Private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) led a $15 million Series A investment in Artivest, a fundraising platform, according to a press release issued May 4. Existing investors RRE Ventures, Peter Thiel, Nyca Partners, Anthemis Group and FinTech Collective also participated in the funding round.
Artivest reportedly plans to use the funding to “accelerate the growth of its technology, infrastructure and sales teams and the execution of its product roadmap.”
KKR CIO Ed Brandman will join Artivest’s Board of Directors.
“Artivest combines leading technology with operational tools for feeder funds that will further open the door for financial advisors and high net worth investors looking to commit capital to a wide variety of top private equity funds,” Brandman said, according to the release. “Most private equity firms are very interested in accessing this capital but do not have the technical or operational capability to do so today. We look forward to partnering with Artivest as they expand their business.”
Involvement with Artivest follows a clear strategy that will permit accredited investors and registered investment advisors to invest in private equity funds as well as hedge funds.
Formally these opportunities tended to be reserved for extremely wealthy individuals. An additional obstacle was the fact that private equity firms and hedge funds were unable to manage relationships and especially massive documentation with multiple individual investors.
TechCrunch reports that Artivest has overcome this difficulty by creating a “single, special purpose vehicle” that will be able to invest in a private-equity and/or hedge fund. De facto, these new investment opportunities will allow qualified investors to act as their own micro-venture capital and private-equity shops.
One of KKR’s latest acquisitions was a controlling stake in Ticket Monster sold by Groupon last April.
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