Adams Street Partners

Adams Street Partners - Venture capital firm

ActiveVenture Capital

Updated: Feb 17, 2026 ·

About

Adams Street Partners is a global leader in private markets investment management, managing $65 billion in assets across various strategies including primary, secondary, growth equity, credit, and co-investments.

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
Sep 30, 2025	Vercel	$300.0M Series F	GIC	Accel, BlackRock, Cedar Capital Group, General Catalyst, GV, Khosla Ventures, Notable Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Schroders, StepStone Group, Tiger Global Management, 2xN, C2 Investment, CRV, Forerunner Ventures, FPV Fund, Menlo Ventures, Resolute Ventures, The Hit Forge, Adam Marchick, Tom Williams
Feb 1, 2025	Self Inspection	$3.0M Seed	—	Costanoa Ventures, DocuSign, DVx Ventures, Oak HC/FT, Vayner RSE, Alexander Weiss, Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Renaud Laplanche
Jan 1, 2025	Atomicwork	$25.0M Series A	—	11.2 Capital, Battery Ventures, Blume Ventures, ENIAC Ventures, Vidu Shanmugarajah, Khosla Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, Sierra Ventures, Storm Ventures, True Ventures, Walden Catalyst Ventures, Mark Weatherford
Jan 1, 2025	Highnote	$90.0M Series B	—	Afore Capital, Alex, Costanoa Ventures, Countdown Capital, DocuSign, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Mischief Venture Capital, Oak HC/FT, Offline Ventures, Scout Ventures, Renaud Laplanche, Sahin Boydas, Sam Altman
Oct 1, 2024	Highnote	$3.0M Venture Round	—	Costanoa Ventures, DocuSign, Oak HC/FT, Renaud Laplanche
Sep 1, 2024	Nirvana Health	$24.0M Series A	—	Alumni Ventures, Battery Ventures, CoinFund, Energy Impact Partners, ENIAC Ventures, Inspired Capital, Northzone, OODA Ventures, Sequoia Capital, True Ventures
Jul 1, 2024	Level AI	$39.0M Series C	—	Alumni Ventures, Battery Ventures, Boldstart Ventures, BoxGroup, Cambrian Ventures, Canaan Partners, Cedar Capital Group, Citi Ventures, Darling Ventures, Declaration Partners, ENIAC Ventures, Flyover Capital, Insight Partners, MetaProp Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Plug & Play Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Gary Benitt, Theory Ventures, Unless, Venrock, Aaron Block, George Hu, Matt Carbonara
Jun 1, 2024	Vertus Energy	$9.0M Seed	—	Album VC, Battery Ventures, CapitalG, DG Incubation, Energy Capital Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners, Quiet Capital, TTV Capital, Peter Kight, Todd Pedersen
May 1, 2024	Agora	$34.0M Series B	—	Aleph VC, Cambrian Ventures, Declaration Partners, Flyover Capital, Insight Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Jacques Benkoski, Venrock, Aaron Rosenson
May 1, 2024	Altruist	$170.0M Series E	—	Cervin Ventures, Sapphire Ventures
Oct 1, 2023	Covera Health	$25.0M Series C	—	Cambrian Ventures, Declaration Partners, Flyover Capital, Insight Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Venrock
Jul 1, 2023	CapStack Technologies	$6.0M Seed	—	43, BITKRAFT Ventures, Cambrian Ventures, Coalition Operators, Correlation Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Declaration Partners, Draper Associates, Fin Capital, Flyover Capital, Insight Partners, M13, Oak HC/FT, Peterson Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Trajectory Ventures, True Ventures, Venrock, Verity Venture Partners, Ellen Pao, Todd Pedersen
Mar 1, 2023	Altruist	$110.0M Series D	—	Cambrian Ventures, Declaration Partners, Flyover Capital, Insight Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Venrock, Andreessen Horowitz, ATX Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Boldstart Ventures, Chalfen Ventures, Guy Podjarny, IA Seed Ventures, Mendoza Ventures, N49P Ventures, Next Coast Ventures, RTP Seed, Tribe Capital
Feb 1, 2023	Frond	$3.0M Seed	—	10100, Kevin Hartz, AirAngels, Alt Capital, Amazon Alexa Fund, Astanor Ventures, Bain Capital, Basecase Capital, Bedrock Capital, C2 Investment, CapitalX, Chemistry VC, Convective Capital, Craft Ventures, Daffy, Eclipse Ventures, Emergent Ventures, Engineering Capital, Firstminute Capital, Foundamental, General Catalyst, Graduate Entrepreneur, Innovation Endeavors, JLL Spark, Kepler Operator’s Fund, La Famiglia, Lainy, M13, NextView Ventures, Notion Capital, Olima Ventures, Preston-Werner Ventures, Rainfall Ventures, Ravelin Capital, REMUS Capital, Sequoia Capital, Shrug Capital, Soma Capital, Speedinvest, Starship Ventures, Vibe Capital, Vinyl Capital, Y Combinator, Adam Wiggins, Allison Pickens (Allison Pickens Ventures), Andrew Bialecki, Andy Leaver, Anil Dharni, Arash Ferdowsi, Bobby Lo, Bradley Horowitz, Bryce Hall, Chad Nitschke, Charlie Songhurst, Christian Faes, Christian Vollmann, Dan Siroker, Darius Contractor, Dave Balter, Dharmesh Shah, Drew Houston, Dylan Field, Evan Moore, Frédéric Mazzella, Gordon Wintrob, Griffin Johnson, Hanno Renner, Humberto Ayres Pereira, Immad Akhund, James Beshara, Jeff Seibert, Jonathan Wasserstrum, Jonathan Widawski, Julian Shapiro, Karl Jacob, Khaled Helioui, Kyle Vogt, Liu Jiang, Louis Beryl, Mario Götze, Max Mullen, Michael Stoppelman, Moshe Lifschitz, Nicolas Brusson, Rich Miner, Sam Altman, Sara Lannin, Scott Belsky, Siqi Chen, Steven Kamali, Tom Williams, Wayne Chang, Zach Segal
Aug 1, 2022	Agora	$20.0M Series A	—	Aleph VC, Cambrian Ventures, Declaration Partners, Flyover Capital, Insight Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Jacques Benkoski, Venrock, Aaron Rosenson
May 1, 2022	Pyramid Analytics	$120.0M Series E	—	9Yards Capital, AllegisCyber Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, Citi Ventures, Cyberstarts VC, Grove Ventures, H.I.G. Capital, Index Ventures, Erel Margalit, Yoav Tzruya, Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), K9 Ventures, M12, Menlo Ventures, Race Capital, S Capital VC, Softbank Group, Spark Capital, Thylacine Capital, Ulu Ventures, Viola Ventures, Aryeh Mergi, Moshe Gaon, Steven Sinofsky, Tony Jamous
Apr 1, 2022	Quiq	$25.0M Series C	—	Baird Capital, Blue Note Ventures, Cambrian Ventures, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, Declaration Partners, Flyover Capital, Foundry Group, Insight Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Techstars, Venrock
Mar 1, 2022	Sona	$7.0M Seed	—	Accel, Amplo, Astanor Ventures, BITKRAFT Ventures, byFounders, Capital Today, Cocoa, Felicis Ventures, Firstminute Capital, Flash Ventures, Goat Capital, Gradient Ventures, Mantis VC, Northzone, Notion Capital, Picus Capital, Polychain Capital, Streamlined Ventures, Tribe Capital, Unpopular Ventures, Andrej Henkler, Andy Katz - Mayfield, Andy Leaver, Charles Delingpole, Charlie Songhurst, Christian Faes, Curtis Lee, Frédéric Mazzella, George Ruan, Khaled Helioui, Nick Green, Nicolas Brusson, Scott Tannen, Tom Blomfield, Vikas Sabnani, Vince Thompson
Feb 1, 2022	Siteline	$15.0M Series A	—	CapitalG, H.I.G. Capital, K9 Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Steven Sinofsky
Jan 1, 2022	Pickle	$2.0M Seed	—	Album VC, Battery Ventures, CapitalG, DG Incubation, Energy Capital Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners, Quiet Capital, TTV Capital, Peter Kight
Dec 1, 2021	Forethought	$65.0M Series C	—	01 Advisors, 8VC, AIX Ventures, Alt Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Animo Ventures, Astanor Ventures, Axiom Partners, Balderton Capital, CapitalG, Footprint Coalition, Footwork, Forerunner Ventures, General Catalyst, Generative Ventures, Goat Capital, Greylock, H.I.G. Capital, ICONIQ Capital, Impact VC, Index Ventures, Inspired Capital, K9 Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Madrona Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Rainfall Ventures, SNR, Howard Lindzon, Sound Ventures, South Park Commons, Spark Capital, Stellar Capital, Stellation Capital, Struck Capital, Techstars, Tribe Capital, Turing Capital, Twelve Below, Two Sigma Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Rick Lewis, Vayner RSE, Village Global, WorkLife Ventures, XYZ Venture Capital, Y Combinator, Andy Coravos, Balaji Srinivasan, Baron Davis, Boris Silver, Dylan Field, Gopi Kallayil, Greg Isenberg, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hadi Partovi, James Beshara, Kelvin Beachum Jr., Marc Benioff, Mathilde Collin, Mike Vernal, Peter Sonsini, Rob Theis, Sahin Boydas, Steven Sinofsky, Tim Griffin, Trevor McFedries, William Mougayar, Yan-David Erlich
Nov 1, 2021	Everlaw	$200.0M Series D	—	Album VC, Alumni Ventures, David Ibnale, Backed VC, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Camber Creek, CapitalG, Citi Ventures, Concrete Ventures, DG Incubation, Energy Capital Ventures, Founders' Co-op, Foundry Group, General Atlantic, H.I.G. Capital, K9 Ventures, Luv Ventures, Madrona Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Meritech Capital Partners, N49P Ventures, OurCrowd, Pareto Holdings, Pelion Venture Partners, Quiet Capital, Gil Penchina, Sapphire Ventures, Sway Ventures, Techstars, TTV Capital, Two Small Fish Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, Ulu Ventures, Y Combinator, Chaim Meir Tessler, Haroon Mokhtarzada, Immad Akhund, Jeff Seibert, Juha Paananen, Louis Beryl, Marcus Bartram, Peter Kight, Rob Theis, Todd Pedersen, Wayne Chang, Will Herman
Nov 1, 2021	Nirvana Health	$8.0M Seed	—	Alumni Ventures, Battery Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, ENIAC Ventures, Inspired Capital, OODA Ventures, True Ventures
Aug 1, 2021	Sona	$2.0M Seed	—	Amplo, Astanor Ventures, byFounders, Firstminute Capital, Flash Ventures, Notion Capital, Charlie Songhurst, Christian Faes, Frédéric Mazzella, Khaled Helioui, Nicolas Brusson
Aug 1, 2021	Dataiku	$400.0M Series E	—	Accel, Album VC, Battery Ventures, B Capital Group, Bessemer Venture Partners, CapitalG, Contour Venture Partners, DG Incubation, Energy Capital Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Giant Ventures, Heartcore Capital, Insight Partners, M12, Meritech Capital Partners, Pelion Venture Partners, Quiet Capital, Radical Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Snowflake Ventures, Spark Capital, TTV Capital, Jacques Benkoski, YL Ventures, Megan Quinn, Peter Kight, Preben Damgaard, Todd Pedersen

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at Adams Street Partners.

Leadership Team

Key people at Adams Street Partners.

Deep Dive

High-Level Overview

Adams Street Partners is a global private markets investment manager specializing in venture capital, growth equity, buyouts, secondaries, and credit strategies. Their mission centers on providing customized access to private markets for institutional investors, wealth managers, and financial advisors, helping clients grow and protect wealth through diversified private market investments. They focus on rapidly growing, multi-stage, category-leading companies primarily in software, mobile, healthcare, security, and financial technology sectors. Adams Street supports entrepreneurs and CEOs with a founder-first approach, offering value-added services and leveraging a global presence to help build market-leading companies[1][2][4].

With over $65 billion in assets under management and a presence in 15 offices worldwide, Adams Street has a deep industry experience and a global outlook that enables it to invest across the entire capital structure, targeting middle-market companies valued between $150 million and $750 million. Their investment philosophy emphasizes collaboration, founder support, and leveraging advanced analytics to identify strategic opportunities, including market dislocations, to create top-tier portfolios[1][3][4].

Origin Story

Founded in 1972 as the growth equity division of First National Bank of Chicago (known then as First Chicago Investment Advisors), Adams Street Partners evolved through a management buyout led by CEO Gary P. Brinson in 1989, spinning out as Brinson Partners. It became a fully independent, employee-owned firm by 2008 after acquiring the remaining stake from UBS. The firm expanded its focus over time from fund of funds to include direct venture capital, growth equity, and private credit investments, launching these businesses around 2016. Key partners have driven this evolution, maintaining a founder-first, advisory-oriented investment approach[1][5][3].

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Adams Street combines traditional fund of funds strategies with direct investments, including venture capital and growth equity, supported by proprietary web-based analytics and multi-currency research tools[1][3].
Founder-First Philosophy: They emphasize partnership with founders, providing advisory support tailored to founders’ needs rather than imposing control, helping companies scale responsibly and efficiently[3].
Global Network Strength: With offices across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Adams Street leverages a vast network of relationships to source and support investments worldwide[1][5].
Track Record: Over five decades of experience managing $65 billion in assets, recognized as one of the most respected private markets managers globally, with a history of pioneering breakthrough investment strategies[1][5].
Operating Support: Their hybrid operating partner model blends a lean internal team with a curated external advisor network, offering targeted operational, financial, and talent support to portfolio companies without heavy-handed management[3].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Adams Street rides the trend of increasing institutional and wealth advisor interest in private markets as a source of growth and diversification amid public market volatility. The timing is favorable due to technological innovation across software, healthcare, fintech, and security sectors, which align with their investment focus. Market forces such as regulatory changes, digital transformation, and globalization create tailwinds for the sectors they target. Adams Street influences the ecosystem by enabling mid-market companies to scale globally with founder-aligned capital and operational support, while also facilitating access to private markets for a broad range of investors through innovative, evergreen investment solutions[1][4][6].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Adams Street is poised to deepen its direct investment footprint while continuing to innovate in fund structures like evergreen and co-investment vehicles that meet evolving investor needs. Trends such as increased LP appetite for co-investments, geopolitical uncertainties, and technological disruption will shape their strategy. Their founder-first, advisory-oriented model and global reach position them well to capitalize on growth opportunities in private markets and to influence the broader ecosystem by supporting category-leading companies worldwide. Adams Street’s evolution from a fund of funds to a hybrid direct investor reflects a forward-looking approach that balances tradition with innovation, ensuring continued relevance and impact[3][6].

This trajectory ties back to their founding ethos of pioneering investment strategies and supporting entrepreneurs, reinforcing their role as a trusted partner in private markets.

Sources

High-Level Overview

Origin Story

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Adams Street combines traditional fund of funds strategies with direct investments, including venture capital and growth equity, supported by proprietary web-based analytics and multi-currency research tools[1][3].
Founder-First Philosophy: They emphasize partnership with founders, providing advisory support tailored to founders’ needs rather than imposing control, helping companies scale responsibly and efficiently[3].
Global Network Strength: With offices across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Adams Street leverages a vast network of relationships to source and support investments worldwide[1][5].
Track Record: Over five decades of experience managing $65 billion in assets, recognized as one of the most respected private markets managers globally, with a history of pioneering breakthrough investment strategies[1][5].
Operating Support: Their hybrid operating partner model blends a lean internal team with a curated external advisor network, offering targeted operational, financial, and talent support to portfolio companies without heavy-handed management[3].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Quick Take & Future Outlook

This trajectory ties back to their founding ethos of pioneering investment strategies and supporting entrepreneurs, reinforcing their role as a trusted partner in private markets.