Crypto dominates emerging tech

Insurtech startups could face funding slowdown; Ukraine's startups remain resolute; Apollo launches sustainability platform; Dbt Labs nabs $222M
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The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A
February 25, 2022
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In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:
  • From Web3 and DeFi to foodtech to gaming, our latest Emerging Tech Indicator explores the sectors that attracted VCs' attention in Q4 2021.

  • In the wake of Russia's invasion, startups in Ukraine are determined to keep the lights on.

  • Our 2021 Annual Insurtech Report explores the industry's investment activity, notable trends, and why startups could face challenges in 2022.
Today's Top Stories
Emerging tech investment surges in Q4 as VCs look to crypto
Our Q4 2021 Emerging Tech Indicator tracks early- and seed-stage deals from 15 top VC firms, following the flow of capital across 30 market segments to spotlight the tech driving early growth opportunities.

The report details the dramatic numbers from Q4, which recorded $10.2 billion invested in emerging tech, up more than $3 billion over Q3. Highlights include:
  • Web3 and DeFi topped deal value for the second consecutive quarter, doubling its Q3 value to reach $2.4 billion in Q4.

  • Large rounds surged, with 26 rounds of $100 million or more—nearly double Q3's record of 14 and well above the historical quarterly average of four.

  • Several major deals centered on the integration of blockchain economics with gaming environments, including Q4's largest round: a $725 million Series B for Forte.
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Ukraine startups remain resolute amid Russian invasion
A Ukrainian military vehicle passes Independence Square in central Kyiv on Thursday. (Daniel Leal/Getty Images)
Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent shock waves through Europe's VC ecosystem on Thursday, but the country's startups are determined to keep the lights on.
  • More than 125 VC-backed companies that have raised capital since the beginning of last year have primary or secondary offices in the country, mining Ukraine's deep pool of tech talent.

  • "Some of our startups moved out to parts of western Ukraine, but I know a lot of people who stayed in Kyiv," said Andriy Dovzhenko, a managing partner at Ukrainian fund SMRK.
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A message from Upwork
Upwork sponsors Season 5 of the "In Visible Capital" podcast
Upwork partnered with PitchBook on this season of the "In Visible Capital" podcast to bring the latest innovations driving growth for PE and portfolio companies.

Hear industry leaders and PitchBook analysts discuss the evolving capital markets, along with dedicated segments hosted by Upwork's Tim Sanders.

Digital transformation is a burning topic for CEOs, investment professionals and leaders of private equity firms. Leveraging cloud computing is foundational for firms that want to make the leap to modernization.

In segment one, Tim talks to Blackstone's chief technology officer, John Stecher, who successfully led Blackstone's recent technology migration to the cloud in a remarkably short period of time. Listen to Tim and John's conversation at upwork.com/pitchbook.
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Insurtech startups could face challenges despite record VC funding in 2021
The prevalence of data accessibility and use of emerging technologies such as cloud, predictive analytics and telematics have enabled insurtech startups to proliferate and thrive. However, PitchBook analysts say that such companies are viewed as overpriced in the private markets, and venture funding in the sector might slow down this year.

Our 2021 Annual Insurtech Report dives deep into the industry's investment activity and trends, comprehensively assessing emerging opportunities across market segments like personal property and liability insurance, commercial insurance, underwriting, and claims management.

Key takeaways include:
  • Global insurtech companies raised more than $14 billion across 633 deals, representing a 105% year-over-year increase in terms of deal value.

  • Insurtech startups generated $33.6 billion in exit value, eclipsing the combined exit value of $21.2 billion amassed during the previous 10 years.
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Insight Partners collects $20B+ for largest fund in firm's history
New York-based Insight Partners has closed its largest fund to date. (AerialPerspective Images/Getty Images)
Money keeps flowing into venture capital, with the latest fundraise coming from tech-focused Insight Partners. The firm, which invests across both PE and VC and is often compared to aggressive crossover investors like Tiger Global, has raised over $20 billion for its 12th flagship vehicle.

We took a look at Insight Partners' deal activity by type and stage and examined how the firm's recent fund performance compares to PitchBook VC fund benchmarks.
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Recommended Reads
No nation is forced to repeat its past. But something familiar is taking place in Ukraine. [The Atlantic]

Italy's government provided generous incentives to support energy-efficient renovations and create greener cities in the country. Then came the scammers. [Bloomberg]

The SEC is investigating whether recent stock sales by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his brother violated insider-trading rules. [The Wall Street Journal]
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Quick Takes
  The Daily Benchmark  
  2011 Vintage Global VC Funds  
  A message from PitchBook  
  Unabated: Reflecting on 15 years of private capital markets growth  
  VC Deals  
  Altimeter leads $222M round for Dbt Labs  
  Fabric secures $140M in SoftBank-led round  
  Project Canary collects $111M  
  Niyo banks $100M Series C  
  RightHand Robotics grabs $66M  
  AnyRoad drives off with $47M  
  PE Deals  
  Greenbriar takes over JEGS  
  AE Industrial stakes Firefly Aerospace  
  Exits & IPOs  
  L Catterton weighs IPO options at $3B valuation  
  Fundraising  
  Camber Creek wraps up $325M real estate tech fund  
  Investors  
  Apollo to deploy $100B+ by 2030 with new sustainability platform  
  BlackRock, Warner Music seek music catalogs of female, diverse artists  
 
 
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The Daily Benchmark
2011 Vintage Global VC Funds
Median IRR
17.80%
Top Quartile IRR
25.45%
1.99x
Median TVPI
Select top performers
Glilot Capital Partners
Union Square Ventures 2012 Fund
Storm Ventures Fund IV
*IRR: net of fees
42 Funds in Benchmark »
Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks
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A message from PitchBook
Unabated: Reflecting on 15 years of private capital markets growth
Over the past 15 years, there have been several key inflection points that have contributed to the growth, maturation and deepening of the global private capital markets. From the global financial crisis and the first unicorn to recent US elections and the pandemic, these factors paved the way for today's record-breaking investment landscape—and will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the future.

What past financial events do you think contributed to today's dealmaking environment? What future implications do these events present for the next 15 years? PitchBook wants to hear your thoughts!

Submit your ideas to pr@pitchbook.com and you may be quoted in an upcoming feature.
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VC Deals
Altimeter leads $222M round for Dbt Labs
Dbt Labs has raised $222 million at a $4.2 billion valuation in a round led by Altimeter. The Philadelphia-based company is a developer of analytics engineering tools for data professionals.
Select Additional Investors:
Amplify Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Databricks, GV, Iconiq Capital, Sequoia
View round
 
View 15 competitors »
 
Fabric secures $140M in SoftBank-led round
Fabric has raised $140 million in a Series C round led by SoftBank. The Seattle-based company is the developer of a headless commerce platform for brands.
Additional Investors:
Forerunner Ventures, Glynn Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Stripes
View round
 
View 8 competitors »
 
Project Canary collects $111M
Insight Partners has led a $111 million investment in Project Canary, a climate tech and environmental assessment company based in Colorado. Brookfield Growth and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board were among other investors in the Series B.
Additional Investors:
Carica Sustainable Investments, Quantum Energy Partners, Energy Impact Partners, Frontier Venture Capital
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Niyo banks $100M Series C
Niyo has raised $100 million in a round co-led by Accel and Lightrock. Founded in 2015, the Bengaluru-based company provides digital savings accounts and other banking services to roughly 4 million customers.
View round
 
View 38 competitors »
 
RightHand Robotics grabs $66M
RightHand Robotics has raised a $66 million Series C co-led by Safar Partners, SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 and Thomas H. Lee Partners. Based in the Boston area, the company is the creator of an autonomous robotics platform that helps warehouses manage order fulfillment and other supply chain processes.
Additional Investors:
F-Prime Capital, Future Shape, GV, Global Brain, Matrix Partners, Menlo Ventures, Seiko Epson, Zebra Technologies
View round
 
View 19 competitors »
 
AnyRoad drives off with $47M
AnyRoad has raised a $47 million Series B led by BlackRock, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Day One Ventures. The San Francisco-based company offers an experience relationship management platform for Budweiser, Honda and other global brands.
Additional Investors:
Commonfund, Corner Ventures, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Rally Ventures, Runa Capital
View round
 
View 76 competitors »
 
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PE Deals
Greenbriar takes over JEGS
Middle-market investor Greenbriar Equity Group has acquired a majority stake in JEGS Automotive. The Ohio-based company is a retailer and distributor of aftermarket auto parts and accessories.
View deal
 
View similar company »
 
AE Industrial stakes Firefly Aerospace
AE Industrial Partners has acquired a stake in Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based developer of launch and in-space vehicles and related services, from Noosphere Venture Partners.
View deal
 
View 13 competitors »
 
Exits & IPOs
L Catterton weighs IPO options at $3B valuation
L Catterton is planning an IPO, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm, which is backed by Bernard Arnault, could seek a valuation of up to $3 billion in a potential public listing. L Catterton has roughly $30 billion of assets under management.
View details
 
View 256 investments »
 
Fundraising
Camber Creek wraps up $325M real estate tech fund
Real estate tech investor Camber Creek has closed its fourth fund with $325 million in capital commitments. The firm's portfolio includes property management company HappyCo and Flex, the developer of a rent payment app.
View fund
 
View 36 investments »
 
Investors
Apollo to deploy $100B+ by 2030 with new sustainability platform
Apollo Global Management has launched a sustainable investing platform focused on investments in energy transition and decarbonization. The private equity giant intends to deploy $50 billion into clean energy and climate capital over the next five years and a total of more than $100 billion by 2030.
View details
 
View 714 investments »
 
BlackRock, Warner Music seek music catalogs of female, diverse artists
BlackRock and Warner Music Group have invested $750 million into a new fund intended to acquire the music rights catalogs of female and diverse artists, The Wall Street Journal reported. Music investment and management firm Influence Media will also partner with the fund.
View details
 
View 470 investments »
 
Chart of the Day
"2021 saw the best PE deal environment ever. Strong leveraged lending markets that stayed around the 3% mark all year, driven by institutional investors' aggressive search for yield and low interest rates, kept deals moving."

Source: PitchBook's 2021 Annual European PE Breakdown
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