AI startups mine record VC funding

Ranking 2021's most active lenders in PE; Geopolitical risk threatens VC's global strides; EQT's $7.5B BPEA deal signals growing interest in Asia
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The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A
March 17, 2022
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In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:
  • Our 2021 Annual Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Report dives into the market segments driving growth in the maturing vertical.

  • Our latest ranking of the most active lenders in US PE.

  • EQT has agreed to acquire asset manager Baring Private Equity Asia as interest grows in the Asian private markets.
Today's Top Stories
Maturing data-science infrastructure drives record VC funding for AI startups
Artificial intelligence startups are riding high on rapid enhancements to open-source models, such as those used for multilingual translations and computer vision.

However, venture capital funding for AI and machine learning grew less robustly than software VC overall. Startups in the sector collected $115 billion in 2021, growing only 87.2% year-over-year from $61.4 billion in 2020.

Our 2021 Annual AI and ML Report dives into the vertical's investment activity and trends, assessing emerging opportunities across market segments like horizontal platforms, semiconductors and autonomous machines.
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Geopolitical risk threatens to trip up venture capital's global strides
(Joey Schaffer/PitchBook News)
War in Europe is making geopolitical risk a front-burner concern for venture capitalists, a striking turnabout for an industry that in recent years had epitomized the freewheeling globalization of finance and technology.

In the wake of economic sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, much of the international business world is shutting down its Russian commercial interests.

The war in Ukraine is also likely to prompt many VCs to be more discerning about accepting capital from investors based in geopolitical hot zones.
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Partner Perspectives
The key trends shaping the foodtech revolution
In the past decade, food production, distribution and consumption all evolved dramatically, propelled by multiple private companies' innovation. From platforms tackling logistics to research- and development-intensive enterprises looking to create new, nutritionally optimized foods more sustainably, the space is experiencing a period of true dynamism. Deloitte's latest Road to Next report explores the key trends within the foodtech space, including:
  • Datasets on record-breaking private investment in foodtech companies
  • Insights from Deloitte partners surrounding key technological and regulatory trends to watch
  • A spotlight on the push toward farm-to-table
Read it now
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Ranking 2021's most active lenders in PE
Eight different lenders took part in at least 200 deals for US PE-backed companies in 2021, a ferociously busy year that saw the private equity industry breaking records across the board.

Wondering who led the way? Our interactive 2021 Annual PE Lending League Tables, sponsored by Twin Brook Capital Partners, are now available. The tables can be sorted by deal type, geography, sector and more for a detailed view of the lending landscape in private equity last year.
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EQT's $7.5B BPEA deal signals growing interest in Asian private markets
(jayk7/Getty Images)
EQT has agreed to acquire Baring Private Equity Asia for $7.5 billion as investment firms continue to put stock in Asia's private markets.

The deal is one of the largest ever M&A deals in the alternatives space and shows that EQT is a massive player in private equity, on par with major US firms, according to Wylie Fernyhough, a senior PE analyst at PitchBook.
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Recommended Reads
The gender pay gap may get bigger as women return to work after the pandemic. [Fast Company]

Could the world's oil crisis open the door for green energy? [Fortune]

As allocators continue to embrace environmental, social and governance investing, asset managers are becoming aware of modern slavery in the supply chain. [Institutional Investor]
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Quick Takes
  The Daily Benchmark  
  2014 Vintage Global Real Estate Funds  
  VC Deals  
  SiFive nabs $175M at $2.5B+ valuation  
  Aptos hits $1B+ valuation  
  Sokowatch, now Wasoko, snags $125M  
  Talent.com picks up $120M  
  Linktree secures $110M  
  Singapore's Multiplier lands $60M  
  Oxio raises $40M  
  Bambee bags $30M for HR tech  
  PE Deals  
  Veracode hits $2.5B valuation with growth round  
  Vista Equity leads $250M investment in Flash  
  Sycamore, Hudson's Bay plan Kohl's bids  
  Odyssey Investment Partners lands Pexco  
  Exits & IPOs  
  China supports overseas listings, calls to end tech crackdown  
  Fundraising  
  Frazier wraps up $987M biotech fund  
  Stellantis Ventures announces $330M vehicle  
  Shield Capital raises $120M+ national security fund  
  Investors  
  Luno launches VC arm  
 
 
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The Daily Benchmark
2014 Vintage Global Real Estate Funds
Median IRR
11.26%
Top Quartile IRR
14.71%
1.42x
Median TVPI
Select top performers
L-A Saturn Acquisition
Exeter Industrial Value Fund III
Activum SG Real Estate Fund III
*IRR: net of fees
61 Funds in Benchmark »
Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks
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VC Deals
SiFive nabs $175M at $2.5B+ valuation
SiFive has raised a $175 million Series F led by Coatue, bringing the chip design startup's valuation to more than $2.5 billion. The Bay Area-based business offers processor cores and related products for semiconductor companies.
View round
 
View 21 competitors »
 
Aptos hits $1B+ valuation
Aptos, a blockchain specialist led by former Meta employees, has raised $200 million in a round that reportedly values the startup at more than $1 billion. The funding was led by Andreessen Horowitz.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Sokowatch, now Wasoko, snags $125M
Sokowatch has raised a $125 million Series B co-led by Tiger Global and Avenir Growth. Founded in 2015 in Kenya, the B2B ecommerce startup has rebranded to Wasoko.
View round
 
View 1 competitors »
 
Talent.com picks up $120M
Talent.com has raised a $120 million Series B led by Inovia Capital. The Montreal-based business offers a job search platform to help individuals and companies find positions and talent.
View round
 
View 5 competitors »
 
Linktree secures $110M
Melbourne-based Linktree has raised $110 million led by Index Ventures and Coatue at a $1.3 billion valuation. The company's tech enables social media users to design a landing page with links for their audience.
View details
 
View similar company »
 
Singapore's Multiplier lands $60M
Tiger Global and Sequoia India have co-led a $60 million Series B for Multiplier. The Singapore-based company, which offers a global employment platform, is now valued at $400 million.
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View similar company »
 
Oxio raises $40M
Oxio has raised a $40 million Series B led by ParaFi Capital. Oxio's tech enables brands and enterprises to launch their own mobile phone service. The company will use the funds to expand its business in Mexico and launch in the US and Brazil.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Bambee bags $30M for HR tech
Bambee, which offers a human resources platform for small and medium-sized companies, has raised a $30M Series C led by QED Investors.
View round
 
View 1 competitors »
 
PE Deals
Veracode hits $2.5B valuation with growth round
TA Associates has agreed to make a growth investment in Veracode that will value the application-security provider at $2.5 billion. Veracode is majority owned by Thoma Bravo, which will retain a minority stake in the company after the closure of the TA Associates deal.
View deal
 
View 60 competitors »
 
Vista Equity leads $250M investment in Flash
Vista Equity Partners has led a more than $250 million investment in Flash, a developer of software and hardware solutions for parking infrastructure operators. The company is now valued at over $1 billion.
View deal
 
View 5 competitors »
 
Sycamore, Hudson's Bay plan Kohl's bids
Sycamore Partners and Hudson's Bay are planning to submit takeover bids for department store chain Kohl's, which could value the company at over $9 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. Kohl's share price jumped over 17% following news of the incoming bids.
View deal
 
View 13 competitors »
 
Odyssey Investment Partners lands Pexco
Odyssey Investment Partners has acquired Pexco, an Atlanta-based engineered-plastic-component supplier, from AEA Investors. Pexco provides extrusion, design and fabrication of specialty plastic products through its manufacturing plants in the US and Mexico.
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View 17 competitors »
 
Exits & IPOs
China supports overseas listings, calls to end tech crackdown
China's state media agency Xinhua has announced that Chinese and US officials are working toward a plan for US-listed Chinese stocks, according to reports. China's government has voiced its support of overseas listings and has promised to keep the stock market stable. The agency also reported that officials called for regulators' crackdown on tech companies to end soon.
Fundraising
Frazier wraps up $987M biotech fund
Frazier Healthcare Partners has closed its latest fund on $987 million. Frazier Life Sciences XI is the firm's fourth venture fund focused on biopharmaceuticals. The vehicle's predecessor closed on $617 million in 2020.
View fund
 
View 277 investments »
 
Stellantis Ventures announces $330M vehicle
Global automaker Stellantis has launched a VC arm, Stellantis Ventures, with a $330 million fund. The investor will target early- and late-stage investments in automotive and mobility companies.
View details
 
View 26 investments »
 
Shield Capital raises $120M+ national security fund
Shield Capital has launched a venture capital fund to back tech companies in the commercial and national security sectors. The vehicle surpassed a fundraising target of $120 million.
View fund
 
View 9 investments »
 
Investors
Luno launches VC arm
Cryptocurrency specialist Luno has launched an early-stage investment arm, Luno Expeditions, to back crypto and fintech startups. Based in London, Luno raised VC funding from backers including Balderton Capital and Venturra Capital before it was acquired by Digital Currency Group in 2020.
View details
 
View 2 investments »
 
Chart of the Day
Source: Q4 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor
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