Tiger Global Management

About

Tiger Global Management is a New York-based investment firm founded by Chase Coleman III in March 2001 ¹². The firm is headquartered at 9 West 57th Street, New York ³. Coleman started the firm after working as a technology analyst at Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management from 1997 to 2000, receiving over $25 million from Robertson to manage after Tiger Management closed — making him one of the original “Tiger Cubs” ².

The firm operates as a crossover investment platform, bridging private venture investing and public equities at scale ². Tiger Global focuses primarily on internet, software, consumer, and financial technology companies ¹. As of 2025, the firm manages approximately $46 billion in assets ², with its public equities portfolio totaling approximately $34 billion as of its June 2025 13F filing ⁴.

Scott Shleifer helped Tiger Global expand into private equity markets in 2003 ⁵. Lee Fixel joined and led the firm’s private investment efforts for 13 years before departing in 2019 to launch Addition ⁶. John Curtius joined in 2017, led 111 deals during his tenure, and departed in mid-2022 to start Cedar Investment Management ⁵. After Shleifer stepped back from his leadership role in 2022, Coleman regained direct control of the venture unit ⁷.

During the 2020-2021 boom, Tiger Global became one of the most active global venture investors, raising a $12.7 billion fund and backing roughly 315 startups ⁸. The firm has since dramatically scaled back: PIP 16 raised $2.2 billion in 2024, well below a $6 billion target ⁹. In December 2025, Tiger Global launched Private Investment Partners 17, also targeting $2.2 billion, with a stated emphasis on disciplined investing ⁸¹⁰. As of February 2026, Tiger Global has made approximately 1,395 total investments across 791 portfolio companies ⁴.

Stated Thesis

Tiger Global publicly describes itself as “a research-driven, New York-based investment firm founded in 2001 pursuing a long-term approach to partnering with high-quality, innovative companies across the public and private markets” ¹.

Coleman has articulated the firm’s core strategy as “catching the next big wave, not riding the ripples” — identifying technological or business model innovations before they become obvious to consensus investors ². The firm applies a philosophy inherited from Julian Robertson: “buy the best companies and short the worst,” seeking platforms with high margins, rapid user adoption, and business models that strengthen with scale ².

In its PIP 17 fundraising materials, Tiger Global warned investors that AI valuations are “elevated and, in our view, sometimes unsupported by company fundamentals,” signaling a more cautious approach to the sector despite holding positions in OpenAI, Waymo, and Databricks ⁸¹⁰.

Coleman has stated that “Tiger Global is operating in-person out of our New York offices…We have found that having everyone together in New York is highly productive and a better operating model for our firm” ¹¹.

Inferred Thesis

Tiger Global’s portfolio reveals an investor that operates at massive global scale with a focus on technology-enabled businesses across both private and public markets.

Stage distribution: The firm invests across all stages, from seed through public equities. During 2020-2021, Tiger deployed capital at unprecedented velocity — backing roughly 315 startups in a single year ⁸. The firm has since shifted to making only about 9 new private investments in 2024 ¹⁰, indicating a sharp pivot toward later-stage, higher-conviction bets.

Sector focus: Based on the portfolio companies identified, Tiger Global concentrates on software/SaaS, consumer internet, fintech, and AI/data infrastructure. Key positions in the current PIP 16 fund include OpenAI, Waymo, and Databricks — all AI-adjacent companies that drove the fund’s 33% paper gains in 2024 ⁹¹⁰.

Geographic patterns: Tiger Global was an early mover in international technology investing. Coleman recognized early that innovation extends beyond Silicon Valley ². The firm has invested in 30+ countries ², with particular depth in India (124 startups since 2014, over $6.5 billion invested) ¹² and China (early investments in Sina, Sohu, NetEase in 2002) ². However, several India investments have underperformed, including Byju’s (which went bankrupt) and Infra.Market (which faced corporate governance issues) ¹²¹³.

Investment approach: Tiger Global is known for speed-based dealmaking — conducting extensive research beforehand and moving to term sheets within days of initial conversations ¹⁴. The firm employs a large team of analysts for quantitative due diligence and generally does not seek board seats, preferring a hands-off approach post-investment ¹⁴.

Notable shift: The firm’s move from a $12.7 billion fund in 2021 to consecutive $2.2 billion funds in 2024-2025 represents a fundamental reset, trading headline scale for selectivity ⁸⁹.

Portfolio

This table represents a small fraction of Tiger Global’s approximately 791 portfolio companies ⁴. During 2020-2021 alone, the firm backed roughly 315 startups ⁸.

In Their Own Words

“If you feel like it’s been a bit of a walk through the desert, so do we.” — Chase Coleman III, in a letter to investors addressing the post-2021 downturn, 2022 ².

Coleman acknowledged that Tiger Global had “invested a bit less” during the 2021-2022 period, reflecting on the over-aggressive deployment pace ².

In PIP 17 fundraising materials, Tiger Global stated that leaning into AI investments requires “humility” because “valuations are elevated and, in our view, sometimes unsupported by company fundamentals” ⁸.

What Founders Say

Rahul Vohra, CEO of Superhuman, told Business Insider that John Curtius offered him a term sheet just a couple of days after an initial conversation, noting that Tiger had already gathered “reams of feedback” about the company in that short time window ¹⁴.

Maria Rioumine, founder of construction-tech startup Agora, said that less than two weeks before their conversation she didn’t even have a pitch deck for her company, yet Tiger immediately understood the model and were ready to back her ¹⁴.

Beerud Sheth, founder of Gupshup, noted that while Tiger’s partners don’t demand much oversight over the companies they back, they are happy to lend advice: “We talk to them all the time. They’ve been very supportive to the extent that we need it” ¹⁴.

Sources