This week VenCap's underlying portfolio saw major strategic partnerships in AI, significant financing rounds and a small acquisition

OpenAI Takes Material Equity Stake in Thrive Holdings

OpenAI will take a material equity stake in Thrive Holdings, a platform created by Thrive Capital to acquire and build service-oriented businesses that can benefit from AI. OpenAI will work directly with Thrive’s operating companies to integrate its models into workflows across sectors such as accounting and IT services, improving automation and customer delivery. The partnership also provides OpenAI with deeper insight into enterprise use cases and access to operational data that can help inform future model development. OpenAI is an underlying asset of VenCap 6, VenCap 10A, VenCap 13A, VenCap 13B, VenCap 15, VenCap 16, VenCap 17 and VenCap 18.

Mistral AI Signs Multi-Year Partnership with HSBC

Mistral AI has entered a multi-year agreement with HSBC to integrate its generative AI models across the bank’s global operations. HSBC will deploy Mistral’s commercial models on a self-hosted basis to support tasks such as financial analysis, multilingual translation, risk assessment and personalised client communications. The initiative is expected to significantly reduce time spent on document-heavy processes and accelerate the bank’s broader innovation agenda. Mistral AI is an underlying asset of VenCap 6, VenCap 16 and VenCap 17.

Harvey Raises $160M at an $8B Valuation

Harvey, a leading developer of AI tools for the legal sector, has secured $160 million in new funding, doubling its valuation to $8 billion within the year. The company continues to expand rapidly, with ARR surpassing $150 million and adoption across roughly half of the Am Law 100 and a growing base of corporate customers. The new capital will support further product development, including collaboration tools designed to help law firms and enterprises securely work together. Harvey is an underlying asset of VenCap 16 and VenCap 17.

Black Forest Labs Raises $300M at a $3.25B Valuation

German AI lab Black Forest Labs has completed a $300 million Series B round, valuing the company at $3.25 billion. The company builds foundation models for image generation and editing and has seen rapid commercial uptake, with its models integrated by platforms including Adobe, Picsart, ElevenLabs, VSCO and Vercel. The financing will accelerate research and development, including its recently released Flux 2 model capable of higher-fidelity image generation. Black Forest Labs continues to strengthen its position in the generative imaging market. Black Forest Labs is an underlying asset of VenCap 16 and VenCap 17.

Metronome Acquired by Stripe for Approximately $1B

Stripe has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire usage-billing startup Metronome for around $1 billion, according to multiple reports. The purchase represents a significant uplift from Metronome’s $470 million valuation earlier this year and signals Stripe’s intent to deepen its capabilities in metered and AI-driven billing infrastructure. Metronome’s technology is used by leading AI companies, underscoring its strategic positioning as demand for usage-based pricing grows across the sector. Metronome is an underlying asset of VenCap 6, VenCap 13B, VenCap 15, VenCap 16 and VenCap 17.