- Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital has made private investments in startups since its inception in 2018.
- D1 participated in funding rounds in hot sectors like logistics, enterprise SaaS, and e-commerce.
- We listed all the private investments it has announced publicly in 2021.
Hedge fund D1 Capital Partners, run by billionaire Dan Sundheim, is continuing to ramp up its private market bets — having invested in at least 35 private companies in 2021 so far.
The $21 billion hedge fund has been making private investments in startups since its launch in 2018. Popular among fellow Tiger Cub firms Tiger Global and Coatue Management, private investing continues to take the hedge fund world by storm this year.
As companies choose to stay private for longer periods of time and the number of public companies in the market has declined, hedge funds are turning to startups as a source of differentiated returns. They have won deals against traditional venture firms by offering startups lucrative 50% to 100% premiums, according to private markets data provider Pitchbook.
D1, like many other hedge funds, made headlines in January for its losses in the public markets when popular short bets like Gamestop and AMC were pummeled by a mob of day traders. However, D1 was relatively insulated from this downside because, as Insider reported in October 2020, almost one-third of its capital is invested in private market bets, some of which have produced substantial profits.
One of its initial investments, a $160 million bet on cold-storage firm Lineage Logistics, appreciated over 150% during the pandemic. The fund has also invested in widely recognized names such as popular trading app Robinhood, Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, and salad unicorn Sweetgreen.
D1 powered full speed ahead in 2021 and we outlined each of the hedge fund’s publically-announced investments below by sector with data provided by Pitchbook. Its investments this year so far have coalesced around logistics, enterprise software, e-commerce, consumer tech, healthcare, and fintech.
A spokesperson for D1 declined to comment on the firm’s strategy or sectors of interest.
Logistics
Lalamove
Lalamove, a Hong Kong-based on-demand and same-day delivery trucking company, raised a $1.5 billion Series F on January 20 led by existing shareholders such as Sequoia Capital China and Hillhouse Capital. The Series F, raised less than a month after its $515 million Series E, valued the firm at $10 billion. D1 was a new investor in the Series F round, joined by Boyu Capital, Tiger Fund, and others.
Lineage Logistics
Michigan-based cold-storage REIT Lineage Logistics raised $1.9 billion in new equity on March 11 from new and existing investors including D1, Oxford Properties, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Tactical Value Investing unit. The capital raise follows the company’s January acquisition of Cryo-Trans, an owner of refrigerated railcars. The REIT has since announced two acquisitions, including Spanish refrigerated warehouser Frinavarra and Dutch freight company UTI.
Enterprise Software
Lacework
Lacework, a security and compliance SaaS platform based in San Jose, CA, closed a $525 million Series D growth round on January 7. The round, led by Sutter Hill and Altimeter, featured participation from D1, Coatue, Dragoneer, Tiger Global and others, valuing the company as a unicorn at $1 billion.
Latch
Latch, an enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider for buildings that is known for manufacturing smart locks, raised a $190 million PIPE on January 26 in conjunction with its announcement that it would merge with TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp., a Tishman Speyer-sponsored SPAC. Shares of the SPAC began trading in early June, valuing the company at an implied $1.5 billion. D1 invested in the PIPE alongside BlackRock, Durable Capital, and SPAC enthusiast Chamath Palihapitiya.
Drivenets
D1 led the Israeli Infrastructure-as-a-Service vendor’s $208 million Series B on January 27. Drivenets, which provides network software, was valued at over $1 billion with the new round. New investors D1 and Atreides Management joined existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Pitango in the round.
CCC Information Services
CCC Information Services, a SaaS provider for property & casualty (P&C) insurance, raised a $150 million PIPE on February 3 for its SPAC merger with Dragoneer Growth Opportunities Corp. D1 participated in the PIPE alongside Altimeter Capital Management, Coatue, Franklin Templeton, and others.
Shippo
Shippo, a shipping software company for e-commerce companies, raised a $50 million round led by Bessemer Venture Partners that valued the company at over $1 billion, Bloomberg first reported on June 2. While it is unclear whether D1 participated in the latest round, D1 led the company’s $45 million Series D this past February and its $30 million Series C in 2020.
Squarespace
Squarespace, a website-building and e-commerce platform, raised a $300 million growth round at a $10 billion valuation on March 16. D1 came in as a new investor alongside Dragoneer, Fidelity, and others. The company’s common stock started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on May 19 under the ticker “SQSP” in its direct-listing IPO.
Attentive
Attentive, an NYC-based personalized text messaging platform for businesses to connect with customers, raised a $470 million Series E on March 24 with participation from existing investors—Coatue, D1, Tiger Global, and IVP—along with a new investor, Base10 Partners. The round brought the total Attentive has raised to $866 million.
Ramp
Ramp, a provider of corporate cards and spend management software, raised a $115 million Series B on Apr 8. The funding comprised two tranches, a $65 million investment led by D1 that valued the startup at $1.1 billion and a $50 million investment led by online payments company Stripe which pushed its valuation to $1.6 billion.
6Sense
D1 led a $125 million Series D round for 6Sense, an AI-powered B2B sales and marketing platform, with participation from Sapphire Ventures and Tiger Global, on March 30. 6Sense, which aims to help companies improve revenue results through account engagement strategies, was valued at $2.1 billion after the round.
OneStream Software
Michigan-based OneStream Software raised a $200 million Series B on April 6 at a $6 billion valuation. D1 led the all-primary funding round for OneStream, which provides B2B corporate performance management (CPM) solutions with Tiger Global and Investment Group of Santa Barbara.
Procore
Construction management software provider Procore Technologies postponed its plans to go public to raise $150 million in incremental funding from new investor D1 and others, bringing its valuation to $5 billion, Bloomberg first reported on April 30. It had filed an S-1 registration statement before the round and could still go public this year, sources told Bloomberg.
E-Commerce and Consumer Tech
Rivian
Rivian, an electric-truck startup backed by Amazon and Ford, raised a $2.6 billion Series F on January 19. T. Rowe Price led the round, joined by D1, Fidelity, and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. Amazon previously led Rivian’s $700 million funding round in February 2019.
Instacart
Grocery delivery platform Instacart raised $265 million in a Series I round on March 2 from current investors including D1, Andreessen Horowitz, and Sequoia Capital. The Series I round valued Instacart at $39 billion. D1 also co-led the company’s previous financing in October 2020 along with Valiant Peregrine Fund.
goPuff
goPuff, a delivery platform for everyday items, doubled its valuation in five months, raising a $1.15 billion round on March 23 that valued the company at $8.9 billion. D1 founder Sundheim said in the press release that the “company’s vision and differentiated model drive industry-leading economics and sustainable growth.” D1, a new investor, led the round with existing investor Accel.
Loft
In one of Brazil’s largest venture rounds, digital real estate platform Loft raised a $425 million Series D led by D1 on March 23. The company was valued at $2.2 billion after the round, its first after its January 2020 Series C that brought it just shy of unicorn territory in terms of valuation.
Dream11
Dreamsports, parent company of Indian fantasy sports platform Dream11, raised $400 million on March 24, doubling its valuation to $5 billion. The secondary investment round was led by new investors including D1, TCV, and Falcon Edge, with participation from existing investors like Tiger Global, ChrysCapital, and TPG Growth. Dream11’s new valuation brought it to the league of India’s most valued unicorns like OYO ($9 billion) and Zomato ($5 billion).
Cazoo
British used-car dealer Cazoo raised an $800 million PIPE on March 29 to support its $7 billion announced merger with SPAC AJAX I. The PIPE was led by the AJAX sponsors and D1 and joined by new and existing investors including Altimeter, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Counterpoint Global unit, and Fidelity Management.
Kavak
Kavak, a SoftBank-backed used car platform that became Mexico’s first tech unicorn in October 2020, raised $485 million in Series D funding on April 7 at a $4 billion valuation. The round, led by US firms D1, Founders Fund, Ribbit, and BOND, more than tripled its last valuation of $1.15 billion and cemented Kavak’s status as one of the top five highest-valued startups in Latin America.
Misfits Market
D1 co-led the D2C “ugly” produce delivery service’s Series C with Accel. Misfits Market, based in Philadelphia, raised $200 million in the round at a valuation over $1 billion, making it a newly minted unicorn. Existing investors including Valor Equity Partners and Greenoaks Capital also participated in the round, which was announced on April 21.
SmartRent
Scottsdale, AZ-based residential smart-home operating system SmartRent raised a $155 million PIPE in conjunction with its April 21 announcement that it would merge with blank-check company Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. The proptech company’s PIPE included participation from mostly real-estate focused investors like Starwood Capital Group and Invitation Homes alongside D1.
Daring
Plant-based chicken producer Daring, founded in 2018, announced a $40 million Series B funding round on May 18. D1 led the round with participation from existing investors Maveron and Palm Tree Crew, along with entertainer and musician Drake.
Guild Education
Guild Education, a Denver, CO-based startup that helps workers with learning opportunities, raised $150 million at a $3.8 billion valuation, it announced on June 2. The round included funding from D1 as well as existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Cowboy Ventures, Emerson Collective, and others.
Faire
Faire, an online wholesale marketplace that connects small retailers with small brands, raised a $260 million round led by Sequoia on June 11. D1 also participated in the round alongside Lightspeed, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Dragoneer Investment Group, and others.
Healthcare and Biotech
Inflammatix
Inflammatix, a molecular diagnostics company focused on acute infections and sepsis, raised a $102 million Series D on March 15 led by D1. Existing investors, including Northpond Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Think. Health, and OSF Healthcare Ventures, also participated.
Rapid Micro Biosystems
D1 led an $81 million Series D1 round for Rapid Micro Biosystems, which provides technology for microbial detection in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, on March 16. Rapid Micro Biosystems had raised $340 million total including the Series D1 round, in which D1 was a new investor alongside BlackRock and T. Rowe Price.
AbSci
AbSci, a synthetic biology and drug discovery company, raised $125 million in crossover financing on March 23. The round was led by existing investors Casdin Capital and Redmile Group and included participation from new investors including D1 and Fidelity.
Inscripta
Inscripta, a digital genome engineering company, raised a $150 million Series E on April 5. D1, a new investor in the round, participated alongside new investor Durable Capital and existing investors Fidelity and T. Rowe Price. Inscripta announced the round in conjunction with its first commercial sale of its genome-editing and analysis platform, Onyx.
PathAI
PathAI, a global provider of artificial intelligence-powered technology for pathology, announced it had closed $165 million for its Series C financing on May 18, co-led by D1 Capital Partners and healthcare plan provider Kaiser Permanente. Other investors included Tiger Global Management, venture capital firms General Atlantic and 8VC, and strategic partners such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Labcorp.
Heru
Heru, a developer of wearable AI-powered vision diagnostics and augmentation software that spun out from Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, closed its Series A financing of $30 million on May 20. The Series A funding round was led by D1 with participation from SoftBank Ventures Opportunity Fund and a consortium of both individual and institutional investors with experience developing medical technologies.
Fintech
HighRadius
HighRadius, an AI-powered fintech enterprise SaaS platform, raised a $300 million Series C on March 30. The company, which automates treasury management processes, was valued at $3.1 billion after the round led by D1 and Tiger Global.
DLocal
Uruguayan payments platform DLocal listed its shares on the Nasdaq on June 3, initially pricing at $21 per share and trading at just over $30 per share as of June 15. The platform, which connects global enterprise merchants to consumers in emerging markets, last raised a $150 million funding round on April 2 at a valuation of $5 billion. Alkeon Capital led the round alongside D1, BOND, and Tiger Global.
TransferWise
D1 participated in a $319 million secondary sale round for the London-based international money transfer service, Sky News first reported on July 6. The round, which entailed existing investors selling shares to other investors and therefore did not bring new funding to the company, jacked up its valuation to $5 billion. D1, a new investor in the round, co-led with existing shareholder Lone Pine Capital, and existing investors Bailie Gifford and Fidelity Investments also participated.
Addepar
Wealth management platform Addepar, which has $2.7 trillion in client assets, announced a $150 million investment from D1 at a valuation of $2 billion on June 15 as part of its Series F financing.
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