Norwest closed a $4 billion global, multi-stage fund to continue backing technology, healthcare and consumer companies across the U.S., India and Israel.
The fund, Norwest 18, the largest in the firm's 65-year history, brings the total capital under management to $18 billion, the investment firm announced Thursday. Norwest is targeting investment opportunities in healthcare, biotech, medtech and healthcare AI.
Recent investments in healthcare and biotech AI companies include patient experience platform Courier Health and Infinx. In October, the investment firm co-led Matchpoint Therapeutics' $150 million series B round, and it backed a $31 million round for Vitalize Care, an AI-powered operating system for hospital staffing and scheduling.
Since 1961, Norwest has invested in more than 750 companies and currently partners with more than 275 companies across its venture and growth equity portfolio, the company said. The firm invests in early- to late-stage businesses across key sectors with a focus on technology, healthcare and consumer.
Since the launch of Norwest 17 in April 2024, the firm has made more than 87 investments and worked with over 30 portfolio companies to achieve liquidity events. These include initial public offerings from Amagi Media Labs, BillionToOne, MBX Biosciences, Omada Health and Swiggy, among others. Notable strategic acquisitions include Avetta by EQT, AbsenceSoft by Luminate Capital Partners, Ouro Medicines by Gilead Sciences, Qualified by Salesforce, tvScientific by Pinterest and Veza by ServiceNow.
"Building and scaling a company has never been a linear journey, and today that journey is becoming more complex," said Jeff Crowe, senior managing partner at Norwest, in a statement. "Companies are staying private longer, scaling across markets, and navigating critical decisions around technology, talent, and growth. Capital is only one part of what they need. Our role is to be a long-term partner and bring the experience, networks, and resources that can help leadership teams make those decisions with confidence."
Norwest continues to expand into areas such as next-generation financial infrastructure, physical and voice AI, agentic cybersecurity, technology-enabled industrial and aerospace and healthcare AI. Recent investments include Beltic, Rain and Stablecore, companies building the next generation of financial infrastructure and advancing the adoption of digital currencies as well as Coval, Generalist AI and LlamaIndex, companies building intelligent AI systems, enabling agents to reason, interact with data and take action across digital and physical environments. Biotech and healthcare portfolio companies include Rezo Therapeutics, an AI-enabled precision medicine and biopharmaceutical company and Tokaido Health, an AI-native medication steerage platform.
The investment firm says it has expanded its support for portfolio companies beyond funding, adding more advisors, operating executives and programs focused on technology, go-to-market strategy and organizational growth.