Sabertooth VC put nearly $400M into startups using one-off deals

In short: Investor Justin Ernest says his firm, Sabertooth VC, invested nearly $400 million into 10 startups without raising a traditional venture capital fund.

What happened

Justin Ernest, the founder of Sabertooth VC, told TechCrunch he found a gap in the investing world. Smaller investors like family offices (wealthy families that invest their own money) wanted to invest in fast-growing AI companies, but often could not get access.

Instead of raising a standard venture capital fund, which he said can take 12 to 18 months, Ernest used a different setup. He organized investments deal by deal using SPVs, short for Special Purpose Vehicles. An SPV is like a single-use bucket for one purchase, a group of investors put money into that bucket, and the bucket buys shares in one company.

Over the last 12 months, Sabertooth VC invested nearly $400 million across 10 companies, according to the report. These include Anthropic, Anduril, Databricks, PsiQuantum, and SpaceX. Ernest’s checks reportedly ranged from $10 million to $275 million, and he said he participated in company-approved funding rounds.

TechCrunch also noted that some high-profile startups have warned investors about unauthorized SPVs, meaning deals that are not approved by the company. A family office executive quoted in the article said PsiQuantum’s CFO suggested investing through Sabertooth, which he saw as a sign the firm was legitimate.

Why it matters

This shows how money is finding new paths into well-known private tech companies, especially AI companies, before they list on the stock market. For everyday people, it can affect which startups grow fastest and which companies reach an IPO (a first stock market listing) sooner.

Source: TechCrunch AI