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In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find: - Factorial Energy is the latest solid-state battery maker to pull in funding from automakers, who remain divided on the future of EV battery tech.
- How SoftBank takes a unique approach to investing in Latin America.
- The Carlyle Group is looking to raise about $8.5 billion for what would be its biggest European fund yet.
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| SoftBank's Latin America Funds map out a new frontier | |  | | (KTSDESIGN/Getty Images) | | | SoftBank's investments span the globe, but only in Latin America does the investor have region-specific funds, with $8 billion dedicated to backing tech companies in the area.
Like the Vision Funds, SoftBank's two standalone Latin America Funds have an outsized amount of capital relative to similarly focused vehicles—but, as our recent analyst note details, the investor has a distinct strategy in Latin America that's unlike its approach anywhere else. | | | | | | | | | | Factorial nabs $200M as automakers debate future of EV batteries | |  | | (Carlos Sanchez Pereyra/Getty Images) | | | The question of how to power the coming wave of electric vehicles continues to divide automakers, who have spread their bets ranging from low-cost lithium-ion batteries to yet-unproven solid-state technology. - Solid-state battery maker Factorial Energy has raised $200 million in Series D funding led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, which it will use in part to build a production facility in New England.
- Other automakers betting on a solid-state future include BMW and Ford, which invested in Solid Power last year, as well as VW, which has backed QuantumScape. Shares of both QuantumScape and Solid Power have fallen significantly following SPAC mergers in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
- Meanwhile, cheaper lithium iron phosphate batteries now account for a majority of EV batteries in China, The Wall Street Journal reported. They will also soon be used in all of Tesla's standard-range cars.
- EV battery tech attracted more than $6 billion, or about 41% of global VC investment in the electric transportation segment, in the first nine months of 2021, according to PitchBook data.
| | | | | | | | | | Carlyle seeks $8.5B for sixth European buyout fund | |  | | (georgeclerk/Getty Images) | | | The Carlyle Group is looking to raise around €7.5 billion (about $8.5 billion) for what would be its biggest European fund yet, Bloomberg reported. The news comes a day after reports that European firm EQT is targeting €20 billion for its 10th flagship buyout vehicle. - Carlyle hasn't set a formal target for its fund, Europe Partners VI, but fundraising is expected to begin later this year.
- It's not the only European vehicle Carlyle has in the works. In November, it was reported that the Washington, DC-based firm had filed registration documents for its fifth European technology fund. Its predecessor, Carlyle Europe Technology Partners IV, closed on €1.35 billion in 2019.
- Carlyle is about halfway through deploying its fifth European buyout fund, which reached a €6.4 billion close in 2019.
| | | | | | | | | | Research funding is becoming one of the hottest spaces in Silicon Valley, as tech founders, crypto billionaires and star scientists aim to speed up scientific progress. [The Atlantic]
As the European Union seeks to green its economy, what does a gas country do without gas? [Bloomberg]
Most Americans have missed out on the asset-price boom created by the policy response to the pandemic. For Wall Street's biggest banks and financial firms, it's a different story. [The New Yorker] | | | | | |
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| | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 405 Deals | 1505 People | 489 Companies | 34 Funds | | | | | | |
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| 2017 Vintage Global PE Funds with more than $1B | | | | | | |
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| 6sense hits $5.2B valuation | | | 6sense, which offers an AI-based account engagement platform for B2B companies, has raised a $200 million Series E. The round, co-led by Blue Owl Capital and MSD Private Capital, with participation from Insight Partners, Sapphire Ventures and others, propels the company's valuation to $5.2 billion. Based in San Francisco, 6sense raised $125 million at a $2.1 billion valuation in March. | | | | | | | | Handshake raises $200M Series F | | | Handshake has raised $200 million at a $3.5 billion valuation in a round co-led by Coatue and Valiant Peregrine Fund. The San Francisco-based company is the developer of a recruitment platform designed to connect college students and recent graduates with prospective employers. Handshake was valued at $1.6 billion in May, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | | | | NFT startup Autograph banks $170M | | | | | | | | | Pixis raises $100M in SoftBank-led round | | | SoftBank has led a $100 million Series C for Pixis, a provider of codeless AI infrastructure designed to optimize marketing operations. The company raised a $17 million Series B last year. | | | | | | | | Quantum computing startup secures $60M | | | | | | | | | | Virtru has raised $60 million in a round co-led by Foundry Capital and Iconiq Capital. The Washington, DC-based company offers a data protection platform that helps organizations secure and manage sensitive information. | | | | | |
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| Vista Equity funnels $150M into OfficeSpace Software | | | Vista Equity Partners has invested roughly $150 million in OfficeSpace Software. The Atlanta-area company's platform is designed to help employees utilize and interact with a hybrid workspace, manage desk and room booking, maintain social distancing and more. | | | | | | | | Arsenal, LFM swap Eckhart in SBO | | | Arsenal Capital Partners has acquired Eckhart from LFM Capital, which had backed the company since 2015. Eckhart is a Michigan-based provider of automation solutions to sectors like ecommerce, electric vehicles and consumer products. | | | | | | | | SkyKnight backs New Republic Partners | | | | | | | | | Avance Investment Management invests in Synergy | | | | | | | | | PE-backed The Purple Guys lands IT managed services provider | | | | | | |
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| Plaid acquires identity verification startup Cognito | | | Financial software provider Plaid has acquired Cognito, the provider of an identity verification and compliance platform. Cognito's products are used by numerous digital finance companies including Affirm, Brex, Republic and Wyre. The company's previous investors include Battery Ventures and Lightspeed. | | | | | |
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| Accel-KKR eyes $1.25B for latest growth fund | | | Menlo Park, Calif.-based Accel-KKR is raising around $1.25 billion for its fourth growth capital fund, The Wall Street Journal reported. Accel-KKR is expected to hold a final close for the vehicle in the next month. The firm closed its third growth fund at $650 million in 2018, according to PitchBook data. | | | | | |
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"During the past decade, the increase in late-stage VC activity has been fundamental to the maturation of the European VC ecosystem. In 2021, late-stage capital accounted for a record 70.0% of overall VC deal value— equivalent to €72.0 billion. COVID-19 has hastened growth rates and capital invested into the majority of late-stage VC-backed companies in Europe in 2021."
Source: PitchBook's 2021 Annual European Venture Report | | | | | |
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