One of the biggest supporters of the recent technology boom lost at least $1 billion during the first three months of the year, illustrating how ardour has cooled for a once-hot sector of the US economy.

Tiger Global, a hedge fund founded by billionaire Charles "Chase" Coleman and best known for its early bets on startups including Facebook and Zynga, plunged 22% in the first quarter, said people familiar with the situation. The pullback amounted to a more-than billion-dollar loss on paper, these people said, and potentially more for its larger private equity and venture capital operation.