Private companies: from Anthropic to Zetwerk – and other new investments

Growth-stage private companies now represent a massive, trillion-dollar investment opportunity, fundamentally distinct from traditional venture capital or private equity buyouts. These businesses are typically founder-led, revenue-generating, and scaling rapidly, utilizing the internet to access global capital without immediate public listing. Robert Natzler, an investment manager at Baillie Gifford, highlights how companies like Motu, Revolut, and Anthropic demonstrate this potential through tech-enabled business models and specialized market dominance. Whether through Motu’s data-driven motorcycle financing, Revolut’s diversified digital banking suite, or Anthropic’s enterprise-focused generative AI, these firms solve specific, underserved problems. Success in this asset class requires a global perspective, moving beyond local clusters to identify exceptional companies in diverse regions like India and China. This strategy prioritizes long-term growth and leadership quality over short-term IPO exits, positioning investors to capture value as these companies mature into public market leaders.