DE Shaw expands private markets push with launch of second Voltaic fund

Private markets platform DE Shaw expands with the launch of a second venture and growth equity fund, Voltaic II, according to Institutional Investor. The closed-end fund will target privately held companies, primarily post-seed venture and growth-stage businesses. Voltaic II follows the successful debut of the initial Voltaic fund in 2022, which gathered over $450 million in investor commitments as DE Shaw's first standalone strategy focusing solely on venture and growth equity investments.

While DE Shaw is renowned for its systematic and discretionary hedge fund strategies, it has been active in private markets since the 1990s through its flagship funds and dedicated private investment vehicles. The company's venture and growth equity activities are overseen by DE Shaw Ventures, a part of its Fundamental Equities business.

In 2026, DE Shaw completed eight investments, including Anthropic's $30 billion Series G funding round and OpenAI's $122 billion Series C financing. The firm has been delivering robust hedge fund performance, with its flagship macro-oriented multi-strategy fund, Oculus, gaining 27.4% through June and its Composite fund returning 13.9% over the same period.

Additionally, DE Shaw revised the liquidity terms for its flagship hedge funds, allowing investors in Oculus to redeem up to 8.3% of their capital each quarter and Composite investors to withdraw up to 6.25% quarterly, with a full redemption period of around three and four years, respectively. As of June 1, 2026, the firm managed over $100 billion in investment and committed capital across its systematic, discretionary, and private investment strategies.