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A* Capital Fundraising History
Growth of A* Capital funds from 2021 to 2026
Primary Sources
Kevin Hartz's A* just closed its third fund with $450 million
In Brief Posted: 11:45 AM PDT · May 12, 2026 Image Credits:A* Star Capital Early-stage venture firm A* Capital on Tuesday announced a $450 million Fund III. The firm takes a generalist approach, backing companies across categories including AI applications, fintech, healthcare, and security.The average check size for this fund will be between $3 million and $5 million, with the aim to back at least 30 startups. The capital will be deployed over the next two to three years, as with the firm’s previous funds. Limited partners include nonprofits, foundations, and endowments; Carnegie Mellon University is among the publicly named backers. A* Capital, founded in 2020 and run by Kevin Hartz and Bennet Siegel, previously raised a $315 million Fund II in 2024 and a $300 million Fund I in 2021. Hartz is a serial entrepreneur best known for co-founding Xoom, the international money-transfer service PayPal later acquired for $1.1 billion in 2015, and Eventbrite, the event-ticketing platform that went public in 2018. The firm has also drawn attention for backing unusually young founders, even as the practice has become more common since. Hartz told TechCrunch last fall that close to 20% of the firm’s current portfolio involve teenage entrepreneurs. Among others of its investments, it has backed the fintech company Ramp and the AI firm Mercor. Topics Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news Latest in Venture
Kevin Hartz's A* takes a 'less-is-more' approach with new $450m fund
News Context At a glance A* has closed a $450 million fund, adopting a strategy that diverges from the current trend of multi-billion-dollar AI megafunds. According to Bloomberg, the new vehicle is designed to avoid the multi-billion-dollar AI megafund template that has characterized venture fundraising for the previous 18 months. The less-is-more strategy focuses on deploying a higher proportion of capital per company rather than spreading investments across a vast number of small checks. A* has closed a $450 million fund, adopting a strategy that diverges from the current trend of multi-billion-dollar AI megafunds. The San Francisco-based venture firm, led by Eventbrite co-founder Kevin Hartz, is positioning itself through a less-is-more approach to venture capital. According to Bloomberg, the new vehicle is designed to avoid the multi-billion-dollar AI megafund template that has characterized venture fundraising for the previous 18 months. While some peers have raised funds ranging from $3 billion to $10 billion, A* is opting for a smaller fund size to maintain a different investment discipline. A Contrarian Investment Strategy The less-is-more strategy focuses on deploying a higher proportion of capital per company rather than spreading investments across a vast number of small checks. This approach is intended as a counter-narrative to larger firms whose check sizes have increasingly resembled late-stage growth investments. From Instagram — related to Kevin Hartz, Contrarian Investment Strategy a smaller fund relative to the AI-stage giants, a higher proportion deployed per company, and a discipline against following hot rounds at any price Bloomberg, citing Kevin Hartz The firm was founded in 2020 by Hartz alongside Bennett Siegel, a former Coatue partner who previously backed DoorDash and Peloton, and Gautam Gupta, an operator at Opendoor and former finance head at Uber. Portfolio Focus and Capital Deployment A* operates primarily within the seed and Series A investment stages. The firm’s check sizes range from $100,000 to approximately $10 million, with a sweet spot near $3 million. Kevin Hartz Portfolio Focus and Capital Deployment The firm’s portfolio is diversified across several technology sectors, including: AI infrastructure and developer tools Software as a Service (SaaS) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Marketplaces and consumer internet Beyond sector focus, Hartz has prioritized investing in younger entrepreneurs. A notable...
VC Firm Takes Less-Is-More Approach With $450 Million Fund
A-Star, the early-stage venture firm Hartz launched with former Coatue investor Bennett Siegel, is set to announce on Tuesday that it's raised $450 million for its third fund — its largest to ...
Mexican billionaire victimized in $450 million loan scheme
A Ukrainian-born American man has been charged with scamming a Mexican billionaire out of $450 million in a loan scheme. Newly unsealed court documents reveal Vladimir Sklarov, 63, set up a fake company called Astor Asset Group and claimed to give the victim shares of his company in exchange for a loan. He later cashed in for half a billion dollars.
