Tiger Global's Substantial New Funding and Investment Successes

Observers of venture capital activity may have recently noted a trend: a surge in large funding rounds. Tiger Global is demonstrably involved in a significant portion of these, frequently taking a co-leading role in the investment.

Recent Investment Activity

Within the past week, numerous companies have publicized funding rounds with the participation of the New York-based investment firm. This includes leading or co-leading investments in companies like HighRadius, securing $300 million in a Series C round alongside D1 Capital; Cityblock Health, which received $192 million in extended Series C funding; and 6sense, benefiting from a follow-on investment as part of a $125 million Series D round.

Furthermore, reports indicate that Tiger Global is currently exploring a co-leading position in a $300 million funding round for Groq, an AI chipmaker established five years ago.

Fundraising Success

The source of these substantial funds has now been revealed. While Tiger Global previously communicated to its investors in January regarding a $3.75 billion fundraising goal for its thirteenth venture fund (designated XIV), a recent SEC filing indicates the fund ultimately closed with nearly double that amount: $6.65 billion.

This represents a considerable increase, even within the current market, particularly for Tiger Global, which concluded its twelfth fund with $3.75 billion in commitments just last year.

Attempts to gain further insight from the firm have been made, but as previously reported in January, Tiger Global presented a compelling case to prospective limited partners.

Portfolio Company Performance

Recent successes within the firm’s portfolio contribute to this strong position. Stripe, a portfolio company, is now valued at $95 billion following a $600 million funding round completed earlier this month.

Additionally, Tiger Global held a 10% stake in the gaming company Roblox prior to its direct listing, resulting in a current market capitalization of $38 billion.

2020 Achievements

Despite the challenges of 2020, Tiger Global experienced a successful year. Several portfolio companies completed initial public offerings, including:

• Yatsen Holding, the parent company of the Chinese cosmetics brand Perfect Diary
• Snowflake, a cloud-based data warehousing provider
• Root insurance, an Ohio-based insurance company

The firm also witnessed several acquisitions of its portfolio companies, including:

• Postmates’ acquisition by Uber for $2.65 billion in an all-stock deal
• Credit Karma’s sale to Intuit for $7 billion in cash and stock
• Kustomer’s acquisition by Facebook for $1 billion

Firm History and Leadership

Founded on its roots in hedge fund management, Tiger Global initiated its private equity operations in 2003. This was spearheaded by Chase Coleman, formerly with Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management, and Scott Shleifer, who joined the firm in 2002 after his tenure at the Blackstone Group.

Lee Fixel later joined in 2006 and became a crucial figure in the firm’s growth.

Initially, Shleifer concentrated on China, while Fixel focused on India. The broader team, now comprising 22 investing professionals, expanded its focus to include Brazil and Russia before prioritizing opportunities within the U.S.

Investment decisions were ultimately made collectively by these three leaders. Fixel departed in 2019 to establish his own investment firm, Addition, leaving Coleman and Shleifer as the firm’s sole decision-makers.

Investor Base and Notable Returns

Tiger Global’s investor base is diverse, encompassing sovereign wealth funds, foundations, endowments, pensions, and its own employees, who are currently considered the firm’s largest investors.

The firm has achieved significant returns on several investments, notably a $200 million investment in the e-commerce giant JD.com, which yielded $5 billion. It also realized over $1 billion in profits from its investment in the Chinese online-services platform Meituan.

A substantial return was also generated through its investment in Peloton, where the firm held a 20% stake at the time of the company’s 2019 IPO.