KKR closes third global technology fund at nearly $3b

New York-headquartered private equity firm KKR has closed its third global technology fund at approximately $3 billion, it said in an announcement.

KKR Next Generation Technology Growth Fund III (NGT III) has received commitments from both new and existing investors globally, including public pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, financial institutions, endowments, private wealth and fintech platforms, family offices and high-net-worth individual investors.

The investment firm said it will also put some $435 million in the fund.

NGT III aims to back growth technology companies across North America, Europe and Israel. KKR’s Next Generation Technology strategy invests in majority or minority stakes in private companies, as well as minority stakes in public companies, according to its website.

Accelerated digital transformation within enterprises globally, the next evolution of AI applications and the increasing adoption of technology in consumers’ daily lives have altogether encouraged many new growth technology companies to emerge and scale, KKR said in its statement.

“Even in challenging market environments, focusing on investing in technology that solves for the real needs of companies creates a long-term opportunity for performance. We’ve seen firsthand that innovation is a critical driver of investment returns,” added Dave Welsh, KKR Partner & Global Head of Tech Growth.

KKR raised its first NGT fund at $711 million in 2016, and its second vehicle at $2.2 billion in 2020.

Including this strategy, the firm has written cheques worth a total of over $21.6 billion in technology investments since 2014.

Some Asia Pacific names in KKR’s tech portfolio are TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, Indian mobile network and digital business Jio Platforms, Australian online business management company MYOB, and Voyager Innovations in the Philippines.

Vietnam-based SME merchant platform KiotViet became KKR’s first Southeast Asian portfolio company under the strategy. The firm later on invested in Singapore- and India-based omnichannel home interior platform Livspace, and GrowSari, an e-commerce platform serving MSMEs in the Philippines.

KKR also recently participated in the $48-million Series C funding in the Indonesian digital trust platform Privy through its Asia Next Generation Technology strategy.

In July last year, AVCJ reported that KKR was raising up to $1.5 billion for its Asia technology fund.

Go to Source