Hedge Fund D.E. Shaw Nabs $1.1B for Two New Private Market Funds

The D. E. Shaw group, a hedge fund largely known for its quant trading expertise, has raised $1.1 billion for two new private market funds – D. E. Shaw Voltaic Fund and D. E. Shaw Diopter Fund.

The firm’s funds and employees contributed more than $150 million to Diopter and Voltaic, which are both now closed to new cash.

The Voltaic Fund, which raised over $450 million (shy of its $500 million target), is a closed-end fund that will target investments in privately owned enterprises, particularly those in the post-seed or growth equity stages of their lifecycles.

The Diopter Fund raised more than $650 million and is a private credit-focused fund primarily pursuing investments bank securitization products.

“We believe Voltaic is well-positioned to take advantage of both the current and longer-term opportunity set and will benefit from our extensive experience investing in equity opportunities across private and public markets,” said Edwin Jager, the fund’s portfolio manager.

D. E. Shaw has invested in private markets for much of its history, although Voltaic is the firm’s first standalone fund dedicated to private equity investments.

With more than $60 billion in managed assets, D. E. Shaw raised its first private credit fund in 2008, and since 2012 it has raised more than $3.5 billion focused on the asset class.