Four Things to Know About KKR’s New Tech Fund

KKR has raised $711 million for a new growth equity technology fund called Next Generation Technology Growth Fund, which will seek deals in the $100 million range. A few notes based on a back-and-forth with David Welsh, the partner leading the effort who joined KKR in October from Adams Street Partners:

1. The fund will be doing deals for tech companies in the “scaling” stage. Meaning, their technology is proven and they’re already disrupting legacy competitors. “The goal is simple: enterprise building,” Welsh says.

2. KKR will occasionally use a small amount of debt in these deals.

3. The fund has already done four deals: data analytics company Optimal+, travel booking site GetyourGuide, data integration startup Jitterbit and cybersecurity company Darktrace. Several of KKR’s best-known startup deals – Cylance, Magic Leap, Fanduel – were done outside of the fund.

4. KKR’s selling point to startups is its network of portfolio companies. For example, KKR helped GoDaddy (GDDY), which made two acquisitions this week, identify M&A targets and expand internationally. It’s not unlike the VC firms that foster community among their portfolio companies… except much, much bigger: KKR’s 100 portfolio companies spend $7 billion on IT and $10 billion on marketing each year.