While numerous elite venture capital firms are consistently raising significantly larger funds, Greylock Ventures, one of the oldest and most esteemed venture firms in Silicon Valley, is purposefully countering the trend of inflating fund sizes.

On Tuesday, the 61-year-old firm declared that it had secured a $1.5 billion 18th fund. This amount is 50% greater than its prior $1 billion fund from 2023 and closely aligns with the capital the firm accumulated across seed and flagship funds during the pandemic. Nonetheless, Greylock partner Saam Motamedi informed TechCrunch that Greylock could have effortlessly raised a “multiple” of that amount, indicating that the partnership opted for restraint as fund sizes continue to rise in the industry.

“Our mission is to be the most vital partner to the most significant entrepreneurs,” Motamedi remarked. The firm takes pride in connecting its portfolio companies with top engineers and potential clients, as it did for Baseten, an AI infrastructure startup now valued at $13 billion, after its initial investment in its Series A in 2022. However, Motamedi noted that Greylock can provide that level of assistance only by limiting the number of companies it supports.

The firm’s 10 partners undertake only one or two new investments each year, a tempo Motamedi asserted will yield approximately 25 portfolio companies from this fund.

Similar to its previous funds, the new fund will primarily emphasize nurturing companies from the earliest phases and spearheading seed and Series A rounds. This is where Greylock has established its reputation; the firm has an impressive history of launching companies from the ground up, most notably security powerhouse Palo Alto Networks, which was founded within Greylock’s offices 21 years ago, and the email security startup Abnormal, which Greylock incubated in 2018 and was last valued at $5.1 billion.

That said, Greylock does not strictly adhere to early-stage investments. It will also support promising, later-stage companies even if it “missed them early on,” Motamedi stated. The firm’s 17th fund encompassed three such growth-stage investments: Anthropic, Revolut, and Wiz.

The firm made its initial investment in Anthropic when the AI company secured its Series F at a $183 billion valuation. “It’s the largest investment in the firm’s history,” Motamedi asserted.

Motamedi estimates that about 15% of the new fund will be allocated to later-stage startups, yet he asserts that Greylock fundamentally remains an early-stage investor.

As evidence, Motamedi shared that when the partners convene every Monday to evaluate their investment pipeline, the agenda comprises primarily individuals’ names rather than company names.

“We’re getting to know people even before they establish a company. It’s truly a wager on the individual,” he explained. “Often the company doesn’t even exist.’”