Disruptive plans to make a small number of large investments with its new $10 billion fund. The Dallas-based firm says it will back at least 10 late-stage companies, writing checks of up to $1 billion, with AI and defense among its target fields.
A fund built for large investments
The fund’s scale gives Disruptive room to make substantial commitments to individual companies. Its stated plan is to support at least 10 businesses at a late stage, rather than spread the fund across a large number of smaller investments.
AI and defense are capital-intensive areas, according to the announcement’s framing. Disruptive’s focus on those fields puts the fund behind companies that may need significant financing as they grow.
The Wall Street Journal first reported earlier this month that the firm was seeking to raise the fund. At that point, it had already secured at least $7.5 billion in capital commitments.
A new way for Disruptive to raise money
This is Disruptive’s first blind-pool fund. In this structure, investors commit money before knowing which companies the fund will invest in. That differs from the firm’s previous approach of raising money through deal-by-deal special purpose vehicles.
The change gives the firm a pool of committed capital to deploy across its planned investments. Investors back the fund before its eventual portfolio is known, while Disruptive selects the companies it believes fit its strategy.
Disruptive was founded in 2012 by Alex Davis, grandson of billionaire oil magnate Marvin Davis. In recent years, the firm has drawn attention for investments in chip startup Groq and AI voice-generation startup ElevenLabs.
Past returns and Texas scale
Bloomberg reported that Disruptive told limited partners it had returned more than $6 billion on roughly $1.9 billion invested in startups. That reported history provides context for the firm’s ability to attract commitments for a fund of this size.
The Dallas Business Journal described the new vehicle as the largest venture fund raised in Texas history. Together, the size and structure mark a significant expansion of how Disruptive gathers capital for investments.
The fund’s announcement sets out a clear scale: at least 10 late-stage companies and checks of up to $1 billion. Its results will depend on which companies it ultimately backs and how those investments perform, details not specified in the announcement.