Lemkin: Top funds passing on growth-round super pro rata is a terrible signal
Jason Lemkin · Anthropic Raises $45B but Falls Short on Compute & Thoma Bravo Hand Back Medallia Keys to Creditors · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Apr 30, 2026 · at 1:25:03
Jason Lemkin, founder of SaaStr and SaaS investor, discusses how investor behavior in follow-on rounds serves as a critical signal to the market.
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“When a top fund doesn't go all in, On an investment, it's such a bad signal. Not only is it bad if the tier, if the, if Andreessen does your seed and doesn't lead your array, that's the classic discussion we could have done on 20 VC in 2015. Right. But the subtle one is when you do the growth round, when you do the billion dollar run, when you do whatever, and you don't see the big fund lean in for the super pro rata, I just think it's a terrible sign in today's world. I know people are going to challenge it, but it's my experience. Like if they've got the billions to deploy, They're gonna put it into your winners, and if they don't, like, stick you in the side of your chest with an elbow to get super pro rata, it's a bad sign.”
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