Hedge fund giant DE Shaw is expanding its private markets platform with the launch of a second dedicated venture and growth equity vehicle, underscoring the firm’s continued push beyond traditional hedge fund investing, according to a report by Institutional Investor.
The report cites regulatory filings as showing that the firm is seeking capital for Voltaic II, a closed-end fund that will target privately held companies, primarily post-seed venture and growth-stage businesses.
The new vehicle follows the launch of the original Voltaic fund in 2022, which attracted more than $450m in investor commitments as DE Shaw’s first standalone strategy focused exclusively on venture and growth equity investments.
The firm reportedly declined to comment on the fundraising.
Although DE Shaw is best known for its systematic and discretionary hedge fund strategies, it has invested in private companies since the 1990s through both its flagship funds and dedicated private investment vehicles. The firm’s venture and growth equity activities are led by DE Shaw Ventures, which operates within its Fundamental Equities business.
The manager has remained active in private markets during 2026, completing eight investments so far this year, according to Crunchbase. Among its highest-profile transactions were co-leading Anthropic’s $30bn Series G funding round and OpenAI’s $122bn Series C financing. It also participated in Ramp’s $750m Series F raise and last week backed cybersecurity company ThreatLocker in its $190m Series F funding round, having invested in the business previously.
The latest fundraising comes as DE Shaw continues to deliver strong hedge fund performance. The firm’s flagship macro-oriented multi-strategy fund, Oculus, gained 27.4% through June, while its Composite fund returned 13.9% over the same period, according to people familiar with the results. Oculus has not recorded an annual loss since its launch in 2004.
Earlier this year, DE Shaw also revised the liquidity terms for its flagship hedge funds. Investors in Oculus can now redeem up to 8.3% of their capital each quarter, implying a full redemption period of around three years, while Composite investors can withdraw up to 6.25% quarterly, extending a full exit to approximately four years.
The firm managed more than $100bn in investment and committed capital as of 1 June 2026 across its range of systematic, discretionary and private investment strategies.
