AI NewsMenlo Ventures’ Matt Murphy explains what AI startups founders must do differently

Menlo Ventures’ Matt Murphy explains what AI startups founders must do differently

6:21 AM IST · July 23, 2026

Anthropic leaped toa $47 billion revenue run rate by May,compared to $9 billion in 2025. It’s the kind of growth that Menlo Ventures’Matt Murphysays he’s never seen in 25 years of investing, not in the internet wave, not in mobile, not in the first cloud boom. Menlo led Anthropic’s $500M Series D, and Murphy has had a front-row seat as the company went from a pre-revenue, pre-launch bet to one of the most valuable startups out there. On this episode of TechCrunch’sEquitypodcast, Julie Bort talks with Murphy about backing Anthropic before anyone else would, why a great model was never the point, and what’s driving the fastest-growing startups he’s ever seen. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Subscribe to Equity onYouTube,Apple Podcasts,Overcast,Spotifyand all the casts. You also can follow Equity onXandThreads, at @EquityPod.