Coatue Management
Coatue Management is a technology-focused investment firm whose portfolio spans public equities, venture capital, and private equity, with significant holdings in AI and defense-adjacent companies. Its private fund structure places defense technology exposure outside standard 13F disclosure, and a former senior advisor now holds a senior Pentagon role overseeing AI procurement decisions affecting Coatue portfolio companies.
Coatue Management LLC is a New York-based technology investment firm founded in 1999 by Philippe Laffont, managing over $40 billion in public equities and an estimated $18.6 billion in private assets as of late 2025 1 2. Headquartered at 9 West 57th Street in Manhattan, the firm operates through more than 130 fund entities and 20 sub-funds, with J.P. Morgan Private Investments serving as executive officer and promoter for 15 feeder vehicles channeling private wealth capital into Coatue strategies 3. Co-founded by Thomas Laffont, the firm has evolved from a technology hedge fund into a major investor spanning artificial intelligence, defense technology, and government policy.
Analysis of SEC filings and investment records indicates that Coatue is the only known investor to have co-led major funding rounds in both Anthropic and OpenAI simultaneously 4. The firm co-led Anthropic's $30 billion Series G at a $380 billion valuation in February 2026, and invested in OpenAI's $110 billion round at an $840 billion valuation in the same period 5. This dual positioning became geopolitically charged when the Trump administration banned Anthropic from all federal use on February 27, 2026 — the same day the OpenAI round was announced — creating a zero-sum dynamic between two Coatue portfolio companies 6.
Review of 13F filings indicates that Coatue's defense technology exposure exists almost entirely in its private holdings, which are exempt from 13F disclosure. The firm's Q4 2025 13F shows 257 positions totaling $40 billion in public equities with zero holdings in any defense prime contractor, while its private portfolio includes SpaceX, Shield AI, Scale AI, and Anthropic — all companies with significant Pentagon relationships 2. Emil Michael, who served as a senior advisor to Coatue from October 2018 until his appointment as Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in 2025, now oversees the Pentagon offices that determine AI procurement — a relationship examined in detail below 7.
The Dual AI Bet: Anthropic, OpenAI, and the Pentagon
The centerpiece of Coatue's current strategic positioning is its simultaneous investment in the two leading frontier AI companies. In January 2026, Coatue co-led (with GIC, the Singapore sovereign wealth fund) Anthropic's $10 billion round at a $350 billion valuation, then followed with a co-lead on the $30 billion Series G at $380 billion in February 2026 8. On February 13, Philippe Laffont appeared on CNBC declaring that "the world is moving to the token economy," framing the Anthropic investment around "agentic coding and enterprise-grade AI systems" — emphasizing commercial rather than military applications 9.
Two weeks later, analysis of government records indicates the Trump administration designated Anthropic a "supply chain risk to national security" and banned all federal agencies from using its products 10. Emil Michael, then serving as Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, had led the Pentagon confrontation with Anthropic, publicly calling CEO Dario Amodei a "liar" with a "God complex" after the company refused to remove AI safety guardrails for military applications 7. OpenAI announced a replacement Pentagon deal within hours of the Anthropic ban. On the same day — February 27, 2026 — OpenAI's $110 billion funding round was announced with Coatue among the investors 6.
Review of filings indicates that Coatue holds positions in both companies, with combined AI exposure across Anthropic and OpenAI likely exceeding $5 billion 4. The firm also invested in Anysphere/Cursor's $2.3 billion round and Databricks, further diversifying across the AI stack 5. Whether this hedging was deliberate or emergent, the result is a structural position that profits regardless of which AI company prevails in the government contract competition.
The Emil Michael Revolving Door
The relationship between Coatue and Emil Michael represents the most direct conflict-of-interest surface in the firm's current profile. According to SEC and employment records, Michael joined Coatue as a consultant and advisor in October 2018, following his departure from Uber where he had served as Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer 7. At Coatue, Michael assisted on private investments in early and late-stage technology companies — a role that would have given him visibility into the firm's AI and defense technology pipeline, including positions in Anthropic, OpenAI, and Shield AI 7.
Michael's advisory role spanned more than six years before President Trump nominated him as Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in December 2024. He was confirmed by the Senate in May 2025 and sworn in by August 2025, also becoming Acting Director of the Defense Innovation Unit 7. In this capacity, Michael oversees the Critical Technology Areas, the Office of Strategic Capital (which loans money to defense startups), and the Chief Digital and AI Office — the office that determines which AI companies receive defense contracts 7. Analysis of ethics disclosures indicates that Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded a broader recusal covering his prior employer relationships, but Michael committed only to the statutory minimum under 18 USC 208, with no Coatue-specific recusal language 10.
The timeline of Michael's government actions aligns with Coatue's investment calendar. Coatue made its first Anthropic investment in the Series F round in September 2025. Michael began leading Pentagon negotiations with Anthropic in January 2026. Coatue co-led the $30 billion Series G on February 12. Michael called Amodei a "liar" on CBS on February 26. Trump banned Anthropic from federal use on February 27. OpenAI announced a replacement deal within hours 7. No evidence of recusal has been found, and no public disclosure indicates whether Coatue continued to compensate or hold financial arrangements with Michael after his government appointment.
Coatue Management
The Invisible Defense Portfolio
Coatue's defense technology exposure is architecturally invisible to the standard tools of financial disclosure. The firm's Q4 2025 13F filing reports 257 positions totaling $40 billion in public equities 1. Across five consecutive quarters from Q4 2024 through Q4 2025, Coatue held zero positions in any traditional defense prime — no Lockheed Martin, no Northrop Grumman, no RTX, no Palantir, no Booz Allen Hamilton 11. The public portfolio is concentrated in technology platforms: Taiwan Semiconductor ($2.6 billion), Microsoft ($2.5 billion), Constellation Energy ($2.1 billion), NVIDIA ($1.7 billion), and AI/compute positions totaling $13.6 billion, or 34 percent of the portfolio 11.
Analysis of private holdings indicates that the defense exposure exists entirely in positions not captured on any 13F: SpaceX (defense satellite communications, Starlink military, Golden Dome missile defense bidder), Shield AI (autonomous drones, V-BAT UAS, $72.1 million in federal contracts), Scale AI (prime contractor on the Thunderforge DoD AI agent program), and Anthropic (Claude model cleared for classified environments through Palantir integration, until the February 2026 ban) 12. The firm's total AUM of approximately $58.6 billion — $40 billion public plus an estimated $18.6 billion in private assets — thus contains a significant defense technology concentration not visible in public filings 2.
Coatue operates through a multi-layered fund structure including 20 sub-funds visible on the 13F (Offshore Master Fund, Cardinal Main Fund, Asia Fund, Growth Fund IV/V, Early Stage Fund, among others) and over 133 fund entities identified across 251 SEC Form D filings 13 14. The complexity of this architecture makes it difficult to trace capital flows from LP investors through to specific defense-adjacent portfolio companies.
Capital Formation: JPMorgan, Bezos, and the CTEK Fund
The flow of capital into Coatue's defense-adjacent private portfolio operates through several institutional channels. J.P. Morgan Private Investments serves as executive officer and promoter for 15 distinct Coatue feeder fund vehicles across 27 SEC filings, with JPM executive Christopher Faricelli (390 Madison Avenue) listed as officer on the Structured Fund vehicles from 2022 through 2024 3. These JPM-branded vehicles — including Growth Fund IV/V Private Investors, Structured Fund Private Investors, Asia Fund I Private Investors, and Early Stage Fund Private Investors — channel private wealth capital into Coatue strategies that include the defense-adjacent private portfolio. Brown Brothers Harriman previously managed Coatue sub-trust vehicles from 2013 to 2014 3.
In May 2025, Coatue launched the CTEK Innovation Fund (later renamed Coatue Innovative Strategies Fund in November 2025, SEC CIK 2044519) as a closed-end tender offer fund for qualified individual investors 15. The fund was anchored with $1 billion in combined capital from Jeff Bezos (via Bezos Expeditions) and Michael Dell (via DFO Management), and provides access to Coatue's private technology portfolio — including SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI exposure — with quarterly 5 percent liquidity through repurchase offers 15. The anchor capital from Bezos and Dell aligns these investors with Coatue's AI and defense-adjacent investment thesis, while the fund structure extends access to positions that would otherwise require institutional-scale capital commitments.
Coatue also holds a $738 million position in Tesla across five separate sub-fund accounts as of Q4 2025, making it a significant institutional holder of Elon Musk's company — a position that connects Coatue's public portfolio to the Musk defense and government nexus given Musk's role in DOGE and Tesla's growing government-adjacent positioning 16.
Corporate Structure and International Footprint
Coatue's corporate architecture extends across multiple jurisdictions. SEC Form D filings identify 21 natural persons across 251 filings and 133 fund entities 14. Philippe Laffont dominates the filings, appearing on 61 Form D documents across 13 fund vehicles from 2009 through 2025. Thomas Laffont, despite being co-founder, appears only as a director of OneTrust LLC (a portfolio company) and is absent from all fund-level filings 14. Key offshore directors include Christopher Bowring (42 filings, 2009-2025) and Tim Woolaver (36 filings, 2012-2025), both based at International Management Services in the Cayman Islands 14.
The firm maintains a UK presence through Coatue Europe Ltd (Companies House #13971484, incorporated March 2022), registered at 1 Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, with Matthew Shoenthal (American, address at Coatue HQ) as sole director and Philippe Laffont confirmed as the person of significant control with 75 to 100 percent of shares and voting rights 17. In Asia, Coatue PE Asia 34 LLC engaged Gibson Dunn & Crutcher for lobbying the State Department in Q3-Q4 2020, with registered lobbyist Roscoe Jones Jr. specifically seeking authentication of the entity's Certificate of Formation — consistent with a vehicle needing US formation documents apostilled for operations in Asian markets 18. Examination of Delaware and New York corporate records shows a new entity, Coatue BS LLC, was formed in Delaware and registered in New York on February 17, 2026 — five days after the Anthropic Series G close and ten days before the federal Anthropic ban — at Coatue's headquarters address, though the purpose of this entity remains unknown 19.
Philippe Laffont also holds a director position at ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, confirmed via LittleSis relationship data 20. The founder of a firm investing billions in American AI companies simultaneously sits on the board of a Chinese technology company under US national security scrutiny and subject to forced divestiture legislation. This ByteDance board seat was not disclosed in the context of Coatue's SEC filings.
Political Positioning
The Laffont brothers adopt a bipartisan political donation strategy. Philippe Laffont's FEC records show $6,695 in total donations, primarily to Democratic causes — $5,000 to Chuck Schumer, $1,300 to the DSCC, and various Democratic Senate candidates — with only $1,800 to WinRed 7. Thomas Laffont has donated to Republican leadership, including Mitch McConnell 21. This split ensures Coatue maintains political access on both sides of the aisle. Coatue employee FEC donations lean heavily Democratic, including contributions to the Harris Victory Fund and DNC 7.
Philippe Laffont donates to Democrats while his fund's former senior advisor (Emil Michael) serves in a Republican administration's Pentagon. Coatue's portfolio companies include SpaceX (led by Elon Musk, a key figure in the Trump administration) and Shield AI (a defense drone company dependent on Pentagon procurement decisions). The firm profits from both Anthropic (whose CEO was publicly attacked by a former Coatue advisor) and OpenAI (which received the replacement Pentagon contract). The overall pattern is one of partisan neutrality paired with financial positioning that benefits from government AI policy regardless of its direction.
All Connections
5 total
All Connections
5 totalFounder, Director, and Executive Officer of Coatue Management LLC (104 fund entities). Listed on 61 Form D filings across 13 fund vehicles 2009-2025. HQ: 9 West 57th Street, 25th Floor, New York.
JPM Private Investments serves as Executive Officer/Promoter for 15 Coatue Private Investors feeder fund vehicles (27 filings). Channels JPM private wealth capital into Coatue strategies including defense-adjacent AI investments.
Coatue dual-bet: invested in both Anthropic Series G and OpenAI round on same day as Anthropic federal ban
Co-founder of Coatue, focused on private investments. Appears only as Director of OneTrust LLC (portfolio company) in Form D filings — notably absent from all Coatue fund-level filings.
Emil Michael nominated as Under Secretary of Defense (A&S) while Coatue invested in Anthropic (which Michael co-founded DPCM Capital SPAC era connections). Coatue also invested in OpenAI and Shield AI — all potential beneficiaries of DoD acquisition decisions Michael would oversee.
All Findings
25 total
All Findings
25 totalfinancial (17)
Coatue Management: $40B+ AUM tech fund with defense-adjacent portfolio, lobbying via Gibson Dunn, and Anthropic lead investor
Coatue Management LLC (CIK 0001135730, founded 1999 by Philippe Laffont, NY) manages $40B+ AUM with 1,338 EDGAR filings. Q4 2025 13F shows top holdings in TSM, MSFT, META, AMZN, GEV. Portfolio includes investments in SpaceX, OpenAI, xAI, Scale AI. Led Anthropic's $30B Series G at $380B valuation (Jan 2026) and earlier $10B round. Launched CTEK innovation fund backed by Bezos and Dell family offices ($1B). LDA filings show Coatue PE Asia 34 LLC engaged Gibson Dunn & Crutcher for lobbying State Department on financial/government issues (Q3-Q4 2020, $10,000). Not a traditional defense investor but deeply positioned in AI/autonomy ecosystem that increasingly serves defense market.
Coatue Management defense exposure deep dive: $40B+ AUM tech fund. 13F (Q4 2025): 52 holdings totaling $40B in public equities -- top positions TSM, MSFT, META, AMZN, GEV. Defense-relevant public holdings include technology platforms used by military. Private investments: major Shield AI investor ($72.1M federal contracts, V-BAT UAS, $8B EWACC position), co-invested with a16z in defense portfolio overlap. Lead investor in Anthropic ($10B at $350B valuation, Jan 2026 -- 4 weeks before Trump admin banned Anthropic from federal use). PE Asia 34 LLC lobbied via Gibson Dunn on government/financial issues. Emil Michael served as Coatue senior advisor from Oct 2018 until Pentagon appointment (May 2025).
Emil Michael-Coatue conflict surface: Michael joined Coatue Management as senior advisor/consultant in October 2017 after leaving Uber. As USD(R&E), he now oversees: - Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) — prototyping and rapid acquisition - Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) — loans to defense startups - Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO) — AI procurement - Critical technology areas (trimmed from 14 to 6) Coatue's defense-adjacent portfolio creates potential conflicts: 1. SHIELD AI: Coatue is major investor. Shield AI has $72.1M federal contracts, $8B EWACC contract position, V-BAT UAS ISR services. Michael's office sets technology priorities that affect Shield AI contract eligibility. 2. ANTHROPIC: Coatue invested $10B in Anthropic at $350B valuation (Jan 2026). Four weeks later, Michael publicly attacked Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, called him a 'liar' with 'God complex.' Trump admin then designated Anthropic a 'supply-chain risk' and banned federal use of Claude AI. OpenAI got replacement contract within hours. Whether Michael's actions benefited or harmed Coatue's Anthropic position is complex — the ban likely damaged the investment. 3. TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM HOLDINGS: Coatue holds major positions in Microsoft, Amazon (AWS), Meta — all of which have defense contracts. Michael's technology priority decisions affect demand for these platforms. Philippe Laffont FEC: $6,695 total, primarily Democratic ($5K Schumer, $1.3K DSCC, various Democratic Senate candidates). Small $1.8K to WinRed. This is unusual in the tech-right ecosystem — Laffont donates to Democrats while his fund's senior advisor (Michael) serves a Republican administration. Coatue PE Asia 34 LLC: Registered lobbying through Gibson Dunn and Crutcher LLP on government issues and financial securities issues. This suggests Coatue has direct government affairs capacity.
Coatue invested in BOTH Anthropic (B Series G co-lead, Feb 12 2026) AND OpenAI (B round, Feb 27 2026) -- the OpenAI investment closing the SAME DAY Trump banned Anthropic from all federal use. Coatue holds significant positions in both competing AI companies simultaneously.
Timeline: Feb 12 2026 - Coatue co-leads Anthropic $30B Series G at $380B valuation. Feb 27 2026 - Trump bans Anthropic from all federal use, Hegseth designates 'supply-chain risk.' Feb 27 2026 - OpenAI announces $110B round at $730B, Coatue among investors. Feb 27 2026 - OpenAI announces Pentagon deal 'within hours' of Anthropic ban. Coatue thus profits from Anthropic's growth via Series G while simultaneously positioned to benefit from Anthropic's competitor via OpenAI investment. The ban creates a zero-sum dynamic that transfers government AI market share from one Coatue portfolio company to another. Philippe Laffont's stated reason for Anthropic investment: 'agentic coding and enterprise-grade AI systems' -- notably commercial, not military. Former Coatue advisor Emil Michael led the Pentagon standoff that produced the ban.
Coatue BS LLC (NY DOS #7836165) formed Feb 17 2026 -- 5 days after Anthropic Series G close and 10 days before Anthropic federal ban. Delaware foreign LLC, service at 9 West 57th St 25th Floor (Coatue Management HQ). Purpose unknown but timing aligns with Anthropic investment window.
New entity COATUE BS LLC filed application of authority in NY on Feb 17, 2026. Delaware-formed foreign LLC. Registered to Coatue Management's main office at 9 West 57th Street, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Formation date falls between: Feb 12 (Anthropic $30B Series G close, Coatue co-lead) and Feb 27 (Trump bans Anthropic from all federal use). The 'BS' designation follows Coatue's typical SPV naming convention (CT = Coatue Tech, other letter codes for other fund vehicles). Could be a vehicle for the Anthropic or OpenAI investment, or an unrelated fund entity. Timing is notable but not conclusive.
Coatue 13F-HR Q4 2025: $40B public equity portfolio with ZERO direct defense holdings. Top: META $1.7B, AMZN $1.5B, MSFT $1.2B, NVDA $1.2B, GEV $1.1B, TSM $1.05B. Holds $650M TSLA (Musk/DOGE conflict relevant). Defense exposure entirely through private investments (Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX, Shield AI, xAI, Scale AI) with undisclosed amounts.
SEC EDGAR 13F-HR filing accession 0000919574-26-001239, filed Feb 17, 2026, CIK 0001135730. 257 public equity holdings. No Palantir, L3Harris, RTX, Northrop, or other defense primes in public portfolio. Private AI/defense investments not disclosed in 13F. Also notable: RDDT $826M, SPOT $831M, APP $777M. The absence of public defense stocks while being deeply invested in private defense-adjacent AI companies suggests Coatue's defense technology exposure is deliberately structured through private markets where disclosure is minimal.
JPMorgan serves as executive officer/promoter for 15 Coatue Private Investors feeder fund vehicles across 27 filings. JPM private wealth clients access Coatue strategies through these branded feeders. Christopher Faricelli (JPM, 390 Madison Ave) serves as executive officer for Structured Fund vehicles 2022-2024. This creates an institutional pipeline between JPM private banking and Coatue's defense-adjacent AI portfolio.
J.P. Morgan Private Investments Inc. listed as Executive Officer and Promoter across 15 distinct Coatue fund entities in SEC Form D filings. Vehicles include: Growth Fund IV/V Private Investors, Structured Fund Private Investors, Asia Fund I Private Investors, Early Stage Fund Private Investors, Kona III Private Investors. These JPM-branded vehicles funnel private wealth capital into Coatue's investment strategies, including the AI/defense portfolio. Brown Brothers Harriman previously managed Coatue sub-trust vehicles 2013-2014.
Coatue 13F Q4 2025: $40B AUM, 257 positions including $2.2B GE Vernova, $2.1B Constellation Energy, $738M Tesla, $88M Axon
SEC 13F-HR filed 2026-02-17 for Q4 2025. CIK 0001135730. 257 holdings, $40B total. 51 unique issuers. Key defense/energy/government-adjacent positions: GE Vernova $2.2B (defense energy systems), Constellation Energy $2.1B (nuclear power for AI/defense), Tesla $738M (Musk government role), Axon Enterprise $88M (law enforcement tech — Tasers, body cams, digital evidence), QuantumScape $38.5M (quantum battery tech). Private portfolio not on 13F includes Anduril, Applied Intuition (DoD contracts), Anthropic ($30B Series G co-led by Coatue at $380B valuation), Shield AI. The public portfolio shows massive energy bets (Constellation + GE Vernova = $4.3B) consistent with defense energy infrastructure play. Eaton Corp $1.5B is also relevant (power management for defense/industrial). Emil Michael served as senior advisor Oct 2018 to May 2025 Pentagon appointment.
Coatue co-led Anthropic $30B Series G at $380B valuation — then Trump admin banned Anthropic from federal use
Coatue co-led (with GIC) Anthropic Series G: $30B raise at $380B post-money valuation. Anthropic run-rate revenue reached $14B, growing 10x annually for 3 consecutive years. This investment occurred approximately 4 weeks before the Trump administration banned Anthropic from federal use (per Lawfare analysis, the Pentagon designation wont survive legal challenge). The banning creates a paradox: Coatue has massive Anthropic exposure AND its former advisor Emil Michael is now USD(R&E) at the Pentagon — the office that would determine which AI companies get defense contracts. Applied Intuition (also Coatue portfolio) secured DSTL UK defense contract and DoD swarm programs. Anduril (Coatue portfolio) raised $2.5B Series G at $30.5B valuation led by Founders Fund (Thiel).
Coatue 13F Q4 2025: $40B portfolio, 52 public holdings — NO positions in traditional defense primes or Palantir. Defense exposure is entirely through private holdings not disclosed on 13F
Coatue Management (CIK 0001135730) Q4 2025 13F filing (Feb 17, 2026) shows $40B in 52 public holdings. Top positions: TSM ($2.6B), MSFT ($2.5B), CEG ($2.1B), NVDA ($1.7B). Zero positions in: Palantir (PLTR), Booz Allen (BAH), Leidos (LDOS), L3Harris (LHX), Northrop Grumman (NOC), RTX, General Dynamics (GD), Lockheed Martin (LMT), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Palo Alto Networks (PANW). Coatue's defense-adjacent exposure is entirely through PRIVATE investments not captured on 13F: SpaceX, Scale AI, and Anthropic confirmed. This means the conflict-of-interest surface between Michael's former advisory role and Coatue's defense portfolio cannot be fully traced via public SEC filings alone.
Coatue private defense-adjacent portfolio includes SpaceX, Scale AI, and Anthropic — none visible on 13F
Coatue Management's defense-adjacent private portfolio (not captured on 13F-HR): (1) SpaceX - Defense satellite comms, Starlink military, Golden Dome missile defense bidder; (2) Scale AI - Won prime Thunderforge contract (DoD AI agent program for military planning), partnering with Anduril and Microsoft; (3) Anthropic - Claude model cleared for classified defense environments, embedded in defense workflows through Palantir, declared 'supply chain risk' by Pentagon Feb 2026. Coatue also launched CTEK Innovation Fund (May 2025) with $1B from Bezos and Dell family offices. Emil Michael served as Coatue advisory board member before joining DoD. Full private portfolio unknown — Coatue website lists 367+ portfolio companies.
Coatue CTEK (Coatue Innovation Fund) launched May 2025 as closed-end tender offer fund for qualified individual investors. Anchor capital: $1B combined from Jeff Bezos (Bezos Expeditions) and Michael Dell (DFO Management). Fund provides retail access to Coatue's private tech portfolio (SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI exposure). Renamed to 'Coatue Innovative Strategies Fund' Nov 2025. SEC CIK: 2044519. Managed by Philippe Laffont. Quarterly 5% liquidity via repurchase offers. This is the vehicle through which HNW individuals gain exposure to Coatue's defense-adjacent private portfolio -- Bezos and Dell anchor capital creates alignment between these billionaires and Coatue's AI/defense investment thesis.
Coatue co-led OpenAI's $110B fundraise at $840B valuation (early 2026) alongside GIC (Singapore sovereign wealth fund). This is IN ADDITION to co-leading Anthropic's $10B round at $350B (Jan 2026) and $30B Series G at $380B (Feb 2026). Coatue is the ONLY known investor to co-lead major rounds in both OpenAI and Anthropic simultaneously. OpenAI's round followed the Trump administration's ban on Anthropic from federal use (Feb 27, 2026). Coatue's dual investment creates an extraordinary hedging position: regardless of which AI company wins the Pentagon AI contract battle, Coatue profits. Combined AI exposure likely exceeds $5B across both companies.
CORRECTED: Coatue Q4 2025 13F had 257 positions (not 52 as originally stated), totaling $40.0B across 20+ sub-funds. Zero defense primes remains accurate.
Coatue Management (CIK 0001135730, Philippe Laffont) held ZERO defense prime equities across all 5 quarters Q4 2024-Q4 2025 (confirming and extending findings #4975, #5366). Portfolio: 201-258 positions, $22.7B-$40.0B. AI/compute positions (NVDA, MSFT, META, AMZN, GOOG, ORCL, AMD, TSLA) totaled $13.6B in Q4 2025 (34% of portfolio). No Palantir, no Lockheed, no Northrop, no RTX, no quantum stocks. Correction: previous finding #5366 claimed 52 positions in Q4 2025; actual count is 257 positions per SEC filing.
Coatue Management held Tesla (TSLA) positions across Q4 2024-Q4 2025, growing from approximately $370M to $738M across multiple sub-fund accounts. In Q4 2025: 5 separate Tesla line items totaling $738.2M (1,641,406 total shares across sub-funds). This makes Coatue a significant institutional Tesla holder. Given Musk's DOGE role and Tesla's growing relationship with government (EV policy, SpaceX/defense overlap), this is the only position in these funds connecting to the Musk defense/government nexus.
Coatue Management LLC's Q4 2025 13F filing reveals a complex multi-fund structure with 20 included managers/sub-funds: Coatue Offshore Master Fund, Strategic Maple Long Only, Long Only Offshore, F1 LP, Smart Transportation Fund I, Climate Tech Fund II, Opportunity Fund II, Cardinal Main Fund, Asia Fund, Kona III, US 44, Growth Fund IV/V, Structured Co-Investment Offshore, Tactical Solutions CT, Innovative Strategies Fund, Structured Fund, CT 88, CT 158, Early Stage Fund. The 257 positions represent aggregate holdings across all sub-funds, explaining duplicate line items for the same stock (e.g., 5 Tesla entries, 6+ NVIDIA entries).
Led Anthropic $30B Series G at $380B valuation — dual AI model investment strategy
Coatue co-led Anthropic $30B Series G funding at $380B post-money valuation, alongside GIC (Singapore sovereign wealth). Also invested in OpenAI $40B round, Anysphere/Cursor $2.3B round, and Databricks. Dual investment in competing AI foundation models positions Coatue at center of AI defense applications regardless of which model wins government contracts.
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Coatue co-led Anthropic's $10B round (Jan 2026) and $30B round (Feb 2026) at $380B valuation — while former Coatue advisor Emil Michael simultaneously leads Pentagon conflict with Anthropic
Coatue Management co-led (with GIC) Anthropic's $10B funding round in January 2026 at $350B valuation, followed by a $30B round in February 2026 at $380B. Other participants: D.E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, ICONIQ, MGX. Simultaneously, former Coatue advisory board member Emil Michael (now USD(R&E)) has been leading the Pentagon's confrontation with Anthropic over AI usage restrictions. Michael called Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei a 'liar' with a 'God-complex.' Defense Secretary Hegseth then declared Anthropic a 'supply chain risk to national security,' restricting military contractors from using Anthropic. The sequence: (1) Coatue invests billions in Anthropic, (2) former Coatue advisor Michael publicly attacks Anthropic from his government position, (3) Pentagon blacklists Anthropic. The SASC APQ confirms Michael's only ethics commitment was bare-minimum 18 USC 208 compliance — no Coatue-specific recusal.
intelligence (5)
Coatue PE Asia 34 LLC lobbying via Gibson Dunn (Sep-Dec 2020): Registered lobbyist Roscoe Jones Jr. lobbied the State Department to authenticate Coatue PE Asia 34 LLC's Certificate of Formation. Issues coded as 'Government Issues' and 'Financial Institutions/Investments/Securities'. Gibson Dunn paid $10,000 for Q3 2020. Engagement terminated Q4 2020 with no activity. The need for State Department authentication of a Certificate of Formation suggests the entity was being used for cross-border investment requiring apostille/authentication for foreign jurisdiction acceptance -- consistent with an Asia-focused private equity vehicle needing US formation documents authenticated for operations in Asian markets.
Laffont brothers FEC donation strategy reveals coordinated bipartisan access-buying: Philippe (founder/CIO) donates almost exclusively Democratic -- $50K Schumer, $20.3K DSCC, Buttigieg, multiple D Senate races. Thomas (co-founder, private equity CIO) donates bipartisan with $10K to Mitch McConnell (2020), $2,700 Jeb Bush, $2,800 Cory Gardner (R), alongside Biden, Booker, Buttigieg. Together: the brothers cover BOTH parties' leadership -- Schumer (D Senate leader) via Philippe, McConnell (R Senate leader) via Thomas. This is a classic hedge fund access strategy where family members diversify political exposure. Combined identified donations: Philippe ~$93K (mostly D) + Thomas ~$34K (mixed) = ~$127K in direct federal contributions.
Coatue private defense/AI portfolio creates invisible government contract exposure: Private investments (not on 13F) include SpaceX (defense launch provider, Starshield, Golden Dome), Shield AI (autonomous drones, $5.6B valuation), Anthropic (AI for government, now banned), OpenAI (Pentagon AI provider post-ban), and Scale AI (military data labeling). Public 13F shows ZERO defense primes. This means Coatue's actual defense exposure is completely invisible to standard 13F-based analysis. The CTEK fund ($1B Bezos/Dell anchor) provides HNW retail investors access to this invisible defense portfolio. Coatue's $58.6B AUM ($40B public + ~$18.6B private) has a significant undisclosed defense technology concentration through private markets.
Philippe Laffont CNBC Feb 13, 2026: 'The world is moving to the token economy.' Laffont positioned Coatue as an AI-first fund, with Anthropic investment framed around 'AI agents and enterprise-level systems enabling rapid large-scale implementation.' This public statement came 2 weeks before Trump banned Anthropic from federal use (Feb 27). Laffont's quote about 'first investment in 2025' confirms Coatue's Anthropic relationship began with Series F (Sep 2025), then accelerated to co-lead $10B (Jan 2026) and $30B (Feb 2026). Total Anthropic commitment likely $2-5B. Simultaneously, Coatue co-led OpenAI's $110B round. Laffont's public AI evangelism contrasts with the fund's avoidance of any public defense stocks.
CORRECTED: Coatue 13F trajectory 2024-2025 actual counts: Q4 2024: 245 positions $29.7B, Q1 2025: 201 positions $22.7B, Q2 2025: 212 positions $36.0B, Q3 2025: 258 positions $40.8B, Q4 2025: 257 positions $40.0B. Previous trajectory (245->70->70->74->52) was incorrect. Positions fluctuated but remained in the 200-258 range. Portfolio grew from $29.7B to $40.0B.
identity (2)
Coatue Form D extraction: 21 natural persons identified across 251 SEC filings, 133 fund entities. Philippe Laffont (61 filings, 13 funds) dominates. Thomas Laffont appears only on OneTrust board, not fund filings. Key offshore directors: Christopher Bowring (42 filings, 2009-2025), Tim Woolaver (36 filings, 2012-2025) — both at International Management Services, Cayman.
Full personnel extracted from SEC EDGAR Form D/A filings for CIK 0001135730. Corporate structure: Coatue Management LLC is executive officer on 104 fund entities (183 filings). Coatue Capital CI LLC manages 60+ co-investment vehicles. Each strategy has dedicated GP LLC. Exuma-branded funds were early vehicles now superseded. Recent additions: Eric Sacks (Director, Offshore Fund II, Oct 2025), Agne Miller/Max Schwartz/Tammy Seymour (iCapital access fund, Sep 2025). JPM Private Investments manages 15 Private Investors feeder vehicles. BBH managed early sub-trust vehicles 2013-2014.
Coatue Europe Ltd - Philippe Laffont sole PSC with 75-100% control
Coatue Europe Ltd. (13971484, incorporated 2022-03-11). Address: 1 Chamberlain Square Cs, Birmingham. Sole director: Matthew Shoenthal (American, address 9 West 57th Street 25th Floor, NYC - Coatue HQ). PSC: Philippe Laffont (American) with 75-100% share ownership, voting rights, and right to appoint/remove directors. This confirms Philippe Laffont (key person in investigation) personally controls the UK entity.
- 1.Finding #5366
- 2.Finding #5370
- 3.Finding #4744
- 4.Finding #5365
- 5.Finding #5822
- 6.Finding #4736
- 7.Finding #4711
- 8.Finding #4971
- 9.Finding #5371
- 10.Finding #4984
- 11.Finding #5383
- 12.Finding #4986
- 13.Finding #5405
- 14.Finding #4743
- 15.Finding #5364
- 16.Finding #5395
- 17.Finding #4936
- 18.Finding #5359
- 19.Finding #4740
- 20.Finding #4968
- 21.Finding #4742