On this episode of StrictlyVC Download, hosts Connie Loizos and Alex Gove speak with Pranav Singhvi and Hemant Taneja of General Catalyst, one of the largest venture companies on the planet. Is it one of the central themes? It's a product that General Catalyst created about five years ago and is reminiscent of GE Lease.
Essentially, the company funds private and public companies that invest heavily in customer acquisition and marketing, in exchange for a cut of the revenue generated from those new customers. They package these deals by predicting how much the company will grow over a few years.
What's interesting about General Catalyst is that it doesn't seem like a 2024 venture. The same can be said for many major VCs, including Andreessen Horowitz. (It's probably no coincidence that all of these companies are registered investment advisers.) Founded just 24 years ago, General Catalyst currently manages more than $30 billion in assets, including That includes an impressive $8 billion in investment capital that the company just announced. last week.
The company hasn't been shy about finding creative ways to invest these assets. For example, you may know that in addition to this financing product, the company has acquired several smaller venture companies over the past 12 months or so. The company is also in the process of acquiring a small health system in Ohio.
The four talk about other moves on the podcast. Singhvi and Taneja also discuss missing out on OpenAI and whether they think more private companies could remain private forever. Listen to the full episode to learn more.