Agtech startups reap record VC funding

Nubank raises $2.6B in biggest LatAm IPO; HashiCorp goes public at $16B; Apollo targets $25B fund; PE firms swap kids' drink specialist

Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription. PitchBook Log in The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A December 9, 2021 Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find: VC funding for agtech startups soared to a record $3.2 billion in Q3, boosting annual deal value to nearly $8 billion. Brazilian digital banking specialist Nubank raised $2.6 billion in Latin America's largest IPO to date. Who might be next to join the growing herd of venture-backed unicorns in Europe? Today's Top Stories Agtech startups reap record VC funding The pandemic highlighted the challenges of feeding the world in a crisis while minimizing the environmental impact of agriculture. Venture funding for agtech startups hit a quarterly record of $3.2 billion in Q3 2021—boosting annual deal values to $7.8 billion, which already eclipses 2020's total by more than 20%. Our latest installment of Emerging Tech Research digs into major trends that shaped this space globally in Q3, including increased concern for food security amid supply chain disruptions, data-enabled crop productivity gains and environmentally friendly agricultural techniques. Among the takeaways: More VC-backed companies are sprouting up to offer ag biologicals, environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic fertilizers. Emerging techniques are providing more complete measurements of soil health. Agronomists can glean insights from in-field sensors and hyperspectral imaging using drones, planes or satellites. Carbon farming, or capturing atmospheric carbon in soil and crop roots, can help combat climate change while encouraging sustainable farming practices. read the preview   Share:            Brazil's Nubank raises $2.6B in biggest LatAm IPO (Courtesy of Nubank) Brazil-based digital bank Nubank priced its shares at the top of its revised target range to raise $2.6 billion in a stock market debut that values the company at $44 billion on a fully diluted basis. The deal marks the second-largest fintech IPO of the year, after Coinbase, and it eclipses Robinhood's July debut in terms of funds raised and exit value.  Nubank was last valued at $30 billion over the summer in a Series G led by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Top shareholders include Sequoia, DST Global, Tencent and Tiger Global. The sale of 289 million shares at $9 apiece concludes Nubank's bumpy ride toward the public market as the Brazilian economy has declined. In November, Nubank scaled back the size of the deal and lowered its proposed IPO price range to $8 to $9 apiece, down from its initial range of $10 to $11. read more   Share:            A message from Bridge Bank Stars in the making: Breaking down the LA venture ecosystem's record year At $20.6 billion in 2021 thus far, the LA venture ecosystem has never seen such a profusion of venture capital before. In the latest Bridge Bank report, the drivers of this surge in activity are examined in-depth, alongside other highlights including: A spotlight on ecommerce. Financing metrics like valuations and deal sizes. Analysis of how the ecosystem is likely to develop in the future, given exits and fundraising momentum. Read it now. Share:            Europe's 'soonicorns': Who will be next to reach a $1B valuation? A total of 70 unicorns have been created in Europe so far this year. (Christoph Wagner/Getty Images) A record number of unicorns have been minted in Europe during 2021. With valuations and deal amounts expected to continue their upward trajectory, more startups will undoubtedly join the unicorn club in 2022. We've put together a list of VC-backed companies currently valued at over $500 million that could soon join the ranks of Europe's billion-dollar startups. read more   Share:            Recommended Reads VCs often make personal investments in the same startups their firms have backed. Here's why that can result in an ethical minefield. [Bloomberg] The story of how one Welshman lost half a billion in bitcoin to the dump. [The New Yorker] Guide dogs need the right personality, health and training. Now scientists are studying the genetic traits behind what makes certain canines so suited to working. [Wired] Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: 414 Deals 1738 People 380 Companies 16 Funds See what our data software can do   Quick Takes   The Daily Benchmark     2013 Vintage North American VC Funds     Partner Perspectives     Boston venture activity surges to record height     People     CPPIB elevates Maximilian Biagosch to head of direct private equity     VC Deals     Claroty snags $400M, inks deal to acquire Medigate     SoftBank leads $300M round for mental health startup     Tipalti valued at $8.3B with Series F     FastAF lands $200M in Series A funding     Nomi closes $110M Series A     Addition, a16z lead unicorn round for Anyscale     Fintech startup Lydia banks $100M Series C     AI specialist Synthesia secures $50M     OncoMyx closes $50M Series B     Afero bags $50M Series C     PE Deals     Wind Point Partners, Kainos Capital swap kids' beverage company     CDPQ takes stake in QIMA     PE-backed Precisely to acquire SaaS provider     Francisco Partners leads $100M investment in PC gaming company     TPG considers selling stake in pathology unit     Exits & IPOs     HashiCorp goes public valued at $16B     Grove Collaborative to go public via Richard Branson-backed SPAC     Fundraising     Apollo targets $25B fund     Twilio launches $50M fund       The Daily Benchmark 2013 Vintage North American VC Funds Median IRR 18.60% Top Quartile IRR 25.24% 2.01x Median TVPI Select top performers YLV II OrbiMed Private Investments V G Squared I *IRR: net of fees 35 Funds in Benchmark » Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks Partner Perspectives Boston venture activity surges to record height The Boston metro area has seen a new high in venture investment in 2021, at $22.1 billion in aggregate deal value. In First Republic Bank's market review that is now available, the key drivers of this record surge are unpacked in detail, drawing on a slew of PitchBook datasets to present top insights. Highlights include: How investment trends in Boston align with or differ from the rest of the US. Insights from local investors on dealmaking challenges and opportunities. Data on domestic pre-money valuations, angel and seed activity, and equity acquired. Read the report now. Share:            People CPPIB elevates Maximilian Biagosch to head of direct private equity The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has promoted Maximilian Biagosch to senior managing director, Europe regional head, and head of direct private equity, PE Hub reported. Biagosch first joined CPPIB in 2015. View details     VC Deals Claroty snags $400M, inks deal to acquire Medigate SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 has co-led a $400 million Series E round for Claroty, a New York-based provider of cyber-physical systems for the industrial, healthcare and enterprise sectors. Bessemer Venture Partners and Schneider Electric also co-led the round. Claroty has also announced its intent to purchase Medigate, a healthcare internet-of-things security company. Claroty's tech integrates with users' existing infrastructure to provide visibility, risk and vulnerability management, threat detection and secure remote access. Additional Investors: Standard Investments, Istari, Team8, Temasek View round   View 88 competitors »   SoftBank leads $300M round for mental health startup Mental healthcare startup Cerebral has raised a $300 million Series C led by SoftBank, with participation from new and existing backers including Prysm Capital, Access Industries, WestCap Group and Artis Ventures. Through its monthly subscription plans, Cerebral provides users with access to healthcare providers, behavioral counselors, talk therapists, nutritionists and medication management. The San Francisco-based startup has now raised $462 million in total private backing. View round   View 1 competitors »   Tipalti valued at $8.3B with Series F Tipalti, the creator of an automated payment management platform for accounts payable departments, has raised a $270 million Series F at a valuation of $8.3 billion. The funding was led by G Squared, with support from several new and existing backers. Based in San Mateo, Calif., the B2B fintech startup also operates out of offices in the UK and Canada. Tipalti was valued at $2 billion in October 2020. Additional Investors: 01 Advisors, Counterpoint Global, Durable Capital Partners, Marshall Wace, Zeev Ventures View round   View 52 competitors »   FastAF lands $200M in Series A funding FastAF, a startup delivering products to users in two hours or less, has raised a $200 million Series A from Luxor Capital, Interlace Ventures, EQT Ventures and others. The startup has partnered with more than 600 national and local retailers throughout the US, and currently operates in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and New York. As part of the round, FastAF has spun out from Darkstore, a provider of micro-fulfillment tech. View round   View similar company »   Nomi closes $110M Series A Nomi Health has raised $110 million in funding co-led by Rose Park Advisors and Arbor Ventures. The Utah-based direct healthcare startup provides a platform that enables expanded access to care; it currently operates in 12 states. View round View similar company » Addition, a16z lead unicorn round for Anyscale Anyscale has raised a $100 million Series C co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Addition. NEA, Intel Capital and Foundation Capital also participated in the round, which values the company at $1 billion. The startup offers a platform to enable instant scaling of AI applications. View round   View 17 competitors »   Fintech startup Lydia banks $100M Series C Lydia, a mobile payments app provider, has raised $100 million at a valuation of more than $1 billion, TechCrunch reported. Investors in the round include Tencent, Accel, Founders Future, Dragoneer Investment Group and Echo Street. View round   View 16 competitors »   AI specialist Synthesia secures $50M London-based Synthesia has raised a $50 million Series B led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from GV and existing backers, TechCrunch reported. The company uses AI to create avatars that enterprise clients can use to turn slide decks into videos. View round   View 29 competitors »   OncoMyx closes $50M Series B OncoMyx Therapeutics has raised $50 million in a round co-led by Lumira Ventures and B Capital Group, with participation from Lyzz Capital and the startup's Series A investors. OncoMyx develops immunotherapies to treat solid tumors and hematological cancers. View round   View 53 competitors »   Afero bags $50M Series C Afero has raised $50 million in Series C funding from Crosspoint Capital Partners and The Home Depot. Operating out of Menlo Park, Calif., and Boston, the startup provides secure connectivity solutions for internet-of-things devices such as connected thermostats, light bulbs and other smart home products. View round   View 28 competitors »   PE Deals Wind Point Partners, Kainos Capital swap kids' beverage company Kainos Capital has sold Good2grow, an Atlanta-based branded kids' beverage company, to Wind Point Partners. Good2grow sells clean label, ready-to-drink fruit juice, fortified water and organic flavored milk. View deal   View similar company »   CDPQ takes stake in QIMA Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has acquired a minority stake in QIMA, a Hong Kong-headquartered provider of supply chain compliance solutions. Founded in 2005, QIMA is active in the food, consumer goods and life sciences markets, with more than 15,000 clients in over 120 countries and some 4,000 employees in 88 countries. Bloomberg reported that CPDQ is acquiring the interest from Navis Capital Partners. View deal   View 20 competitors »   PE-backed Precisely to acquire SaaS provider Data integrity software specialist Precisely has agreed to acquire Atlanta-based SaaS provider Cedar CX Technologies. Cedar CX provides tech to sectors including wealth management, lending and insurance. Clearlake Capital and TA Associates have backed Precisely since earlier this year. View deal View 59 competitors » Francisco Partners leads $100M investment in PC gaming company Francisco Partners has led a $100 million strategic investment in Nzxt, a California-based PC gaming hardware and services company. Founded in 2004, Nzxt offers PC cooling solutions, RGB lighting kits, various components, power supplies and PC performance monitoring software. View deal   View similar company »   TPG considers selling stake in pathology unit TPG Asia is weighing the sale of its 20% stake in Pathology Asia Holdings Pte, the private equity firm's Singapore-based pathology business, ahead of the medical unit's planned IPO, Bloomberg reported. View deal   View similar company »   Exits & IPOs HashiCorp goes public valued at $16B HashiCorp, a San Francisco-based provider of cloud operations software for businesses, raised $1.2 billion in an initial public offering that values the company at roughly $16 billion fully diluted. Investors previously valued HashiCorp at $5.27 billion in March 2020. HashiCorp upped the price of its 15 million-share offering to $80, up from its proposed price range of $68 to $72 apiece. Top venture shareholders include Mayfield, GGV Capital and Redpoint Ventures. The stock is set to begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the symbol HCP. View details   View 52 competitors »   Grove Collaborative to go public via Richard Branson-backed SPAC Grove Collaborative, a venture-backed provider of natural consumer products, will go public through a reverse merger with Virgin Group Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC backed by billionaire Richard Branson, The Wall Street Journal reported. The combined company will be valued at $1.5 billion. Grove Collaborative has received past venture funding from investors including Sculptor Capital Management, NextView Ventures and Glynn Capital. View details   View 7 competitors »   Fundraising Apollo targets $25B fund Apollo Global Management is targeting $25 billion for a new flagship fund, Bloomberg reported. The fund would be Apollo's largest vehicle ever, compared with its $24.7 billion flagship fund in 2017. View fund   View 702 investments »   Twilio launches $50M fund Cloud communications specialist Twilio has launched Twilio Ventures, a $50 million fund devoted to developers, partners and solutions within the Twilio ecosystem and customer experience and engagement companies. The fund has completed several investments this year into companies including API specialist Algolia, on-demand video platform provider Mux and conversational AI specialist Hyro. View fund   View 27 investments »   Chart of the Day Source: PitchBook's Q3 2021 Global M&A Report   Who's in the newsletter today? Investors 01 Advisors Accel Access Industries Addition Andreessen Horowitz Apollo Global Management Arbor Ventures Artis Ventures B Capital Group Bessemer Venture Partners Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Clearlake Capital Counterpoint Global Crosspoint Capital Partners Dragoneer Investment Group Durable Capital Partners EQT Ventures Echo Street Foundation Capital Founders Future Francisco Partners G Squared GGV Capital GV Glynn Capital Grove Collaborative Intel Capital Interlace Ventures Istari Kainos Capital Kleiner Perkins Lumira Ventures Luxor Capital Lyzz Capital Marshall Wace Mayfield NEA Navis Capital Partners NextView Ventures Precisely Prysm Capital Redpoint Ventures Rose Park Advisors Schneider Electric Sculptor Capital Management SoftBank Standard Investments TA Associates TPG Asia Team8 Temasek Tencent The Home Depot Twilio Virgin Group Acquisition Corp. II WestCap Group Wind Point Partners Zeev Ventures Companies Afero Algolia Anyscale Cedar CX Technologies Cerebral Claroty Darkstore FastAF Good2grow HashiCorp Hyro Lydia Medigate Mux Nomi Health Nzxt OncoMyx Therapeutics Pathology Asia Holdings Pte QIMA Synthesia Tipalti     About PitchBook | Terms of use | Advertise with us | Contact Follow us:       This email was sent to pitchbook@quicklydone.com via the PitchBook Platform. Do you want to change your email address, get a different edition or unsubscribe? Manage your subscription here. © 2021 PitchBook Data. All rights reserved. Venture capital, private equity and M&A financial information technology provider.