Norwest Raises $4B Fund to Expand AI Investments

Norwest, a 65-year-old multi-stage investment firm backed solely by Wells Fargo, has raised $4 billion for its eighteenth and largest fund to date. The capital will be deployed globally across countries like the United States, India, and Israel, with a strong focus on expanding the firm's investments in artificial intelligence. The firm aims to support AI startups developing products in core industries including consumer, healthcare, and enterprise technology. According to senior managing partner Jeff Crowe, Norwest is taking a broad approach to artificial intelligence because its transformative impact spans multiple layers of enterprise and consumer solutions, ranging from physical AI to cybersecurity. This new capital follows Norwest's previous $3 billion fund closed in 2024, during which the firm made more than 87 investments. Recent backing includes companies such as Coval, which builds tools to evaluate AI agents, and Generalist AI, a startup developing foundation models for robots.