Last week, Lightspeed made a move that won’t light up the group chats but should make every investor sit up. The firm quietly registered as a registered investment advisor (RIA). On paper, it’s a regulatory adjustment. In practice, it’s a license to operate across public stocks, lead buyouts, build roll-ups, and dominate secondaries. As Bloomberg noted, Lightspeed is the latest to abandon the classic venture model.
Something subtle but seismic is happening in venture capital. 🙂
Lightspeed, once a pure-play VC firm, quietly became a registered investment advisor (RIA)-joining a16z, Sequoia, and General Catalyst in breaking out of the classic VC mold. This regulatory shift opens new doors: public stocks, buyouts, roll-ups, secondaries-once the domain of private equity-are now in reach.
This isn’t just a tweak—it’s a reset. Large VC firms are evolving into builders, buyers, and long-term owners, blending venture capital's agility with the scale and discipline of private equity.
Look around:
a16z went RIA in 2019, launched a wealth platform, dove into crypto, and bought Twitter equity.
Sequoia rewired itself with an evergreen fund, ditching 10-year cycles for long-term flexibility.
Thrive raised a $1B vehicle to buy and build AI-native companies.
General Catalyst dropped the “VC” label, acquired a hospital system, and now calls itself a “Transformation Company”.
The old venture model- spray 25 early bets and pray for unicorns-is fading. In its place: buy, build, rewire with AI, and hold long. The VC secondary market, once a sideshow, is now a $ 100 B+ main event, as startups stay private longer and late-stage liquidity becomes the fiercest battleground.
But this shift runs deeper than capital deployment. Leading VCs now focus on building, partnering, and matchmaking- actively shaping companies, not just backing them. The playbook is moving from “invest and observe” to “invest and orchestrate”.
At Twenty Five Ventures, we’ve embraced this head-on. Our role now spans advisory, hands-on work, and day-to-day support. It’s more demanding but far more rewarding, bringing us closer to company building than classic venture ever did. Whether this approach proves more profitable remains to be seen, but satisfaction for founders and investors is already compounding.
It’s why partnerships have become just as important as investments. This July, we’ll put that philosophy into action at Power Forward, Equity Angels' inaugural investment summit in Los Angeles — co-hosted with Distinct Concierge and backed by Twenty Five Ventures. The summit will connect underrepresented founders in sports, entertainment, and real estate tech with investors from across North America and offer a six-figure funding opportunity.
Equity Angels’ Cohort 1 @ Blueprint, Las Vegas 2024
MoviePass founder Stacy Spikes — whose journey is a testament to resilience and reinvention — will keynote. His story, recently featured in an HBO documentary and bestselling book Black Founder, reminds us what this new venture era is really about: backing the builders often overlooked.
This summit isn’t a side project. It reflects where venture is heading. Advisory, matchmaking, and platform-building are now core to the business. The old adage was simple: invest and observe. Today, it’s closer to investing and helping orchestrate every step forward.
Where is this heading? We expect more:
Early-stage venture studios
AI-native roll-ups in healthcare, infra, and fintech
VCs acquiring revenue-generating businesses
Dedicated secondaries platforms for scaled liquidity
Public market crossovers as firms go full lifecycle
Fund infrastructure at PE scale
Consolidation among mid-tier VCs
This isn’t the end of venture. It’s the evolution of venture-where capital, operational expertise, and flexible ownership converge for a new era.
The investor’s role has changed. Capital is no longer scarce — expertise, execution, and networks are. Firms that stay passive will drift into irrelevance. Those willing to get closer to the work — to build, partner, and help companies scale day-to-day — will define the next era.
At Twenty Five Ventures, we’re already living this shift. It’s harder. It’s messier. But it’s real. Founders don’t just want capital anymore. They want co-builders.
Whether this model ultimately delivers higher returns is an open question. But in terms of satisfaction, impact, and relevance, the results are already clear.
Venture isn’t dying. It’s growing up.
xoxo,
Maximillian Diez
GP, Twenty Five Ventures
P.S. Stay with me on this journey.
If nothing else, thanks for reading.
