Top 25 Growth Equity Firms

What are growth equity firms?

Growth equity firms are investment firms that purchase significant minority stakes in fast growing, private companies with proven business models and strong customer traction. Usually, companies receive growth investment rounds after several venture capital rounds, but before going public in an IPO or SPAC. Most often, companies who take growth equity investment do not have significant amounts of debt.

The growth investing ecosystem

While growth equity pioneers like General Atlantic, Summit Partners and TA Associates have long enjoyed leadership in this category, recently the growth investing asset class has seen an influx of new entrants.

Firms from seemingly every other category of asset management have started growth investing efforts:

• Venture capital – Given their traditional position as early-stage investors in technology startups, many VC firms have realized they can “double-down” on winners in their existing portfolio via later stage funds. Given the similarities between the two, many “growth” funds market themselves as “late-stage venture” and vice-versa
• Private equity – Many private equity firms, especially the so-called “mega funds,” have raised dedicated growth and technology investment vehicles (e.g. TPG Growth, KKR Technology, Carlyle Growth, Blackstone Growth). Given their large platforms, this provided an attractive way to increase exposure to the growth asset-class, while increasing AUM.
• Hedge funds & crossovers – Several funds who had previously focused on public market investing like Tiger Global and Coatue have become significant players in growth investing for private companies.
• Traditional asset managers – Given many growth companies have avoided going public for longer, traditional mutual fund and asset management companies like Fidelity have started private market growth funds to get exposure to this asset class

Drivers of new entrants

While every firm has its own specific rationale, there are also broad macro trends credited with accelerating the rush toward the growth asset class:

• Attractive returns from technology mega-cycle – Marc Andreessen of a16z famously said, “software is eating the world,” and it’s true. The impact of software and technology has been felt widely across our society; there are more technology startups than ever and the returns to successful companies is larger than ever before
• Successful growth stage companies stay private longer – due to new regulatory hurdles and the increasing burdens on public companies, many growth stage entrepreneurs elect to stay private and avoid IPO as long as possible. This creates greater opportunities for late stage growth capital providers in the private markets

Criteria for top firms – an insider’s point of view

I should say upfront — this list is NOT based on any “scientific” or measurable criteria (e.g. highest AUM, number of investment professionals, etc). Instead, it’s meant to capture three criteria folks care about most, especially when considering joining the growth industry:

• Which firms are the most respected by industry insiders?
• Which firms are most prestigious to work at?
• And which firms are known for having the smartest investors working there?

With these questions in mind, the list was compiled based on conversations with industry insiders, as well as my own personal experience having worked in growth equity.

Top growth equity firms in NYC

General Atlantic

New York, NY

OK, so I’ll admit I’m very biased here … of course, I’m going to mention General Atlantic first! Yes, it’s where I used to work, but in fairness, the firm has an incredible tradition! It was founded in 1980 by Chuck Feeney, an entrepreneur who made his fortune by founding Duty Free Stores. Mr. Feeney pledged to give away his entire fortune during his life (rather than pass it to descendants). General Atlantic became the captive investment arm of his non-profit with the aim of growing the amount of money he could eventually give away. While both firms have evolved and are now formally independent, GA’s mission remains to empower entrepreneurs around the world. Headquartered in New York City — but with more than a dozen offices globally — GA remains a top growth equity provider to entrepreneurs around the world.

• Select investments: Meta, Uber, Fandango, Markit, Crowdstrike, Adyen, Cyient, Ginkgo Bioworks
• Offices: New York City, Palo Alto, Stamford, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Amsterdam, London, Munich, Tel Aviv, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Jakarta, Mumbai, and Singapore

Insight Partners

New York, NY

Formerly known as Insight Venture Partners (or IVP), Insights Partners has quietly become a powerhouse in the growth investing space. In 2021, the firm made headlines for crossing $90 billion in aggregate capital commitments. Based in New York City, the firm was founded in 1995 and has established a long track record of success.

• Select investments: Twitter, Shopify, Darktrace, Tenable, Nearpod, Monday, Docusign, Fanatics, HelloFresh
• Offices: Apart from their New York City HQ, Insight is inexplicably tight-lipped about where their other offices are, but they surely have many

Blackstone (Growth Fund)

New York, NY

Blackstone is a juggernaut in practically all things finance, and few would argue that it is among the most prestigious firms to work at in finance. A relative latecomer to growth, Blackstone made quite an entrance in 2021 with the close of its $4.5 billion Blackstone Growth Fund (BXG). It’s reported that this was the largest “first-time” growth equity fund raised in history. While Blackstone itself was founded by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Pete Peterson, the growth investing unit at Blackstone is run by Jon Korngold, who was hired away from General Atlantic and continues to lead the effort.

• Select investments: Oatly, Bumble, Spanx, Headspace Health, Clari, Epidemic Sound, Relex, Vectra, and Mollie
• Offices: Blackstone has many offices globally, but for now, growth investors are based in San Francisco, and London (in addition to NYC HQ)

Tiger Global Management

New York, NY

For those who are “in the know,” Tiger Global has taken the growth investing world completely by storm. You may not have heard of them, but this investment firm is known for being one of the smartest in the industry. They invest globally in both public and private markets (a so-called “crossover” fund). With elite “tiger cub” heritage, the firm was founded by Chase Coleman in 2001. In recent years, the firm has pumped loads of money into venture and growth investments with the aim of creating an “index” of attractive late-stage venture companies in tech.

• Select investments: Coinbase, Flipkart, Roblox, Meta, Zomato, Yandex, and Blinkit
• Listed offices: New York City only

Honorable mention – NYC

• Warburg Pincus
• Coatue Management
• Stripes Group

Top growth equity firms in San Francisco Bay Area

TPG Growth

San Francisco, CA

In 2007, TPG launched TPG Growth, a dedicated fund to support growth stage companies. It was the first of the “mega” private equity firms to launch a dedicated growth fund. While the former head of the growth fund generated some unfortunate PR in recent years, the growth fund itself has been very successful and has ballooned in AUM. Based on its success, TPG is even launching spinoff efforts within their overall “growth platform” that will be focused on specific growth opportunities — namely, digital media, technology adjacencies, and life sciences.

• Select investments: Precision Medicine, Vaxcyte, MX, Tanium, Zscaler, Halo Branded Solutions, Crunch Fitness, Uber, Spotify, AirBnB, and Prodigy Education
• Offices: TPG has several offices, but TPG Growth is mostly based in San Francisco HQ and New York office

Sequoia Capital

Menlo Park, CA

No conversation about growth would be complete without mentioning the legendary Sequoia Capital. Founded by Don Valentine in 1972 in Menlo Park, Sequoia has long been THE powerhouse of the venture capital industry. However, in recent years, it has also built incredible prowess in growth stage investing as well. Sequoia not only invests in new companies, but it also doubles down on existing portfolio companies from the early venture stage.

• Select investments: 23andMe, Instacart, Klarna, Nubank, Snowflake, Doordash, Zoom, and Stripe and many many others
• Offices: Menlo Park, Singapore, Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, London, and Tel Aviv

Honorable mention – SF Bay Area

• Capital G (growth fund of Google Ventures)
• Andreessen Horowitz / a16z (growth fund)
• TCV (formerly Technology Crossover Ventures)
• Altimeter Capital

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Top growth equity firms in London

KKR (Tech Growth)

Since 2016, KKR has been investing in technology growth deals through its Tech Growth platform. While the firm overall is headquartered in NYC, many of the firm’s Tech Growth team is based in London and San Francisco. In seeking to win over entrepreneurs, the firm sells not just capital, but also access to its broad global platform of resources, including KKR Capstone (its in-house consulting team). Candidly, it’s a little hard to know where to place them on this list, but I decided to list them under London, given some of the most interesting deals they’ve done have been out of Europe.

• Select investments: DarkTrace, FanDuel, GetYourGuide,  KnowBe4, OneStream, OutSystems, PolicyGenius, Slice, and Zwift
• Offices: KKR has many offices, but most growth is done out of London, San Francisco, and New York City

Honorable mention – London

• Index Ventures
• Hedosophia
• Balderton Capital
• Atomico

Top growth equity firms in Boston

TA Associates

Boston, MA

Founded in 1968, TA Associates is the oldest firm on this list. The firm started as a regional venture capital firm, but eventually grew significantly, raising larger and larger funds. Today, it markets itself as a “growth private equity” firm. TA targets on growth companies exclusively, but they are willing to invest in minority or majority stakes. The firm remains one of the sharpest and most successful in the industry.

• Select investments: Sophos, InsightSoftware, Flexera, BillDesk, Sovos, K2, MRI Software, Nintex, IFS
• Offices: Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong

Summit Partners

Boston, MA

In 1984, Summit Partners was founded by Roe Stamps, Stephen Woodsum, and Greg Avis. The three met while working at rival TA Associates (also in Boston!). Since spinning off, Summit Partners has grown into one of the largest and the most respected investors in the growth equity landscape. In recent years, the firm has also launched other business lines (i.e. credit fund, public equities), but the heart and soul of the firm remains supporting entrepreneurs at the growth phase.

• Select investments: Darktrace, Infor, McAfee, Casa Systems, ReKTGlobal, Vivint Smart Home, Uber, Smartsheet, Markforged, Fuze, A10 Networks
• Offices: Boston, London, Menlo Park, New York City

Honorable mention – Boston

• Spectrum Equity

General Catalyst

Cambridge, MA

Though many would consider General Catalyst a traditional “venture capital” firm, the lines are increasingly blurring as the firm has been wildly successful in the growth and late-stage venture stages. Founded in 2000, the firm truly invests from seed to IPO now. A great example of this: General Catalyst led the Series A for Livongo in 2014, and then led or participated in every subsequent funding round until the company was acquired for $18 billion by Teladoc in 2020. That’s conviction … and a great return.

• Select investments: Airbnb, Stripe, Livongo, Transcarent, Anduril, Grammarly, Snap, Applied Intuition
• Offices: Cambridge, San Francisco, Palo Alto, London, and New York City

Top growth equity firms in other locations

Softbank (Vision Fund)

Tokyo, Japan

Founded by Masayoshi Son, Softbank has become a giant in the growth stage. While some of their bets (WeWork) have been questionable, you still have to respect Softbank and how they’ve taken the growth stage by storm with their bold strategy of providing super long-term growth capital at sky high large valuations. The flagship $100 billion Vision Fund brought growth investing into another era with its “mega” investment rounds going into late-stage venture companies.

• Select investments: Fanatics, Flipkart, WeWork, Oyo, Whoop, Better, Klarna, Revolut, Uber, Alto, Cerebral, Doordash, Flexport
• Offices: Tokyo, London, Silicon Valley, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Riyadh, Shanghai, Singapore

Honorable mentions – other

• JMI Equity – Baltimore, MD
• Temasek – Singapore

Growth equity firms success stories

To demonstrate the impact of growth equity, here are a few brief case studies that highlight how these investments have helped companies achieve significant growth:

1. General Atlantic and Meta (formerly Facebook)

General Atlantic made a strategic investment in Facebook in 2011, when the social media platform was valued at approximately $65 billion. Since then, Facebook has experienced a meteoric rise to become a tech behemoth with a market capitalization in the trillions as of late 2023.

2. Sequoia Capital and Stripe

Sequoia Capital invested in Stripe in 2010. This early-stage investment was instrumental in propelling Stripe’s growth into a global payments powerhouse. Through its innovative approach to online payments, Stripe has now become a critical infrastructure for businesses worldwide.

3. Insight Partners and Shopify

Insight Partners was an early investor in Shopify. They participated in Shopify’s Series C funding round in 2013, contributing to the company’s growth and expansion. This investment proved to be highly successful as Shopify has become a leading e-commerce platform, powering millions of businesses worldwide.

These case studies show the impact that growth equity firms can have on their portfolio companies, and how strategic investments can result in significant growth and long-term success.

How to evaluate growth equity firms

For both aspiring professional investors and founders, selecting the right growth equity firm is crucial to achieving your goals.Here are a few factors to consider:

1. Reputation: A firm with a solid reputation is often more trustworthy and reliable. For investors, this means partnering with a firm that’s respected in the industry, which can lead to better deal flow and co-investment opportunities. Founders benefit from a firm’s positive reputation by attracting more interest from potential partners and customers.
2. Track Record: A strong track record of successful investments and exits indicates a firm’s ability to identify and nurture high-potential companies. Investors should look for consistency in returns, while founders should prioritize firms that have demonstrated success in scaling businesses similar to theirs. This ensures that the firm has the experience needed to drive growth.
3. Industry Focus: Firms with specialized industry expertise are more likely to provide value-added insights and support. Investors benefit from a firm’s deep knowledge of a sector, which can lead to better investment decisions. Founders should seek out firms with experience in their industry, as this often translates into more relevant advice and resources for growth.
4. Value Addition: Beyond providing capital, a firm’s ability to add strategic value is crucial. For investors, firms that actively contribute to their portfolio companies’ success are more likely to generate higher returns. Founders should look for firms that offer operational support, mentorship, and access to networks, which are vital for scaling a business.
5. Cultural Fit: A firm that aligns with your values and work style leads to a more productive partnership. Investors and founders alike should seek out firms where there is a strong cultural alignment, as this facilitates smoother collaboration and better long-term outcomes.
6. Long-Term Commitment: Firms that are committed to long-term partnerships tend to provide more stable support. Investors should favor firms with a long-term vision, as this can lead to sustained growth and consistent returns. Founders benefit from firms that are in it for the long haul, providing support through different stages of growth, not just during initial funding rounds.
7. Financial Strength: A firm with robust financial resources can continue to support its portfolio companies as they grow. Investors should consider a firm’s ability to raise follow-on funds, indicating financial stability and growth potential. Founders need to ensure that the firm has the financial backing to support their business’s long-term needs.

How to get hired by a top growth equity firm

High compensation make roles in growth equity very competitive to get. The interview process for a growth equity firm varies based on the seniority of the position. The largest and most competitive growth investing funds usually look for entry-level candidates with the following backgrounds:

• Top undergrad and/or MBA school
• Investment banking and/or management consulting
• Extracurriculars and/or passion for investing
• Strong analytical and financial modeling skills

Smaller growth firms can sometimes be open to somewhat less traditional backgrounds (e.g. entrepreneur, industry, or tech experience). This is true often at growth funds with roots in venture capital (e.g. Capital G), where less traditional hiring is more normal. However, note that the bar is still considered to be quite high and roles are quite competitive at every level.

Interviews at top growth equity firms

Interviews at top growth equity firms can be quite varied as well. As discussed above, there are so many new firms — with diverse backgrounds and competencies, that now invest in the growth stage.

With this diversity of firms has also come a diversity of interviews in the industry. While private equity firms with growth funds may have their take on PE interviews, venture firms with growth efforts have their own spin. This is one reason it can be quite daunting to prepare for interviews at the growth stage; the preparation required can be quite diverse and wide-ranging.

To go deeper on how to prepare growth investing interviews, see my comprehensive course on how to ace your growth equity interviews.

Challenges and opportunities for top growth equity firms

Top growth equity firms operate in a high-stakes environment. While these firms have demonstrated exceptional investment acumen, they continue to face significant challenges which come along with exciting opportunities.

Key Challenges

• Strong competition: With more funds in the market, competition for the best deals is intense. This drives up valuations and requires firms to be smarter and more strategic in their investments.
• Talent war: Attracting and retaining top investment professionals is challenging. Firms need experts with deep industry knowledge and operational skills, making talent a crucial asset.
• Economic uncertainty: Economic downturns can negatively impact the performance of portfolio companies, making exits harder and increasing the risk of losses. Firms need to manage these risks carefully.
• Market volatility: The unpredictable nature of IPOs and mergers can affect when and how profitably firms can exit their investments. This uncertainty makes it difficult to plan long-term strategies.

Key Opportunities

• Sector focus: Specializing in certain high-growth industries gives firms an edge in identifying and investing in promising companies early on. This can lead to higher returns.
• Operational support: By providing hands-on guidance and resources to portfolio companies, firms can help them grow faster and more efficiently, increasing the overall value of the investment.
• Global growth: Expanding into emerging markets offers new opportunities for growth and diversification. These markets often have less competition and more potential for high returns.
• Tech innovation: Leveraging data analytics and artificial intelligence helps firms make better investment decisions, manage risks more effectively, and optimize their portfolios for higher returns.

While top growth equity firms are well-established and highly successful, it doesn’t mean everything is smooth sailing. They still face significant challenges which test their strategies. However, these challenges also present opportunities. Knowing these can help you set proper expectations, whether you’re an investor or a founder.

The future of growth equity

Looking ahead, growth equity is set to evolve significantly. Technology will remain a key driver, with firms increasingly investing in tech-enabled companies across various industries. Sustainability will also play a larger role as firms focus on environmentally and socially responsible investments, aligning with global ESG trends.

Emerging markets will present new opportunities, with regions like Southeast Asia and Africa becoming hotspots for growth. The top growth equity firms mentioned here are well-positioned to lead these changes due to their innovative approaches, flexibility, and proven ability to identify and capitalize on emerging trends.

So, what does this mean for you?

As an aspiring investor, watch these firms closely – they’re shaping the future of growth equity. If you’re in a position to join their team, it could be an exciting opportunity to take part in their innovative and forward-thinking strategies.

For entrepreneurs, these firms can offer the support and resources needed to help your business grow in a rapidly changing market. Staying connected to these leaders could be a key move in your success.

Additional resources

• What is growth equity?
• Why growth equity?
• Overview of growth equity interview process
• Course on how to ace your growth equity interviews