Artivest Announces Funding Round Led by KKR & Co.

Artivest, a startup that provides individual investors with access to private equity funds, hedge funds, and other alternative investments, announced a $15 million round of funding led by private equity firm KKR & Co.

The company will use the funding to accelerate the growth of its technology, infrastructure and sales teams and the execution of its product roadmap.

“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. 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,” said KKR CIO Ed Brandman, who will join Artivest's Board of Directors.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York City, Artivest provides access at lower investment minimums to a select assortment of privately offered alternative investment funds. To date, Artivest has offered premier private equity and venture capital funds and will soon be offering hedge funds.

The company hopes it can increase sales due to rising demand for alternative assets. In 2014, fund managers increased assets in private equity, hedge funds, private debt, real estate and infrastructure by $690 billion in 2014. That’s a large increase from the $648 billion by which assets grew in the year prior, according to research firm Preqin.

“The process of investing in private placements—previously inefficient for all involved--has not changed in any meaningful way for decades. A number of trends have come together, including alternative funds’ increasing focus on individual investors and investors’ growing appetite for all types of alternatives. At this crucial moment, we are bringing private investing a much-needed digital upgrade,” said James Waldinger, the company’s CEO and Founder. “It's a great honor and a meaningful endorsement to be backed by KKR, one of our first partners.”

Artivest provides a multi-pronged solution to connect these two constituencies at scale. Key Artivest features for qualified investors include more accessible investment minimums, online access to intuitive displays of fund metrics and electronic completion of all legal documentation. Funds utilize Artivest technology to manage investor relations and client operations at scale. Both user types benefit from best-in-class-security and encryption protection.