1203 ET - Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz raised an additional $1.75 billion for its fifth growth fund, bringing the total raised for that fund to $8.5 billion. That mammoth haul comes as the median pre-money valuation of growth-stage venture-backed companies in the U.S. jumped to $620.2 million in the first half of this year, according to data from PitchBook, up from $245.5 million in 2025. The firm described the current investing environment as unprecedented, and said it is watching half a dozen "megatrends," including consumer and enterprise AI adoption, robotics and AI infrastructure.