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Firm of the Year – Venture Capital

A91 Partners

A91 Partners returned to market with Fund III in late 2024 having secured one IPO and five sponsor-to-sponsor sales from its debut vintage. LPs were convinced enough by the distribution potential to register about USD 825m in demand within three months – exceeding the USD 650m hard cap. Fund III ultimately closed on USD 665m. Over the past 12 months, A91 been involved in multiple growth rounds: re-upping in Bright Lifecare, FinBox, and EatClub Brands; part-exiting Giva Jewellery; and taking out another sponsor in Citykart Retail. It also made early-stage commitments to the likes of Rare Rabbit and SasMos HET Technologies.

Airtree Ventures

Airtree Ventures took Australian venture capital into new territory earlier this year, becoming the first local manager to raise a majority of its fund from global institutional investors. The firm closed its latest seed and growth vehicles on a combined AUD 650m (USD 428m) – in line with the prior vintage, but featuring offshore endowments, insurers and fund-of-funds as well as local superannuation funds. Airtree claims three of its four core funds rank in the top quartile globally by total value to paid-in. Meanwhile, more than AUD 200m has been deployed this year across 21 new and 14-plus follow-on investments.

Global Brain Corp

Global Brain Corp’s Japan-centric but internationally minded remit has delivered M&A exits as far afield as Singapore (Validus Capital) and Germany (Cognigy) over the past 12 months. The firm has also made new investments in the US, the UK, New Zealand, South Korea, Canada, and Ghana. Japan still accounts for three-quarters of the 100-plus commitments made, including re-ups in growth rounds for the likes of Upsider and Caddi. Against this backdrop, Global Brain closed its ninth flagship fund on JPY 32.5bn (USD 213m), bettering the JPY 20bn raised for Fund VIII and taking overall assets under management to JPY 340bn.

Peak XV Partners

Peak XV Partners has enjoyed a share of two USD 200m-plus trade sale exits over the past 12 months, with Minimalist and Axio acquired by Hindustan Unilever and Amazon, respectively. Other liquidity events have come as larger sponsors joined growth rounds for Porter and La Renon Healthcare, BlueStone Jewellery went public, and through sell-downs of Mamaearth and Five Star Business Finance. Peak XV, which is seeking up to USD 1.3bn for its latest India fund, has led growth rounds for Supabase, SarvaGram Finance, and Truemeds, while continuing to make early-stage bets on start-ups in India, Southeast Asia, and the US.

Qiming Venture Partners

Qiming Venture Partners has continued its run of liquidity events, achieving exits from 48 companies during the 12 months through September 2025. These include IPOs for Insta360, HyperStrong, WeRide, Yuanbao, and Unisound. Insta360 is an example of Qiming’s early faith in hard technology. It led a Series B in 2015 and saw the company become a global leader in panoramic cameras, still holding a significant stake at IPO. Artificial intelligence features prominently in the firm’s 70 new and follow-on investments over the past 12 months. It has also ramped up healthcare exposure in response to more rational valuations in the sector.