From Lauri Moore to Vic Singh: The Ongoing Shuffle of Venture Capitalists Reflects Industry’s Dynamic Nature

The venture capital community was taken by surprise when Keith Rabois announced his departure from Founders Fund to rejoin Khosla Ventures in January, a move that caught many off guard, not merely because Rabois is a well-known figure.

This event was unexpected largely because it’s rare for venture capitalists, particularly those who have risen to the rank of partner or general partner like Rabois, to switch firms.

Given that VC funds typically run on 10-year cycles, there’s considerable incentive for partners to remain throughout the duration. Sometimes, they might be the “key person” for a fund, which means their departure could lead to investors withdrawing their capital. Moreover, many partners and general partners invest personal funds into the ventures they back, providing another reason to stay put.

Despite these norms, there has been a spate of noteworthy moves by prominent investors throughout the venture capital sector in recent months. This year alone has seen a variety of moves, including industry veterans rejoining former firms, launching new ventures, or taking a step back from investment activities altogether.

Below is a summary of known movements so far:

July

• Sources close to TechCrunch have revealed that Alex Cook is preparing to exit Tiger Global after nearly seven years. At Tiger Global, Cook spearheaded deals with TradingView, Scalapay, and TrueLayer, to name a few, and was previously with Apollo.
• Bessemer Venture Partners welcomed Lauri Moore to their team as a partner on July 22. Moore, who had a two-year run as a partner at Foundation Capital and an earlier stint at LinkedIn, will focus on early-stage investments in data, AI, and developer tools.
• DCVC brought on Milo Werner as a general partner on July 17, with Werner set to lead the firm’s efforts in climate investing. Werner, who transitioned from Engine Ventures where she was a general partner for two and a half years, was previously a partner at Ajax Strategies.
• Anne Lee Skates shared on July 11 her departure from Andreessen Horowitz, where she was a part of the consumer team as a partner since 2019, to pursue her “life’s work,” promising more details on her future ventures. While at Andreessen, she supported startups such as Whatnot, Kindred, and Prisms.

June

• Spencer Peterson revealed his move from Bedrock, where he was a partner for five years, to Coatue as a general partner on June 17. Peterson has investments in OpenAI and Rippling, among others.
• Amanda “Robby” Robson shared news of her leave from Cowboy Ventures in a LinkedIn post at the beginning of June. Prior to her tenure at Cowboy Ventures since October 2019, Robson was with Norwest Venture Partners for three years and is now planning her own fund.

May

• Alison Stillman, a founding partner at Serena Ventures, announced stepping back from the firm on May 14 after nearly six years, without disclosing her next steps.
• Terri Burns shared her plans to start a new venture firm, Type Capital, on May 13. Before founding Type Capital, Burns made history as the first Black woman partner at GV, a position she left in 2022. Her new fund will concentrate on pre-seed and seed-stage investments.
• TechCrunch uncovered that Fika Ventures co-founder Eva Ho is set to step back from the firm once it completes the allocation of its current fund, citing personal reasons, as confirmed by the firm on May 9.
• On May 9, Alison Lange Engel revealed her new role as CEO at Ceros, an AI-driven design company, after leaving Greycroft where she was a partner since 2019.
• Vic Singh announced on X his departure from Eniac Ventures, a firm he co-founded in 2009, on May 1. Singh is poised to launch a new fund.

April

• Ethan Kurzweil shared his departure from Bessemer Venture Partners after 16 years on April 30. Kurzweil is set to start an early-stage-focused investment firm as per Axios, in collaboration with Kristina Shen and Mark Goldberg.
• Christina Farr revealed her decision to leave OMERS Ventures, where she was a principal investor and led the health tech practice since December 2020, on April 1. Farr plans to focus on her health tech newsletter, pen a business-focused book, and counsel health tech founders.

March

• Ethan Choi, a partner at Accel for six years, announced his departure to join Khosla Ventures in March, where he’ll concentrate on growth-stage investments, having previously backed companies like Klaviyo, Pismo, and 1Password.
• On March 13, Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital revealed the firing of partners Jay Zaveri and Ravi Tanuku, a decision reported by Bloomberg to be linked to fundraising for AI startup Groq.
• The trend of investors returning to familiar territories is evidenced byMiles Grimshaw‘s announcement on March 5 of his return to Thrive Capital as a general partner after a stint at Benchmark Capital. Grimshaw’s previous tenure at Thrive Capital began in 2013, backing companies like Airtable, Lattice, and Monzo.
• Sam Blond concluded that transitioning from an operator to a VC was not for him and announced leaving Founders Fund, where he was a partner for roughly 18 months, on March 4. Blond is set to return to the operating world, with experience at firms like Brex, Zenefits, and EchoSign.

January

• After a 12-year tenure, Connie Chan announced her exit from Andreessen Horowitz on January 23, where she served as a general partner for the last five years backing Cider, KoBold, and Whatnot, among others.

TechCrunch continues to track these evolving movements within the venture sector and will provide updates on these and other developments. Should you have any tips or information, reach out to us at rebecca.szkutak@techcrunch.com.

Originally published on May 1, this article has been updated on May 13, July 12, and August 15 to include more recent investor movements.

Updates have been made to accurately reflect Anne Lee Skates’ investment activities at Andreessen Horowitz.