General Catalyst participated in 138 AI startup funding rounds worth a combined $18.8B in 2025, making it one of the most active AI investors of 2025. Bot Memo’s analysis of every General Catalyst AI investment reveals a firm operating on two distinct tracks: leading 63 deals worth $6.0B where it set terms, and participating in 75 rounds worth $12.8B alongside other top-tier firms. The median deal size landed at $50M, and 58% of backed companies were classified as AI Native.
But the raw numbers only tell half the story. The General Catalyst portfolio 2025 reflects a deliberate AI investment strategy that sits closer to private equity than traditional general catalyst venture capital, acquiring service businesses and rebuilding them with AI, not just backing AI startups.
On this page
- General Catalyst AI Portfolio at a Glance: 138 Deals, $18.8B in 2025
- The Creation Strategy: How GC Is Building AI-Native Companies From Scratch
- Every General Catalyst AI Deal in 2025: The Complete List
- Seed to Series F: Where General Catalyst Placed Its AI Bets
- Health & Biotech Leads: GC's Top AI Verticals by Deal Count
- The Co-Investor Network: Who Syndicates With General Catalyst
- FAQ: General Catalyst AI Investments
- Methodology
General Catalyst AI Portfolio at a Glance: 138 Deals, $18.8B in 2025
General Catalyst AI investments in 2025 spanned 138 deals across stages from Pre-Seed to Series F. The firm led 63 of those deals ($6.0B), giving it direct influence over terms, board seats, and company direction. The remaining 75 deals ($12.8B) were participant positions in rounds led by other firms.
The stage distribution tells a clear story about where General Catalyst places conviction:
| Stage | Deals | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | 36 | $617.8M |
| Series B | 25 | $2.7B |
| Series A | 19 | $962.6M |
| Series C | 15 | $4.0B |
| Series F | 7 | $2.1B |
| Series E | 5 | $4.2B |
| Pre-Seed | 4 | $29.0M |
| Series D | 3 | $1.1B |
| Growth Investment | 4 | $1.6B |
Source: Bot Memo analysis of 138 General Catalyst AI deals (January–December 2025). The table breaks out the primary equity stages; the balance of the 138 deals sit in other structures (Venture, Secondary, Non-Dilutive, and CVF growth financing), which is why the stage rows do not sum to the full portfolio.
Seed was the most common stage by deal count (36 deals), but the dollars concentrated in later rounds. Five Series E deals alone accounted for $4.2B, driven largely by Anthropic‘s $3.5B round and Ramp‘s $200M raise.
San Francisco dominated the geographic spread with 44 deals worth $7.0B. New York followed at 26 deals ($2.7B), then Palo Alto with 7 deals ($803.0M). The U.S. accounted for 77.5% of all General Catalyst AI deals, with Germany (7 deals), the UK (4), and France (3) rounding out the international footprint.
The Creation Strategy: How GC Is Building AI-Native Companies From Scratch
What separates General Catalyst from most venture firms in 2025 is not how much it invested, but how it invested. The firm committed $1.5B to its “Creation Strategy”, a thesis built around acquiring fragmented service businesses and rebuilding them with AI at the core.
The logic is straightforward: GC estimates the global services economy represents $16T in revenue, but most service companies operate on 10% margins with little technology adoption. GC argues that AI can lift those margins to 30–40% by converting manual work into software-like deliverables.
This is not a typical venture thesis. It looks more like private equity meets AI R&D. The firm targets verticals where AI can automate 30–70% of tasks, acquires existing providers, then layers in AI tooling. One early result: Titan, an AI-driven IT services platform backed with $74M, is already applying this model in managed IT.
The General Catalyst creation strategy also explains why 58% of the firm’s 2025 AI deals went to AI native companies, firms where AI is foundational, not bolted on. Another 26% went to AI Augmented businesses (existing products enhanced with AI), and 12% to AI Adjacent companies (infrastructure that enables AI without running models).
| AI Classification | Deals | Share of Portfolio |
|---|---|---|
| AI Native | 80 | 58% |
| AI Augmented | 36 | 26% |
| AI Adjacent | 16 | 12% |
| AI Platforms | 6 | 4% |
Source: Bot Memo analysis of 138 General Catalyst AI deals, including 80 AI native companies (January–December 2025)
Every General Catalyst AI Deal in 2025: The Complete List
Below are the 28 largest General Catalyst backed startups in 2025, ranked by funding amount. The full General Catalyst portfolio of 138 AI deals is available in the Bot Memo database.
| Company | Funding | Stage | GC Role | Vertical | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | $3.5B | Series E | Participant | AI Infrastructure | San Francisco |
| Mistral AI | €1.7B | Series C | Participant | AI Infrastructure | Paris |
| Grammarly | $1.0B | Growth | Lead | Enterprise Software | San Francisco |
| Applied Intuition | $600M | Series F | Participant | GovTech & Defense | Mountain View |
| Saronic | $600M | Series C | Participant | GovTech & Defense | Austin |
| Helsing | €600M | Series D | Participant | GovTech & Defense | Munich |
| Judi Health | $400M | Series F | Lead | Health & Biotech | New York |
| Eikon Therapeutics | $350.7M | Series D | Participant | Health & Biotech | Hayward |
| Lila Sciences | $350M | Series A | Participant | Health & Biotech | Cambridge |
| Mercor | $350M | Series C | Participant | HR Tech | San Francisco |
| Together AI | $305M | Series B | Lead | AI Infrastructure | San Francisco |
| Black Forest Labs | $300M | Series B | Participant | Media & Entertainment | Freiburg |
| Vercel | $300M | Series F | Participant | Developer Tools | San Francisco |
| Chainguard | $280M | Growth | Lead | Cybersecurity | Kirkland |
| Neko Health | $260M | Series B | Participant | Health & Biotech | Stockholm |
| Mainspring | $258M | Series F | Lead | Energy | Menlo Park |
| Bilt | $250M | Growth | Lead | FinTech | New York |
| Beacon Software | C$250M | Series B | Lead | Enterprise Software | Toronto |
| Modular | $250M | Series C | Participant | AI Infrastructure | Los Altos |
| CookUnity | $250M | Non-Dilutive | Lead | Food & AgriTech | New York |
| Ramp | $200M | Series E | Participant | FinTech | New York |
| Commure | $200M | Growth | Participant | Health & Biotech | Mountain View |
| Verkada | $200M | Series E | Lead | Cybersecurity | San Mateo |
| Meter | $170M | Series C | Lead | Developer Tools | San Francisco |
| Awardco | $165M | Series B | Participant | HR Tech | Lindon |
| Glean | $150M | Series F | Participant | Enterprise Software | Palo Alto |
| Aidoc | $150M | Venture | Lead | Health & Biotech | Tel Aviv |
| Ramp | $150M | Secondary | Participant | FinTech | New York |
Source: Bot Memo analysis of 138 General Catalyst AI deals (January–December 2025). Note: CVF (Customer Value Fund) deals may appear under different stage labels depending on how the company classified the round; Grammarly is labeled “Growth” while CookUnity is labeled “Non-Dilutive,” though both used GC’s non-dilutive CVF structure.
General Catalyst led some of the year’s most structurally interesting deals. The $1B Grammarly commitment was non-dilutive growth financing through GC’s Customer Value Fund, capital tied to customer acquisition performance, not equity. The same CVF structure powered the $280M Chainguard deal and $250M CookUnity financing.
Seed to Series F: Where General Catalyst Placed Its AI Bets
General Catalyst’s stage distribution reveals a barbell strategy: heavy at Seed (36 deals) and heavy at Series B+ (59 deals), with Series A (19 deals) in between.
The 36 AI seed funding deals deployed $617.8M, an average of $17.2M per Seed check. That is unusually large for seed-stage investing and reflects the AI-era reality where pre-product companies need more capital for compute and talent. Four Pre-Seed deals added another $29.0M.
At the other end, the firm’s late-stage bets were massive. Series B AI startup funding totaled $2.7B across 25 deals, the second-largest stage by aggregate dollars. Series C deals averaged $266.7M across 15 rounds. Series F averaged $300.0M across 7 rounds. And the Growth Investment category (4 deals) averaged $400.0M, anchored by the $1B Grammarly commitment.
The Customer Value Fund deserves separate attention. General Catalyst’s CVF provides non-dilutive financing tied directly to customer acquisition metrics. The firm pre-funds sales and marketing budgets, takes a capped return from the revenue those efforts generate, and avoids equity dilution entirely. In 2025, CVF deals included Grammarly ($1B), Chainguard ($280M), and CookUnity ($250M).
This structure gives General Catalyst exposure to AI portfolio companies without the dilution fights that plague late-stage rounds, and gives founders a way to scale without giving up equity. It also differentiates general catalyst venture capital from firms that rely exclusively on equity rounds.
Health & Biotech Leads: GC’s Top AI Verticals by Deal Count
Health & Biotech was General Catalyst’s most active AI vertical in 2025 with 24 deals worth $2.1B. GC’s healthcare AI investments are not coincidental. The firm has built an entire healthcare infrastructure through its Health Assurance Transformation Company (HATCo), which partners with 20+ health systems to deploy General Catalyst backed startups directly into clinical settings.
| Vertical | Deals | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|
| Health & Biotech | 24 | $2.1B |
| Developer Tools & AI Infra + Enterprise | 15 | $1.0B |
| FinTech + Enterprise | 11 | $654.5M |
| GovTech & Defense | 8 | $1.5B |
| HR Tech + Enterprise | 5 | $735.0M |
| Media & Entertainment | 5 | $403.7M |
| Cybersecurity | 5 | $563.5M |
Source: Bot Memo analysis of 138 General Catalyst AI deals (January–December 2025)
The healthcare thesis has real distribution behind it. Aidoc raised $150M co-led by General Catalyst and Square Peg to build CARE, a clinical foundation model already serving 45M patients annually across 150+ health systems. Commure pulled in $200M from GC’s CVF for its full-stack AI platform spanning revenue cycle management and clinical documentation. And in the UK, General Catalyst backed Meridian Health Ventures, a £30M transatlantic health tech fund co-invested with Speedinvest, the Health Foundation, and Better Society Capital to deploy GC portfolio companies into UK health settings.
Defense tech AI punched above its weight on dollar volume. Saronic ($600M for autonomous naval vessels), Helsing (€600M for European defense AI), and Applied Intuition ($600M for vehicle intelligence and defense AI software) accounted for the bulk of the 8-deal vertical. This is part of a broader pattern across Bot Memo’s dataset: defense AI attracted outsized AI startup funding in 2025, a trend visible in every AI deal a16z made in 2025 as well.
The Co-Investor Network: Who Syndicates With General Catalyst
General Catalyst’s co-investor network in 2025 reveals which firms share conviction on AI. Four firms tied for the top spot at 11 shared deals each: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Y Combinator.
| Co-Investor | Shared Deals |
|---|---|
| Lightspeed Venture Partners | 11 |
| Khosla Ventures | 11 |
| Andreessen Horowitz | 11 |
| Y Combinator | 11 |
| Lux Capital | 8 |
| Kleiner Perkins | 6 |
| Sequoia Capital | 6 |
| Accel | 5 |
| Bessemer Venture Partners | 5 |
| SV Angel | 5 |
Source: Bot Memo analysis of 138 General Catalyst AI deals (January–December 2025)
The Lightspeed overlap shows up across stages and geographies, from Together AI’s $305M Series B AI funding round (led by GC) to Neko Health’s $260M Series B in Stockholm to Helsing’s $600M Series D in Munich. Lightspeed appeared in early-stage deals (seed) and late-stage deals (Series F) alongside GC.
The Y Combinator connection is different. Those 11 overlaps skew heavily toward seed and Series A rounds where YC alumni raised from GC. This is a pipeline relationship, not a co-investment syndicate.
Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst appeared together in some of the year’s biggest rounds: Saronic ($600M), Black Forest Labs ($300M), and Eikon Therapeutics ($350.7M). For a deeper look at a16z’s full AI portfolio, see Bot Memo’s analysis of every AI deal a16z made in 2025.
Sequoia Capital appeared alongside GC in 6 deals, including Chainguard ($280M) and Glean ($150M). GC, a16z, and Sequoia co-invested across AI infrastructure and enterprise AI, reflecting the general catalyst venture capital network’s overlap with the other two mega-firms.
FAQ: General Catalyst AI Investments
What AI companies has General Catalyst invested in?
The General Catalyst portfolio in 2025 spanned 138 AI companies including Anthropic, Grammarly, Together AI, Aidoc, Chainguard, Mercor, and Saronic. General Catalyst AI investments covered Health & Biotech (24 deals), Developer Tools & AI Infrastructure (15 deals), FinTech (11 deals), and GovTech & Defense (8 deals). The firm led 63 of those rounds.
How much has General Catalyst invested in AI startups?
General Catalyst AI investments in 2025 totaled $18.8B across 138 deals. Of that, $6.0B came from 63 deals where GC was the lead investor. The remaining $12.8B was across 75 deals where GC participated alongside other lead investors. The median deal was $50M.
What is General Catalyst’s AI investment strategy?
General Catalyst’s AI investment strategy operates on three tracks: (1) leading early-stage rounds at Seed and Series A (36 seed deals, 19 Series A); (2) participating in mega-rounds at Series C+ to maintain exposure to breakout companies like Anthropic and Saronic; and (3) the General Catalyst creation strategy, a $1.5B initiative to acquire and rebuild service businesses with AI. The Customer Value Fund adds a fourth lever: non-dilutive financing tied to customer acquisition performance rather than equity.
What is General Catalyst’s creation strategy?
The General Catalyst creation strategy is a $1.5B commitment to build AI-native companies by acquiring fragmented service businesses and rebuilding them with AI. The firm targets verticals where AI can automate 30–70% of tasks, aiming to lift margins from 10% to 30–40%. Early examples include Titan ($74M for AI-driven IT services).
How does General Catalyst compare to a16z in AI investing?
Both firms were among the most active AI venture capital 2025 players. General Catalyst participated in 138 AI deals worth $18.8B. The key difference is strategy: GC runs a dedicated Customer Value Fund for non-dilutive growth financing, and its creation strategy builds AI companies through acquisitions rather than just writing checks. See Bot Memo’s most active AI investors of 2025 ranking for the full comparison.
Is General Catalyst the most active AI investor in 2025?
General Catalyst was among the most active AI investors in 2025 with 138 deals worth $18.8B, placing it in the top tier of AI venture capital 2025 activity. Whether it ranks #1 depends on the metric: by deal count, Y Combinator and a16z are also prolific; by dollar volume, a handful of mega-funds compete. See Bot Memo’s most active AI investors of 2025 ranking for a data-driven comparison.
Which sectors does General Catalyst focus on for AI?
Health & Biotech is GC’s top AI sector with 24 deals and $2.1B deployed. The firm has built dedicated healthcare infrastructure through HATCo and partnerships with 20+ health systems. Developer Tools & AI Infrastructure ranked second (15 deals), followed by FinTech (11 deals) and GovTech & Defense (8 deals worth $1.5B). General Catalyst backed startups span 18 verticals in total.
Methodology
This analysis is based on 138 AI funding deals involving General Catalyst tracked in the Bot Memo database from January through December 2025. The general catalyst portfolio 2025 dataset captures every round where GC appeared as lead or participant investor.
Data sources: Company announcements, press releases, regulatory filings, and newsletter monitoring across 900+ sources per week.
Filters applied: All deals where “General Catalyst” appeared in either Lead Investors or Other Investors fields. Only companies classified as AI Native, AI Augmented, AI Adjacent, or AI Platforms were included.
Currency: All amounts converted to USD at the time of announcement. Non-USD amounts (e.g., Mistral AI’s round denominated in EUR) are displayed in original currency in select tables but counted in USD for totals.
GC Role: “Lead” means General Catalyst was listed as a lead investor. “Participant” means GC appeared in the Other Investors field. Lead/participant distinction is based on public announcement data and may not reflect economic terms.
Limitations: Undisclosed rounds are excluded from funding totals. Some deals may involve General Catalyst sub-entities (e.g., Customer Value Fund, Health Assurance) that are grouped under the General Catalyst umbrella.
About the author
Editorial Staff
The Editorial Staff at Bot Memo is a team of writers, analysts, and AI agents dedicated to mapping the global AI startup ecosystem. Led by Chintan Zalani, the team tracks thousands of funding rounds, classifies companies across verticals, and distills it all into actionable intelligence for investors and founders.
