Who are the largest VC secondary buyers?
There are many large active buyers in the venture secondaries market; however, none focus on broader emerging markets. At Nodem, we are proud to focus exclusively on emerging next-wave geographies, which the big players often ignore due to the closed nature of the ecosystem, modest size (relative to US PE/VC), and complexity of the asset class in these developing economies.
The venture capital secondary market remains an enigma for many stakeholders, often perceived as a niche area dominated by a select group of specialist firms. In contrast to the well-established private equity secondary market, venture capital secondaries are less familiar territory for both general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs). Industry Ventures, a firm with over two decades of experience in this domain, projected the venture secondary market to reach $138 billion in 2023. However, the inherent opacity of these transactions makes it challenging to ascertain the current market size definitively.
The scarcity of publicly available information, coupled with the limited emergence of new players in recent years (only three have gained any notable traction), presents a challenge for GPs and LPs seeking liquidity. Many find themselves unsure of where to turn due to this lack of transparency. To shed light on this often-overlooked market corner, we present an alphabetical list of firms that explicitly focus on venture capital secondaries. This compilation draws upon various sources, including firm websites, press releases, regulatory filings, and media coverage, to provide a comprehensive overview of the key players.
Ballast Equity Partners
AUM: $78m
Dedicated secondaries capital: 78m
Website: https://www.ballastequitypartners.com/
Strategies: Direct secondaries, LP interests
Latest VC secondaries fund: Ballast held a first close at $78 million for Ballast Equity Partners I in December 2023; the fund is targeting $100 million
Transaction types: Strip sales, LP fund interests, LP portfolio sales, founder equity stakes, GP stakes
Transaction range: $500,000- $5 million for direct company interests; $1 million-$20 million for fund interests
Key team members: Jon Popielarski, David Martirano
E1 Ventures
AUM: $20m
Dedicated secondaries capital: $20m
Website: https://www.e1.vc/
Strategies: Direct and LP interests
Latest VC secondaries fund: El closed on $20 million across "up to 10" SPVs
Transaction types: Direct secondaries, LP interests
Key team members: Ana Levine
Hamilton Lane
AUM: $920bn
Secondaries capital raised, 2018-2023: $10.68bn
Website: https://www.hamiltonlane.com/en-us
Strategies: Direct secondaries, LP interests, GP-led
Latest VC secondaries fund: closed on $5.6 billion for its sixth flagship secondaries fund.
Transaction types: LP interests, strip sales, tender offers, direct secondaries Transaction range: Hamilton Lane typically engages in VC secondary transactions between $10 million and $100 million
Key team members: Antony Anastasiadis, Keith Brittain, Raj Chall, Ryan Cooney, Tom Kerr, Miguel Luina, Matthew Pellini, Dennis Scharf, Ryan Smith
Industry Ventures
AUM: $8bn
Secondaries capital raised, 2018-2023: $2.49bn
HQ: San Francisco Founded:2000
Website: https://www.industryventures.com/
Strategies: Fund investments, secondaries, direct investments
Latest VC secondaries fund: Closed on $1.45 billion for Industry Ventures Secondary X in September 2023
Transaction types: LP interests, continuation funds, direct secondaries, founder stakes
Key team members: Hans Swildens, Justin Burden, Roland Reynolds, Jonathan Roosevelt, Lindsay Sharma, Ira Simkhovitch
Isomer Capital
AUM: €542m
Dedicated secondaries capital: €20m
Website: https://isomercapital.com/
Strategies: Direct secondaries, LP interests, LP stakes
Latest VC secondaries fund: Isomer held a first close in April on €20 million for Isomer Secondaries I, which is targeting €100 million
Transaction types: Direct secondaries, GP-led secondaries, LP-led secondaries, LP fund interests
Transaction range: €1 million- €10 million
Key team members: Joe Schorge, Chris Wade
Launchbay Capital
AUM: $300m
Dedicated secondaries capital: $25m
Website: https://launchbaycapital.com/
Strategies: Direct secondaries and investments
Latest VC secondaries fund: Launchbay is targeting 100 million for its debut VC secondaries fund
Transaction types: Small single-asset secondary transactions
Transaction range: $1 million- 10 million
Key team members: Alan Vaksman, Benjamin Funk
Lexington Partners
AUM: $75bn
Secondaries capital raised, 2018-2023: $26bn
Website: https://www.lexingtonpartners.com/
Strategies: Direct secondaries, LP-fund interests
Transaction types: Direct secondaries, GP-led secondaries, LP fund interests
Key team members: Tom Newby, Jennifer Kheng.
Lightspeed Venture Partners
AUM: $25bn
Website: https://lsvp.com/
Strategies: Direct secondaries, direct investments
Latest VC secondaries fund: Lightspeed does not have a dedicated secondaries fund. Instead, it does secondaries deals via its $2.36 billion growth fund
Transaction types: Direct secondaries
Key team members: Jack Fowler, Michael Romano
NewView Capital
AUM: $2.6bn
Dedicated secondaries capital: $488m
Website: https://www.nvc.vc/
Strategies: Direct secondaries, direct investments
Latest VC secondaries fund: NewView is currently raising its third secondaries fund, NewView Capital Opportunities Fund III, targeting $300 million
Transaction types: Direct secondaries, strip sales
Key team members: Tim Connor, Ben Fu, Ankit Sud, Ravi Viswanathan
Pinegrove Capital Partners
AUM: $1bn
Dedicated secondaries capital: $1bn
Website: https://pinegrovecp.com/
Strategies: Provides "customised and scalable secondary liquidity solutions for venture/growth GPs and LPs and focuses on investing into leading mid to late-stage private technology companies"
Latest VC secondaries fund: Currently fundraising for Pinegrove Capital Partners I LP, which is reportedly targeting $2 billion
Transaction types: GP solutions include continuation funds, partial or full acquisition of legacy companies, fund restructurings, AV loans, secondary share purchases and partnerships to provide new primary capital; LP solutions include purchase or financing of LP interests, direct co investments and unfunded commitments
Transaction range: At least $50 million
Key team members: Brian Laibow, Gaurav Mathur
StepStone Group
AUM: $157bn
Secondaries capital raised, 2018-2023: $20.4bn
Website: https://www.stepstonegroup.com/
Strategies: Fund investments, secondaries, co-investments, direct investments
Latest VC secondaries fund: In June, StepStone raised the largest venture capital secondaries fund. It closed on $3.3 billion.
Transaction types: LP interests, strip sales, LP tenders, continuation funds, direct secondaries
Key team members: John Avirett, Brian Borton, Andrew Callahan, John Coelho, Phil Cummins, Deric Emry III, Tom Fitzherbert-Brockholes, Anthony Giambrone, Leyla Holterud, Vincent Hsu, Dale Irby, Seyonne Kang, Jim Lim, Lindsay Redfield, Hunter Somerville, Stephen West
SecondQuarter Ventures
AUM: A$134m
Dedicated secondaries capital: A$134m
Website: https://www.secondquarter.vc/
Strategies: Direct secondaries, LP interests
Latest VC secondaries fund: Held a first close in October 2022 on A$83 million for SecondQuarter Ventures Fund II, which is targeting A$100 million
Transaction types: LP-stakes, GP-stakes, founder shares, employee shares
Key team members: Ian Beatty, Leigh Jasper, Andrew Sypkes, David Tarascio
TempoCap
AUM: $270m
Dedicated secondaries capital: $135m
Website: https://www.tempocap.com/
Strategies: Direct secondaries, primary investments
LatestVC secondaries fund: Closed TempoCap Growth Opportunities II at $135 million
Transaction types: Direct secondaries, GP stake sales
Key team members: Olav Ostin, Adam Shepherd, Philipp Meindl, Matt Knowles, Pierre Suhrcke
TrueBridge Capital
AUM: $7.5bn
Dedicated secondaries capital: $230m
Website: https://truebridgecapital.com/
Strategies: Direct secondaries, LP-led secondaries
Latest VC secondaries fund: TrueBridge Secondaries I closed on $230m in May 2024.
Transaction types: Direct secondaries, LP fund interests
Key team members: Edwin Poston, Kate Simpson, Mel Williams, Andrew Winslow
Interested in more educational content? Read about liquidation preferences here.
