Investors in Tiger Global Management’s biggest venture fund were sitting on an 18% paper loss at the end of September after the firm slashed valuations for multiple portfolio companies, according to people familiar with the matter.
The nearly $13 billion Private Investment Partners 15 fund marked down AI-powered email company Superhuman by 45% and cut its valuation for privacy search engine platform DuckDuckGo by 72%, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Tiger Global also marked down its stakes in Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of nonfungible tokens, by 69%, and NFT marketplace OpenSea by 94%, the people said. All of the figures represent how much Tiger Global has written down the valuations since first investing in each company.
A representative for Tiger Global, which manages about $50 billion, declined to comment.
The venture capital industry is facing a reckoning as startups struggle with cash flows amid higher interest rates. Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management also slashed its internal valuation for OpenSea by 90%, and marked down its stakes in Calendly and Notion, Bloomberg previously reported.
Last week, Tiger Global told investors that VC head Scott Shleifer is stepping down from that role and transitioning to become a senior adviser, effective Jan. 1. He will remain a partner. The firm, which is based in New York, said he made the decision because he wishes to remain in Florida with his family.
Tiger Global cut valuations in its venture funds last year by about 33%, resulting in a $23 billion decline in value. The PIP 15 fund had its final close early last year.
