After many years leading General Catalyst’s seed strategy, Niko Bonatsos has left the company. Bonatsos, known for backing IPO-hopped Discord and $10 billion startup Mercor, told TechCrunch he plans to start a new early-stage VC firm with “friends.”
Mr. Bonatsos is the latest investor to leave General Catalyst, which recently expanded beyond the traditional venture model. In recent years, General Catalyst has announced an asset management business, a strategy focused on PE-style AI rollups, and a Customer Value Fund (CVF) that provides non-dilutive financing secured by recurring revenue to late-stage startups.
Other recent departures from General Catalyst include Deep Nishar and Kyle Doherty, who co-led the late-stage Endurance strategy, and Adam Valkin, who co-led the early-stage fund with Bonatsos and Trevor Elsich, TechCrunch reported last year.
Unlike his former colleagues, who declined to comment on his departure, Bonatsos described it as a mutual decision and said his time at GC was a “great experience” and provided many “learnings.”
Bonatsos said he has not yet decided on a name for the new company or begun fundraising. He declined to comment on the size of the team, saying only that those being considered include founders and investors “at the top.”
Among the themes Bonatsos plans to explore is supporting young founders, a trend he claims he identified years ago before it took off in the industry. In fact, many of the key founders of the AI wave are young, including college dropouts like Mercor founder Brendan Foody.
Bonatsos is also interested in investing in founders launching consumer businesses, which he believes is “undervalued” in a market saturated with enterprise-focused AI startups.
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General Catalyst continues to make seed-stage bets even as the company has transitioned into what it calls an “investment and transformation company.” Last year, GC hired Yuri Sagalov, a former YC partner and founder of Wayfinder Ventures, to lead its US seed investments.
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