Dragoneer, Altimeter Look to New Funds as Unicorns Burgeon

(Bloomberg) -- Marc Stad's Dragoneer Investment Group and Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital Management are each seeking to raise new vehicles dedicated to backing fast-growing technology companies, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Dragoneer is in talks to raise $2.5 billion and Altimeter has targeted $1 billion for bets on startups, the person said. The firms are courting so-called limited partners such as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and family offices, the person said. Terms of the fundraising efforts aren't finalized and could still change.

“While we can't comment on our specific fund-raising activities, it should come as no surprise that we will continue raising capital from the world's leading limited partners who share our vision,” Gerstner said in a statement. The firm has deployed almost $1 billion in venture capital per year in companies early in their growth trajectory like Modern Treasury and dbt Labs as well as those closer to public market debuts, such as StockX, Datarobot, Roblox, and Confluent, he said.

A representative for Dragoneer didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

The number of unicorns, or privately held companies valued above $1 billion, has soared to 728, according to data from CB Insights, which estimates they've collectively raised over $485 billion and are together worth more than $2 trillion.

San Francisco-based Dragoneer is known for early bets on companies including Airbnb Inc., Slack Technologies Inc., Snowflake Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. Its has also backed lesser-known names including San Francisco-based group messaging network IRL, Brazil's Nubank, France's ManoMano, London's FarEye and Los Angeles-based ServiceTitan.

Dragoneer describes itself as growth-oriented investment firm with more than $17 billion in long-duration capital from many of the world's leading endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds and family offices, a recent press release shows. The firm has separately raised special purpose acquisition companies.

Its first SPAC, Dragoneer Growth Opportunities Corp., in February agreed to merge with CCC Information Services Inc. in a deal featuring a private investment in public equity commitment from Dragoneer funds and the family office of Michael Bloomberg, the majority owner of Bloomberg LP, which is the parent of Bloomberg News.

Altimeter, which has offices in Boston and Menlo Park, California, has touted itself as a technology-focused investment firm “built by founders for founders” with more than $15 billion in assets under management. It has backed high-profile companies such as financial-technology firm Plaid Inc. and software maker UiPath.

Like Dragoneer, Altimeter has also raised SPACs. Its first, Altimeter Growth Corp., agreed to merge with internet giant Grab Holdings Inc., and it has separately been an active PIPE investor, backing blank-check firm mergers featuring companies including 23andMe Holding Co. and Cazoo Ltd.