Disruptive closes $10 billion megafund for AI and defense startups

Dallas venture firm Disruptive has raised a $10 billion fund, its largest ever, to invest approximately $1 billion each into 10 late-stage AI, defense, and software startups. Led by CEO Alex Davis, the 30-person firm is shifting from deal-by-deal special purpose vehicles to a single fund as companies stay private longer. Disruptive's previous investments include Groq, Palantir, ElevenLabs, and Databricks, with returned capital exceeding $6 billion.

Disruptive raises $10 billion fund

• ▪Disruptive's $10 billion raise is the third-largest venture capital fund raised in 2026, following Andreessen Horowitz's $15 billion fund in January 2026 and Thrive Capital's Thrive X fund in February 2026
• ▪Disruptive's fund backers include sovereign wealth funds, banking institutions, endowments, universities, and mutual funds
• ▪Dallas-based venture capital firm Disruptive raised a $10 billion fund, doubling its total assets under management
• ▪Before closing its $10 billion fund, Disruptive managed $10 billion in assets under advisement as of May 2026

Deployment strategy for the $10 billion fund

• ▪Disruptive is targeting investments in AI inference chips, open-source AI applications, and technology that accelerates data center construction timelines from over two years down to 90 days
• ▪CEO Alex Davis said Disruptive's initial investments from its $10 billion fund will include a defense technology startup, a large artificial intelligence model maker, and a neocloud renting out AI chips
• ▪CEO Alex Davis said Disruptive plans to deploy its $10 billion fund over approximately a year and a half by investing up to $1 billion each into 10 growth and late-stage companies

Disruptive's AI and tech portfolio

• ▪Disruptive holds investments in AI voice agent outfit ElevenLabs, enterprise data software startup Databricks, and open-weight model maker Reflection AI
• ▪Disruptive's past portfolio investments include early bets on Palantir in 2013, as well as Airbnb, Lyft, Spotify, and Stripe

Disruptive's defense technology investments

• ▪Disruptive CEO Alex Davis stated that defense technology startups are increasingly securing major contracts of record within two to three years of founding
• ▪Disruptive holds portfolio investments in defense technology startups including Anduril, AI drone maker Shield AI, and German defense tech unicorn Helsing

Nvidia deal and Groq recapitalization

• ▪Disruptive founder Alex Davis serves as executive chairman of Groq, which develops specialized language processing unit chips for AI inference
• ▪In December 2025, chip startup Groq signed a $20 billion licensing agreement with Nvidia, which hired much of Groq's talent and provided an early return for investor Disruptive

Disruptive's investment performance

• ▪A letter to Disruptive's limited partners stated that Disruptive returned over $6 billion in capital on approximately $1.9 billion invested into startups, achieving a net internal rate of return of 94% as of summer 2026
• ▪Venture capital firm Disruptive maintains an average holding period of two and a half years for the investments it has exited

Disruptive's history and growth model

• ▪Disruptive transitioned from raising deal-by-deal special purpose vehicles to managing a single fund, allowing direct investments into primary raises and secondary offerings for companies remaining private longer
• ▪Founded in 2012 by CEO Alex Davis, grandson of oil tycoon Marvin Davis, the 30-person firm Disruptive became the largest venture capital firm in Texas by assets managed
• ▪Disruptive CEO Alex Davis stated that Disruptive focuses on 6 to 8 late-stage deals annually rather than backing 100 early-stage startups hoping for a few successes