AI lab Anthropic, digital bank Revolut, Chinese social network Xiaohongshu and supply chain specialist Zetwerk count among Baillie Gifford’s most recent private growth company investments. These bold pioneers are part of an expanding asset class, representing some of the world’s fastest growing and most disruptive businesses. Investment manager Robert Natzler tells host Leo Kelion how and why we backed them on behalf of our clients.

Background: 

Robert Natzler is an investment manager on our Private Companies Team and deputy manager of The Schiehallion Fund.  

In this conversation, recorded as part of our annual Disruption Week briefings, he brings you up to date on his team’s recent activity, bringing our tally of private company investments to more than 160, with a total value of over $10bn. 

Companies discussed include: 

Mottu – the motorcycle rental and service provider, serving gig workers and others in Latin America. 

Revolut – the digital bank that has surpassed HSBC and other traditional lenders in terms of its customer count. 

Anthropic – the frontier AI lab behind the chatbot and coding champion Claude. 

Xiaohongshu – the Chinese social network, also known as RedNote, with a strong and growing following, especially among young women. 

Zetwerk – the outsourcing specialist giving western brands and manufacturers the ability to broaden their supply chains beyond China. 

Resources:

About Robert Natzler 

Disruption Week 

From code to culture: private companies shaping the world 

Private Companies Team 

Private growth: looking over the overlooked 

Short Briefings on Long Term Thinking hub 

Why we are backing Anthropic 

Companies mentioned include: 

Anthropic 

ByteDance 

Mottu 

Revolut 

Xiaohongshu (RedNote) 

Zetwerk 

Timecodes: 

00:00 Introduction – Mottu CEO Rubens Zanelatto’s masterstroke 

02:20 Investing in ‘real’ companies with ambitious leaders 

05:20 Helping growth-stage companies prepare to go public 

08:35 Exceptional companies in California and beyond 

09:55 Mottu: providing motorcycles and maintenance to an underserved segment 

13:10 Revolut: pursuing a different playbook to traditional banks 

16:35 Gaining conviction in AI lab Anthropic 

23:40 Dario Amodei’s appeal to other AI talent 

24:30 Xiaohongshu (RedNote)’s popularity among women in China’s wealthiest cities 

26:25 Zetwerk: expanding access to factories around the world 

28:37 How Baillie Gifford clients can access private companies 

29:35 Taking a global perspective on private companies