Growth equity investing, which Cambridge Associates argues deserves its own asset class, has emerged in recent years to fund the collection of promising young companies that are not quite ready to turn to the public markets for capital, even if they could use it. While traditional VC firms continue to invest in these late-stage financings, an increasing number of ‘Series D’s’ are being led by by institutional asset managers like T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, and BlackRock. Below are some of the biggest of 2014 from around the world.
1. Uber
Mobile application connecting riders and drivers
Amount Raised: $1.2 billion (June 6)
Notable Investors: BlackRock, Fidelity, Kleiner Perkins, Summit Partners, Google Ventures
2. Cloudera
Hadoop-enabled enterprise Big Data solution
Amount Raised: $1.16 billion (March 18 and 31)
Notable Investors: Intel Capital, T. Rowe Price, Google Ventures
3. Flipkart
Bangalore-based e-commerce platform
Amount Raised: $1 billion (July 29)
Notable Investors: Morgan Stanley, Digital Sky Technologies, Tiger Global Capital Management, Accel Partners
4. Airbnb
Online travel booking service connecting vacant rooms with travelers
Amount Raised: $475 million (April 16)
Notable Investors: T. Rowe Price, TPG Growth, Dragoneer Investment Group
5. Palantir
Information analysis software firm with private and public sector clients
Amount Raised: $444.2 million (September 12)
Notable Investors: EquityZen
6. Dropbox
File hosting service for storing documents, photos, and videos
Amount Raised: $350 million (January 24)
Notable Investors: T. Rowe Price, BlackRock
7. Delivery Hero
Berlin-based online food ordering network
Amount Raised: $350 million (September 3)
Notable Investors: Vostok Nafta Investment, Kite Ventures, Insight Venture Partners
8. Lyft
Mobile application connecting drivers and riders
Amount Raised: $250 million (April 2)
Notable Investors: Melo7 Tech Partners, GSV Capital, Coatue Management, Alibaba,
Andreessen Horowitz
9. Pinterest
The leading social bookmarking site
Amount Raised: $200 million (May 15)
Notable Investors: Fidelity, Bessemer Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel
10. Domo
Real-time data access platform for CEOs
Amount Raised: $125 million (February 5)
Notable Investors: Morgan Stanley, T. Rowe Price, Institutional Venture Partners, Salesforce, Greylock Partners