Gropes of Wrath

Nomo Cuomo, Masks in Schools.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021 - The Day's Most Fascinating News from Dave Pell

Subscribe Store Current Share Archives Tuesday, August 10, 2021 1 GROPES OF WRATH After being backed into a corner by a scathing report from the state's attorney general and the threat of impending impeachment, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo has resigned from office. "I have been too familiar with people. My sense of humor can be insensitive and off-putting. I do hug and kiss people casually, women and men. I have done it all my life. In my mind, I've never crossed the line with anyone but I didn't realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn." (His speech wasn't as touching as his behavior.) + New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will become governor of New York.     2 ENCHANTED AISLE The Senate has at long last passed an infrastructure bill. So pull up the trucks and get the shovels out because it's hammer time! Oh, wait. The House still needs to pass the bill. That won't happen before the Fall. And the debate will be part of a broader, generational big bill. But let's celebrate the two parties crossing the deserted aisle. Here's the latest. + Here's What's Included In The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.     3 SCHOOLS TEACHING IRONY THIS FALL "Although vaccination is the best way to prevent Covid-19, universal masking is a close second, and with masking in place, in-school learning is safe and more effective than remote instruction, regardless of community rates of infection. Vaccination is the strongest method for preventing the ill effects of Covid, but students under 12 years of age are ineligible for the vaccines." NYT (gift article for ND readers): We Studied One Million Students. This Is What We Learned About Masking. (It sucks that our kids need to wear masks. It's also mostly the fault of those fighting to prevent them from being required to.) + Dallas and Austin school districts defy governor's order, will require masks. + COVID vaccines to be required for military under new US plan. + Bangladesh vaccinating Rohingya refugees amid virus surge. (Where ever the virus is left to fester, variants can occur. All of us are connected in this fight, whether we act like it our not.)     4 THE PRICE IS WRONG "The move effectively made it illegal for anyone in the US to do business with XPCC and made it more difficult for the organization to work with other countries, too. But new research from a Washington, DC–based nonprofit shows that the XPCC's many subsidiaries continue to export goods all over the world. The report found that some of the consumer items made with those products, such as tomato sauce or textiles, are sold in the United States as well as to other countries like Australia, Canada, and Germany." This Is How Banned Goods From China's Xinjiang May Be Entering The US.     5 YANKING OUR CHENEY "By lying about how close the insurgents had come to harming Cheney, the U.S. military sank deeper into a pattern of deceiving the public about many facets of the war, from discrete events to the big picture. What began as selective, self-serving disclosures after the 2001 invasion gradually hardened into willful distortions and, eventually, flat-out fabrications." A book excerpt from WaPo: Deceptions and lies: What really happened in Afghanistan. + US vows to isolate Taliban if they take power by force. (The twenty years of bombing didn't dissuade them, but maybe some stern words will do the trick.)     6 SHAKE AND RATTLE ROLES "In downtown San Francisco, the elevators in the thirty-four-story P.G. & E. headquarters are already programmed to let passengers out on the nearest floor before locking in place; at a high-tech Menlo Park fire station, the electronic bay doors will swing open, averting the risk of a power outage blocking the exits, as happened during the 1994 Northridge quake. Further north, in Vancouver, an alert directs incoming traffic away from the outdated George Massey Tunnel, which is not expected to survive the next serious quake." We're getting better at giving folks early warning signals about impending earthquakes. But there won't be much time. What can we get done in about 10 seconds? Zoey Poll in The New Yorker: There's an Earthquake Coming!     7 THE PRINCE AND THE STOPPER "A US woman who alleges she was brought to the UK aged 17 to have sex with the Duke of York has filed a civil case in New York claiming he abused her. Virginia Giuffre, who was an accuser of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, claims she was sexually assaulted by Prince Andrew in London and New York." + Gabe Sherman in Vanity Fair: "The former model, Guzel Ganieva, makes the shocking allegation that Leon Black trafficked her to Epstein in an amended complaint that's the latest salvo in her ongoing lawsuit against Black."     8 HERD ON THE STREET "Authorities said they deployed more than 25,000 personnel and conducted nearly 1,000 drone operations to monitor the elephants and lead them back to a path home. Some 180 metric tons of food, such as corn and bananas, had been provided to the herd." China's Runaway Elephants Are Going Home.     9 JUST BE A SPORT! "Anti-vax athletes are everywhere, and despite their penchant for calling the vaccine a 'personal decision,' they all sound exactly the same." Why Can't Anti-Vax Athletes Just Tell the Truth? + Lamar Jackson still isn't sure about the vaccine after getting Covid for a second time. "I feel it's a personal decision." (IT'S NOT A PERSONAL DECISION. IT'S A COMMUNITY DECISION.)     10 BOTTOM OF THE NEWS "There was an unexpected shopper browsing the aisles at a Ralphs store in Porter Ranch over the weekend. Video shows a black bear wandering through the San Fernando Valley supermarket before eventually walking out." + 49ers quarterbacks have been working through center Alex Mack's profuse sweating in training camp. (Being a QB isn't all it's cracked up to be.)     Thanks, Dave Pell Managing Editor, Internet Subscribe Store Current Share Archives NextDraft 600 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 You are receiving this because you signed up for Dave Pell's Next Draft newsletter. 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Startups deliver for foodtech market

On the podcast: Venturing outside Silicon Valley; Moove extends Africa streak; SpaceX to land satellite specialist; Snorkel ascends to unicorn status

Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription. PitchBook Log in The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A August 10, 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: An analysis of how food delivery services brought home a strong Q2 for the foodtech market. SaaS Ventures' Collin Gutman explores venture ecosystems outside traditional tech hubs for the "In Visible Capital" podcast. Today's Top Stories Ultrafast groceries, microalgae highlight Q2 in foodtech Fueled by rapid consumer adoption of restaurant and grocery delivery services, the foodtech vertical delivered another strong quarter in Q2 with startups around the world raising $6.2 billion across 280 deals. Our latest Emerging Tech Research report explores VC activity in the foodtech sector, highlighting key deals, exits and industry opportunities in the food delivery market. Key takeaways include: Ecommerce-focused food suppliers led Q2 funding with $3.1 billion invested across 29 deals. Ultrafast grocery, the latest online food delivery trend, is characterized by startups offering 20-minute-or-less delivery of goods, betting on consumers who prefer spontaneous food orders over trips to the store. The latest protein to garner VC attention is microalgae. Several corporate food companies have formed partnerships with microalgae providers to develop new plant-based products and reduce their carbon footprint. The food delivery market in India is estimated to exceed $21 billion by 2026. As the market is large and underpenetrated, we believe ghost kitchens may play a greater role in the development of India's food delivery market. read it now   Share:            On the podcast: Venturing outside Silicon Valley Over the past decade-plus, venture capital investors have been searching for the next Silicon Valley. And the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the hunt, with industry heavyweights touting the benefits of moving to cities that embrace tech culture. Collin Gutman, co-founder and managing partner at SaaS Ventures, joined the "In Visible Capital" podcast to discuss what it takes to grow venture ecosystems in cities outside traditional tech hubs, and why he's more bullish than ever on the future of tech. The episode is sponsored by Vanta. Topics include: How Miami has emerged as a destination for tech companies and VC, and what other cities could soon follow suit. How a mix of state-run funds and private capital can contribute to building a startup ecosystem. Why institutional investors should think about geographical diversity when teaming with startups. listen now   Share:            A message from the National Science Foundation Invention to impact Caribou Biosciences, a UC Berkeley spinout, uses a CRISPR-based approach to develop "off-the-shelf" therapies and potentially broaden the use of engineered immune cells in cancer treatments. The company recently raised $304 million. Caribou Biosciences (NSF-1315621) is one of hundreds of deep tech startups funded annually by the National Science Foundation, a government agency that plays a central role in accelerating discoveries into the marketplace. Each startup can receive up to $2 million to support translational research and development. NSF helps teams navigate the earliest stages of technology translation, investing roughly $200 million annually in startups. In the last five years, these companies have gone on to raise billions in follow-on capital, and the portfolio has had 100-plus exits. Learn more about NSF funding at seedfund.nsf.gov. Share:            Moove continues hot streak for African fintech startups (CatLane/Getty Images) Moove, a provider of revenue-based vehicle financing services for drivers in Africa, has collected a $23 million Series A co-led by Speedinvest and Left Lane Capital. The company also announced it has raised $40 million in debt. The Nigerian startup, which caters to the continent with the lowest per capita vehicle ownership in the world, is Uber's exclusive car financing and vehicle supply partner in sub-Saharan Africa. Clocktower Technology Ventures and Spartech Ventures also participated in the funding, among others. Moove is the latest entrant in the African fintech market to attract investor attention in 2021. Fintech startups in the region have secured around $330.5 million in H1, more than double the amount raised the entire year before, according to a report from Disrupt Africa, a tech-focused research and news organization based in the continent. Related read: Is Africa fintech's next frontier? Share:            Recommended Reads Big tech may be arriving in small towns across the US, but there's a catch. [Time] Why have the retail versions of private equity vehicles performed so poorly? Blame big promises and fat fees. [Forbes] The autonomous driving future faces complex decisions like what a self-driving car should do in the face of an oncoming crash. But what if we could stop vehicles from getting into life-or-death situations in the first place? [The Washington Post] Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: 418 Deals 1310 People 359 Companies 25 Funds See what our data software can do   Quick Takes   The Daily Benchmark     2018 Vintage North American Funds-of-Funds     A message from NetSuite and ContinuServe     NetSuite and ContinuServe join forces to deliver carveouts at deal speed     VC Deals     UpGrad books $185M     Snorkel AI lands $85M Series C at unicorn valuation     LawVu picks up new funding     PE Deals     Brookfield strikes $5.1B deal for American National     Sun Capital to take building products company private for $411M     Permira to acquire majority stake in German real estate platform     Bansk to buy Arcadia Consumer Healthcare in SBO     Exits & IPOs     SpaceX to take off with Swarm     Cannabis marketplace Leafly to go public through SPAC merger     Fundraising     Advent seeks $3B for next tech vehicle     Craft Ventures expands into growth deals, locks down $1.1B in new funds     Sands Capital collects $560M for latest life sciences fund     Energy Capital Ventures raises $45M for ESG-focused fund     Corporate M&A     DraftKings set to land Golden Nugget's online gaming platform for $1.5B+       The Daily Benchmark 2018 Vintage North American Funds-of-Funds Median IRR 13.82% Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate 26.88% 1.15x Median TVPI Select top performers HarbourVest Partners XI-Venture Top Tier Venture Velocity Fund 2 HarbourVest Partners XI-Buyout *IRR: net of fees 31 Funds in Benchmark » Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks A message from NetSuite and ContinuServe NetSuite and ContinuServe join forces to deliver carveouts at deal speed ContinuServe uses NetSuite technology to deliver carveouts in a new solution that brings the leading cloud-based enterprise resource planning solution together with a premier business process outsourcing provider. ContinuServe acquires NetSuite on behalf of the client and drives the technology carveout using proprietary tools to stand up a functional enterprise class NetSuite solution faster than comparable solutions. Once the business is operational, ContinuServe seamlessly transitions ownership of the system without a need for reimplementation or data migration, reducing risk and financial strain on both the private equity firm and the carveout. NetSuite's preconfigured industry-specific ERP solution is the leading cloud-native solution and the No. 1 solution for carveouts. To learn more about this new solution and how it drives value, download this compelling white paper. Share:            VC Deals UpGrad books $185M Indian edtech startup UpGrad was valued at $1.2 billion after raising $185 million, according to reports. Temasek led the round with participation from IFC and IIFL. The company, which targets the higher education market, was said to be valued at over $600 million in April. View details   View 43 competitors »   Snorkel AI lands $85M Series C at unicorn valuation Snorkel AI has raised $85 million at a $1 billion valuation in a round co-led by Addition and BlackRock. The Palo Alto-based startup helps data scientists and developers build AI applications via machine learning tools that label and manage datasets. Founded in 2019 by a team spun out of the Stanford AI Lab, Snorkel AI was valued at $135 million in April, according to PitchBook data. Additional Investors: GV, Greylock Partners, Lightspeed, Nepenthe Capital, Walden Venture Capital View round   View 1 competitors »   LawVu picks up new funding LawVu has raised a NZ$17 million (around $11.9 million) Series A led by Insight Partners. The legal tech startup is the developer of a cloud-based platform designed to help companies such as Nissan and Fonterra manage legal operations and access third-party collaboration tools. Additional Investor: AirTree Ventures View round   View 30 competitors »   PE Deals Brookfield strikes $5.1B deal for American National The reinsurance unit of Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to acquire American National Group in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $5.1 billion. Brookfield will pay $190 per share for the Galveston, Texas-based company, marking a 10% premium to American National's Friday closing price. American National offers life, health, property and other insurance products and has nearly $30 billion in assets. View deal   View 49 competitors »   Sun Capital to take building products company private for $411M Sun Capital Partners has agreed to purchase Select Interior Concepts, an Atlanta-based distributor of interior building products, for approximately $411 million in cash. As part of the public-to-private deal, Sun Capital will pay $14.50 per Select Interior Concepts share, representing a 32% premium to the company's Aug. 6 closing price. View deal   View 3 competitors »   Permira to acquire majority stake in German real estate platform Permira has agreed to pick up a majority stake in Engel & Völkers, a Germany-based international property brokerage platform. The stake is worth an estimated €400 million (about $470 million), German newspaper Handelsblatt reported. Established in 1977, Engel & Völkers currently serves more than 11,500 real estate agents across 900 locations in over 30 countries. The Völkers family and part of the management team will retain a nearly 40% stake in the company as part of the deal. View deal   View 28 competitors »   Bansk to buy Arcadia Consumer Healthcare in SBO Bansk Group has agreed to acquire Arcadia Consumer Healthcare, a Bridgewater, N.J.-based provider of over-the-counter medicine and vitamin products, from Avista Capital Partners. Avista acquired a majority stake in Arcadia in 2018, when it was known as Kramer Laboratories. View deal   View similar company »   Exits & IPOs SpaceX to take off with Swarm Elon Musk's SpaceX is acquiring satellite specialist Swarm for an undisclosed sum, according to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission. Swarm operates a network of small satellites that connect to internet of things devices. The Bay Area startup has been backed by Craft Ventures and Social Capital. It was valued at $85 million in 2019, according to PitchBook data. View details   View similar company »   Cannabis marketplace Leafly to go public through SPAC merger Online cannabis marketplace Leafly has agreed to go public through a reverse merger with special-purpose acquisition company Merida Merger Corp. I. The deal gives the combined entity an equity value of around $532 million. Through its website and mobile app, Seattle-based Leafly helps over 125 million customers choose cannabis products from licensed retailers. The company was acquired by private equity firm Privateer Holdings in 2011; it is currently backed by investors including Growcore and Subversive Capital. View details   View 5 competitors »   Fundraising Advent seeks $3B for next tech vehicle Advent International has set a $3 billion target for its second tech-focused fund, according to The Wall Street Journal. The firm closed its debut tech-focused fund on $2 billion in 2019, with part of its strategy focusing on co-investments in middle-market and large-cap tech companies alongside the firm's flagship vehicle. View fund   View 903 investments »   Craft Ventures expands into growth deals, locks down $1.1B in new funds Early-stage investor Craft Ventures has announced that it's moving into growth deals as part of more than $1 billion in funds raised across two new vehicles. The San Francisco-based firm, which specializes in backing SaaS and marketplace startups, said it raised $612 million for its third flagship fund, along with $510 million for its debut growth effort. Craft's portfolio includes SourceGraph, ClickUp and CloudTrucks. View details   View 130 investments »   Sands Capital collects $560M for latest life sciences fund Sands Capital has closed its second vehicle dedicated to life sciences investments on $560 million. The fund will be used to continue Sands' focus on backing companies that provide private therapeutics, diagnostics and life sciences tools. The Arlington, Va.-based firm launched the first vehicle in the strategy in 2018 and has invested in 20 life sciences businesses to date. View fund   View 84 investments »   Energy Capital Ventures raises $45M for ESG-focused fund Energy Capital Ventures has launched a $45 million ESG investment vehicle with backing from natural gas utilities including Avista Utilities and Black Hills Corporation. The fund will invest in early-stage companies targeting areas like decarbonization, renewable natural gas and hydrogen. Chicago-based ECV is led by veteran VC investor Vic Pascucci III. View fund   View investment »   Corporate M&A DraftKings set to land Golden Nugget's online gaming platform for $1.5B+ Sports-betting and online gaming giant DraftKings has reportedly agreed to purchase Golden Nugget's online gaming business for $1.56 billion. The deal follows rival sportsbook Penn National Gaming's Aug. 5 agreement to acquire Toronto-based Score Media and Gaming for $2 billion in cash and stock. Golden Nugget Online Gaming shares were up over 50% at market close, following news of the merger. View details   View 6 competitors »   Chart of the Day Source: Q2 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor   Who's in the newsletter today? People Vic Pascucci III Investors Addition Advent International AirTree Ventures Avista Capital Partners Avista Utilities Bansk Group Black Hills Corporation BlackRock Brookfield Asset Management Clocktower Technology Ventures Craft Ventures DraftKings Elon Musk Energy Capital Ventures GV Greylock Partners Growcore IFC IIFL Insight Partners Left Lane Capital Lightspeed Merida Merger Corp. I Nepenthe Capital Penn National Gaming Permira Privateer Holdings Sands Capital Social Capital Spartech Ventures Speedinvest Subversive Capital Sun Capital Partners Temasek Walden Venture Capital Companies American National Group Arcadia Consumer Healthcare ClickUp CloudTrucks Engel & Völkers Fonterra Golden Nugget LawVu Leafly Moove Nissan Score Media and Gaming Select Interior Concepts Snorkel AI SourceGraph SpaceX Swarm Uber UpGrad     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.