(Bloomberg) — Henry Kravis and George Roberts are among investors in the debut fund of a venture firm co-founded by a former executive of KKR & Co.’s division for fast-growing technology companies.
KKR’s billionaire founders joined backers including Princeton University and TCG Capital Management founder Peter Chernin in helping Ansa Capital raise $100 million for its initial fund targeting emerging growth businesses, the New York-based firm said in a statement Tuesday.
Founded by former KKR tech growth principal Allan Jean-Baptiste and one-time TCG partner Marco DeMeireles, Ansa said it plans to invest from $5 million to $15 million per transaction, focusing on firms leading new markets, reinventing distribution models and modernizing legacy systems.
Kravis, 78, has been building up his venture portfolio outside of the New York-based private-equity firm he and his cousin George, also 78, started with Jerome Kohlberg Jr. in 1976. In the past year, Kravis has invested millions of dollars in startups as part of a decade-long drive to sink more of his personal wealth into young, fast-growing companies. Kravis and Roberts have a net worth of $9.8 billion and $10 billion, respectively, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Kravis and Roberts “have been fantastic mentors,” Jean-Baptiste, 31, said in an interview. “We’re excited to have them and many others supporters as we continue to build out the platform.”
Read more: Henry Kravis Builds Own Venture Portfolio Outside of KKR
Jean-Baptiste and DeMeireles, 34, became friends when they competed for the same investments in San Francisco about a decade ago.
In their previous roles, they backed startups ranging from crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc. to at-home lab testing firm Everlywell and online gambling company FanDuel. They’ve now established a 35-person network of founders and corporate executives to assist businesses in Ansa’s own portfolio.
Other investors in the firm’s debut fund include Accolade Partners and Financial Investments Corp.
“We’re grateful to our past partners — the founders who’ve bet on us, frankly, as much as we have bet on them,” DeMeireles said in the interview. “Both of us are feeling a level of focus and commitment to delivering to them and fulfilling what we said we would do.”
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