Alex Cook, a partner at Tiger Global who oversaw some of the firm's largest fintech investments, is leaving the firm after about seven years at the firm, three people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
Cook recently broke the news to several people close to him about his departure but did not explain why he was leaving. The sources asked not to be identified because the conversations are private. A Tiger Global spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
His departure joins other notable departures from Tiger Global: Scott Shleifer, who led the firm's private equity business, retired last year, and John Curtius, who led the firm's software investments, is leaving the company in late 2022.
Cook led numerous fintech deals for Tiger Global, including TradingView, TrueLayer, ScalaPay, Zendit, SelfBook, Fuzz, Jar and Refine. The average size of his deals was about $35 million, with a median valuation of over $250 million, according to PitchBook.
The departure came as a surprise to at least some of the founders. Some reports said Mr. Cook spoke with them frequently, as many as multiple times a week, and he took over responsibility for managing relationships with the portfolio startups that Mr. Shleifer had previously overseen, according to people familiar with the matter.
Cook's focus has been on emerging markets, particularly India, and he has frequently traveled there to meet founders in person. For example, in July 2022, he told founders in Bangalore, India, that Tiger Global was planning to slow down its investment pace, TechCrunch reported at the time.
The development comes at a tough time for Tiger Global. The company recently raised $2.2 billion for its latest venture capital fund, its smallest fundraise in the past decade and in stark contrast to the robust investor demand of the past few years that has enabled it to raise increasingly larger funds, including a record $12.7 billion fund.
Amid a challenging fundraising environment where falling valuations and slowing deal activity have made investors cautious about investing in venture capital and private equity, Tiger Global announced key leadership changes in November, with founder Chase Coleman taking over from Shleifer as head of ventures. Coleman has assumed responsibility for managing relationships with certain key portfolio startups globally, according to a person familiar with the matter.