General Catalyst (GC) is a global investment and transformation company that makes seed to growth stage investments and beyond.
The firm has invested in 800+ businesses, including global companies such as
Airbnb
Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...
,
Anduril Industries,
Applied Intuition,
Glean Technologies,
Guild Education,
HubSpot
HubSpot, Inc. is a US-based developer and marketer of software products for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service. Its products and services are meant to provide tools for customer relationship management, social media marketing, conten ...
,
Kayak
]
A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...
,
Datalogix,
Datto,
Livongo,
Gusto,
Zepto,
Ramp,
Deliveroo,
Samsara,
Stripe,
Snap,
Mistral, and
Helsing.
History
General Catalyst was founded in 2000 in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
by Joel Cutler and
David Fialkow.
In 2010, the company opened a
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
office.
In 2021, the firm managed more than $8 billion in assets. 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.
In 2021, the firm opened a London office. By September 2022, General Catalyst had invested in 17 European startups. 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.
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.
General Catalyst, which was a SVB customer, organized a joint statement of support signed by more than 110 venture capital firms.
As of 2020, it was ranked as one of America's largest venture capital firms.
In June 2022, the company made an investment in
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...
as part of a $220 million investment round.
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. In the same month, General Catalyst acquired Venture Highway, an early-stage investor based in New Delhi.
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.
In May 2025, the company launched a £30 million medical technology venture fund with the UK's
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
along with Speedinvest.
Investments
General Catalyst makes capital investments in seed-stage companies, early-stage businesses and later-stage companies.
Healthcare fund
In 2021, General Catalyst raised $600 million for a new Health Assurance Fund.
In July 2022, the firm raised an additional $670 million.
The money is invested in healthcare businesses.
General Catalyst has been the most active investor in healthcare since the beginning of 2020.
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."
General Catalyst spent $485 million to purchase
Summa Health and convert a non-profit health network into for-profit.
References
{{Reflist
Venture capital firms of the United States
Financial services companies established in 2000
Companies based in Massachusetts
2000 establishments in Massachusetts