Eduardo Saverin, cofounder of B Capital.Bryan van der Beek for ForbesB Capital—an investment firm backed by Facebook cofounder, Eduardo Saverin—has raised $500 million for its early stage venture capital fund, Ascent Fund III, amid investor confidence in AI startups.The fund was oversubscribed and nearly double the size of B Capital Ascent Fund II, which raised $254 million in 2022, thanks to strong backing from both existing and new investors, the company said in a release this week.“The most meaningful opportunities will not come from technology alone, but from entrepreneurs applying AI to transform industries such as healthcare, enterprise, energy and the next frontier,” Saverin, cofounder and co-CEO of B Capital said in the statement. “With support from our own proprietary AI platform, this fund will help founders turn bold, breakthrough ideas into enduring businesses with global impact.”The fund will primarily back seed, series A and series B startups in North America and Asia. It has already invested in more than 20 companies, including three U.S.-based startups, Apptronik, Havoc AI and Star Catcher, which have since raised additional funding to expand their businesses.Cofounded in 2016 by Saverin, with renowned investor Howard Morgan and former Bain Capital executive Raj Ganguly, B Capital currently manages over $12 billion in assets across multiple funds that invest in companies ranging from seed stage to late stage. MORE FOR YOUWith a net worth of $34 billion according to Forbes’ real-time data, Saverin is among the wealthiest person in Singapore, where the Brazilian native resides. The bulk of his wealth still comes from his small but valuable stake in Meta Platforms (previously Facebook), which he cofounded with Harvard classmate Mark Zuckerberg in 2004.