Oren Zeev: 50% of Funds Will Go Out of Business & Why GPs Shouldn't Tell LPs Their Strategy

Oren Zeev argues 50% of mid-tier VC funds will fail to raise again and explains why he takes zero management fee income to align with LPs.

• Zeev takes zero personal income from management fees, reinvesting 100% back into funds — claims no other VC does this.
• He is the largest LP in every fund at ~13-14% and holds 30% carry, giving him ~40%+ of total economics.
• At least 50% of current VC funds cannot raise or are stalling to avoid testing the market, Zeev estimates.
• 2021 funds invested at 3-4x fair price; Zeev’s two 500M+ funds from 2021-2022 cut to ~250M by 2024.
• Navan gross margins improved dramatically as AI replaced support — from ~50% toward near-full AI coverage.
• Operationally complex incumbents with deep data and distribution are AI beneficiaries, not victims; simple SaaS is at risk.
• GPs in large partnerships are career-managing, not fund-optimizing — incentivized to double down on bad bets to buy personal time.
• Zeev refuses to disclose strategy to LPs deliberately, keeping full flexibility; his one rule is having no rules.

2026-02-02 · Watch on YouTube