It primarily invests in shares (avoiding bonds, commodities, currencies, and options), holding both long and short positions and buying what it thinks will beat the market.[3] It employs fundamental analysis and examines management closely. It examines companies for "good capital-allocation decisions", and especially how incremental returns on invested capital compare to the cost of capital.[4]
History
Maverick Capital was founded by Lee Ainslie in 1993, who was a "Tiger Cub" under Julian Robertson at Tiger Management, helped raise $38 million in capital by the family of Texas entrepreneur Sam Wyly.[2] From 1995 to 2014, the fund returned a compounded return of 13% annually.[5]
The firm started to diversify into young companies in 2004 under its flagship equities hedge fund (under David Singer).[5] In 2006, Lee Ainslie described Maverick Capital as a traditional fund that puts greater premium on the value of its relationships with management teams than more "interventionist" hedge funds.[2]
In October 2014, Maverick announced that it would begin investing in startups by launching its first venture capital fund on January 1, 2015.[5] Many of its investments involve healthcare and biotechnology.[citation needed] By the end of 2015, the firm carried over $6.9 billion in holdings.[6]
In May 2025, it was reported the company invested in artificial intelligence hardware start-up called 'io', founded in 2024 by Jony Ive, and then acquired by OpenAI for $6.5 billion, subject to regulatory approval.[7]
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