Lightspeed becomes an RIA—and venture enters its next era. If you looked away last week, you might’ve missed something subtle but seismic: Lightspeed quietly became a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). That puts them alongside a16z, Sequoia, and General Catalyst—firms moving past the limits of traditional VC in favor of something bigger.

But this isn’t just regulatory trivia.

With $31B under management, Lightspeed now has the structural freedom to go way beyond early-stage startups. Think: public equities, buyouts, roll-ups, secondaries. Moves that stretch the old venture model into new territory.

“A bit like Blackstone in a hoodie.” —Pierrick Bouffaron

Why It Matters

Because this is more than a legal form change. It’s a shift in the venture operating system—from “spray and pray” to “buy, build, rewire with AI, and hold.”

Lightspeed didn’t just open a new playbook. They lit the runway.

Strategy + Scale

RIA status gives Lightspeed the flexibility to act more like a private equity firm—without losing its speed or tech-native DNA.

As Bloomberg put it:

“Lightspeed… has completed the process of becoming a registered investment advisor (RIA)... The move is the culmination of a lengthy regulatory process and gives the firm freedom to invest more capital into assets beyond direct startup equity.”

This unlocks:

• $100T+ global public markets

• $100B+ secondaries market

• A dramatically broader toolkit for ownership, M&A, and venture building

It’s the kind of expansion play that fundamentally rewires what a “VC firm” can do.

The New Large VC (RIA) Playbook

This is about how capital is deployed—not just where.

The traditional playbook:

Make 25 early bets → wait 10 years → hope for 2 unicorns.

The new one:

Build platforms. Rewire with AI. Buy secondary stakes. Stay long. Own big.

Some emerging strategies:

• AI-native roll-ups across verticals

• Direct buyouts of mid-market tech companies

• Long-term stakes with operational involvement

• Secondary platforms as liquidity engines

VCs aren’t just betting on founders anymore—they’re playing deeper into the cap table.

As Valerie Bertele put it:

“The old model didn’t fail because it lacked flexibility. It papers over them. The shift is real: from ‘spray and pray’ to ‘buy, build, rewire with AI.’ Own big. Stay long.”

Secondaries: The New Battleground

We covered this in #237 – Secondaries Are (Finally) a Core Part of Seed VC—but it’s worth repeating. The secondary market is exploding. And firms like Lightspeed want in.

Why?
Because secondaries unlock growth, liquidity, and ownership consolidation—all while sidestepping the timing risk of early-stage equity.

Think:

• Buying out early investors

• Rolling up fragmented cap tables

• Recycling capital inside the fund

In a tighter fundraising environment, that’s real power.

This Isn’t a One-Off

Lightspeed is the latest, but not the first:

• a16z became an RIA in 2019, pushing into crypto, media, and direct acquisitions

• Sequoia shifted to an evergreen structure for long-term compounders

• General Catalyst acquired a hospital system and dropped "VC" from its name

• Thrive Capital raised a $1B fund to buy and build AI-native businesses

This isn’t a temporary trend. It’s a category shift.

“This is a fundamental rewiring of what it means to be a venture investor.”

What’s Next (3–5 Years)

If this pace holds, we’re headed toward a full replatforming of the VC model. Expect:

• Venture studios and early-stage builders

• Sector-specific AI roll-ups (e.g., fintech, healthcare, infra)

• Public/private crossover investing

• Dedicated secondary funds

• M&A-centric venture scaling

• Mid-tier VC consolidation

• PE-scale infrastructure under venture brands

“Lightspeed now taps into a $100T+ public market pie. The $100B+ secondaries market is their new playground. VCs are becoming mini-Blackstones in hoodies—and this is just Act 1.”

The Bottom Line

Lightspeed’s move isn’t an outlier. It’s a milestone in a much larger evolution.

Venture is blending with private equity. It’s compounding strategies, leveraging AI, and stepping confidently into secondaries and public markets. The playbook is expanding—and that’s good news.

This isn’t the end of venture capital.
It’s what happens when you give it more tools, longer time horizons, and a bigger canvas.

Venture isn’t dying. It’s compounding.

Want to Go Deeper?

We put together a VC Toolkit for funds navigating this new environment—DPI forecasts, premium carry templates, and quarterly review tools.