Global Venture Capital · Week of Oct 19, 2026

Even Benchmark says AI is eroding the VC pact against backing rivals

TechCrunch · 2026-10-15

At TechCrunch Disrupt, Benchmark's partners conceded that fast-moving AI companies make conflicts between portfolio firms hard to avoid. OpenAI and Anthropic now share dozens of investors, and a dispute between Factory and Cognition pulled in Khosla, which backs both. Benchmark says exclusivity still matters at the earliest stage.

Vocabulary
  • unwritten rulean accepted practice that isn't formally written down
  • compete head-onto compete directly for the same market
  • board observera non-voting attendee at board meetings
Read source ↗

← Back to this week's brief