Loading up on shares of fast-growing public and private companies was one of the most surefire paths to profit for hedge funds in the later stages of the bull market, supercharging companies’ valuations, juicing funds’ returns and minting fortunes for managers, who said insights from their investments in private companies informed their public-markets wagers and vice versa. Whale Rock lost 43% in its crossover fund last year through November.

Paulus backed while at Whale Rock have committed to investing. Several chief executives of private companies Mr. Kristov Paulus, 33, a senior investor at Boston-based Whale Rock Capital Management LLC who left at year-end, plans to launch Kultura Capital Management in San Francisco in the second half of the year, people familiar with his plans said. Sequoia Capital Global Equities lost about 41% last year in its worst-ever showing, according to people familiar with the crossover fund, including from its investment in bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Dandelion is targeting a third-quarter start. Patrick Fu, 45, who co-led Sequoia‘s hedge fund until October 2021 before leaving in March, is aiming to raise as much as $1 billion for his crossover fund, Los Angeles-based Dandelion Capital Management, people familiar with his effort said. Gaonkar left roughly a year ago, lost 36% in 2022 in its flagship hedge fund. Gaonkar’s launch was widely anticipated given her experience and marks the largest-ever startup from a female hedge-fund manager. 3 with $1.8 billion, people familiar with her firm said. Mala Gaonkar, 53 years old, a former co-investment chief of Lone Pine Capital LLC, launched her New York-based crossover fund, SurgoCap Partners, on Jan. That isn’t stopping more “crossover' funds from launching. Hedge funds investing in fast-growing public and private companies lost tens of billions of clients’ money last year.

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