Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills on Monday, KKR's Henry Kravis and George Roberts told investors to maintain perspective as trade tensions and tariff uncertainty drag on.

"To quote Queen Elizabeth, stay calm and carry on," Roberts told attendees. "What we have now is disruption in international trade, and tariffs, with no real outcome of what that is going to be... I think there will be trade deals made—there have to be."

The co-founders, who transitioned to co-executive chairmen of KKR in October 2021, contextualized today's challenges against more severe historical crises. Roberts cited wage-price controls in the early 1970s, 21% prime rates in the 1980s, and the 2008 financial crisis—all of which he characterized as "much scarier than what we have now."

The founders say most of KKR's portfolio is relatively well-insulated. "Over 90% of our companies have no exposure, or limited exposure, to tariffs. So we had just 10%, plus or minus, that actually has some exposure."

"Focus on what you can control," Kravis advised. "We're saying to people, don't panic."

Despite the uncertainty, KKR has deployed over $30 billion since the beginning of the year, with half of that amount going into ex-U.S. opportunities that the firm feels are becoming more attractive.

"What we're saying to people is think about other places in the world where we can actually put money to work," said Roberts.

Asia is "a big part" of the firm's strategy, and European opportunities appear especially compelling: Kravis called out German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's trillion-dollar defense and infrastructure initiative as a key catalyst. European nations are increasingly focused on self-reliance, creating what Kravis described as "real opportunity."

"Europeans now are saying... we've got to take the future into our own hands. We cannot rely on the U.S. anymore like we have," Kravis said, adding that he visits Europe almost monthly and is "getting a different vibe back from Europeans today than what I had seen in the past. They're waking up now."

Infrastructure is also top of mind.

"Infrastructure—there's probably no better time to invest right now," Roberts said, citing high interest rates and the availability of quality assets. "We have a lot less competition in infrastructure than we do in private equity."

Switching from deployment to fundraising, both founders shared their enthusiasm about the emerging retail opportunity.

"There's $44 trillion in the hands of individuals and savings... there's $10 trillion in the hands of people with 401(k)s."

Kravis said the firm's retail-oriented assets under management grew from $8 billion to $21 billion over the past year, thanks in part to a strategic partnership with Capital Group that's helped with distribution.

"We're really in the first inning," Kravis said. "We're just touching the surface right now."

• 3G Capital agreed to take Skechers (NYSE: SKX) private at a valuation of around $9.4 billion.

• Sunoco LP (NYSE: SUN) agreed to acquire Parkland Corporation (TSX: PKI), a Canadian fuel distributor and convenience retailer, for around $9.1 billion.

• Michael Strahan and Marc Lasry are teaming up to bid for a 10 percent stake in the New York Giants valued at around $7.65 billion, while Eli Manning has withdrawn interest, per Sportico.

• Erste Group Bank agreed to acquire most of Banco Santander's (BME: SAN) Polish assets for €7 billion.

• I Squared Capital and Enbridge (TSX: ENB) are in discussions to acquire a majority stake in Texas' Matterhorn Express Pipeline at a valuation of around $5 billion, per Bloomberg.

• General Atlantic agreed to acquire a minority stake in Liftoff, a mobile app marketing platform, at a $4.3 billion valuation from Blackstone, which will remain the majority shareholder.

• Gold Fields agreed to acquire Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR), an Australian gold mining company, for A$3.7 billion in a sweetened all-cash offer.

• Apax Partners is in the lead to acquire Finastra's Treasury and Capital Markets business from Vista Equity Partners for around $2 billion, per Reuters.

• Arcapita Group Holdings acquired a majority stake in Trustpoint.One, an Atlanta-based provider of tech-enabled legal services, at a valuation north of $400 million.

• Thoma Bravo invested more than $100 million in HubSync, a Tennessee-based tax compliance and workflow automation platform for accounting firms.

• Chevron (NYSE: CVX) has expressed interest in acquiring Phillips 66's (NYSE: PSX) 50 percent stake in their Chevron Phillips Chemical joint venture.

• NexPhase Capital acquired Behavior Frontiers, a provider of applied behavior analysis treatment services for individuals with autism across 26 centers and home-based care in 12 states.

• SKY Leasing, an aviation investment manager, acquired JetBlue Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on travel and transportation startups, from JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU).

• Strategic Value Partners acquired a stake in Birdsboro Power, a natural gas-fired power generation facility in Pennsylvania.

• EQT and Arctos Partners are exploring a potential tie-up, per Bloomberg.

• Jennmar, a FalconPoint Partners portfolio company, acquired Rohrig Heavy Equipment Maintenance, a West Virginia-based equipment maintenance and repair services provider.

• Madison Dearborn Partners acquired a significant ownership position in NextGen Healthcare, an Irvine, California-based EHR/EMR company, from Thoma Bravo, which will retain a significant ownership stake.

• Great Hill Partners acquired Vision Government Solutions, a provider of appraisal services, CAMA software, and GIS technologies to assessing departments across the United States, from Rubicon Technology Partners.

• Novo Banco, a Portuguese lender owned by Lone Star Funds, is preparing for an IPO as early as June despite recent market volatility.

• Shell (NYSE: SHEL) is reportedly weighing a potential acquisition of BP (NYSE: BP), the British oil giant, per Bloomberg.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• Anysphere, creator of AI-powered coding assistant Cursor, raised $900 million in Series A funding led by Thrive Capital, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Accel, at a $9 billion valuation.

• Atlas Data Storage, a DNA-based data storage technology company, raised $155 million in seed funding from ARCH Venture Partners, Deerfield Management, Bezos Expeditions, Tao Capital Partners, Rsquared VC, Earth Foundry, and In-Q-Tel.

• Recraft, an AI-powered design platform for brand-consistent image generation, raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Accel, with participation from Madrona and Khosla Ventures.

• AppSignal, an Amsterdam-based application performance monitoring platform for developers, raised $22 million in Series A funding led by Elsewhere Partners.

• StackOne, a London-based platform for enterprise AI agents and SaaS integrations, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by GV, with participation from Workday Ventures, XTX Ventures, Episode 1, and Playfair.

• RightRev, a Roseville-based revenue management platform, raised $13 million in Series A funding co-led by Cheyenne Ventures and Innovius Capital, with participation from Norwest Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Snowflake Ventures.

• Row Zero, an enterprise spreadsheet platform for billion-row datasets with data warehouse connectivity, raised $10 million in seed funding co-led by IA Ventures and Trilogy Equity Partners, with participation from Founder's Co-op, Ludlow Ventures, K9 Ventures, and Functional Capital.

• Paramark, a platform that measures marketing spend effectiveness, raised 8 million dollars in funding led by Greylock, with participation from former CMOs at Dropbox, Salesforce, and Amazon.

• Skillvue, a Milan-based AI skills assessment platform for HR, raised $6.3 million in seed funding led by 360 Capital, with participation from Italian Founders Fund, 14Peaks Capital, and Orbita Verticale.

• IPercept, a Stockholm-based company providing AI predictive maintenance software for manufacturers, raised €5 million in Series A funding led by Luminar Ventures, with participation from RunwayFBU, Backstage Invest, AI.Fund, and J12.

Fintech

• MoneyFellows, an Egyptian digital rotating savings platform, raised $13 million in pre-Series C funding co-led by Al Mada Ventures and DPI's Nclude Fund, with participation from Partech Africa and CommerzVentures.

Consumer & Media

• Wonder, the food hall and delivery company behind Grubhub and Blue Apron, raised $600 million in Series B funding led by New Enterprise Associates, with participation from Accel, Google Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, and Amex Ventures.

• FoodHealth Company, a platform that rates food quality, raised $7.5 million in Series A funding co-led by Reach Capital and Ulu Ventures, with participation from Supply Change Capital, ReThink Food, Refinery Ventures, Mudita, and Antler.

Healthcare

• Nuevocor, a Singapore-based biotech company developing gene therapies for heart muscle disorders, raised $45 million in Series B funding co-led by Kurma Partners and Angelini Ventures, with participation from EDBI, ClavystBio, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Highlight Capital, and SEEDS Capital.

• Hilo (formerly Aktiia), a cuffless blood pressure monitoring technology company, raised $42 million in Series B funding co-led by Earlybird Health and Wellington Partners, with participation from Kfund, naturalX Health Ventures, redalpine, Khosla Ventures, Molten Ventures, Translink Capital, and Verve Ventures.

• HealthPlan Data Solutions, a Columbus-based platform for pharmacy payment verification and benefits management, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by MK Capital, with participation from Tamarind Hill, JobsOhio, and Rev1 Ventures.

• Dawn Health, a Copenhagen-based platform developing software for pharmaceutical companies, raised €11.5 million in Series A funding from Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), and Trifork Labs.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• Apex, a manufacturer of satellite bus platforms, raised $200 million in Series C funding co-led by Point72 Ventures and 8VC, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners, and StepStone Group.

• Quantum Systems, a German developer of aerial intelligence systems for defense and commercial use, raised €160 million in Series C funding led by Balderton Capital, with participation from Hensoldt, Airbus Defense and Space, Bullhound Capital, LP&E AG, HV Capital, Project A, DTCP, Omnes Capital, Airbus Ventures, Porsche SE, and Notion.

• Rainmaker, a drone-based cloud seeding startup tackling water scarcity, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Lowercarbon Capital, with participation from Starship Ventures, 1517 Ventures, and Long Journey Ventures.

• Exterra Carbon Solutions, a Canadian company that converts mining waste into sustainable materials and carbon capture solutions, raised C$20 million in Series A funding co-led by Clean Energy Ventures and BDC Capital, with participation from Investissement Québec, MOL Switch, and Karpowership. (CORRECT)

• Ace Aquatec, a Dundee-based company developing welfare technology for fish farming, raised £7.5 million ($9.4 million) in Series A funding led by Stolt Ventures, with participation from Scottish Enterprise and Aqua-Spark.

• Solena Materials, a London-based developer of protein-based fibers for sustainable textiles, raised $6.7 million in seed funding led by Sir David Harding, with participation from SynBioVen and Insempra.

• Alta Resource Technologies, a Boulder-based company specializing in biochemical separation of rare earth elements, raised $4.4 million in Seed 2 funding co-led by DCVC and Voyager Ventures, with participation from Orion Industrial Ventures and In-Q-Tel.

• Synergy Capital is raising $1 billion for an Asia-focused private credit fund.

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