldman Sachs to pilot his secondary strategy, while the former roles of “Associate” evolve towards those of Asset Manager. The objective: to capture the value throughout the cycle, including after the initial investment.
A recomposition of the LP landscape
This development also changes the relationship to institutional investors. Limited Partners who no longer seek only to access the best tech deals, await diversified strategies, capable of generating yield on several horizons. The rise of secondary markets, estimated at more than $ 100 billion in 2025feeds this dynamic. Funds must now look like Blackstone or KKR models to stay competitive.
