Our Story

General Atlantic’s founding investor was legendary philanthropist Chuck Feeney, who had an audacious vision to “improve the human condition.”

Chuck Feeney’s tenacity and long-term thinking set the course for the firm long before he established General Atlantic. He was an entrepreneur first, founding the Duty Free Shopper business and growing it into a global phenomenon. As Chuck’s business gained momentum, so did his interest in investing in new ideas, people, and philanthropic endeavors. This was the beginning of what would become one of the world’s most remarkable stories in business and philanthropy.

In the spring of 1980, Chuck established a direct investment entity. The founding team at General Atlantic would help entrepreneurs build great companies as a means of magnifying Chuck’s ability to contribute to the societal causes that propel global progress. The success would fuel the impact of Atlantic Philanthropies, Chuck’s foundation that made “big bets for a better world.”

Hokusai’s print “The Great Wave of Kanagawa” was the inspiration for General Atlantic’s first logo, chosen to represent depth, dynamism and transformational change.

Chuck was General Atlantic’s sole investor in the firm for more than a decade.

Chuck gave our founding team the latitude to think outside of the box, follow their instincts, and take an untraditional approach to what was an unprecedented investment mandate. This team saw an opportunity to build a new kind of firm, focused on patient capital and partnership with purpose—laying the foundations for our Growth Equity strategy.

“There was a spirit of working together in that building and being part of a team of people that was always going to back you up. It cannot be overstated how important that was to our early success and how much that translated to the entrepreneurs we invested in.”

– Dave Hodgson, General Atlantic Vice Chairman

From our first office, a brownstone in midtown Manhattan, we have grown into one of the world’s leading investors in growth and innovation, with a committed team of roughly 1,000 employees across 28 locations. Our culture and founding values fuel our strategy to this day: relentlessly focused on what’s coming next as we build resilient investment portfolios, partner collaboratively alongside some of the world’s most visionary leaders, thoughtfully manage our clients’ legacies, and create value within businesses, sectors and communities.

Our work and our team have evolved – pioneering in new markets and new strategies across our Growth Equity, Climate, Credit and Sustainable Infrastructure businesses. And our driving purpose remains the same. Everything we do is designed to our empower our investors, our people and our companies.

This means investing in and powering the growth of companies whose sense of purpose and focus on the long term align with our own. It means balancing and serving the needs of our partners, and building durable strategies for the future.

We were founded with a lofty goal, and in the past four and a half decades, we have only strengthened our resolve, growing and evolving to better deliver on our guiding purpose.

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1980

General Atlantic was founded as a family office for entrepreneur and philanthropist, Chuck Feeney. Chuck was our first investor for many years and put up $50 million to start General Atlantic to identify and partner with growing companies and magnify his ability to give back.

1982

Chuck and his family established the Atlantic Philanthropies, a foundation aimed at addressing the world’s most pressing issues.

1987

General Atlantic helped found and launch Echoing Green, an organization that creates fellowship and leadership opportunities for entrepreneurs working at the intersection of social justice and innovation.

1993

The firm broadened funding sources beyond Chuck Feeney and Atlantic Philanthropies to include global institutional investors, other families, as well as endowments and foundations.

1999

General Atlantic opens its first office outside of the U.S. in London.

2000

The General Atlantic Foundation is established to support entrepreneurs seeking to drive social and economic progress – contributing to entrepreneur support organizations, climate and disaster relief organizations, and the causes our colleagues are passionate about.

2000-2002

General Atlantic makes its first investments outside the U.S. and Europe in Latin America, India, and China.

2007

Bill Ford becomes Chairman and CEO after 15+ years with General Atlantic.

2008-2019

Furthered our presence in emerging markets establishing General Atlantic offices in Brazil, Singapore, Mexico City, and Jakarta.

2020

Expanded our offering for limited partners with the launch of General Atlantic’s first continuation vehicle seeking opportunities in the global secondaries market.

2021

The firm expands beyond Global Growth Equity, and establishes our climate growth fund, BeyondNetZero, to identify and support high-growth businesses with the potential to combat climate change at scale.

2023

GA Credit launched as General Atlantic’s dedicated credit platform following its acquisition of Iron Park Capital.

2024

General Atlantic announces the launch of our Sustainable Infrastructure strategy with the acquisition of global sustainable infrastructure investor, Actis.

1980
1982
1987
1993
1999
2000
2000-2002
2007
2008-2019
2020
2021
2023
2024

General Atlantic was founded as a family office for entrepreneur and philanthropist, Chuck Feeney. Chuck was our first investor for many years and put up $50 million to start General Atlantic to identify and partner with growing companies and magnify his ability to give back.
Chuck and his family established the Atlantic Philanthropies, a foundation aimed at addressing the world’s most pressing issues.
General Atlantic helped found and launch Echoing Green, an organization that creates fellowship and leadership opportunities for entrepreneurs working at the intersection of social justice and innovation.
The firm broadened funding sources beyond Chuck Feeney and Atlantic Philanthropies to include global institutional investors, other families, as well as endowments and foundations.
General Atlantic opens its first office outside of the U.S. in London.
The General Atlantic Foundation is established to support entrepreneurs seeking to drive social and economic progress – contributing to entrepreneur support organizations, climate and disaster relief organizations, and the causes our colleagues are passionate about.
General Atlantic makes its first investments outside the U.S. and Europe in Latin America, India, and China.
Bill Ford becomes Chairman and CEO after 15+ years with General Atlantic.
Furthered our presence in emerging markets establishing General Atlantic offices in Brazil, Singapore, Mexico City, and Jakarta.
Expanded our offering for limited partners with the launch of General Atlantic’s first continuation vehicle seeking opportunities in the global secondaries market.
The firm expands beyond Global Growth Equity, and establishes our climate growth fund, BeyondNetZero, to identify and support high-growth businesses with the potential to combat climate change at scale.
GA Credit launched as General Atlantic’s dedicated credit platform following its acquisition of Iron Park Capital.
General Atlantic announces the launch of our Sustainable Infrastructure strategy with the acquisition of global sustainable infrastructure investor, Actis.