The Forbes Midas List, the data-driven ranking of the world’s best 100 venture capitalists, returns for a 23rd year. Submissions are open through February 9.
The next wave of game-changing tech IPOs still looms on the horizon. But several modestly successful offerings — and soaring valuations for AI startups — are a reason for optimism among investors looking for venture capital profits in 2024. And they could mean a boost for a new cohort of investors on the 23rd annual Midas List, the definitive Forbes ranking of the world’s top investors in private tech companies.
Submissions for the 2024 Midas List are now open through February 9.
Produced in partnership with TrueBridge Capital Partners, the Midas List is a data-driven list that evaluates hundreds of investors across dozens of the industry’s leading firms. Investors are evaluated by their portfolio success and results, not by popularity or social media clout. To be eligible, an investor must back private technology companies on behalf of a venture capital fund with outside limited partner backers. (Corporate VCs and angel investors, while important to the ecosystem, are not considered for Midas.)
The 2023 Midas List counted seven true newcomers and five returnees who had previously dropped off the list. Of the 100 investors, 11 were women. In the magazine, Forbes profiled Base10 Partners cofounder Adeyemi “Ade” Ajao, the first Black investor in Midas history.
Forbes and TrueBridge leverage decades of experience and past data submission to ensure as complete and accurate a view of the cap tables of breakout tech companies as possible. Portfolio performance and submissions are kept confidential and not published or shared. Investors who choose not to submit to Midas are also considered and may place on the Midas List via historical and third-party data.
Eligible portfolio companies for Midas candidates must have gone public or been acquired at a valuation of $200 million or more over the past five years, or have at least doubled their private valuation since the investor’s initial investment to reach a current valuation of $400 million or more over the same time period. The Midas List model recognizes liquid exits — the outcomes that provide liquidity for an investor’s LPs — more than unrealized returns. The model considers investors across stages, but rewards bigger, bolder bets above all. Think eye-popping multiples at the earlier stage, and big money bets later on.
Submitting investors and firms will be automatically considered for the third annual Midas Seed List. Launched in 2022, Midas Seed is an important addition to the Midas List that focuses only on the top 25 seed-stage investors — a stage that can deliver outsized returns that do not always translate onto the multi-stage Midas List. Midas Seed uses a lower deal valuation threshold. No additional information or second application is required. (Investors who submitted for the Midas List Europe, published each December, are encouraged to re-submit for the global list to ensure up-to-date information.)
THE MIDAS LIST 2022
Forbes and TrueBridge also welcome nominations for the Midas Brink List, the Midas List’s annual showcase of VC up-and-comers with the momentum, position and reputation to break onto Midas in the future. The Brink List is selected, using a mix of qualitative and quantitative data, by a rotating group of industry leaders kept confidential until publication. Submissions or inquiries about Brink List can be directed to TrueBridge, list manager Elisabeth Brier or editor Alex Konrad.
Think you or an investor you know has the investment results to crack the Midas ranks alongside the world’s best? Submit an application here.
