Tiger Global: 6 UK unicorns backed by the struggling hedge fund
International hedge fund Tiger Global has been battered by the recent selloff of technology stocks. The value of the firm’s public tech shareholdings has plummetted by nearly $20bn this quarter, forcing it to offload stakes in companies such as Netflix and Rivian.
Founded in 2001, Tiger Global has made a name for itself by backing big names in tech including Meta, Yandex, Uber and Coinbase.
Tiger Global’s public stock holdings have however dropped massively this quarter, falling from $46bn at the end of last year to a little over $26bn as of the end of this year’s first quarter.
The New York-based fund has since sold its stake in a number of other tech companies, including dating app Bumble and property renting service Airbnb.
As one of the biggest names in the world of tech investment, Tiger Global has had its hand in the funding of hundreds of firms across the world through its venture capital funds.
Notably, it has funded six unicorns – companies valued at over $1bn – based in the UK.
Here are six of the UK-based startups that beleagured Tiger Global has backed in the past.
Checkout.com
Year founded: 2012
Founded by: Guillaume Pousaz
Valuation: $40bn
Checkout.com is a payments processor that supports card payments as well as payments made via digital methods, such as Apple and Google Pay. Checkout.com focuses specifically on providing payment services to larger enterprises with high volumes of transactions.
Tiger Global participated in the $450m Series C round in January of last year. Checkout.com hit the $40bn figure after a $1bn Series D round earlier this year.
Revolut
Year founded: 2015
Founded by: Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko
Valuation: $33bn
Tiger Global led the fintech giant’s Series E funding round of $800m in July of last year. Revolut has become one of the world’s largest financial technology service providers, using open banking to provide currency exchange, payment accounts, stock trading and digital asset trading.
The Russian-born, part Ukrainian CEO, Nikolay Storonsky, recently denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Rapyd
Year founded: 2016
Founded by: Arik Shtilman
Valuation: $15bn
Rapyd is a provider of API-based fintech solutions that include payments, fraud protection and banking services. Rapyd allows large organisations to move money around the world across different fiat and digital currencies.
Tiger Global participated in both the $100m Series C and $300m Series D rounds of funding for Rapyd.
Hopin
Year founded: 2019
Founded by: Johnny Boufarhat
Valuation: $7.75bn
Event tech company Hopin cashed in on the work from home revolution accelerated by the pandemic. However, more recently it has struggled to maintain growth as people return to in-person events.
A fully remote company itself, Hopin provides shared experience software to organisations, working both with corporations and global institutions including NATO and the United Nations. Tiger Global led Hopin’s $125m Series B round and participated in its $400m Series C and $450m Series D rounds.
SaltPay
Year founded: 2019
Founded by: Eduardo Pontes, Andre Street, and Ali Mazanderani
Valuation: $1bn
SaltPay provides management and payment tools to support the growth of merchants. This Fintech focuses on providing payment solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Tiger Global participated in SaltPay’s $478m Series C round back in April 2021.
TrueLayer
Year founded: 2016
Founded by: Francesco Simoneschi
Valuation: $1bn
Global open banking platform TrueLayer provides businesses with a network to securely access financial data and enable instant payments. Tiger Global led TrueLayer’s $130m Series E round in September of last year.