Laurence Tosi’s WestCap Raises $2.25 Billion for Latest Fund

(Bloomberg) -- WestCap, a firm led by Laurence Tosi, the former chief financial officer of both Airbnb Inc. and Blackstone Inc., has raised about $2.25 billion for its latest vehicle dedicated to growth equity bets, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The fund, known as WestCap Strategic Operator Fund II LP, is preparing to hold a final close in the first quarter of 2022, said the people, who requested anonymity discussing information that isn’t yet public. The fund, which may have raised as much as $3 billion by the time it closes, has five years to make investments, one of the people said.

A WestCap representative declined to comment. 

WestCap, which has offices in San Francisco and New York, makes investments in marketplace-oriented startups. The firm traditionally writes equity checks ranging from $50 million to $150 million, but with co-investments from limited partners, can invest as much as $500 million at a time. 

Including the new fund, WestCap has almost $9 billion in assets under management, a person with knowledge of the matter said. 

The firm’s recent investments include crypto lender Celsius Network, Bitcoin platform NYDIG, weight-care management startup Found, financial-technology platform iCapital Network, and software makers FLYR Labs and Peek.com.  

Other investments include StubHub, Hopper, Cerebral and Bolt, its website shows. 

The predecessor to the latest WestCap vehicle, known as WestCap Strategic Operator Fund LP, had a three-year investment horizon. That fund’s net returns were 188% as of June 30, placing it in Cambridge Associates’ top quartile of comparable vehicles, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg.

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