Behind the most aggressive VC firm

Chase Coleman started his career at 22 under Julian Robertson at Tiger Management. By 26, he launched Tiger Global with a $25 million seed from his mentor. Over the next two decades, he built it into one of the most aggressive investment firms in the world while being almost completely under the radar until a $17 billion loss in 2022 tested everything.

This week, we explore how Chase Coleman built Tiger Global, the massive setback that came after years of success, and what it took to start rebuilding:

• 🏛️ Picking up the mantle

• 📉 The tech bubble burst

• 📈 Comeback Plans

— Investor Briefcase Team

Chase Coleman grew up in Glen Head, Long Island. After graduating from Williams College in 1997, he joined Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management as a young analyst covering technology stocks. At the time, Tiger was one of the most respected hedge funds in the world. But when Robertson shut the firm down in 2000, he handed $25 million to Coleman to launch his own fund, one of several people who became known as the "Tiger Cubs."

In 2001, Coleman launched Tiger Global Management with a clear focus on technology, internet, and emerging markets, areas that most hedge funds were either avoiding or treating with caution. Coleman began investing in platforms, software, and online retail while others looked for undervalued industrial companies.

He made early bets on companies like Google, Meta, Alibaba, JD.com, and Amazon. He also began building positions in private companies like LinkedIn and Facebook long before their IPOs. Tiger Global became known for identifying category leaders early and holding them through growth cycles.

The fund’s structure also stood out. Tiger Global ran both a public equities hedge fund and a private equity vehicle under one roof. This let them back promising tech companies before and after going public, creating a pipeline of opportunities and a deep network in Silicon Valley and Beijing.

By the early 2010s, Tiger Global had developed a reputation for sharp research, bold conviction, and an ability to spot winners before they were obvious. The objective for the firm seemed to have gone a step beyond being a hedge fund; it was now a tech investing machine.

Between 2010 and 2021, Tiger Global posted some of the best returns in the industry. It rode the rise of mobile, cloud computing, and e-commerce, and backed companies like Stripe, ByteDance, and Flipkart in their early stages. At its peak, the firm managed over $100 billion across its vehicles and had invested in over 400 private companies globally.

Coleman was known for giving his analysts freedom to run deep dives and encouraging conviction-driven investing. The fund became a major player in venture capital rounds, often deploying checks larger than traditional VC firms. In 2021 alone, it participated in over 250 private deals. But the speed and size of those investments raised questions.

When the infamous tech correction hit in 2022, Tiger Global was overexposed. Many of the high-growth software and consumer tech companies they had backed saw valuations collapse. On the public side, Tiger’s flagship hedge fund posted a 56 percent loss, wiping out roughly $17 billion and making it the largest annual loss in hedge fund history.

Private investments also suffered, with markdowns hitting across portfolios. The firm wrote down stakes in Stripe, Checkout.com, and other high-profile unicorns. Investors began pulling capital, and scrutiny of Coleman’s strategy intensified.

The decade-long run of outperformance was now on hold. The question remained: can Tiger Global come back from the historical loss.

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Following the 2022 loss, Coleman and his team moved quickly to restructure. They slashed their private portfolio exposure, paused new venture investments, and focused on rebuilding the hedge fund business. The team was cut from over 100 people to around 70 to reinforce discipline.

In 2023, Tiger Global posted gains in all but one month. The hedge fund recovered nearly 27 percent over the year, driven by tech names that rebounded and more selective positioning. They leaned away from aggressive momentum trades and returned to a narrower focus on core high-conviction ideas.

By early 2024, the public portfolio was up over 80 percent from its post-crash low. Tiger also began cautiously re-entering the private market, favoring later-stage companies with clearer paths to liquidity and profitability. The firm backed new rounds in companies like Ramp and Mistral AI, signaling a more measured approach.

Coleman’s reputation took a hit, but he remained one of the most connected investors in tech. The Tiger name still carried weight, and many in the industry saw the reset as necessary. For younger investors watching from the outside, it was a clear lesson; size and speed can never replace discipline.

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Other major losses in 2022

> Three Arrows Capital: The Singapore-based crypto hedge fund collapsed in June 2022 after failing to meet margin calls on highly leveraged bets, including exposure to Terra/LUNA. It filed for bankruptcy with over $3.5 billion in creditor claims, triggering a cascade of failures across the crypto sector. 

> FTX / Alameda Research: In November 2022, crypto exchange FTX and its trading arm Alameda Research filed for bankruptcy after revelations that customer funds were misused to cover Alameda’s losses. The collapse wiped out billions in customer assets and investor equity, including stakes held by Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. 

> Celsius Network: The crypto lending platform filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022, disclosing a $1.2 billion balance sheet deficit. Celsius owed $4.7 billion to users, most of whom were unsecured creditors, and faced regulatory scrutiny for mismanagement and misleading customers. 

Each week we profile the most notorious investment stories.

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