Fund Friday: Top fundraising news in private equity

Partners Group has closed its latest private equity secondaries programme with more than $9bn in commitments.

The programme, which includes a flagship closed-end fund alongside bespoke mandates and co-investment vehicles, attracted a globally diversified investor base spanning Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the US, with significant participation from Asia-Pacific investors.

The vehicle is already 60% deployed, providing investors with immediate exposure to a diversified portfolio of assets managed by leading private equity firms.

Sequoia Capital has raised approximately $7bn for a new expansion fund, as the venture capital firm scales its late-stage investment strategy under new leadership, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.

The fund, which is roughly double the size of its $3.4bn predecessor raised in 2022, will focus on backing large, mature companies across the US and Europe, with a particular emphasis on artificial intelligence.

The raise reflects intensifying competition among private capital firms to secure exposure to high-growth AI platforms, where the cost of scaling has surged due to increasing demand for computing infrastructure and data capabilities.

Accel has raised $5bn for a new late-stage fund aimed at supporting high-growth technology companies in the artificial intelligence era.

The fund marks a significant step in Accel’s platform evolution, enabling the firm to deploy capital beyond early-stage investments and support portfolio companies through their scaling phase.

Accel described the current market cycle as an early stage of a broader transformation, with AI reshaping how companies are built and scaled.