Why Josh Kushner’s Firm Just Spent $7.6 Billion on a 150-Year-Old Company
Thrive Holdings is acquiring ADT, part of a buying spree that shows his ambitions beyond traditional venture capital
- Josh Kushner’s Thrive Holdings agreed to acquire home security business ADT in a $7.6 billion all-cash deal.
- The acquisition reflects Kushner’s belief that the best opportunities for investors expand well beyond artificial intelligence startups.
Josh Kushner’s investment empire just forged its largest single transaction. It wasn’t a bet on a hot startup—it was the purchase of a 150-year-old home security business.
Thrive Holdings, a Kushner-led firm that acquires older businesses and infuses them with artificial intelligence, agreed to acquire ADT in a $7.6 billion all-cash deal with an enterprise value of $15.3 billion. It is the latest move in his aggressive push to back businesses far removed from the heated AI race.
Thrive Holdings thinks of itself “as a Danaher or a Berkshire Hathaway,” said co-founder Anuj Mehndiratta in an interview, and aims to invest in businesses for the long term.
The ADT acquisition reflects Kushner’s belief that the venture capital industry is changing and that the best opportunities for investors extend well beyond AI startups, according to a person familiar with this thinking. Earlier this year, Thrive Eternal, another Kushner-led firm, was part of a consortium that struck a deal to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers from finance mogul Mark Walter at a $12.5 billion valuation.
The strategy is gaining traction among investors. Technology investors are increasingly launching so-called AI roll-ups, in which they buy and retrofit older businesses with AI to improve profits. Lightspeed Venture Partners recently raised more than $750 million for its AI Renaissance Fund, which will acquire existing businesses and upgrade them with AI.
Mehndiratta said the company can enhance ADT’s core business by reducing false alarms, providing better information to security personnel responding to emergencies and improving the reliability of ADT’s systems. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter next year.
Kushner is best known for running the venture-capital firm Thrive Capital, which has more than $65 billion in assets under management, according to a recent letter to investors.
The brother of Jared Kushner, one of President Trump’s sons-in-law, Kushner founded Thrive Capital in 2009, and it raised its tenth fund, worth $10 billion, earlier this year. In addition to a major bet on OpenAI, Thrive Capital is invested in Databricks and Wiz.
“Thrive today is only a fraction of what it can become,” Kushner wrote in the investor letter.
Kushner also runs Thrive Eternal, which is devoted to investing in iconic, AI-proof assets ranging from art and collectibles to sports teams like the San Francisco Giants and the Lakers.
Thrive Holdings, which bought ADT, raised $2 billion from investors including SoftBank, D1 Capital Partners and Altimeter at a $12 billion valuation in August. It has quietly been on an acquisition spree.
Founded last year, its portfolio now includes more than 75 acquired businesses. Rather than flipping them, it aims to reinvest revenue to fuel growth and could go public over the longer term.
The companies it owns fall into three categories: accounting, IT services and the built environment, which includes services involved in getting buildings and infrastructure approved, constructed and maintained. Its team includes 30 engineers who embed themselves within these businesses to identify problems and develop new technology to streamline operations.
Mehndiratta, who joined Thrive as a partner in 2021 and previously worked on data science at Blackstone, said the company builds dedicated engineering teams alongside experienced practitioners in each industry to find and remove bottlenecks.
“Holding companies are uniquely able to go and attract the best type of talent because they want to advance these industries in a different and unique way,” he said.