Tech-focused hedge fund Whale Rock Capital Management plans to reopen its flagship fund in early 2025, seeking to raise between $200m and $300m in new capital, having significantly outperformed the broader market YTD with a 51% gain, according to a report by Reuters.
Whale Rock’s flagship fund, which manages roughly $9bn in assets, has been closed to new investors since 2021.
The report cites an unnamed source familiar with the matter as highlighting that the reopening aims to capitalise on opportunities in smaller semiconductor and supply chain companies poised to benefit from the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI).
The fund’s 2024 performance far outpaced the S&P 500, which rose nearly 28% during the same period. Whale Rock also posted a strong 32% gain in 2023, marking a sharp recovery from steep losses of 9% in 2021 and more than 40% in 2022.
Founded in 2006 by Alexander Sacerdote, a former tech portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments, Whale Rock’s early bets on the transformative potential of AI have paid off, including wagers on well-known AI-focused companies including Nvidia and Amazon (AMZN.O), as well as less conventional picks such as Canadian electronic equipment maker Celestica, mobile gaming ad platform AppLovin, education technology provider Duolingo, and AI server manufacturer Super Micro Computer.
The fund gained 8.3% in November alone, while the company’s long-only strategy surged 10.6% last month, bringing its year-to-date return to an impressive 52%.
