Cortue Management, the hedge fund that invested heavily in tech startups during the pandemic boom, is raising $1 billion to back AI-focused companies, Bloomberg reported Monday. Reported.
Funds to replenish the company's flagship fund will primarily be raised from institutional investors. However, the report said wealthy individuals with accounts at brokerage firm Raymond James & Associates may also invest in Courtue.
Coatue has nearly $50 billion in assets under management and invested in more than 170 VC-backed companies in 2021, according to PitchBook data. Since then, Coatue has significantly slowed down the pace of its startup investments, backing only 81 companies in 2022 and around 30 in 2023.
But crossover investors aren't done investing in private companies. So far in 2024, Coatue has backed 29 startups, according to PitchBook data. The company's latest AI-focused investments include Glean, Scale AI, and Skild AI, which is building general-purpose AI robots. Coatue founder Philippe Lauffon (pictured above) said he was particularly excited about humanoid robots with AI-powered brains.