Coatue is raising $1B for AI bets

Coatue Management, a hedge fund that invested heavily in tech startups during the pandemic-infused boom, is raising $1 billion to back AI-focused companies, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The funding, which will top up the firm’s flagship fund, will be raised primarily from institutional investors. However, high-net-worth individuals with accounts at the brokerage Raymond James and Associates could also invest in Coatue, per the report.

Coatue, which has nearly $50 billion in assets under management, has invested in over 170 VC-backed companies in 2021, according to PitchBook data. Coatue has since drastically slowed its startup investing pace, backing only 81 companies in 2022 and about 30 companies in 2023.

The crossover investor isn’t done with investing in private companies, however. So far in 2024, Coatue has backed 29 startups, PitchBook data shows. The firm’s latest AI-focused investments include Glean, Scale AI and Skild AI, which is building a general-purpose AI robot. Philippe Laffont, Coatue’s founder (pictured above) has said he is particularly excited about humanoid robots with AI-powered brains.