New Enterprise Associates (NEA)

New Enterprise Associates, usually called NEA, is one of the biggest names in venture capital and one of the least flashy. Founded in 1977, it opened with offices on both coasts, an unusual choice when most firms were small partnerships in one city. Today it is headquartered on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, keeps a large office in suburban Baltimore and invests in both technology and health care from the earliest rounds through IPO.

This profile is a neutral explainer for visitors and founders. It relies on NEA's website and press releases and on reporting from TechCrunch, Axios and others, with size figures tied to dated sources. For the basics of how venture funds work, see our venture capital guide.

Founding on two coasts

Dick Kramlich, Chuck Newhall and Frank Bonsal founded NEA in 1977. Rather than pick one region, they opened on both the East and West Coasts. The East Coast side had its roots in the Baltimore area, while the West Coast side put the firm close to the growing Bay Area tech industry. The arrangement let the firm see deals in two very different markets.

The Maryland link lasted. NEA's East Coast office today is at 1954 Greenspring Drive in Timonium, a suburb north of Baltimore. Its headquarters is in Menlo Park at 2855 Sand Hill Road, in the stretch of office parks near Interstate 280 described in our Sand Hill Road guide.

An early win

One of NEA's first notable investments was 3Com, the networking company founded by Ethernet co-inventor Bob Metcalfe after his time at Xerox PARC. NEA backed it in 1981 alongside Mayfield and the investor Jack Melchor. Our page on Xerox PARC explains where Ethernet came from.

The size of the firm

NEA is large by any measure. Its funds grew steadily for four decades:

When the 15th and 16th funds closed, each was reported as the largest venture fund raised up to that point. In January 2023 NEA said it had more than $25 billion in committed capital as of December 31, 2022. The two funds it closed that month were its first pairing of a dedicated early-stage fund with a venture growth fund. Scott Sandell, then managing general partner, called it the largest pool of capital in NEA's history.

We have not found a more recent total from NEA itself, so treat these numbers as a snapshot. Fund sizes and asset totals move with new raises and with the value of portfolio companies.

Track record in general terms

NEA has invested in close to 1,000 companies over its history. In its January 2023 announcement it counted more than 270 portfolio company IPOs and more than 450 mergers and acquisitions. Those figures say more about the firm's breadth than about returns, which NEA does not publish and which we do not estimate.

What the numbers mean

Venture firms describe their size in different ways. The terms are easy to confuse. Committed capital is the total that limited partners have promised across all of a firm's funds. Assets under management usually adds the current value of investments still held. A single fund size, such as $3.3 billion for NEA's 16th fund, is the money raised for one pool that will be invested over several years. Our venture capital glossary explains these and other terms.

None of these figures tells you how a fund has performed. A large fund can return less than a small one. Returns for private funds are also rarely made public. NEA does not publish fund returns on its website, so this guide does not report any.

For founders, the practical point of NEA's size is reach across stages. Its website lists seed, Series A through Series D and IPO as stages it invests in. A company that starts with NEA at seed can, in principle, keep raising from the same firm through later rounds. The trade-off is that a large firm has many partners and teams, so finding the person who covers your sector matters a great deal.

Notable companies

NEA's portfolio page shows a rotating set of examples by sector and notes that it is not a complete list. Companies shown in late 2026 include:

• Enterprise: Databricks, Cloudflare and MongoDB.
• Fintech: Robinhood, Plaid and Metronome.
• Consumer: Perplexity, ElevenLabs and Patreon.
• Digital health: Tempus and Radiology Partners.
• Life sciences: Verona Pharma and Celcuity.

Health care as a second pillar

Many venture firms dabble in health care. At NEA it is a core practice with its own leaders. The firm's website lists two co-heads of health care alongside a head of technology. Its health care investing spans life sciences companies that develop drugs and diagnostics plus digital health businesses.

For the Palo Alto area this matters. Stanford Medicine, the Stanford hospitals and the life science companies of the Peninsula form one of the country's main biotech clusters. Founders spinning out of Stanford research often meet health care investors on Sand Hill Road. Our guide to Stanford entrepreneurship programs covers the campus side.

Leadership

NEA's website lists Scott Sandell as executive chairman and chief investment officer. Tony Florence and Mohamad Makhzoumi are co-CEOs. Rick Yang is listed as head of technology. Ali Behbahani and Paul Walker are listed as co-heads of health care. The team page also lists a broad group of partners, principals and venture partners.

Offices and visiting

NEA's contact page lists five offices:

1. Menlo Park: 2855 Sand Hill Road
2. Timonium, Maryland: 1954 Greenspring Drive, Suite 600
3. New York: 104 5th Avenue
4. London: 5 Carnaby Street
5. San Francisco: 215 Second Street

The offices are private workplaces. Meetings are by appointment. The best route in is a warm introduction from a founder, angel or lawyer the partner knows. NEA's contact page lists email addresses for business development, investor relations and press, not a general inbox for pitches. Our guide to pitching investors explains how to get a first meeting.

Founders flying in usually stay in Palo Alto or Menlo Park. Compare hotels near Sand Hill Road and plan for a car or rideshare, since transit along the road is limited. Compare rental cars if you are landing at SFO or San Jose.

Frequently asked questions