General Catalyst

In this article, we are going to delve into the topic of General Catalyst and explore its different facets. General Catalyst is a topic that has captured the attention of many people in recent times, and it is a topic that generates conflicting opinions. Throughout this article, we will examine different perspectives on General Catalyst, from its impact on society to its influence on popular culture. We will also explore its relevance in different contexts, both historically and contemporary. Through this detailed analysis, we hope to provide a more complete view of General Catalyst and generate deeper reflection on this topic.

General Catalyst
Company typePrivate
IndustryVenture capital
Founded2000 (2000)
Founders
HeadquartersCambridge, Massachusetts, US
Number of locations
Area served
Key people
ProductsInvestments
Number of employees
250+
Websitegeneralcatalyst.com

General Catalyst (GC) is a global investment and transformation company that makes seed to growth stage investments and beyond.[1][2][3][4] The firm has invested in 800+ businesses, including global companies such as Airbnb, Anduril Industries, Applied Intuition, Glean Technologies, Guild Education, HubSpot, Kayak, Datalogix, Datto, Livongo, Gusto, Zepto, Ramp, Deliveroo, Samsara, Stripe, Snap, Mistral, and Helsing.[5][3][6][7][8][9][10]

History

General Catalyst was founded in 2000 in Massachusetts by Joel Cutler and David Fialkow.[6][11][12][13][14]

In 2010, the company opened a Silicon Valley office.[11] In 2021, the firm managed more than $8 billion in assets.[15] In February 2022, it raised $4.6 billion for its 11th general fund. This brought the firm's total raised in its 20-year history to $14.75 billion.[16]

In 2021, the firm opened a London office.[17][18] By September 2022, General Catalyst had invested in 17 European startups.[19] By April 2023, the company had invested in 25 Indian startups, including CRED, Uni, Spinny, Orange Health, FarMart, and Loop Health with investments ranging in all stages.[20]

In March 2023, General Catalyst was a supporter of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), after U.S. regulators shut it down after a significant number of the bank's customers sought to withdraw funds after dropping stock prices.[21][22] General Catalyst, which was a SVB customer,[23] organized a joint statement of support signed by more than 110 venture capital firms.[21]

As of 2020, it was ranked as one of America's largest venture capital firms.[24]

In June 2024, General Catalyst acquired La Famiglia, a German venture capital firm, after which La Famiglia's founding partner Jeannette zu Fürstenberg became a managing director at General Catalyst, overseeing its European business.[25] In the same month, General Catalyst acquired Venture Highway, an early-stage investor based in New Delhi.[26][27]

In October 2024, General Catalyst announced the raise of $8 billion in new funds, including $4.5 billion for their core venture funds, making it their largest fundraise yet.[28]

Investments

General Catalyst makes capital investments in seed-stage companies, early-stage businesses and later-stage companies.[29][30][31]

Healthcare fund

In 2021, General Catalyst raised $600 million for a new Health Assurance Fund.[32][33]

In July 2022, the firm raised an additional $670 million.[16] The money is invested in healthcare businesses.[32][34][35] General Catalyst has been the most active investor in healthcare since the beginning of 2020.[36][37]

In October 2023, the company announced plans to acquire a health system and "then use it as a proving ground for technology that its portfolio companies sell, including generative artificial intelligence-powered solutions applied to health care problems."[38]

General Catalyst spent $485 million to purchase Summa Health and convert a non-profit health network into for-profit.[39]

References

  1. ^ Jennings, Katie. "Defying Pullback In Investments, General Catalyst Launches $670 Million Healthcare Fund". Forbes. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  2. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (July 12, 2023). "Venture Firm General Catalyst Seeks Bigger Funds Despite Market Downturn". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "VC General Catalyst to boost India investments". The Times of India. April 25, 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  4. ^ Chernova, Yuliya. "Goldman Sachs to Buy $200 Million Stake in General Catalyst". WSJ. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Farrell, Maureen (November 8, 2021). "A former SoftBank executive will join the Silicon Valley venture firm General Catalyst". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Bertoni, Steven. "Venture Capital Firm General Catalyst Raises $2.3 Billion Amid Coronavirus Crisis". Forbes. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  7. ^ Alspach, Kyle (December 23, 2013). "General Catalyst raises $675M seventh fund, cites growing focus on Silicon Valley". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Jin, Berber; Schechner, Sam; Dotan, Tom (May 9, 2024). "AI Challenger Mistral Set to Nearly Triple Valuation to $6 Billion in Six Months". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Butcher, Mike (July 11, 2024). "Defense AI startup Helsing raises $487M Series C, plans Baltic expansion to combat Russian threat". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  10. ^ "Applied Intuition valued at $6 billion in new funding round". Bloomberg. November 11, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "General Catalyst closes $675M fund to expand presence in Silicon Valley". VentureBeat. December 23, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  12. ^ Jennings, Katie. "Defying Pullback In Investments, General Catalyst Launches $670 Million Healthcare Fund". Forbes. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  13. ^ Maheshwari, Sapna (November 8, 2021). "Macy's plans to raise wages and offer tuition assistance in the race for hourly workers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  14. ^ "Venture firm General Catalyst loses co-founder". Fortune. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  15. ^ Kruppa, Miles (September 29, 2021). "General Catalyst launches fund to buy future earnings of tech start-ups". Financial Times. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Jennings, Katie. "Defying Pullback In Investments, General Catalyst Launches $670 Million Healthcare Fund". Forbes. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  17. ^ Hammond, George (October 16, 2023). "General Catalyst in German VC tie-up as part of European tech push". Financial Times. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  18. ^ Butcher, Mike (February 4, 2021). "General Catalyst pushes farther into Europe/Israel, hiring Chris Bischoff for London office". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  19. ^ Lewin, Amy (December 14, 2021). "US VC giant General Catalyst has opened an office in Europe".
  20. ^ "General Catalyst expects to invest $100 million in Indian start-ups". www.thehindubusinessline.com. April 25, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Joyner, April. "More than 110 VC firms, led by General Catalyst, are banding together in support of Silicon Valley Bank". Business Insider. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  22. ^ "Top VCs in a huddle to discuss Silicon Valley Bank collapse, vow to be 'supportive'". The Economic Times. March 11, 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  23. ^ "More than 1,000 VC, PE, and investment firms held capital at SVB in 2022". Fortune. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  24. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (July 12, 2023). "WSJ News Exclusive | Venture Firm General Catalyst Seeks Bigger Funds Despite Market Downturn". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  25. ^ Warnock, Eleanor (October 16, 2023). "German fund La Famiglia merges with General Catalyst". Sifted. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  26. ^ Sharma, Samidha (June 20, 2024). "Silicon Valley VC fund General Catalyst acquires Venture Highway; will deploy $1 billion in India". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  27. ^ Ramasubramanian, Sowmya (June 20, 2024). "VC firm General Catalyst acquires Venture Highway to expand in India | Mint". mint. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  28. ^ Taneja, Hemant. "Announcing Fund XII: Let's Venture Beyond". Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  29. ^ "Top 10 venture capital firms: General Catalyst". fintechmagazine.com. June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  30. ^ Loizos, Connie (March 18, 2019). "General Catalyst just carved out an aggressive new seed-stage program -- here's what to know". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  31. ^ Bruce, Giles (August 29, 2022). "General Catalyst: Why the VC firm with an unassuming name should have healthcare's attention". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  32. ^ a b Konrad, Alex. "General Catalyst Doubles Down On Healthcare With $600 Million New Fund". Forbes. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  33. ^ Szkutak, Rebecca (October 14, 2023). "Why does General Catalyst want to buy a healthcare system?". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  34. ^ Chernova, Yuliya. "WSJ News Exclusive | Venture Firm General Catalyst Seeks Bigger Funds Despite Market Downturn". WSJ. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  35. ^ "General Catalyst announces new healthcare company, intent to purchase health system". MobiHealthNews. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  36. ^ Szkutak, Rebecca (October 14, 2023). "Why does General Catalyst want to buy a healthcare system?". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  37. ^ Jennings, Katie. "Why VC Firm General Catalyst Wants To Spend Billions To Buy A Hospital System". Forbes. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  38. ^ Ravindranath, Mohana (November 1, 2023). "Venture capitalists want to own hospitals. Can they do better than private equity?". STAT. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  39. ^ Julie Washington, cleveland com (November 7, 2024). "Akron's SummaHealth moves closer to sale; deal to for-profit firm placed at $485 million". cleveland. Retrieved December 5, 2024.