KAS Venture Partners Research
Investment Thesis
KAS Venture Partners is the venture investing vehicle of Kevin Ulrich, the co-founder and former CEO of Anchorage Capital Group, a New York-based alternative credit and distressed-investment manager that grew to more than $30 billion in assets under management. KAS Venture Partners is described on its own site as part of "a global multi-strategy asset management firm," and its public web presence is deliberately minimal: a single-page landing site, a team roster with no bios, and a legal disclosure page. No investment thesis, sector mandate, or explicit focus areas are published anywhere on kasventurepartners.com. Based on the one confirmed investment identified during this research (a consumer beverage company), the firm appears willing to write venture checks opportunistically outside of Ulrich's core credit and distressed-investing background, but there is not enough public evidence to characterize a consistent thesis.
Stage Focus
Not disclosed on the firm's website. The one confirmed transaction identified was a Series B round, but a single data point is not sufficient to characterize a stage preference, and it is unclear whether this reflects a typical entry point or an opportunistic later-stage participation.
Check Size
Not disclosed. No check-size range appears anywhere in the firm's public materials, and the confirmed Series B round did not disclose individual investor allocation amounts.
Lead Tendency
Unknown. In the one confirmed deal identified, KAS Venture Partners was one of seven participating investors (alongside Rocana, Midnight Ventures, Torch Capital, Doehler Ventures, Vanquish, and angel investor Craig Kallman) in a round led by CAVU Consumer Partners. This suggests the firm typically participates rather than leads, but the sample size is too small to be conclusive.
Recent Activity
The only confirmed recent investment is a participation in Recess's $30 million Series B round, announced October 29-30, 2025. The round was led by CAVU Consumer Partners and also included Rocana, Midnight Ventures, Torch Capital, Doehler Ventures, Vanquish, and Craig Kallman. The round coincided with the appointment of Kyle Thomas (formerly Global Chief Commercial Officer at Nutrabolt) as President & Co-CEO of Recess. Fund status (actively deploying vs. between funds) could not be determined from public sources; KAS Venture Partners does not appear to have publicly announced a dedicated venture fund vehicle or size.
Portfolio Highlights
Recess (takearecess.com) is the only portfolio company that could be confirmed through this research. Recess is a functional beverage company founded in 2018, self-described as the pioneer of the "relaxation beverage" category, selling magnesium-based and adaptogen-infused sparkling waters and zero-proof craft mocktails. The brand is distributed in more than 15,000 retail stores including Target, H-E-B, Kroger, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods. No other portfolio companies were discoverable on the firm's own site (there is no dedicated portfolio page) or through external research sources at the time of this research.
Team
- Kevin Ulrich, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Co-founded Anchorage Capital Group in New York in 2003 and grew it into a leading alternative credit and distressed-investment manager with more than $30 billion in AUM and offices in London and Luxembourg. Previously Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, overseeing distressed bank loan trading and proprietary investments. Served as Chairman of MGM Holdings from 2010 until Amazon's acquisition of MGM, and currently serves as Chairman of J.Crew Group Inc. Holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School (with honors) and a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario.
- Julian Handel, Partner. At KAS Venture Partners since January 2022 per public org data. No further bio disclosed on the firm's site.
- Lucas Lorentz, Senior Associate (listed as Associate on third-party org data). No further bio disclosed.
- Richard Xie, Associate. At KAS Venture Partners since July 2024 per public org data (listed as Analyst on third-party org data). No further bio disclosed.
Decision Process
Not disclosed. Given the small team size (four listed members, including Ulrich as Founder/CEO), the process is likely informal and Ulrich-led, but this could not be confirmed.
Founder Preferences
Not disclosed. No public statements about founder or team preferences were found.
Geographic Focus
Not explicitly disclosed on the firm's site. Third-party sources (The Org) list the firm as New York-based, consistent with Kevin Ulrich's history at Anchorage Capital, which was also headquartered in New York.
Summary
KAS Venture Partners maintains an unusually thin public profile for a venture investor: a bare-bones website with no thesis, portfolio, or check-size disclosures, and only one confirmed investment (Recess, a functional beverage brand) identified through external research. This profile is consistent with a principal's personal or family-office-style investing vehicle rather than a traditional institutional venture fund. Future research passes should watch for a dedicated fund announcement, additional portfolio disclosures, or further press coverage that would sharpen the firm's stated thesis and stage focus.