Coatue, a prominent tech-focused hedge fund, has reportedly hired a former Facebook exec to lead a new $700 million venture fund

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

• According to a report from The Information Thursday, prominent tech hedge fund Coatue Management announced it had raised a $700 million venture fund to back early-stage startups.
• The fund will reportedly be run by former Facebook VP Dan Rose, according to the report.
• Coatue Management is run by Philippe Laffont and his brother Thomas Laffont, and has spearheaded a data-centric approach to evaluating potential investments.
• The fund has already invested in Weights & Biases, Figma, AppZen, and Persona, according to the report.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

SoftBank isn't the only new kid on the block on Sand Hill Road. Outsized returns have caught the eyes of some of Silicon Valley's most successful hedge funds, and they're looking for skin in the game.

According to a report from The Information on Thursday, tech hedge fund Coatue Management has raised a $700 million venture fund to invest in early-stage tech companies.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Although typically the riskiest stage to invest in, the earlier an investor gets in, the larger the returns could be, which apparently appealed to Philippe Laffont and his brother Thomas Laffont, the founders of Coatue. The founders told The Information they were eager to get into prospective companies earlier as they continue to compete with larger, more well-known venture firms in Silicon Valley.

The early-stage fund will be run by former Facebook vice president Dan Rose, according to the report, and it's already invested in data-centric startups like Weights & Biases, Figma, AppZen, and Persona.

Read More: Andreessen Horowitz partner Scott Kupor explains the valuable lesson that today's startups can learn from the dot-com bubble: Be careful about selling to other startups

The Laffont brothers have made a name for themselves by taking big bets on some of Silicon Valley's biggest names, albeit at later stages. Coatue Management had stakes in Snap, Uber, Lyft, Grab, and Airtable, to name a few of the firm's biggest hits. But as capital continues to flow into Silicon Valley, it helps to get in as early as possible.

In addition to the $17 billion under management, Coatue Management also benefits from a proprietary data analytics tool that helps guide investment, the Laffonts told The Information. According to the report, Coatue spends more than $30 million to purchase data for its algorithms, and nearly half of its investment team are engineers.

Coatue Management did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.