Sands Capital announced the closing of its Global Innovation Fund III, raising $1.1 billion in commitments and surpassing its initial target, with support from both new and existing investors.
The fund was anchored by new limited partners, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and funds managed by Hamilton Lane, alongside continued backing from existing investors. It also attracted participation from technology company founders and executives.
Global Innovation Fund III focuses on investing in a concentrated portfolio of approximately 10 mid- to late-stage private technology companies with the potential to become major public businesses. The strategy emphasizes long-term partnerships with category-defining companies operating across sectors such as artificial intelligence, industrial technology, and intelligent infrastructure.
Since launching its Global Innovation strategy in 2018, Sands Capital has invested in a range of high-profile technology companies, including DoorDash, Snowflake, Nubank, and Databricks, as well as more recent investments such as Anduril, Ramp, Rippling, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
The fund is part of Sands Capital’s broader $51 billion growth investing platform, which spans venture capital, private growth equity, and public equities, supporting companies from early growth stages through public market leadership.
KEY QUOTES:
“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.”
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.”
Michael Clarke, Managing Partner at Sands Capital
“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.”
Frank Sands, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at Sands Capital
