The D.E. Shaw Group is launching a new fund.

The investment giant best known for its hedge funds has filed plans to raise money for Voltaic II, a closed-end, intermediate-duration fund designed to invest in privately owned companies, primarily in the post-seed venture or growth equity stages.

This is the second in D.E. Shaw’s Voltaic series. In 2022, it launched D.E. Shaw Voltaic Fund, the firm’s first stand-alone fund dedicated to venture and growth equity investments. Altogether, it received more than $450 million in capital commitments for that offering, according to a firm announcement at the time.

D.E. Shaw declined to comment.

The firm has been investing in private companies since the 1990s through its hedge funds and dedicated private investment vehicles. D.E. Shaw Ventures leads the firm’s venture and growth equity investments. It operates within the firm’s Fundamental Equities team, which oversees the Voltaic funds.

So far this year, D.E. Shaw has made eight private investments, according to Crunchbase.

It co-led Anthropic’s $30 billion Series G financing and co-led OpenAI’s $122 billion Series C round. In addition, it participated in the $750 million Series F financing round for Ramp, a financial infrastructure company.

Just last week, D.E. Shaw invested in cybersecurity firm ThreatLocker’s $190 million Series F fundraise. D.E. Shaw had previously invested in the company.

Altogether, it invested in five private companies in 2025, per the Crunchbase database.

D.E. Shaw had more than $100 billion in investment and committed capital as of June 1, 2026. It is known for its systematic and fundamental strategies.

The firm’s two biggest hedge funds have so far enjoyed a very successful 2026.

Oculus, a macro-oriented multistrategy fund, jumped 27.4 percent through June, and Composite rose 13.9 percent, say people who have seen the results. Oculus has not suffered a losing year since its 2004 launch. 

Earlier this year, the firm adjusted its liquidity terms for the two funds. Oculus investors can now redeem up to 8.3 percent of their capital each quarter. As a result, it will take them about three years to withdraw all their money. Composite fund investors can redeem as much as 6.25 percent of their money each quarter, meaning it will take them four years to fully liquidate their holdings.

The firm is also shutting down its Valence and Multi-Asset multistrategy hedge funds.