VC isn't VC anymore — understanding the rise of Cancer Capital

The argument here is blunt: venture capital stopped looking like venture capital a while ago. What used to be a niche source of funding for risky startups has, in this telling, been warped into a system where a small group of huge firms can push politics, move markets, and face almost no real restraint while still wearing the VC label.

The core complaint is scale. Venture was supposed to be a small slice of the capital market, because the whole point was to take high-risk bets inside a broader portfolio that stayed mostly stable. Instead, a handful of firms have grown into massive “do everything” outfits, mixing private equity-style power with venture branding and managing tens of billions of dollars. At that size, the old risk-sharing logic breaks. If a firm collects 2% a year on $50 billion, the money comes in whether the startup succeeds or not.

And that shift changes behavior. The piece says these firms are no longer really exposed to the same consequences as ordinary investors, and because they’ve moved beyond the legal shape of traditional VC, they can buy shares directly from founders, hold unlimited amounts of public stock, move assets between their own funds, and even book gains before a company has made real money. That creates a world of self-dealing that looks less like startup support and more like a machine built to manufacture returns and power.

The political side is just as central. The article points to Andreessen Horowitz and says Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz and the firm have put $115.3 million into the current midterm cycle, up from $63 million in 2024, with money going to candidates in both parties. It also cites Molly White’s Tech Influence Watch and says a16z alone accounts for more than 20% of all political contributions from the crypto and AI companies she tracks. That’s not “supporting innovation.” That’s buying influence with a very expensive startup haircut.

The piece ends on a harder accusation: that the industry once known as venture capital now works more like a political and social force than a funding source. New founders and workers may still think they’re dealing with the old rules. The people writing the checks, the argument goes, are playing a very different game.