About G Squared

• Founded: 2011

• Headquarters: San Francisco, California

• AUM: $10bn+ (as of 2024)

• Strategy: Venture secondaries, late-stage technology

• Track record: Prior funds include Fund VI at $1.8bn (2023), Fund V at $1bn (2021); early-stage investor in DraftKings, Stripe, ByteDance

• Leadership: Larry Aschebrook (founder and managing partner), Paul Yett (partner)

G Squared closed its seventh flagship fund at $2.3bn, a 28% increase over its $1.8bn predecessor raised in 2023. The fund targets secondary positions in late-stage venture-backed companies, continuing the firm's strategy of acquiring stakes from employees, early investors, and other liquidity-seeking shareholders. The raise reflects sustained LP appetite for venture secondaries despite broader pressure on venture fund deployment.

The step-up follows a period of heightened secondary volume in venture. Jefferies reported $38bn in venture secondaries volume in 2024, up from $28bn in 2023, driven by extended hold periods and limited IPO exits. G Squared's fundraising pace — two funds totaling $4.1bn in three years — positions it among the most active secondaries buyers in late-stage tech. The firm's liquidity provision at scale suggests LPs view venture secondaries as structural rather than cyclical, a shift from the 2010s when secondaries served primarily as distress mechanisms.

What remains uncertain is pricing discipline. G Squared's $10bn+ AUM concentrates risk in a narrow segment: late-stage companies that postponed public listings. If exit timelines extend further or valuations compress, the spread between entry and exit narrows. Comparable funds raised during 2021–2023 have not yet distributed at scale, leaving the returns thesis untested. The test will be whether secondary buyers like G Squared captured discounts sufficient to offset prolonged illiquidity — or simply paid near-primary prices for slightly earlier liquidity.

Source: Secondaries Investor