TCV

About

TCV (originally Technology Crossover Ventures) is a growth equity firm founded in 1995 by Jay Hoag and Rick Kimball in Menlo Park, California ¹². The firm pioneered the “crossover” strategy of investing in both private and public technology companies from the same fund, a novel approach at the time of its founding ³. Since inception, TCV has invested over $20 billion in more than 350 technology companies worldwide and has supported over 150 IPOs and strategic acquisitions ¹⁴.

TCV’s first fund in 1995 was $100 million ³. The firm has scaled significantly over three decades, with recent funds including Fund X at $3.2 billion (2019), Fund XI at $4.0 billion (2021), and Fund XII at $3.0 billion (2024) ⁴. The typical size of a TCV investment ranges from $30-40 million up to $400 million, representing up to 10% of the fund ³.

TCV focuses on four sectors: Infrastructure Software, Fintech & Payments, Consumer/SME, and Application Software ⁵. The firm operates from offices in Menlo Park, New York, and London ⁵.

Stated Thesis

TCV publicly describes itself as “Partners in Growth,” focusing on partnering with exceptional teams to build category-defining technology companies ⁵. The firm’s stated approach centers on providing management teams with data-driven insights, sector expertise, access to world-class talent, and connections with category leaders ⁵.

Jay Hoag has described TCV’s crossover philosophy: “If you’re spending all this time identifying what the most promising trends are within technology, identifying the best companies, investing in a bunch of them privately… maybe you should be patient and be long-term partners” ⁶. He has noted that portfolio companies’ “growth prospects don’t end when they become public so maybe you should be patient and long-term partners with those companies” ⁶.

The firm has stated that its evaluation process starts with leadership: “It starts with the CEO and the team” ⁶.

Inferred Thesis

Based on TCV’s verified portfolio of 350+ investments across 30 years ⁴, the firm’s actual investment behavior reveals several patterns:

Stage distribution: TCV is predominantly a growth and late-stage investor. The firm’s crossover strategy means it invests at growth stages through IPO and beyond, often participating in public offerings as financing events rather than liquidity events ³. The firm has also invested earlier in select cases, with check sizes as low as $3 million ¹.

Sector breakdown: Based on TCV’s publicly listed portfolio ⁷, the firm invests heavily across: consumer internet and marketplaces (Airbnb, Netflix, Expedia, Zillow, Peloton, Strava, SeatGeek, Dollar Shave Club); fintech and payments (Nubank, Revolut, Klarna, Brex, Toast, Razorpay, Trade Republic, Payoneer); enterprise/infrastructure software (Celonis, HashiCorp, GitLab, Splunk, Redis, Rapid7, OneTrust); and application software (Clio, CCC Intelligent Solutions, Employment Hero). The portfolio is notably diversified across technology sub-sectors rather than concentrated in any single area.

Geographic focus: While headquartered in the US, TCV has significant international exposure, with portfolio companies including Nubank (Brazil), Revolut and Klarna (Europe), Trade Republic (Germany), Razorpay (India), and ByteDance (China) ⁷.

Check size: Typical investments range from $30-40 million, with maximum checks of up to $400 million ³.

Notable pattern: TCV was an early mover in the “crossover” strategy that has since become widespread. The firm’s willingness to hold public market positions alongside private investments gives it a longer time horizon than many growth equity peers.

Portfolio

The following is a selection of TCV’s notable investments, drawn from the firm’s publicly listed portfolio ⁷:

This table represents a small fraction of TCV’s 350+ total investments ⁴. The firm’s portfolio page lists over 100 current and former portfolio companies ⁷.

In Their Own Words

Jay Hoag on evaluating companies: “It starts with the CEO and the team. The visionary CEO who hires superb people sounds simple. Then when you work with them over a long period of time, you’re gaining confidence.” — Acquired podcast, 2024 ⁶

Jay Hoag on contrarian investing: “You have to be comfortable being viewed as an idiot for some period of time.” — Acquired podcast, 2024 ⁶

Jay Hoag on conviction: “If you have a compelling value prop that is quite evident, then it is worth funding even if the world doesn’t think it’s worth funding. You have to be non-consensus and right… can’t be in the non-consensus part of it for too long.” — Acquired podcast, 2024 ⁶

Jay Hoag on the crossover approach: “By being a private investor, it made us better public market investors. By being a public market investor, it made us better private investors.” — Invest Like the Best podcast ⁸

Jay Hoag on resilience: “I can’t think of a single great technology company that didn’t struggle at some point. I refer to it as desert disillusionment.” — Acquired podcast, 2024 ⁶

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found. TCV’s portfolio founders have not been extensively quoted in publicly accessible sources about their experience working with the firm.

Sources