There’s been no shortage of negative headlines about private credit lately — end of the “golden age” of private credit, redemption caps, gating, loan losses, and broad anxiety about what AI means for software companies and the funds that lend to them. Rather than add to the noise, we’ll answer the question we’ve been hearing most: what does this mean for Vistara, and are we pulling back or leaning in?
The short answer is we’re leaning in. But context matters, so here’s how we’re seeing things.
Private credit has grown into a roughly $2 trillion industry, and with that growth came predictable dynamics: more capital, more competition, and more pressure to deploy at the expense of discipline. The stress that’s surfacing today — redemptions, gating, and loan losses at some of the larger funds — appears concentrated where those groups could write large checks: leveraged buyout financing to private equity backed companies. Over time, leverage got high, pricing got low, covenants got thin and governance lacking. The big question is: will this translate to meaningful loan losses once the dust settles?
In some strategies, the answer is a resounding yes – there will be blood. In other cases, not even a scratch. Not all private credit is the same, and this moment is drawing that distinction into sharp relief. f
The other major narrative driving concern is AI — specifically, the fear that it poses an existential threat to enterprise software businesses. We take this seriously, and have a framework to evaluate it systematically across our portfolio and every new investment we consider.
Here’s what we’ve actually found.
Enterprise AI adoption, for all the headlines, is still in early stages when it comes to in-production applications. While adoption will increase, the value in enterprise software was never really the code. Think of it as an iceberg: the visible layer — the interface, the features, the user experience — is often mistaken for the moat. The real value sits below the waterline: proprietary data, security, deep workflow integrations, regulatory compliance, ecosystem depth, and years of institutional trust built through long sales cycles and genuine customer relationships. The average enterprise runs between 200 and 400 software applications.
That doesn’t mean every software business is equally protected. There are categories — basic workflow automation, commoditized data products, tools with limited integration depth — where Vistara has always been cautious. And there are others where AI is less a threat than a genuine tailwind, accelerating growth and expanding addressable markets in ways that simply weren’t possible a few years ago.
The framework we apply scores every company on two dimensions: AI defensibility — how durable are the revenues and margins in an AI-accelerated world — and AI velocity — is AI driving real, measurable acceleration for this business, or is it just narrative. Defensibility always comes first. We need confidence in the durability of a business before we invest. But we’re also enthusiastic backers of companies with strong AI momentum, because we’ve seen how quickly the right team with the right product can move when the technology is genuinely on their side.
We’ve always operated in what we consider a distinct part of the market — not start-ups but growth-stage B2B software and tech-enabled services companies, where we do our own direct and exhaustive underwriting on every deal. We’re not in the large-scale LBO market. We don’t buy other people’s paper, we manage each of our loans with a hands-on approach, and our fund structure means we’re never in a position where investor redemption pressure forces our hand on portfolio decisions.
While we pride ourselves on creativity we underwrite conservatively, structure our deals with meaningful protections, and stay close to our companies throughout the life of the loan. These aren’t just features — they reflect how we think about our responsibility to the companies we back and the investors who trust us with their capital. Vistara’s lending levels have consistently landed in the 10% to 30% loan-to-value range — typically less than 1x annual recurring revenue (“ARR”) when many of the LBOs were greater than 2x debt. Our well-honed approach has produced a zero-loss track record over ten years across nearly 50 investments. Zero losses is not a marketing line. It’s a philosophy and the lens through which every investment decision gets made.
The broad concern about AI’s impact on SaaS and ongoing bad press targeting private debt is not simply “noise” but has real consequences for founders and their CFOs who are trying to plan ahead. Some previously active bank and private lenders have or will very soon go quiet. Worse, as the lenders who are pulling back “de-risk” or need liquidity to satisfy redemption requests, they will force loan refinancing even if company performance is strong.
If you’re running a strong B2B technology company, we want to hear from you. We evaluate every opportunity on its own merits — the quality of the business, the durability of the revenue, the strength of the team — not on where market sentiment sits in any given week. We’ve consistently funded companies through health and regional banking crises, all rate and market cycles, and during uncertain moments in the global economy, and our approach hasn’t changed.
At Vistara we are an active participant with our portfolio companies, not just a line item on your balance sheet. We thoughtfully engage with our executive teams in a balanced and constructive manner in areas we have expertise in, such as business strategy, capitalization planning and M&A. And sometimes it’s about just being a sounding board for the CEO or CFO with a different perspective. Our approach seems to be working. Over the 2022 – 2025 cycle where most funds struggled to deliver capital back to investors, we’ve had a record number of exits. Growth companies who operate with discipline always have options and never go out of style.
We’re genuinely excited about what the current environment makes possible for Vistara. A significant maturity wall is approaching — a large volume of loans underwritten during the high-activity years of 2020 to 2022 are coming due. A large number of high quality companies will find themselves in need of a new growth oriented lending partner. And with a number of banks and private lenders distracted or pulling back, we’re seeing deal flow and deal quality that we find encouraging. Vistara is and will continue to be in a healthy capital position and will remain active in the market. We are leaning in.
If you’re a founder, finance leader or part of a team building a defensible B2B technology business and looking for a patient, flexible capital partner — or an investor who wants to understand how we’re thinking about this environment — we’d welcome the conversation.
Read our case studies to learn how our growth debt and equity solutions have enabled our founders and helped our portfolio companies.
We are pleased to announce that Vistara Growth has led a $28 million investment in Subject, an AI-powered education platform.
Subject is a leading provider of digital curriculum and learning intelligence solutions for grades K–12, delivering accredited original credit and credit recovery courses alongside Teacher of Record AI and Multilingual AI solutions that expand access and flexibility for students.
“School districts are being asked to expand course access and improve outcomes while operating with fewer instructional resources,” said Michael Vilardo, Founder and CEO of Subject. “We built Subject to ensure every student, regardless of zip code, has access to engaging, accredited instruction that drives real outcomes. This partnership allows us to accelerate our ability to serve more districts, reach more students, and scale high-quality instruction worldwide, while advancing our AI-powered tools that support educators and personalize learning at scale.”
With this funding, Subject will accelerate development of its AI-powered platform, expand accredited course offerings, deepen automation that supports educators and administrators, and scale go-to-market efforts.
Investment to accelerate AI-driven product innovation and expand access to accredited, personalized learning across school districts and organizations globally
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – February 24, 2026 — Subject, an AI-powered education platform, today announced an investment led by Vistara Growth, with participation from new investors NextEquity Partners, Green Street Impact Partners, and Outcomes Collective, along with existing investors Kleiner Perkins, True Equity, L’Attitude Ventures, and Hannah Grey. The $28M investment follows strong nationwide momentum and reinforces Subject’s leadership in AI-powered instruction, supporting continued platform expansion and broader reach among students and educators.
Schools, districts, and education organizations worldwide face evolving instructional requirements and increased accountability for student outcomes. As institutions move away from legacy digital curriculum that has proven difficult to scale and measure, Subject is increasingly adopted as a core instructional platform, enabling districts to expand accredited course offerings, support diverse and multilingual learners, and deliver instruction more efficiently. This shift reflects a broader transition toward AI-enabled infrastructure that helps districts do more while maintaining academic rigor.
“School districts are being asked to expand course access and improve outcomes while operating with fewer instructional resources,” said Michael Vilardo, Founder and CEO of Subject. “We built Subject to ensure every student, regardless of zip code, has access to engaging, accredited instruction that drives real outcomes. This partnership allows us to accelerate our ability to serve more districts, reach more students, and scale high-quality instruction worldwide, while advancing our AI-powered tools that support educators and personalize learning at scale.”
“Subject is addressing structural challenges reshaping instruction across secondary institutions,” said Kevin Barber, Associate Partner at Vistara Growth. “The Company has built a differentiated, AI-enabled platform with strong adoption across districts and a disciplined approach to growth. We are excited to partner with the Subject team as they continue scaling their platform and expanding impact.”
Looking ahead, Subject plans to accelerate development of its AI-powered platform, expand accredited course offerings, and deepen automation that supports educators and administrators. The Company also intends to scale its go-to-market efforts to meet growing demand across priority U.S. regions while strengthening partnerships with existing district customers. Together, these initiatives position Subject to continue expanding access to high-quality, accredited instruction at scale.
Across the nation, Subject is a leading provider of digital curriculum and learning intelligence solutions for grades K-12 education. Subject empowers nearly 1,000 schools nationwide through partnerships with approximately 360 districts and organizations. Subject delivers accredited middle and high school original credit and credit recovery courses, alongside innovative Teacher of Record AI and Multilingual AI solutions that expand access and flexibility for students. Through close collaboration with educators, Subject developed features that directly address educators most pressing needs: bite-sized, engaging video content that captures student attention, flexible language support to serve diverse student populations, comprehensive homework help, seamless progress monitoring tools that save teachers time, and comprehensive analytics that help districts boost graduation rates and student success metrics. Backed by top accreditations (Cognia, WASC) and approvals (UC-AG, NCAA, College Board), Subject delivers measurable results that administrators can trust.
Vistara Growth provides highly flexible growth debt and equity solutions to leading technology companies across North America. Founded, managed, and funded by seasoned technology finance and operating executives, “Vistara” (Sanskrit for “expansion”) is focused on enabling growth for the ambitious entrepreneurs we invest in, our investors, our people, and the communities we operate in. For more information, visit vistaragrowth.com.
Read our case studies to learn how our growth debt and equity solutions have enabled our founders and helped our portfolio companies.
Vistara Growth is pleased to announce another successful liquidity event on its investment in Nettwerk Music Group, following a management-led buyout.
The buyout transaction was funded by a $300 million investment from Create to support Nettwerk’s leadership team in acquiring the company from its existing institutional investors, marking a transition to increased management ownership while positioning the business for its next phase of global growth. As part of the transaction, Vistara has realized on substantially all of its investment, representing a strong outcome following multiple phases of partnership with the company.
Vistara first invested in Nettwerk in June 2021 through its Fund III, backing the Vancouver-based company’s differentiated approach to acquiring and monetizing music intellectual property while operating a full-service, artist-first record label. At the time, Nettwerk’s combination of proprietary data science, deep platform expertise across global streaming ecosystems, and long-tail royalty optimization aligned closely with Vistara’s focus on durable, cash-generative business models.
In 2023, Vistara again through its Fund IV, participated alongside existing and new investors as part of a $75 million growth round. That financing supported the company’s continued growth, global expansion, and investment in its artist roster, further strengthening the platform ahead of this management-led transition.
The partnership with Create provides Nettwerk with access to global infrastructure, distribution capabilities, and substantial follow-on capital to continue investing in artists, and its technological and data capabilities. Vistara remains supportive of Nettwerk’s future and is proud to have partnered with the company across multiple stages of its evolution.
“We heartily congratulate the team at Nettwerk on this milestone financing in its 40th year as an independent music company” said Randy Garg, Founder and Managing Partner at Vistara Growth and a member of Nettwerk’s Board of Directors. “From our initial investment through subsequent strategic financings, the team has consistently executed on a disciplined, artist-first strategy supported by strong data and infrastructure. This transaction represents a strong outcome and a natural transition, enabling management to increase ownership while positioning Nettwerk for its next phase of global growth.”
Partnership leverages Nettwerk’s leading artist development capabilities and Create’s world-class infrastructure and label services platform
LOS ANGELES, CA & VANCOUVER, BC, February 6, 2026 – Nettwerk Music Group today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to complete a management buyout from its existing investors, supported by Create Music Group. This transaction marks a significant milestone for Nettwerk, accelerating its mission to support artists globally while continuing to operate as an independent and distinctly Canadian music company.
As part of the proposed agreement, Create will invest over $300 million into Nettwerk on closing and will provide access to substantial follow-on capital and support services thereafter. This investment will allow the Nettwerk management team to increase its ownership stake while enabling Nettwerk to retain its identity and independence in the market. Nettwerk will continue to serve its current roster of talented artists, remain committed to signing and nurturing new talent and uphold the artist-first values that have defined its reputation for over four decades.
Nettwerk was co-founded over 40 years ago by Terry McBride and his longtime business partner Mark Jowett. McBride, whose early career in artist management for global acts including Coldplay and Avril Lavigne established the principles for Nettwerk, has led the company as its CEO, shepherding its growth into an artist-first record label and publisher. Today, Nettwerk works with a world-class roster of artists including Paris Paloma, Passenger, Leisure, SYML, Mon Rovîa and many more.
The partnership with Create Music Group — one of the fastest-growing and most innovative companies in the music industry — provides Nettwerk with access to world-class infrastructure, global distribution networks and label services. In addition, Create Capital will offer Nettwerk access to efficient follow-on financing to support the company’s continued growth and investment in its frontline operations.
The Nettwerk leadership team will continue to manage day-to-day operations, signings and artist development efforts, with support from Create’s platform. The partners have highly complementary strengths. The partnership is built on shared values and collaborative spirit that will empower both Nettwerk and Create to expand their global presence while maintaining their core missions.
“We’re excited about this next chapter in Nettwerk’s journey,” said Terry McBride, co-founder and CEO of Nettwerk. “Partnering with Create allows us to continue to build on our foundation, grow our capabilities, and provide even more value to the artists we represent — while staying true to our roots as an artist-focused, independent Canadian label.”
“Terry and his team at Nettwerk have built one of the most enduring and influential independent music companies in the modern era,” said Create Music Group CEO and co-founder Jonathan Strauss. “We are excited to put all of the resources at our disposal behind Terry and his management team to fuel Nettwerk’s continued global growth.”
The transaction is expected to close in February 2026.
Founded and headquartered in Vancouver, Nettwerk Music Group is one of Canada’s premier independent music companies, known for discovering, developing and promoting a diverse array of artists across genres and borders. We maintain offices and a strong market presence in Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York, London, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Sydney. To learn more about Nettwerk, please visit our website: www.nettwerk.com.
Vistara Growth provides highly flexible growth debt and equity solutions to leading technology companies across North America. Founded, managed, and funded by seasoned technology finance and operating executives, “Vistara” (Sanskrit for “expansion”) is focused on enabling growth for the ambitious entrepreneurs we invest in, our investors, our people, and the communities we operate in. For more information, visit vistaragrowth.com.
Read our case studies to learn how our growth debt and equity solutions have enabled our founders and helped our portfolio companies.
We are pleased to announce Vistara Growth’s successful exit from Algo, a Michigan-based supply chain planning solutions provider, following Algo’s transformative acquisition of Demand Driven Technologies in December 2025.
In December 2023, Vistara partnered with Algo, providing growth capital to support the acquisition and integration of Australia-based V-Net Solutions. Throughout our partnership, Algo made meaningful progress integrating teams and technology, advancing its AI-powered roadmap, and strengthening its market position while serving a broader set of customers across increasingly complex supply chain environments.
Algo’s acquisition of Demand Driven Technologies creates a new market leader in adaptive supply chain planning, combining demand-to-supply planning and execution capabilities designed to improve service levels while reducing inventory and working capital requirements.
This transaction marks the first exit from Vistara Growth’s Fund V and highlights a core use case of our growth capital solutions: acquisition financing. By pairing flexible growth capital with thoughtful acquisition strategies, Vistara helps companies achieve greater revenue scale, geographic expansion, and enhancements to team, product and intellectual property portfolios.
“In a difficult organic growth environment, many ambitious technology companies are changing tack and playing offense by making acquisitions to add scale,” said Noah Shipman, Partner at Vistara Growth. “Unfortunately, many venture equity and traditional venture debt funds are not accustomed to financing inorganic growth strategies. The Vistara team is well-equipped to support companies like Algo, which are choosing to continue scaling through savvy acquisitions during this phase of the cycle.”
We thank Algo’s management team and shareholders for their collaboration and partnership, and we wish them continued success as they pursue their next phase of growth.
New global leader will deliver a unified platform that connects supply chain planning and execution to operational reality for manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers across the value chain
TROY, MI – January 13, 2026 – Algo, a leading provider of AI powered supply chain planning solutions today announced its acquisition of Demand Driven Technologies (DD Tech), the company behind Intuiflow, the most trusted platform for integrated manufacturing and demand driven planning. The combination forms a new market leader for adaptive supply chain planning, with a demand to supply planning and execution system that promises to improve service levels while reducing inventory and working capital requirements.
“Global manufacturers, vendors and retailers are under growing pressure to determine demand earlier and respond with greater precision”, said Wayne Sim, CEO of Algo. “By bringing Algo and Intuiflow together, we are creating a platform that will give organizations the clarity and confidence they need to run stronger, more resilient operations across the entire value chain.”
The acquisition will unite Algo’s forward looking demand intelligence with Intuiflow’s consumption-based supply planning, providing planners with insightful, forward-looking signals and then turning those signals into clear priorities for materials, production, and inventory. The result is a shared cadence from plan to production, where planners can see demand sooner, pace operations to actual usage, and make timely decisions on materials and capacity with greater confidence.
“Intuiflow was designed to help companies anchor their operations to what customers actually consume,” said Erik Bush, CEO and Co-founder of Demand Driven Technologies. “Together with Algo’s demand intelligence, we will give planners a clearer view of demand and a more dependable way to turn that insight into action.”
“The future belongs to adaptive supply chains. With Algo and Intuiflow together, we have a connected planning and execution system that links demand, materials, production, and inventory based on what customers truly need, with AI guiding decisions where it matters most,” said Amjad Hussain, Founder of Algo.
The combined organization will operate under the Algo name, supported by a larger global team and a broader suite of supply chain planning and execution solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Algo is a provider of AI powered supply chain planning software. Trusted by hundreds of organizations across the globe, Algo solutions help manufacturers, suppliers and retailers anticipate demand, optimize inventory, and align planning and execution with real operational conditions, with modern tools that accelerate decision making and improve performance across the value chain. For more information visit Algo.com
Vistara Growth provides highly flexible growth debt and equity solutions to leading technology companies across North America. Founded, managed, and funded by seasoned technology finance and operating executives, “Vistara” (Sanskrit for “expansion”) is focused on enabling growth for the ambitious entrepreneurs we invest in, our investors, our people, and the communities we operate in. For more information, visit vistaragrowth.com.
Read our case studies to learn how our growth debt and equity solutions have enabled our founders and helped our portfolio companies.
Vistara Growth is pleased to announce its participation in Kore.ai’s latest strategic growth investment, alongside existing investors and new lead participant AllianceBernstein Private Credit Investors. This investment reflects Vistara’s long-standing partnership with Kore.ai and continued conviction in the company’s agent-first enterprise AI platform as it enters its next phase of global expansion.
Vistara has partnered with Kore since 2019, supporting the company across multiple stages of growth and transformation. During this period, Kore has evolved into a global enterprise AI leader, building a highly differentiated agent-first platform, deepening strategic partnerships with Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS), and driving enterprise adoption across increasingly complex workflows.
This investment supports Kore’s next chapter of growth, as the company accelerates product innovation, international expansion, and go-to-market execution. The participation of AllianceBernstein reflects growing institutional confidence in Kore’s technology leadership, market momentum, and long-term vision.
“Kore.ai has built a truly differentiated, agent-first enterprise AI platform that is delivering real, measurable value for some of the world’s most sophisticated organizations,” said Randy Garg, Founder and Managing Partner at Vistara Growth and a Board member of Kore.ai. “What continues to stand out is the team’s ability to combine deep technical innovation, as recognized by leading industry analysts, with strong enterprise partnerships. As AI rapidly shifts toward agentic, outcome-driven models, we are excited to deepen our partnership and support Kore.ai as it scales globally and expands its leadership position.”
Investment will Accelerate Product Innovation and International Expansion of its Agent-first Enterprise AI Platform and Agentic Solutions
ORLANDO, Fla. – January 27, 2026 — Kore.ai, a global leader in enterprise AI and agentic solutions, today announced a strategic growth investment led by AllianceBernstein Private Credit Investors, with continued participation from existing investors Vistara Growth, Beedie Capital and Sweetwater Private Equity. The investment builds on Kore.ai’s strong momentum and long-term investor relationships, and will support the company’s next phase of growth by scaling go-to-market initiatives, deepening global customer engagement, and accelerating innovation across its agentic AI platform.
Kore.ai has rapidly emerged as one of the leading providers of agentic solutions for modern enterprises, powered by the industry’s most advanced AI-native platform. The investment follows a defining year in 2025, during which Kore.ai accelerated enterprise AI adoption and deepened strategic partnerships with Microsoft and AWS to support large-scale, agentic deployments across industries. The company was a launch partner for Microsoft Agent 365 and is an agentic competency partner for AWS.
Kore.ai’s agentic AI platform has won recognition in leading industry analyst reports, including being named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Conversational AI Platforms and Emerging Leader in GenAI Engineering and productivity solutions, as well as receiving top placement in the Forrester Wave
: Cognitive Search Platforms and Everest PEAK Matrix for AI Agents in CXM. These recognitions underscore Kore.ai’s role in shaping the next era of enterprise AI, where autonomous agents, orchestration, and outcomes define success.
“Kore.ai’s mission has always been to empower enterprises to transform how work gets done with intelligent, contextual AI agents,” said Raj Koneru, Founder and CEO of Kore.ai. “We are grateful to AllianceBernstein Private Credit Investors, our banking partner Stifel Bank, and our existing investors for their confidence in our vision and strong execution capabilities. We’re building for where enterprise AI is heading and this investment accelerates that vision.”
Kore.ai enables organizations to automate complex workflows, orchestrate multi-agent systems, and deliver secure, scalable AI-powered customer, employee, and process experiences. Its AI-native platform architecture, growing agentic solutions marketplace, and global partnerships position Kore.ai at the forefront of modern enterprise AI adoption.
“We see tremendous opportunity in how Kore.ai is shaping the future of agentic workflows across the enterprise,” said Alex Barry, Managing Director at AllianceBernstein Private Credit Investors. “Their differentiated and proven agentic technology, combined with strategic industry partnerships and deep market traction, makes this an exciting investment as they scale to meet growing global demand.”
Kore.ai continues its rapid global expansion, with strong momentum in North America and Europe and significant growth across the Middle East and Southeast Asia in 2025. This investment will further accelerate the adoption of Kore.ai’s agentic solutions and expand customer success globally.
Kore.ai is a leader in enterprise AI and agentic solutions with over a decade of experience in helping large enterprises realize business value through the safe and responsible use of AI. It provides comprehensive offerings for customer service, AI work, and process automation use cases, built on an AI agent platform with no-code and pro-code tools for custom development and deployment at enterprise scale. Kore.ai takes an agnostic approach to models, data, cloud and applications used, giving customers freedom of choice. Trusted by over 500 partners and 480 Global 2000 companies, Kore.ai helps them navigate their AI strategy. The company has a strong patent portfolio in the AI space and has been recognized as a leader and an innovator by top analysts. Headquartered in Orlando, Kore.ai has a network of offices to support customers in India, the UK, the Middle East, Japan, South Korea, and Europe. Visit Kore.ai to learn more.
Vistara Growth provides highly flexible growth debt and equity solutions to leading technology companies across North America. Founded, managed, and funded by seasoned technology finance and operating executives, “Vistara” (Sanskrit for “expansion”) is focused on enabling growth for the ambitious entrepreneurs we invest in, our investors, our people, and the communities we operate in. For more information, visit vistaragrowth.com.
Read our case studies to learn how our growth debt and equity solutions have enabled our founders and helped our portfolio companies.
for Conversational AI Platforms and named a leader in the “Forrester Wave” for Cognitive Search
Media Source: Betakit – Read the Article on Betakit | November 12, 2025
Josh Scott > Lead Reporter
Vancouver-based Vistara Growth has closed its fifth private credit fund at $321 million USD ($450 million CAD), ending a nearly two-year fundraising process and freeing up the firm to focus its efforts exclusively on backing mid- and later-stage tech companies.
While Vistara fell shy of its initial, “pretty ambitious” $386-million USD ($540-million CAD) target, the raise still gives the firm a Fund V that is 66 percent larger than its $193-million USD ($270-million CAD) predecessor.
In an exclusive interview with BetaKit, Vistara Growth founder and managing partner Randy Garg and partner Noah Shipman credited the firm’s performance, consistency, and existing limited partners (LPs) for helping it achieve this milestone amid tough market conditions.
“We’re super happy with where we ended up,” Garg said. “We think that’s a testament to our track record, the opportunity, [and] the continued support of our LPs.”
Vistara claimed that the vast majority of its limited partners (LPs) from Fund IV have returned and collectively contributed even more capital to the fifth fund. This group includes the Beedie family office, other undisclosed family offices, private foundations, and successful entrepreneurs from fields like tech, real estate, and hospitality.
To date, Vistara has completed 42 investments across its five funds. It has exited 23 of them while incurring zero losses and delivering a net annualized internal rate of return of just over 15 percent. Vistara’s current portfolio includes Brim Financial, D3 Security, and Sama. It counts Alida, Martello, Mobify, Reach, and Zafin among its exits.
Last year, market research company Preqin ranked Vistara’s second and third funds among the top 10 performers globally in their asset class by vintage and size. Vistara claims it has also already returned 88 percent of its fourth fund to LPs. Since mid-2022, Vistara says it has distributed more than $230 million USD to its investors across 12 exits, despite “choppy” market conditions that have featured little venture capital (VC) liquidity thanks to fewer exits.
Garg credited the firm’s success on this front to the strength of its 15-person team, the quality of its underwriting and due diligence, and its active involvement in the companies it backs.
“What we saw in the [fundraising process] was that narrative is only so important,” Shipman said. “Investors are really focused on tangible results and how much, frankly, cash has been returned … I think we stacked up really well on that basis.”
With the final close of Fund V, Vistara has raised $700 million USD ($980 million CAD) since 2015. This amount has come predominantly through non-institutional LPs, with the majority from investors in British Columbia, despite recent inroads in Alberta and Ontario.
“This is friend-raising to the max, but we’re running out of friends,” Garg said, adding that he anticipates that Vistara will return to market to raise a larger, sixth fund in late 2026. While its investment strategy for Fund VI will remain the same, Vistara hopes to rally some institutional LPs behind it and emerge from the so-called “tweener” category.
Vistara caters to mid-and later-stage private tech companies across North America with between $10 million and $100 million CAD in annual recurring revenue, including those in the fields of FinTech, artificial intelligence (AI), and healthtech.
While the investment firm typically invests in VC-backed tech companies at the Series B stage and beyond, it also finances bootstrapped businesses. Vistara creates tailored investment structures composed of debt, equity, or some combination of the two, providing credit to those businesses while also obtaining equity sweeteners like warrants to buy their stock at a future date, or convertible debt.
Recipients typically use this capital to finance organic growth, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), or shareholder liquidity initiatives without diluting ownership, and those equity sweeteners can help Vistara boost its returns if clients close equity funding or sell at a higher valuation.
“This isn’t just short-term bridge financing,” Garg said. “This is a three-to-five-year solution. Many of our companies call it rental equity.”
Garg and Shipman noted that some customers have turned to Vistara as a means of extending their runway without pricing equity amid a challenging period for raising VC funding on favourable terms, including for valuations beyond AI.
Other entrepreneurs, they said, have sought the firm’s help buying out early investors, co-founders, or employees to alleviate pressure to sell too early and own more of their businesses ahead of an exit at a later date.
Vistara has already made eight of a planned 15 to 18 total investments through Fund V thus far, backing companies like Vancouver-based government technology provider Clariti Cloud, Florida software firm DataCore, Columbus-based insurtech Matic, and Philadelphia healthtech company Tendo. The firm expects to build a Fund V portfolio with a 70-to-30-percent split between the US and Canada, where Garg said it would love to do more deals.
Strong close reflects rising demand for growth debt and continued investor confidence in Vistara’s decade-long track record
Vancouver, British Columbia – November 12, 2025 – Vistara Growth (“Vistara”) has closed its fifth structured-capital fund at US$321 million (C$450 million), marking 10 years of providing flexible growth financing to technology companies across North America. This final close represents a 66 per cent increase from Fund IV, highlighting confidence in our strategy from longstanding and new investors and the growing appeal of less dilutive capital for growth-stage technology firms. Across its funds, Vistara has now raised approximately US$700 million from a network of family offices, private foundations, wealth management firms, and technology entrepreneurs.
Many growth-stage technology companies find themselves between traditional bank debt and venture equity financing options. Vistara focuses on filling the persistent gap between these sources with its long duration term debt, convertible debt structures and structured preferred equity solutions, partnering with B2B software and tech-enabled service companies seeking capital that aligns with their growth objectives. Vistara provides tailored growth-oriented facilities enabling companies to fund expansion while preserving ownership and control for management and existing shareholders.
“Our experience over the last decade is that high-quality technology companies do not always need to price and give away equity every time they raise capital,” said Randy Garg, Founder and Managing Partner at Vistara Growth. “Growth debt is a sophisticated financing tool for founders and management teams that want to preserve control, and keep their options open for future priced equity rounds. Fund V gives us much greater capacity at an important time in the market, to support flexible use cases such as M&A, extending runway to profitability or exit, or secondary buybacks.”
Fund V has already completed 8 investments during its fundraising period, including Clariti Cloud (government technology), Tendo (health-care software), Authentic8 (cybersecurity) and Kore.ai (enterprise AI), demonstrating the breadth of technology categories where Vistara is active. The fund anticipates closing 15 to 18 total investments, with significant capacity for additional high-quality opportunities.
“We continue to see management teams choosing scalable debt financing structures to match their capital deployment plans,” said Noah Shipman, Partner at Vistara Growth. “Seasoned entrepreneurs and their CFOs view growth debt structures as permanent, strategic capital, not just a tactical tool between equity rounds. We expect this trend to continue as companies finalize their 2026 budgets and for less dilutive forms of capital to take increasing share of overall venture financing in the years to come.”
Across its five funds, Vistara has now completed 42 investments, with 23 exits to date, all while incurring zero losses — a record that demonstrates disciplined risk management and alignment with both investors and portfolio companies. The firm continues to deploy Fund V and is actively seeking technology companies across North America that fit its investment criteria.
About Vistara Growth
Vistara (Sanskrit for “expansion”) provides structured capital solutions for B2B technology companies across North America. Founded in 2015, Vistara operates at the intersection of venture capital and private credit, offering hybrid structures that combine downside protection with equity upside potential. The firm combines deep technology-sector expertise with disciplined portfolio management and has a track record of delivering top-tier returns with zero principal losses. Vistara was recently ranked No. 5 among private-debt fund families globally by PitchBook.
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding Vistara Growth, Fund V and related investment strategies. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements due to factors including market conditions, regulatory changes and other risks beyond Vistara’s control. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and there is no assurance that Fund V or future funds will achieve comparable results.
Vistara Growth is thrilled to help finance existing portfolio company Clariti’s acquisition of CivCheck, strengthening its position as the leading provider of cloud and now AI-based licensing and permitting solutions for local governments. CivCheck is being rapidly adopted by cities looking for an entry point to apply AI to solve their most urgent priorities, including the reduction of permit backlogs to get badly needed housing built while adhering to complex and evolving codes.
Vistara provided Clariti a scalable growth capital facility to support a number of use cases, including organic growth and acquisitions. This has been a great partnership with co-CEOs (the searchers who bought the business) Cyrus Symoom and Jake Dancyger and its investors including Pacific Lake and Trilogy Search Partners.
Vistara is an active and dedicated lender and investor to ambitious GovTech and RegTech businesses like Clariti. Congrats to the team and our partners on this transformative acquisition and milestone.
October 8, 2025 – Clariti, the leading provider of community development solutions for governments of all sizes, has acquired CivCheck, the first AI plan review platform capable of supporting every check required for building permits and planning approvals.
Purpose-built for local governments by experts in plan review and AI, CivCheck has quickly emerged as a leader in the space thanks to its comprehensive review capabilities, 97%+ accuracy, and proven ability to help agencies reduce permit approval times by 80% or more. The guided AI platform is designed to augment rather than replace staff, with every AI interpretation reviewed and approved by staff for the most accurate and trustworthy results.
“This acquisition underscores our commitment to helping communities of all sizes accelerate housing development,” said Clariti Co-CEO Cyrus Symoom. “By investing in CivCheck and other AI tools on our roadmap, we’re helping agencies make the biggest impact on turnaround times with AI that enhances staff productivity at every step of the permitting process.”
Product Roadmaps and Commitments
CivCheck will remain a flexible, standalone product that can easily be integrated with any permitting software or plan review solution, and will continue to be developed and enhanced long-term.
Over the next several years, Clariti will invest millions to grow CivCheck’s engineering, product, and customer-facing teams, eventually expanding AI-assisted capabilities across the entire permitting journey.
Integrations are planned for Clariti Enterprise (coming spring 2026), Launch, and other permitting software vendors, ensuring all agencies can benefit from CivCheck, no matter what permitting platform they use.
Current CivCheck customers will continue to receive the same level of support, with CivCheck points of contact and city partnerships remaining unchanged. Clariti will also continue to work closely with its valued plan review and AI plan check partners to maintain and enhance these integrations.
Building on Clariti’s Track Record of Innovation
The addition of CivCheck further strengthens Clariti’s position as the leader in the community development space, combining Clariti’s extensive experience working with cities and counties like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Orange County, with one of the most innovative AI companies in govtech.
“What makes this partnership so meaningful is our shared belief that governments deserve the same calibre of technology and support as the private sector,” said CivCheck Co-Founder Dheekshita Kumar. “Demand for our technology has never been greater, and with this added investment, we’ll not only be able to meet it, but redefine what’s possible by setting a new standard for how quickly and effectively governments can put AI to work – reducing permitting times and helping innovative communities across North America get more homes built, faster.”
Both companies share a mission to help governments better serve their communities with AI technology that helps staff do their work faster, and will maintain a strong focus on ethical AI development that keeps city staff involved.
Beyond CivCheck, Clariti is also investing heavily in AI, with AI document generation and AI code compliance for inspections on the company’s product roadmap.
Clariti helps governments of all sizes across North America achieve unparalleled efficiency and productivity with configurable community development solutions that leading governments use every day. Today, Clariti is the only permitting software vendor solely focused on community development, with a suite of products that includes two different community development platforms for large and small-sized governments, and a guided AI plan review platform. Clariti solutions are trusted by leading governments of all sizes, such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Orange County, Tampa, Placerville, Albany, and more. For more information, visit www.claritisoftware.com.
CivCheck is the only AI Plan Review platform capable of performing every check required for building permits and planning approvals, reducing overall permit approval times by 80%+. Its AI-powered tools include a pre-check portal that flags issues for applicants to fix so their submission is approvable on the first try, and an AI copilot that helps staff complete reviews faster by providing all relevant information, calculations, and codes on one screen.
Vistara Growth provides highly flexible growth debt and equity solutions to leading technology companies across North America. Founded, managed, and funded by seasoned technology finance and operating executives, “Vistara” (Sanskrit for “expansion”) is focused on enabling growth for the ambitious entrepreneurs we invest in, our investors, our people, and the communities we operate in. For more information, visit vistaragrowth.com
Read our case studies to learn how our growth debt and equity solutions have enabled our founders and helped our portfolio companies.
We are pleased to announce our US$12 million investment in Authentic8, a leading cybersecurity company pioneering secure, cloud-based web isolation and anonymous browsing solutions. This debt facility helps Authentic8 refinance and expand its capital base to support the next stage of growth, broadening its technology platform and expanding market reach. “Authentic8 is redefining how enterprises and governments protect users and data in an increasingly complex threat landscape,” said John O’Donoghue, who led the investment for Vistara Growth. “Their proven technology leadership and trusted customer relationships, including with key public-sector agencies, make them a strong fit for our growth-oriented investment approach.”
Authentic8’s flagship SaaS product, Silo, is a cloud-native digital intelligence platform enabling direct engagement & interaction with threats and adversaries. The world’s most sophisticated intelligence teams trust Silo to access and interact with threats at the source. The company serves a diverse customer base across government and enterprise sectors.
Partnering with Vistara represents the culmination of a relationship we’ve built over several years and a pivotal next step for Authentic8,” said Ramesh Rajagopal, Co-Founder and CEO of Authentic8. “Vistara’s team took the time to truly understand our technology, customers, and growth drivers, and their collaborative approach gives us the flexibility to scale while staying focused on profitability. With this investment, we can accelerate product innovation, deepen engagement with government and enterprise customers, and continue strengthening the security and privacy protections that define our platform.”
The world’s most at-risk organizations rely on Authentic8 to safeguard their risk intelligence operations. In today’s increasingly complex and expanding threat space, nearly 800 government agencies and commercial enterprises trust Authentic8’s Silo Digital Intelligence and Investigations Platform to investigate threats at the source. Authentic8’s platform enables risk teams to access, engage, collect and respond to risks while ensuring safety, control and compliance over their intelligence work. For more information, visit their website
Vistara Growth provides highly flexible growth debt and equity solutions to leading technology companies across North America. Founded, managed, and funded by seasoned technology finance and operating executives, “Vistara” (Sanskrit for “expansion”) is focused on enabling growth for the ambitious entrepreneurs we invest in, our investors, our people, and the communities we operate in. For more information, visit vistaragrowth.com
Read our case studies to learn how our growth debt and equity solutions have enabled our founders and helped our portfolio companies.
