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Join The Information for AI Agenda Live on Wednesday, September 23, at SFMOMA. We’re bringing together the industry’s most influential researchers, founders, and investors to preview the next wave of innovation—from breakthroughs in continual learning models to the latest bleeding-edge applications.Learn more here. Hi, it's Julia and Katie. The Chainsmokers are back. They released new songs in May—and are raising a new venture fund. Their firm Mantis VC is raising their fourth fund, an unofficial milestone that graduates them from emerging managers to just regular old VCs. Founded in 2019 by band members Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, Mantis is targeting $100 million for its latest fund, according to two people with knowledge of the efforts. That’s the same size as its fund finalized last year and would bring the Los Angeles area firm’s assets under management to more than $300 million. The firm is focused on AI, cybersecurity, deep tech and health tech. Recently, Pall appeared onstage with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at an event in San Francisco, where The Chainsmokers also played some music. Among its better known AI bets, it invested in Rogo—an AI startup that sells software for investment bankers, analysts and investors—at the Series A in 2024 and also invested in April when the company raised a Series D at a $2 billion valuation including the money invested. Mantis also invested in Factory AI at the Series A in June 2024, Series B in September 2025 and the Series C in April, which valued the coding agent startup at roughly $1.5 billion. Among its exits are Superhuman, an AI email agent acquired by Grammarly last summer for an unknown amount, and Step Mobile, the Gen-Z focused banking app bought by MrBeast’s Beast Industries this year. Pall and Taggart invest with general partners Jeffrey Evans and Milan Koch. The raise comes as other celebrities try their hand at investing. Professional boxer and YouTuber Jake Paul’s firm, Anti Fund, announced a $100 million growth fund, the firm’s second, Thursday. Anti Fund has invested in startups including OpenAI, Anduril, Cognition, Saronic and others.
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