Family offices turn to smaller early-stage startup bets as AI megadeals dominate venture capital
Summary
- Megadeals of at least $100 million made up 87.5% of US venture capital deployed in the first half of 2026, according to PitchBook.
- Investors are racing to meet artificial intelligence companies' massive capital needs by writing larger checks to fewer startups.
- Some family offices are bucking the megadeal trend, seeking outsized returns from smaller bets on younger companies.
- Shea Ventures backs startups through direct investments and through Shakti, a five-year-old fund that backs startups at inception.
- Blanck Capital balances early-stage venture bets against a core base of public equities and has backed Longshot Space Technology since its 2023 pre-seed round.
Reactions
- Shea Ventures managing director John Morrissey says waiting longer for a larger relative return is worth it for family offices investing for generations.
- John Morrissey says most family offices cannot participate at the same level as large institutions or Yale's endowment.
- Jason Blanck says late-stage investors are paying peak market multiples for slower growth and are not getting much upside.
- Keval Desai says healthy, low valuations are available for investors willing to be unconventional and not follow the herd.
- Jason Blanck says holding Anthropic shares does not mean it will be the best investment of his year or his portfolio.
Timeline newest first
Sources newest first
- Family offices see more upside in smaller startup bets
cnbc.com· 7h
CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter reports that while megadeals of at least $100 million made up 87.5% of U.S. venture capital deployed in the first half of 2026, per PitchBook, some family offices are seeking bigger returns from smaller bets on younger startups. Shea Ventures, Shakti, and Blanck Capital explain their early-stage strategies, with investors like John Morrissey arguing that patient, compounding returns suit family offices better than late-stage mega rounds.
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