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Altimeter Capital
American investment firm

Altimeter Capital is an American investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts and Menlo Park, California. The firm focuses on technology investments in both public and private markets globally.

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Background

In 2008, Brad Gerstner founded Altimeter Capital in Boston, Massachusetts.2 It was launched with less than $3 million from Gerstner's friends and family during the financial crisis of 2008.34 Prior to that, Gerstner worked at PAR Capital Management as well as General Catalyst.5

A month after the launch of Altimeter Capital, an office was opened in Menlo Park, California.6

In 2013, Altimeter Capital closed its first venture capital fund at $75 million.7

In September 2020, Altimeter Growth Corp was listed on the Nasdaq (Ticker: AGC) raising $450 million. AGC is a SPAC which is a blank-check company. In April 2021 it was announced that AGC would merge with Singapore ridesharing company, Grab to help it list on Nasdaq under the ticker, GRAB.89

In January 2021, a second SPAC, Altimeter Growth Corporation 2 was listed on New York Stock Exchange (Ticker: AGCB) raising $450 million.1011 It was terminated early in December 2022 due to its inability to secure a suitable merger deal.12

Business overview

For public markets, Altimeter Capital manages a long / short public equity fund that invests in technology companies.13 The public equity fund is noted for its strong performance, averaging annual returns of 29.52% since 2011.14

For private markets, Altimeter Capital manages private growth equity funds that invest in both early and later stage technology companies. Its first private fund was closed in 2013.15

Public market investments

United Continental Holdings

In January 2016, Altimeter Capital pressured United Continental Holdings to change its board of directors.16 Gerstner released a statement stating how investors were disappointed with the poor performance and decision making of the company in recent years.17 United Continental Holdings eventually gave in and changed its board of directors.18

Meta Platforms

In October 2022, Gerstner on behalf of Altimeter Capital wrote an open letter to Meta Platforms and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.1920 In the letter, Gerstner criticized the company stating it had too many employees and was moving too slowly to retain investor confidence.2122 He recommended reducing the headcount expense by 20% and limiting Metaverse investments to $5 billion per year.2324 A few weeks later, Meta laid off over 11,000 employees.25

Venture Capital funds

Fund2627Vintage YearCommitted Capital ($m)
Altimeter Private Partners Fund I201375
Altimeter Private Partners Fund II2015225
Altimeter Private Partners Fund III2017200
Altimeter Growth Cascade Fund2020100
Altimeter Growth Castle Fund202032
Altimeter Growth Lincoln Fund202160

Notable venture capital investments

References

  1. Kolodny, Lora (August 1, 2013). "Altimeter Capital CEO on Travel, Enterprise and the Sharing Economy". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on November 13, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/08/01/altimeter-capital-ceo-on-travel-enterprise-and-the-sharing-economy/ ↩

  2. Levy, Ari (November 8, 2013). "Online-Travel King Brad Gerstner Wants Venture Capital Empire". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-07/online-travel-king-brad-gerstner-wants-venture-capital-empire?sref=V7Qo1rcL ↩

  3. Levy, Ari (November 8, 2013). "Online-Travel King Brad Gerstner Wants Venture Capital Empire". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-07/online-travel-king-brad-gerstner-wants-venture-capital-empire?sref=V7Qo1rcL ↩

  4. "After Snowflake windfall, Altimeter Capital captures dealmaking spotlight | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/altimeter-capital-snowflake-grab-investor-spotlight ↩

  5. "Bradley Gerstner Investor Profile: Portfolio & Exits | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/106264-36 ↩

  6. Levy, Ari (November 8, 2013). "Online-Travel King Brad Gerstner Wants Venture Capital Empire". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-11-07/online-travel-king-brad-gerstner-wants-venture-capital-empire?sref=V7Qo1rcL ↩

  7. Kolodny, Lora (August 1, 2013). "Altimeter Capital CEO on Travel, Enterprise and the Sharing Economy". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on November 13, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/08/01/altimeter-capital-ceo-on-travel-enterprise-and-the-sharing-economy/ ↩

  8. Lee, Yoolim (June 9, 2021). "Singapore's Grab Delays Merger Completion to Fourth Quarter". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-09/singapore-s-grab-delays-merger-completion-reports-growth ↩

  9. "Grab IPO: what to know and how to buy Grab shares". IG. April 21, 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://www.ig.com/en/news-and-trade-ideas/grab-to-list-in-the-us-via-largest-ever-blank-cheque-deal-210409 ↩

  10. Schubarth, Cromwell (January 7, 2021). "Bay Area's first IPO of 2021 raises $400M for an Altimeter Capital SPAC". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2021/01/07/altimeter-capitals-second-spac-ipo-raises-400m.html ↩

  11. "SPACS Altimeter Growth II, One Equity Open Water I to liquidate early | Seeking Alpha". seekingalpha.com. December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022. https://seekingalpha.com/news/3913723-spacs-altimeter-growth-ii-one-equity-partners-open-water-i-to-liquidate-early ↩

  12. "SPACS Altimeter Growth II, One Equity Open Water I to liquidate early | Seeking Alpha". seekingalpha.com. December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022. https://seekingalpha.com/news/3913723-spacs-altimeter-growth-ii-one-equity-partners-open-water-i-to-liquidate-early ↩

  13. Gaffney, Mark (October 6, 2020). "Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital has an $8B profit on Snowflake. A new $450M tech SPAC. And annual 13F returns of 30% since 2011". WhaleWisdom Alpha. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://whalewisdomalpha.com/brad-gerstners-altimeter-capital-13f-returns/ ↩

  14. Gaffney, Mark (October 6, 2020). "Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital has an $8B profit on Snowflake. A new $450M tech SPAC. And annual 13F returns of 30% since 2011". WhaleWisdom Alpha. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://whalewisdomalpha.com/brad-gerstners-altimeter-capital-13f-returns/ ↩

  15. Kolodny, Lora (August 1, 2013). "Altimeter Capital CEO on Travel, Enterprise and the Sharing Economy". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on November 13, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2013/08/01/altimeter-capital-ceo-on-travel-enterprise-and-the-sharing-economy/ ↩

  16. "Investors push for board shake-up at United Continental Holdings". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on December 18, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/investors-push-for-board-shake-up-at-united-continental-holdings/2016/03/08/4159607a-e563-11e5-bc08-3e03a5b41910_story.html ↩

  17. "Investors push for board shake-up at United Continental Holdings". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on December 18, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/investors-push-for-board-shake-up-at-united-continental-holdings/2016/03/08/4159607a-e563-11e5-bc08-3e03a5b41910_story.html ↩

  18. Wang, Christine (May 8, 2017). "United was 'clumsy' at first in scandal, but eventually 'got it right,' investor says". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/08/united-was-clumsy-at-first-in-scandal-but-eventually-got-it-right-investor-says.html ↩

  19. Leswing, Kif (October 24, 2022). "Meta shareholder writes critical open letter saying company needs to slash headcount and stop spending so much money on 'metaverse'". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/24/altimeter-capitals-brad-gerstner-calls-on-meta-to-slash-headcount.html ↩

  20. "Meta Needs to Slash Metaverse Spending to 'Get Mojo Back,' Shareholder Says". Bloomberg.com. October 24, 2022. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-24/meta-must-cut-metaverse-spending-to-regain-mojo-gerstner-says ↩

  21. Leswing, Kif (October 24, 2022). "Meta shareholder writes critical open letter saying company needs to slash headcount and stop spending so much money on 'metaverse'". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/24/altimeter-capitals-brad-gerstner-calls-on-meta-to-slash-headcount.html ↩

  22. "Meta Needs to Slash Metaverse Spending to 'Get Mojo Back,' Shareholder Says". Bloomberg.com. October 24, 2022. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-24/meta-must-cut-metaverse-spending-to-regain-mojo-gerstner-says ↩

  23. Leswing, Kif (October 24, 2022). "Meta shareholder writes critical open letter saying company needs to slash headcount and stop spending so much money on 'metaverse'". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/24/altimeter-capitals-brad-gerstner-calls-on-meta-to-slash-headcount.html ↩

  24. "Meta Needs to Slash Metaverse Spending to 'Get Mojo Back,' Shareholder Says". Bloomberg.com. October 24, 2022. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-24/meta-must-cut-metaverse-spending-to-regain-mojo-gerstner-says ↩

  25. Vanian, Jonathan (November 9, 2022). "Meta laying off more than 11,000 employees: Read Zuckerberg's letter announcing the cuts". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/09/meta-to-lay-off-more-than-11000-thousand-employees.html ↩

  26. "Altimeter Capital - Venture | Palico". www.palico.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://www.palico.com/general-partners/altimeter-capital-venture/3173090311584ea3aba613e78e45c63a ↩

  27. "After Snowflake windfall, Altimeter Capital captures dealmaking spotlight | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/altimeter-capital-snowflake-grab-investor-spotlight ↩

  28. "After Snowflake windfall, Altimeter Capital captures dealmaking spotlight | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/altimeter-capital-snowflake-grab-investor-spotlight ↩

  29. "After Snowflake windfall, Altimeter Capital captures dealmaking spotlight | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/altimeter-capital-snowflake-grab-investor-spotlight ↩

  30. "After Snowflake windfall, Altimeter Capital captures dealmaking spotlight | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/altimeter-capital-snowflake-grab-investor-spotlight ↩

  31. Gaffney, Mark (October 6, 2020). "Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital has an $8B profit on Snowflake. A new $450M tech SPAC. And annual 13F returns of 30% since 2011". WhaleWisdom Alpha. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://whalewisdomalpha.com/brad-gerstners-altimeter-capital-13f-returns/ ↩

  32. "FTX Fiasco Hits Investors From Tiger Global to Tom Brady". finance.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ftx-fiasco-hits-investors-tiger-182658928.html ↩

  33. Lee, Yoolim (June 9, 2021). "Singapore's Grab Delays Merger Completion to Fourth Quarter". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-09/singapore-s-grab-delays-merger-completion-reports-growth ↩

  34. Gaffney, Mark (October 6, 2020). "Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital has an $8B profit on Snowflake. A new $450M tech SPAC. And annual 13F returns of 30% since 2011". WhaleWisdom Alpha. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://whalewisdomalpha.com/brad-gerstners-altimeter-capital-13f-returns/ ↩

  35. Bhakta, Pratik. "Pine Labs: Actis, Altimeter put $82 million in Pine Labs to grow roots". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/actis-altimeter-put-82-million-in-pine-labs-to-grow-roots/articleshow/63278387.cms ↩

  36. "After Snowflake windfall, Altimeter Capital captures dealmaking spotlight | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/altimeter-capital-snowflake-grab-investor-spotlight ↩

  37. Gaffney, Mark (October 6, 2020). "Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital has an $8B profit on Snowflake. A new $450M tech SPAC. And annual 13F returns of 30% since 2011". WhaleWisdom Alpha. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://whalewisdomalpha.com/brad-gerstners-altimeter-capital-13f-returns/ ↩

  38. "After Snowflake windfall, Altimeter Capital captures dealmaking spotlight | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/altimeter-capital-snowflake-grab-investor-spotlight ↩

  39. Gaffney, Mark (October 6, 2020). "Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital has an $8B profit on Snowflake. A new $450M tech SPAC. And annual 13F returns of 30% since 2011". WhaleWisdom Alpha. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://whalewisdomalpha.com/brad-gerstners-altimeter-capital-13f-returns/ ↩

  40. "After Snowflake windfall, Altimeter Capital captures dealmaking spotlight | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/altimeter-capital-snowflake-grab-investor-spotlight ↩

  41. Gaffney, Mark (October 6, 2020). "Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital has an $8B profit on Snowflake. A new $450M tech SPAC. And annual 13F returns of 30% since 2011". WhaleWisdom Alpha. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://whalewisdomalpha.com/brad-gerstners-altimeter-capital-13f-returns/ ↩

  42. Gaffney, Mark (October 6, 2020). "Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital has an $8B profit on Snowflake. A new $450M tech SPAC. And annual 13F returns of 30% since 2011". WhaleWisdom Alpha. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021. https://whalewisdomalpha.com/brad-gerstners-altimeter-capital-13f-returns/ ↩