# PE firms backing Aviation (2026 list) > 32 PE firms backing Aviation, 88% active in the last 12 months. Led by L Catterton, Washington Harbour Partners Lp, Qatar Ban. Ranked by what they funded. Source: https://millionrounds.com/lists/pe-firms-aviation (Millionrounds; every figure on the page links to its filing or article) [Investor Lists](https://millionrounds.com/lists) # PE firms backing Aviation Updated 7 November 2026 PE firms we have observed in an aviation round in the last two years. [See all 32 *→*](https://millionrounds.com/login?join=1&next=%2Fapp%2Finvestor-lists%2Fpe-firms-aviation)The top 25 **32** investors on the list *+2* this week **112** cheques in 12 months *+68%* against the market **$115M** median round they joined *+1338%* against the market median **88%** wrote a cheque in 12 months **47%** have led a round ## The Top 25 Ordered by cheques observed, never by anything anyone paid for Deploying now (23) - 1 [L Catterton](https://millionrounds.com/fund/l-catterton) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **110** **$34M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen - 2 [Washington Harbour Partners Lp](https://millionrounds.com/fund/washington-harbour-partners-lp) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **52** **$60M** median round **Nov 2026** last seen - 3 [Qatar Ban](https://millionrounds.com/fund/qatar-ban) *Deploying now* Growth equity · Qatar **33** **$548M** median round **Sept 2026** last seen - 4 [Archangel](https://millionrounds.com/fund/archangel) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **28** **$38M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen - 5 [ArrowMark Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/arrowmark-partners) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **19** **$93M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen - 6 [Invest-NL](https://millionrounds.com/fund/invest-nl) *Deploying now* Private equity · Netherlands **16** **$35M** median round **Nov 2026** last seen - 7 [Durable Capital Partners Lp](https://millionrounds.com/fund/durable-capital-partners) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **13** **$300M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen - 8 [Citadel Securities](https://millionrounds.com/fund/citadel-securities) *Deploying now* Growth equity · United States **8** **$240M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen - 9 [Positive Sum](https://millionrounds.com/fund/positive-sum) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **7** **$300M** median round **Aug 2026** last seen - 10 [Atreides](https://millionrounds.com/fund/atreides) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **6** **$600M** median round **Aug 2026** last seen - 11 [BAM Elevate](https://millionrounds.com/fund/bam-elevate) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **4** **$400M** median round **May 2026** last seen - 12 [RTX Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/rtx-ventures) *Deploying now* Growth equity · United States **4** **$125M** median round **Apr 2026** last seen - 13 [GSBackers](https://millionrounds.com/fund/gsbackers) *Deploying now* Growth equity **3** **$100M** median round **Apr 2026** last seen - 14 [Woodline Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/woodline-partners) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **3** **$250M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen - 15 [Bison Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/bison-ventures-2) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **2** **$16M** median round **Jul 2026** last seen - 16 [Catalyst Romania](https://millionrounds.com/fund/catalyst-romania) *Deploying now* Private equity · Romania **2** **$4M** median round **Jun 2026** last seen - 17 [Gideon Strategic Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/gideon-strategic-partners) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **2** **$143M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen - 18 [HICO](https://millionrounds.com/fund/hico) *Deploying now* Private equity · Singapore **2** **$93M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen - 19 [Stellantis](https://millionrounds.com/fund/stellantis) *Deploying now* Growth equity · United States **2** **$815M** median round **Feb 2026** last seen - 20 [BBK Capital](https://millionrounds.com/fund/bbk-capital) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **1** **$20M** median round **Aug 2026** last seen - 21 [Industrial Opportunity Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/industrial-opportunity-partners-llc) *Deploying now* Private equity · United States **1** **-** median round **May 2026** last seen - 22 [Investa Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/investa-partners) *Deploying now* Growth equity · Switzerland **1** **$11M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen - 23 [KSL Capital Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/ksl-capital-partners) quiet Private equity · United States **1** **$800M** median round **Jul 2025** last seen - 24 [Redstart](https://millionrounds.com/fund/redstart-from-naukri) quiet Growth equity · France **1** **$14M** median round **Nov 2024** last seen - 25 [Sparkwave Capital](https://millionrounds.com/fund/sparkwave-capital) *Deploying now* Growth equity **1** **$115M** median round **Oct 2026** last seen **7 more on this list** All 32 are in the app, with filters for stage, sector and market. A free account shows 10 per search, Pro up to 1,000. [See the whole list *→*](https://millionrounds.com/login?join=1&next=%2Fapp%2Finvestor-lists%2Fpe-firms-aviation) ## The Newest Cheques Rounds this list's investors joined most recently - **5** Nov **[VÆRIDION](https://millionrounds.com/company/v-ridion)** Series A · $34M *Led by* [Invest-NL](https://millionrounds.com/fund/invest-nl) - **2** Nov **[Northwood Space](https://millionrounds.com/company/northwood-space)** Series C · $375M *With* [Washington Harbour Partners Lp](https://millionrounds.com/fund/washington-harbour-partners-lp) - **29** Oct **[Dren Bio](https://millionrounds.com/company/dren-bio)** Other · $350M *With* [ArrowMark Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/arrowmark-partners) - **28** Oct **[Mammoth Energy Services](https://millionrounds.com/company/mammoth-energy-services)** Debt · $58M *With* [Bank 7](https://millionrounds.com/fund/bank-7) - **28** Oct **[ReFly](https://millionrounds.com/company/refly)** Series A · $11M *Led by* [Investa Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/investa-partners) - **26** Oct **[Revolut](https://millionrounds.com/company/revolut)** Other · $70M *Led by* [Durable Capital Partners Lp](https://millionrounds.com/fund/durable-capital-partners) ## Stages This Year 99 rounds - Growth **18%** - Series A **16%** - Series B **13%** - Other **13%** - Venture **9%** - Other **30%** ## What They Backed Sectors, last 12 months - AI **30** - Aerospace & Space **20** - Defence Tech **14** - Aviation **13** - Robotics **11** - Big Data & Analytics **7** ## Cheques by Quarter Led Joined 14 Q1 25 20 Q2 25 16 Q3 25 23 Q4 25 34 Q1 26 26 Q2 26 25 Q3 26 19 Q4 26 The last bar is the quarter still running. ## Lists Like This - [VC firms backing AI 4,329](https://millionrounds.com/lists/vc-firms-ai) - [VC firms backing Fintech 1,856](https://millionrounds.com/lists/vc-firms-fintech) - [VC firms backing Big Data & Analytics 1,248](https://millionrounds.com/lists/vc-firms-big-data) - [VC firms backing Biotech 1,207](https://millionrounds.com/lists/vc-firms-biotech) - [VC firms backing Robotics 1,098](https://millionrounds.com/lists/vc-firms-robotics) - [VC firms backing Construction 1,025](https://millionrounds.com/lists/vc-firms-construction) - [VC firms backing Energy 998](https://millionrounds.com/lists/vc-firms-energy) - [PE firms backing AI 956](https://millionrounds.com/lists/pe-firms-ai) - [VC firms backing Cybersecurity 950](https://millionrounds.com/lists/vc-firms-cybersecurity) [All investor lists *→*](https://millionrounds.com/lists) ## Quick answers about PE firms backing Aviation ### Who are the most active PE firms backing Aviation? By cheques observed, the most active are L Catterton, Washington Harbour Partners Lp, Qatar Ban, Archangel and ArrowMark Partners. ### How many PE firms backing Aviation are there? 32 are on record. 88% made an investment in the last 12 months and 47% have led a round. ### Which stages do PE firms backing Aviation back? Of the rounds with a named stage in the last 12 months, mostly Growth (26%) and Series A (23%). ### How big are the rounds PE firms backing Aviation join? The typical (median) round among the leading investors here is $115M. ### Which sectors do PE firms backing Aviation back most? In the last 12 months, mostly AI, Aerospace & Space and Defence Tech. ### Which PE firms backing Aviation lead the most rounds? Washington Harbour Partners Lp (9 led), L Catterton (6 led) and Qatar Ban (6 led). ### Where are PE firms backing Aviation based? Among the most active, most are based in the United States (17), Qatar (1) and the Netherlands (1). ### What have PE firms backing Aviation invested in recently? Recent rounds include VÆRIDION (Series A, Nov 2026, with Invest-NL), Northwood Space (Series C, Nov 2026, with Washington Harbour Partners Lp) and Dren Bio (Other, Oct 2026, with ArrowMark Partners). Built from the rounds we watched, refreshed every night. [How we count](https://millionrounds.com/methodology) · [Report a correction](https://millionrounds.com/corrections)