New Enterprise Associates (NEA)

About

New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is one of the world’s largest venture capital firms, founded in 1977 by C. Richard (Dick) Kramlich, Charles (Chuck) Newhall III, and Frank Bonsal Jr. ¹². The firm is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with additional offices in New York City, Timonium (Maryland), and London, and affiliates in Mumbai, Bangalore, Beijing, and Shanghai ³⁴.

The three founders brought complementary backgrounds: Kramlich had worked with venture capital pioneer Arthur Rock beginning in 1969, Bonsal had been an investment banker at Alex. Brown & Sons focused on IPOs, and Newhall had managed an investment fund for T. Rowe Price ². They set out to build what they called a “100-year partnership” with offices on both coasts ².

NEA’s first fund had only $16 million in capital; the second raised $45 million, and the third collected $125 million in 1984 ². Among the firm’s earliest investments was 3Com, backed alongside Mayfield Fund in 1981 ².

As of June 30, 2025, NEA manages more than $28 billion in assets ⁴. In January 2023, the firm closed its largest fundraise in history: $6.2 billion across two funds — one early-stage and one venture growth-stage ⁵. The firm’s track record includes more than 284 portfolio company IPOs and over 500 mergers and acquisitions ⁴⁵.

NEA operates with a distinctive dual leadership model: separate technology and healthcare practices under one roof, each led by long-tenured managing general partners ⁵. The firm promotes all general partners internally, with an average tenure of 17 years ⁵. Current leadership includes Scott Sandell as Executive Chairman and CIO, with Tony Florence and Mohamad Makhzoumi serving as Co-CEOs ³.

Stated Thesis

NEA publicly describes itself as building “enduring partnerships with ambitious founders at every stage of company building,” from seed through IPO ⁴.

Tony Florence, Co-CEO, has stated: “As technology transforms every industry globally, we see an expanding opportunity set at both the early and growth stages” ⁵.

Mohamad Makhzoumi, Co-CEO, has stated: “Healthcare innovation has never been more important than at this moment in time” ⁵.

Scott Sandell has emphasized the firm’s approach to founder relationships: “When challenges do emerge, our inclination is to roll up our sleeves and help, rather than be critical. And we usually come out together in a better place than where we started” ⁶.

The firm’s stated focus spans technology (enterprise/consumer software, AI, fintech, infrastructure, next-generation web technologies) and healthcare (digital health, life sciences) ⁴⁵.

Inferred Thesis

NEA’s portfolio is too large for a comprehensive count-based analysis from publicly available data, but patterns are observable from the firm’s disclosed investments and portfolio page:

Stage distribution: NEA invests across all stages from seed through IPO, with significant capital deployed at both early and growth stages. The 2023 fundraise was deliberately split between an early-stage fund and a venture growth fund ⁵. The firm’s website lists coverage at Seed, Series A through D, and IPO ⁴.

Sector split: NEA maintains a dual focus on technology and healthcare, with separate leadership for each practice ⁵. Within technology, the firm has increased its AI exposure significantly, participating in large rounds for ElevenLabs ($180M Series C) and Synthesia ($180M Series D) in 2025 ⁷. The appointment of Lila Tretikov as Partner and Head of AI Strategy underscores the AI emphasis ³.

Healthcare depth: Unlike most tech-focused VC firms, NEA maintains a genuine healthcare practice with multiple MD and PhD partners (Ali Behbahani MD, Matt McAviney MD, James Buxton MD, Michele Park PhD), investing in life sciences, digital health, and biotech ³.

Geographic reach: The firm maintains a global footprint with offices and affiliates across the US, UK, and Asia ⁴. Carmen Chang leads the Asia practice ³.

Firm scale: With $28B+ AUM and 20+ partners, NEA operates at a fundamentally different scale than most VC firms, more comparable to crossover funds like Tiger Global than to traditional early-stage firms ⁴⁵.

Co-investor patterns: NEA’s notable portfolio companies (Cloudflare, Databricks, Robinhood, Salesforce, Workday) suggest the firm frequently participates in rounds alongside other top-tier firms rather than competing head-to-head at the earliest stages ⁸.

Portfolio

This table represents a very small fraction of NEA’s portfolio. The firm has participated in 284+ IPOs and 500+ acquisitions over its 48-year history ⁴⁵.

In Their Own Words

Scott Sandell, Executive Chairman & CIO: “We are deeply grateful to our Limited Partners for the trust they have placed in our team, and excited to have raised the largest pool of capital in NEA’s history at a time of great uncertainty, but also tremendous opportunity” ⁵.

Scott Sandell on working with founders: “When challenges do emerge, our inclination is to roll up our sleeves and help, rather than be critical. And we usually come out together in a better place than where we started” ⁶.

Tony Florence, Co-CEO: “As technology transforms every industry globally, we see an expanding opportunity set at both the early and growth stages” ⁵.

NEA website: “An investment from us isn’t just a momentary investment in an idea — it’s an enduring commitment to the people bringing it to life” ⁴.

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found. NEA’s website describes the firm’s approach as “exploring the outer edges of possibility in technology and healthcare” and emphasizes enduring partnerships with founders ⁴.

Sources