CDK Global

CDK Global

CDK Global was formed in 2006 as a joint venture between SVB Financial Group and China-focused private equity firm CDK Capital, with the mandate to invest in growth-stage technology companies on both sides of the Pacific. John China, a longtime Silicon Valley Bank executive, took the helm, building a team that understands the operational needs of venture-backed companies while maintaining the Beijing presence that differentiates CDK from peers who lack on-the-ground Asian distribution capability. The firm pursues minority and structured equity positions across a broad technology landscape, covering enterprise software, fintech, cybersecurity infrastructure, digital health, and mobility. CDK participates primarily in Series C through pre-IPO rounds, often deploying $10 million to $30 million per transaction, and frequently co-invests alongside top-tier venture firms including Sequoia Capital and Accel. The dual-office model is central to the strategy: portfolio companies gain not only capital but also a structured path to commercialization in China, a market where CDK's local team provides regulatory navigation and strategic partnership introductions that a pure play US fund cannot replicate. Operating with a lean team split between Menlo Park and Beijing, CDK has maintained a low public profile relative to the size of the rounds it anchors. The firm does not disclose overall AUM or deployment totals, consistent with a platform that raises capital on a deal-by-deal or vehicle-specific basis rather than through a traditional blind-pool fund structure. In May 2023, SVB Financial sold its investment banking division, including its stake in CDK Global, as part of bankruptcy proceedings following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank — an event that reset the platform's ownership and strategic independence. CDK's structural edge is its origin as a captive venture platform inside a commercial bank, which gave it peculiar access to the financial data, deposit flows, and operational metrics of thousands of growth-stage companies. That informational advantage, combined with the Beijing office that few Western growth-stage investors maintain at comparable seniority, creates a sourcing and diligence model that is difficult to replicate through a conventional fund structure. The post-SVB divestiture leaves the platform operating with greater autonomy, though its long-term capital formation strategy remains opaque to outside observers.