It’s been almost a decade since Omar Darwazah and Kyle Hendrick launched AAF Management and its first fund of $25 million in 2017.

Rather than racing to dramatically increase their assets under management like many funds have in recent years, the partners have intentionally kept their fund sizes small, even as their reputation and returns have grown.

Their latest vehicle — a $55 million early-stage hybrid fund, dubbed the Axis Fund, that recently closed — brings the Washington-based venture firm’s total assets to roughly $250 million across four funds. The firm raised a $39 million Fund II in 2021 and a $32 million fund-of-funds investment vehicle in 2017 for a select group of its limited partners.

“Running a $50 million fund is very different from running a $500 million fund,” ge

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