Tiger Catnapped As 2022 Wore On

During the venture capital heydays of 2021, few firms were more front and center than Tiger Global, leading huge growth rounds and minting new unicorns on what seemed a weekly basis.

However, just as the venture market significantly slowed, Tiger also quietly decelerated dealmaking in the latter half of last year.

The firm dramatically pulled back as the venture market continued to decline every month. In the last six months of 2022, Tiger only took part in 45 deals, with those rounds totaling less than $2.5 billion, according to Crunchbase data (it’s Important to note the amount any investor — including Tiger — invests as a specific stake in a round is not usually divulged).

In the final quarter of last year, Tiger only participated in 17 funding deals that totaled about $900 million, per Crunchbase.

That dealmaking pace pales in comparison to the third quarter of 2021 when it participated in 83 deals worth a combined $17.5 billion or even the first quarter of last year when the crossover giant took part in 136 deals that totaled $14.1 billion.

Tiger also pulled back on rounds it led or co-led compared to the high times of 2021. Last year, the firm led or co-led 180 funding rounds that totaled $11.5 billion — far off its pace in 2021 when it led or co-led 223 rounds totaling a whopping $30 billion.

Despite the pullback and slowdown, Tiger did lead or co-lead some significant rounds last year, including:

• In March, it co-led a $768 million Series E for Turkey-based delivery service Getir.
• In January, it co-led a Series D worth approximately $524 million for Paris-based fintech startup Qonto.
• In April, Tiger led a $350 million venture round for San Francisco-based blockchain firm NEAR.

Market woes

While the drop in investment pace and value of those rounds is eye-catching, it is not all that surprising. The salad days of 2021 seem like they are likely an aberration and not the norm of what venture capital can expect moving forward.

Tiger, known for minting unicorns Brex, Coinbase and Peloton, was one of the first big-spending investors to warn of a market downturn when reports emerged in February 2022 it would pull back from the private market.

Soon after that, other big-named investors such as Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital and SoftBank all issued warnings about the private market and also said pullbacks were likely.

Last June, Crunchbase reported that as of the end of the first quarter of 2022, Tiger had revised its private equity business down by around 9% to $58 billion, from a previously reported $64 billion at the end of 2021.

That same month, Bloomberg reported Tiger’s hedge fund business had taken a hit, losing 52% for the year due to the massive tech selloff after the firm reportedly invested heavily in tech giants such as Snowflake and Carvana.

Illustration: Dom Guzman

Learn More