Multistrategy hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management is joining the ranks of hedge funds Tiger Global and Coatue Management by launching a dedicated venture capital vehicle, Atlas Growth. It will run out of a new affiliate, BAM Corner Point, that is based in San Francisco.
Balyasny has been actively raising money for the fund since January and hopes to raise $350 million for it, according to an individual familiar with the effort. The two women managing the fund are Rashmi Gopinath, who previously was a general partner at B Capital, and Kristin Baker Spohn, who was a general partner at CRV.
“They see an opportunity where the big mega cap VC funds aren’t playing and where potential portfolio companies are not being served,” said the individual.
Balyasny is entering the beaten-down VC space at a potential turning point.
Venture investing has hit hard times since the 2022 collapse of technology and growth companies in the stock market. As a result, more than 1,200 venture-backed unicorns — companies valued at more than $1 billion — have yet to go public or get acquired, according to CB Insights, which tracks the VC industry.
The lack of “crossover capital” — investments from hedge fund firms that also run VC funds — has resulted in fewer late stage and venture growth deals, PitchBook said in its venture outlook for 2025. “Dried up liquidity” has stung those firms, according to PitchBook, a private company research firm owned by Morningstar and which was the first to report on the new Balyasny fund.
PitchBook is anticipating a better market in 2025. “That does not mean that challenges are gone,” it explained. “Flat and down rounds will likely continue at higher paces than the market is accustomed to. More companies will likely shut down or fall out of the venture funding cycle.”
It noted that “40 percent of U.S. unicorns have been held in portfolios for at least nine years, and that group accounts for more than $1 trillion in value. That is a figure that can quickly push exit values high and restart the VC machine.”
PitchBook tied much of its hope for a VC rebound to expectations of lower interest rates in 2025 and a more positive view on mergers and acquisition policy by the Trump administration. Both now seem uncertain, at best.
Balyasny plans to invest in earlier stage growth companies, specifically growth-stage enterprise tech companies — primarily Series B and Series B funding — according to the individual knowledgeable about the effort.
Gopinath focused on enterprise software at her previous fund, while at CRV Baker Spohn oversaw health technology companies, another area that will be a focus of the new fund.
With $22 billion, Balyasny is the third-largest multistrat fund that operates with so-called “pods” — and the only one to move into the venture space with a dedicated fund. The two larger firms, Citadel and Millennium, have not chosen to go this route.
The move by Balyasny also comes as the multistrategy space — in recent years the most popular hedge fund strategy — is getting more crowded. Last year, Citadel and Millennium each gained about 15 percent for their multistrat funds, while Balyasny earned 13.6 percent, according to people familiar with the returns.
Balyasny has long viewed venture as a place to find excess returns and has previously invested in some venture deals through existing funds.
