# Top Tier Capital Partners

> Top Tier Capital Partners is a San Francisco venture-capital specialist that gives institutional investors diversified access to VC while also supplying funds and growth-stage companies with primary capital, direct investment, and secondary liquidity. Its advantage is a two-decade network and a proprietary dataset spanning more than 350 funds and 10,500 companies, used to connect the allocator, fund-manager, and startup sides of the same market.

- **Founded:** 1999
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, United States
- **Founders:** David York (Founder and Chairman)
- **Team size:** Approximately 35 people listed on the company team page; 11-50 employees on LinkedIn and 48 in the supplied company data
- **Products:** Primary fund commitments, Limited-partner secondaries, Direct secondaries, Direct and co-investments, Velocity strategy
- **Notable:** Built a venture-investing history that began in 1999 and completed an independent spinout from Paul Capital in 2011., Invested in more than 350 funds worldwide and built a database covering more than 10,500 companies, according to the firm's website., Reported $7 billion in regulatory assets under management as of December 31, 2024.

## Products & services

- **Primary fund commitments** — Investments in venture funds across stages and sectors, including emerging managers, designed to give clients diversified access to global venture capital.
- **Limited-partner secondaries** — Purchases of individual fund interests or baskets, GP liquidity transactions, structured fund liquidity, and fund liquidations.
- **Direct secondaries** — Purchases of shares from founders, early employees, management teams, and other shareholders, including tender offers and liquidity alongside preferred financings.
- **Direct and co-investments** — Lead or syndicated preferred-equity investments in mid-stage and growth-stage venture-backed technology companies.
- **Velocity strategy** — A dedicated family of funds combining venture secondaries and co-investments; the first dedicated Velocity strategy launched in 2014.
- **Emerging Manager strategy** — A dedicated strategy for identifying and backing newer venture managers.
- **European venture strategy** — A dedicated European fund-of-funds strategy supported by the firm's London presence.
- **Growth and secondary-only strategies** — Dedicated growth exposure launched in 2021 and a secondary-only fund launched in 2023.

## Achievements

- Built a venture-investing history that began in 1999 and completed an independent spinout from Paul Capital in 2011.
- Invested in more than 350 funds worldwide and built a database covering more than 10,500 companies, according to the firm's website.
- Reported $7 billion in regulatory assets under management as of December 31, 2024.
- Opened Boston and London offices in 2019, creating a three-office footprint.
- Invested more than $1.2 billion and partnered with more than 65 venture-backed companies through preferred equity and secondaries since 2009, as of March 2025.
- Raised nearly $1.2 billion across Fund IX, Velocity Fund 3, and separate accounts in 2021.
- Exceeded the target for its first dedicated European venture fund, closing nearly €260 million in 2021.
- Raised $925 million for Velocity Fund 4 and separate accounts in 2022.
- Launched a secondary-only strategy in 2023.
- Installed Garth Timoll, Sr. as CEO and General Partner and Sean Engel as CIO and General Partner in its latest leadership transition.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Published a renewed case for European venture capital, pointing to deeper local syndicates, global-first AI companies, and the continent's structural strengths in climate, defense, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare.
- **2026-04** — Published an analysis of the AI-bubble debate, arguing that diversified fund-of-funds exposure can increase the chance of owning rare outlier companies.
- **2026-03** — Announced a leadership transition: Garth Timoll, Sr. became CEO and General Partner, Sean Engel became CIO and General Partner, and David York moved to Founder and Chairman.
- **2025-11** — Published its case for venture capital during a period of accelerating AI-driven innovation and changing private-market liquidity.
- **2025-05** — Published guidance on how institutional investors can fit venture capital into a diversified portfolio.
- **2025-03** — Reported that the Velocity team had invested more than $1.2 billion across more than 65 venture-backed companies since 2009.

## Links

- Website: https://ttcp.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/top-tier-capital-partners
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/ttcp_sf

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Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-15