StrictlyVC Download The $20B LP View: AI Valuations, Solo GPs, and What's Really Happening in Venture
Aug 12, 2025
Lara Banks leads venture investing at Makena Capital Management, overseeing a $3 billion portfolio across 30 managers. In this discussion, she explores the surge of AI valuations, arguing that their rapid revenue growth justifies hefty price tags despite high infrastructure costs. Banks highlights the challenges solo GPs face and the shifting dynamics in the LP community. She also shares insights from the 2021 boom-bust cycle and discusses emerging liquidity opportunities in the secondary market as companies remain private longer.
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Endowment Model For Smaller Investors
- Makena modeled private allocations on the Stanford endowment to serve smaller institutions and family offices.
- Venture sits as a $3B evergreen allocation within a $20B multi-asset portfolio providing steady access to privates.
Diversified Manager Mix
- Makena maintains about 30 manager relationships across seed through growth, splitting risk-return by platform size.
- They deliberately balance large 'platform' brands with smaller dedicated early-stage managers for diversification.
Get In Early Through Manager Networks
- Source new managers through existing manager networks and referrals rather than cold outreach.
- Spend time early to be 'day one' with promising small managers for the best deal access.