Led by deep sector expertise, the fund partners with leading mid- to late-stage technology companies poised to emerge as iconic public businesses
Sands Capital today announced the successful closing of Global Innovation Fund III, raising $1.1 billion. The fund was oversubscribed, anchored by new investors including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), funds managed by Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE), and supported by existing limited partners. The raise also drew strong interest from technology company founders and executives.
Global Innovation Fund III is designed to partner with a small number of category-defining companies scaling in the private markets. Since the inception of the Global Innovation strategy in 2018, the team has partnered with some of the most consequential private technology businesses of the past decade, including DoorDash, Snowflake, Nubank and Databricks, and more recently Anduril, Ramp, Rippling, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
"For nearly 35 years, Sands Capital has focused exclusively on investing in the world's leading growth companies. We are inspired by and deeply grateful for the founders and teams we partner with. Global Innovation III enables us to support them, privately, as they execute on their ambitious missions and successfully transition to marquee public companies," said Barron Martin, Managing Partner at Sands Capital.
"Technological innovation continues to accelerate, particularly as artificial intelligence begins to reshape how businesses are built and scaled. We believe the most compelling opportunities will emerge in a small number of exceptional companies, and our strategy is built around partnering closely with those teams over the long term," said Michael Clarke, Managing Partner at Sands Capital.
Global Innovation is part of Sands Capital's $51 billion assets under management growth investing platform, which partners with many world-class teams from their formative stages through some of the largest public companies in the world. "Our ability to partner with companies from high-growth private stages through scaled public leadership is central to the value we deliver to founders and investors," said Frank Sands, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at Sands Capital. The fund will continue Sands Capital's concentrated approach, typically investing in approximately 10 companies per fund, with a focus on long-term secular themes including artificial intelligence, industrial technology, and intelligent infrastructure.
About Sands Capital
Sands Capital is an active, long-term investor in leading innovative growth businesses, globally. Through an investment platform spanning venture capital, private growth equity, and public growth equity, we provide growth capital solutions to institutions and fund sponsors in more than 30 countries. Sands Capital is an independent, staff-owned firm founded in 1992 and headquartered in the Washington area, with additional offices in New York, San Francisco, and London.
Disclosures:
The Global Innovation investment strategies are managed by Sands Capital Alternatives, LLC and are only available to qualified investors. The activities of the Global Innovation Strategy Team, including investment due diligence and sourcing, may be supported on an ad hoc basis by various members of the broader global research team of Sands Capital Management, as well as members of the Global Ventures Team of Sands Capital Alternatives. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Assets under management is as of February 28, 2026. The companies referenced represent a selection of investments made by Sands Capital strategies and do not represent all investments made by the strategy.
Notice for non-US investors
Disclosures and Definitions
AUM Disclosures and Firm Definition
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260317430997/en/
Media
Chaneigh Bernard
[email protected]