Silver Lake is an Ally to Exceptional Executives

Perhaps the world's most renowned software and technology-focused private equity firm tends to back competent CEOs and founders. Its success relies on deep relationships and networks among elites.

Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban (right) in 2011. Source.

Silver Lake Technology Management is a prolific U.S. private equity firm, specializing in tech and software investing. It had assets under management of $103 billion as of 2024.¹ Private equity firms are a type of investment firm that specialize in purchasing shares of usually private companies, then making operational changes to the company in order to later sell their stake at a profit. Silver Lake is the twelfth-largest private equity firm in the world according to industry estimates, raising a little under $50 billion over the past five years.² The firm currently has around 75 outstanding investments in its portfolio, including companies like Stripe, Waymo, and Jack Ma’s Ant Group, as well as popular new consumer-oriented companies like Klarna and Fanatics.³ In the past, it has also played a role in pivotal deals for companies like Dell, Broadcom, Skype, Airbnb, Twitter, and Alibaba. Silver Lake has averaged a 21% annual net return after fees on its funds since 2009, compared to a long-run average for its peers of around 11%.⁴ Its largest funds have averaged an 18% annual return since the company’s founding.⁵