Capital at risk
Private companies
At Baillie Gifford, we have a longstanding history of partnering with exceptional companies.
When new technologies unlock markets that couldn't previously exist, outlier companies emerge to seize their moment. Often arising in private markets, their leaders are restlessly creative individuals who aim to overturn the status quo. It takes tenacity to achieve true leaps forward – but pioneers also need support. We seek to find these companies and patiently provide them with capital to help them thrive into the next decade.
Fuelling outliers
We back ambitious, fast-growing companies wherever they are, across any sector or geography. We root our investment strategy in patience, recognising it takes time for these businesses to transform industries and gain an enduring advantage. This is what ultimately drives value for our clients.
Private markets have grown and companies are staying private for longer. That means an increasing share of new technologies’ value creation is occurring in the private space. Frequently, just as these firms start to move from scaling up to industry leadership, they search for investors suited for this next chapter. Our structures let us invest when a firm is private and continue to hold after it becomes public. This allows for closer alignment between our clients and the companies their capital helps fund. To us, a listing can be just another funding round.
A proven track record
We are longstanding shareholders in many trailblazing companies. We first invested in Affirm, Airbnb, Alibaba, HelloFresh, Spotify, Tempus AI and Wise when they were still private. And we continue to own stakes in them on behalf of our clients, often holding a multiple of the shares we held before they went public.
In many ways, we see this as a continuation of our heritage in public markets, where we have backed Amazon, ASML, Tesla and other innovators for over a decade, staying invested through periods of volatility.
We made our first private company investment in 2012 and have since selectively deployed over $9bn into more than 100 such high-potential businesses. Our current private portfolio includes ByteDance, Epic Games, FlixBus, Stripe and SpaceX.
$9.1 billion
As at: March 2024
140+
As at: March 2024
12
As at: March 2024
Taking the long view
Conviction
Baillie Gifford has invested in growth companies for over a century. We are proud of our reputation for long-term thinking, in-house research and strong relationships with like-minded clients. At the end of 2023, we had over £225bn of assets under management.
Patience
We describe our house style as ‘running our winners’. When we back a company, our instinct is to let returns compound over time rather than limit ourselves to short-term gains. That makes us an investor of choice for ambitious leaders planning their firm’s next stages of expansion.
Stability
We conduct much of our private company funding via investment trusts. They draw on pools of permanent capital, which are unaffected by their own share price moves. So, irrespective of a company’s timeline to go public, we focus on supporting its efforts to achieve its full potential and deliver strong returns over the long term.
What does Baillie Gifford do?
We are an independent investment manager founded in Edinburgh. Much has changed in our 114 years, but our focus on seeking superior, long-term investment returns for our clients has not.
We aim to find game-changing companies and other assets that can sustain growth and remain resilient in a changing world for decades to come.
Looking for our funds?
If you’re a client looking to invest in private companies, you may want to explore our strategies and funds.
Investments
We invest in businesses that push boundaries and drive transformational change. For more than a decade, we’ve funded and forged relationships with private companies. Explore some of them here.
Affirm
Affirm is a fintech company with a buy now, pay later service.
Airbnb
Airbnb connects property hosts and guests for short-term rentals.
Anduril
Anduril develops advanced technologies for defence and security.
Astranis
Astranis’s low-cost satellites expand access to the internet.
Bending Spoons
Bending Spoons acquires and develops consumer applications.
BillionToOne
BillionToOne detects diseases by counting DNA molecules in blood.
Blockstream
Blockstream’s products strengthen and expand Bitcoin’s ecosystem.
Brex
Brex is a card and expenses platform for high-growth businesses.
ByteDance
ByteDance is the internet firm behind Douyin, TikTok and Toutiao.
Carbon
Carbon makes advanced 3D-printing hardware and software.
Chime
Chime is a fintech with mobile-first, fee-free banking services.
Chi Forest
Chi Forest is a low-calorie and sugar-free soft drinks company.
Cohesity
Cohesity helps clients protect data and gain insights from it.
Cosm
Cosm powers immersive experiences for entertainment and learning.
Daily Hunt
Daily Hunt is an Indian-language news and video aggregator.
Databricks
Databricks helps clients analyse, manage and optimise data use.
Epic Games
Epic Games develops Fortnite and 3D creation tool Unreal Engine.
Faire Wholesale
Faire connects independent brands and artisans with retailers.
Flix
Flix is a transport company with bus and train booking platforms.
Grammarly
Grammarly provides an online writing assistance tool.
HeartFlow
HeartFlow develops software to diagnose coronary artery disease.
Human Interest
Human Interest helps companies provide retirement plans to staff.
Insightec
Insightec treats brain disorders with targeted ultrasound waves.
Jiangxiaobai
Jiangxiaobai is a baiju spirits company in China.
JRSK
JRSK’s Away brand sells stylish luggage and travel accessories.
Kepler Computing
Kepler develops materials for energy-efficient chips.
Loft
Loft runs an online residential real estate platform in Brazil.
McMakler
McMakler is a technology-driven residential real estate agency.
Merlin Labs
Merlin is developing an autonomous flight system for planes.
Northvolt
Northvolt makes batteries for electric vehicles and power grids.
Nuro
Nuro makes self-driving vehicles for local deliveries.
Oddity Tech
Oddity is a technology-driven beauty company.
Oscar Health
Oscar Health is a technology-driven US health insurance provider.
Pet Circle
Pet Circle is an online pet supplies and medication retailer.
PsiQuantum
PsiQuantum is developing photon-based quantum computers.
Rappi
Rappi is an ecommerce and fintech operator in Latin America.
Solugen
Solugen makes chemicals via a carbon-negative biological process.
Space X
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches rockets and spacecraft.
Stripe
Stripe provides tools for companies to accept and make payments.
Tanium
Tanium’s platform secures and manages clients’ computing devices.
Tekever
Tekever’s drones and systems gather real-time aerial intelligence.
Tempus AI
Tempus AI use AI to improve medical treatments.
Tenstorrent
Tenstorrent makes specialised computers and software for AI.
Upside Foods
Upside Foods grows cultivated meat directly from animal cells.
Warby Parker
Warby Parker designs and sells eyeglasses and sunglasses.
Wayve
Wayve is building AI software to control self-driving cars.
Wise
Wise is an international money transfer business.
Workrise
Workrise runs an energy industry workforce and vendor platform.
Zipline
Zipline runs drone delivery services in Africa, the US and Japan.
Disclaimer
Please note that when you click on any external site hypertext link, you will leave our site and access the external site at your own risk. Baillie Gifford does not sponsor, maintain or have any control over the contents of other websites. Therefore, we are not responsible for the adequacy or accuracy of any of the information you may view, nor do we undertake to ensure successful transmission to any linked website.
Expertise and enthusiasm
Find out what drives our investment managers and other specialists to support the next generation of ambitious, fast-growing companies.
Our expertise
We are dedicated to supporting extraordinary leaders to build landmark companies. In doing so, our Private Companies Team works with decision-makers and other specialists across Baillie Gifford’s research floor, some of whom invest in both private and public markets. This improves our understanding of the industries and opportunities involved. Explore our profiles:
Peter Singlehurst
Head of Private Companies, Partner
Robert Natzler
Investment manager
Chris Evdaimon
Investment manager
Shan Shan
Investment manager
Alexander Nicolier
Investment manager
Hendrik Borginon
Investment manager
Tara Sophia Sallis
Investment manager
Kitsu Egerton
Investment analyst
Christopher Smith
Company relations manager
We have tried to break down an artificial divide between private and public companies because it’s in the interest of our clients and the companies we back.
Get in touch
Get to know the individuals on our team above, or contact the team via email.
Insights
Learn more about the private companies we back and our long-term approach to investing.
The hidden costs of software
Related insights
Wise: Money Without Borders
Co-founder and CEO of digital payments platform Wise explains how a customer-centric approach is helping revolutionise global money movement.
Private equities: time to turn to growth
Why high interest rates help rapid growth private companies with proven products stand apart.
The hidden costs of software
A decade ago, software companies were venture-backed and capital-light. That’s no longer true.
Private companies
Investment Specialist Rachael Callaghan on how we can seize opportunities and help great growth companies thrive.
Why the distinction between public and private markets is wrong
Peter Singlehurst discusses private company investing on the 20VC podcast.
Why private companies matter more
SpaceX, Epic Games and Stripe: the list of the unlisted continues to grow. How can investors benefit?
A private companies approach to ESG
The special considerations at play when we invest in high-growth, late-stage unlisted firms.
Tomorrow’s world, here today
Investing in private companies applying today’s early-stage tech to create tomorrow’s world.
The Second Space Age
Fifty years after Apollo 11, can a fresh wave of innovation in space technology open new frontiers and promising investment opportunities? Investment manager, Luke Ward looks across the gulf of space and gives us his views.
Looking for our funds?
If you’re a client looking to invest in private companies, you may want to explore our strategies and fund