Revisiting our 2022 US VC predictions

Unicorn formation slows to a crawl; charting PE's performance in Q2; crypto firm emerges from stealth; fish-skin therapeutics specialist nets $100M
Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription.
PitchBook
Log in
The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A
August 3, 2022
The Daily Pitch is powered by PitchBook's industry-defining research and best-in-class data
Ads
In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:
 
Today's Top Stories  
Revisiting our 2022 US VC predictions
At the start of the year, PitchBook analysts mapped their projections for the US venture capital market in 2022. Midway through the year, trends are beginning to crystallize, and our latest analyst note updates the scorecard.

Takeaways include:
  • Roughly 1,173 corporate venture capitalists have made a deal in the US, which bodes well for our prediction of more than 1,500 for the year.

  • The 10 most active venture ecosystems are on pace to hit our projection of more than 400 deals each.

  • Macroeconomic forces have undercut our forecast of a year-over-year increase in public listings by VC-backed companies.
read it now
 
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
Unicorn formation reverts to mid-2020 pace
The PitchBook Unicorn Tracker shows that billion-dollar company formation has slowed to a trickle, as July posted the lowest number of new unicorns since June 2020.
  • Only eight new unicorns were created last month, a far cry from the heyday of 2021 when an average of 49 new unicorns were formed each month.

  • This slowdown is also reflected in valuations. The combined valuation for new unicorns created in July was $9.8 billion, the smallest total monthly valuation since March 2017.

  • North America remains the top geography for new unicorns, with all eight newly minted companies headquartered in the region.
explore the tracker
 
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
 
A message from Orrick  
Life sciences VC lost momentum in Q2, but remains elevated since pandemic onset
Investors continued to feel the impact of several coinciding macroeconomic pressures in Q2, but VC-backed life science companies are weathering the storm. Deal activity reached $8.8 billion in the quarter—a material drop from Q1—but still resulted in a YTD total that exceeds the annual total for 2020. Orrick's Life Sciences Snapshot examines VC activity over the past quarter, including analysis of rising pre-money valuations, repressed exit value and more.

Read the report here
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
 
Charting US PE's performance in Q2
(Jorg Greuel/Getty Images)
US private equity activity slowed across many metrics in Q2 as firms continue to face an uncertain global market.

We explore five key charts from our latest US PE Breakdown.
read more
 
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
Mega-deals drive European PE infrastructure investment
(metamorworks/Shutterstock)
2022 has seen a huge uptick in PE deal value for infrastructure assets, with a five-year high of $41.7 billion reached by late July.

But dealmaking isn't speeding up. Instead, two mega-deals, including Blackstone's $26.5 billion recapitalization of Mileway, are behind the vast majority of the value.
read more
 
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
Recommended Reads
The long-sought idea of shorting startups may be coming to fruition in synthetic derivatives, with which hedge funds can bet against a startup's price and VCs can de-risk an aging portfolio. [Protocol]

Private equity firms are scooping up bargains in Brazil's battered public market. [Bloomberg]

Bio-designed collagen could be the next step in animal protein replacement if demand extends beyond food alternatives to products like faux leather and skin care creams. [The New York Times]
 
Ads
Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
557
Deals
1778
People
577
Companies
28
Funds
See what our data software can do
 
Quick Takes  
  The Daily Benchmark  
  2018 Vintage Global Debt Funds  
  VC Deals  
  Sironax secures $200M  
  IDRx picks up $122M  
  Kerecis lands $100M for fish-skin therapeutics  
  Georgian leads $45M round for Savana  
  Terabase snags $44M  
  Atia raises $42M Series E  
  Boatsetter floats off with $38M  
  Annexus bags $33M  
  Spread harvests $30M for vertical farming  
  Cybrary brings in $25M Series C  
  Avicena pockets $25M Series A  
  PE Deals  
  ADIA, GIC lead $300M investment in Taibang Biologic  
  Hidden Harbor Capital Partners to acquire Dayco  
  PE-backed Calero-MDSL lands Network Control  
  Sverica Capital backs Omeda  
  Antin Infrastructure to pick up Wildstone  
  Exits & IPOs  
  KKR to offload Minnesota Rubber and Plastic for $950M  
  Fundraising  
  Fusion Fund locks down $120M  
  Investors  
  KKR's PE portfolio falls 7% in Q2, takes net loss of $828M  
  Crypto specialist Triblock emerges from stealth  
 
 
The Daily Benchmark  
2018 Vintage Global Debt Funds
Median IRR
10.23%
Top Quartile IRR
14.63%
1.15x
Median TVPI
Select top performers
Raith Real Estate Fund II
PAG Enhanced Credit Fund II
GoldenTree Distressed Fund III
*IRR: net of fees
76 Funds in Benchmark »
Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks
 
VC Deals  
Sironax secures $200M
Sironax has raised a $200 million Series B led by Gaorong Capital and Yunfeng Capital. Based in Beijing, the company develops treatments for patients with age-related degenerative diseases.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
IDRx picks up $122M
Andreessen Horowitz and Casdin Capital have led a $122 million Series A for IDRx, a biopharmaceutical company developing precision combination therapies for use in cancer treatment.
View details
 
View 847 investments »
 
Kerecis lands $100M for fish-skin therapeutics
Reykjavik-based Kerecis has raised a $100 million Series D led by Kirkbi. The startup develops medical products from fish skin and fatty acids for use in cellular therapy and tissue regeneration.
View round
 
View 21 competitors »
 
Georgian leads $45M round for Savana
Canadian investor Georgian has led a $45 million Series A for Savana. The company's platform helps banks and fintech companies automate digital operations.
View round
 
View 5 competitors »
 
Terabase snags $44M
Terabase Energy has raised a $44 million Series B led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Prelude Ventures. Based in California, the company is working to automate the development, construction and operation of utility-scale solar power plants.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Atia raises $42M Series E
Atia Vision has raised a $42 million Series E led by Cormorant Asset Management. The company is developing an intraocular lens intended to restore functional vision in cataract patients.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Boatsetter floats off with $38M
Boatsetter, which operates a marketplace for boat rentals and water activities, has raised $38 million in a Series B led by Level Equity.
View round
 
View 5 competitors »
 
Annexus bags $33M
Transformation Capital has led a $33 million Series B for Annexus Health. The company aims to make healthcare affordable and accessible by helping providers automate administrative operations.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Spread harvests $30M for vertical farming
Japan-based Spread has raised roughly $30 million in a Series A. The vertical farming startup, which specializes in lettuce, will use the funding to begin growing strawberries.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Cybrary brings in $25M Series C
Cybrary, a cybersecurity training specialist, has raised a $25 million Series C led by BuildGroup and Gula Tech Adventures. The round brings Cybrary's total funding to $48 million.
View round
 
View 29 competitors »
 
Avicena pockets $25M Series A
Investors including Cerberus Capital Management and Samsung Catalyst Fund, the corporate venture capital arm of Samsung Electronics, have invested $25 million in Avicena. The California-based company makes high-bandwidth semiconductor interconnects.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
 
Don't miss our upcoming webinar
Join our supply chain webinar to get up to speed on the substantial changes in this industry over the past two years and what to expect in the future. Though supply chains have struggled to meet demands through the COVID-19 pandemic, the space continues to see innovation and VC interest.

In this webinar, our analysts will explore some of the new technologies expected to address major industry pain points and how this may impact future VC activity. Key topics include:
  • The trajectory of supply chain developments.
  • Past and present VC deal activity.
  • Emerging tech opportunities that could help global supply chain industries.
Register now to secure your spot.
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
 
PE Deals  
ADIA, GIC lead $300M investment in Taibang Biologic
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Singapore's GIC have led a $300 million investment in Chinese pharmaceutical company Taibang Biologic Group, Reuters reported. Taibang primarily manufactures plasma products.
View deal
 
View 17 competitors »
 
Hidden Harbor Capital Partners to acquire Dayco
Hidden Harbor Capital Partners has agreed to acquire Dayco, an engine products and drive systems supplier for the automotive and aftermarket industries. Founded in 1905, Dayco provides research, design, manufacturing and distribution.
View deal
 
View 11 competitors »
 
PE-backed Calero-MDSL lands Network Control
Calero-MDSL, a technology expense management software provider backed by Riverside Partners and Oak Hill Capital, has acquired boutique peer Network Control.
View details
 
View 9 investments »
 
Sverica Capital backs Omeda
Sverica Capital Management has invested in Omeda, the Chicago-based provider of a SaaS marketing platform that offers customer data management, marketing and email automation, and more.
View deal
 
View 2 competitors »
 
Antin Infrastructure to pick up Wildstone
Antin Infrastructure Partners has agreed to acquire Wildstone, an owner of outdoor advertising infrastructure in the UK, from DigitalBridge Group. Wildstone currently has a portfolio of over 3,000 billboards across Europe.
View deal
 
View similar company »
 
 
Exits & IPOs  
KKR to offload Minnesota Rubber and Plastic for $950M
KKR has agreed to sell Minnesota Rubber and Plastics to Trelleborg Group for roughly $950 million. MRP, which manufactures custom elastomeric and thermoplastic components, employs more than 1,450 people.
View details
 
View 21 competitors »
 
 
Fundraising  
Fusion Fund locks down $120M
Fusion Fund has closed its third namesake vehicle on $120 million. The Palo Alto-based firm will use the capital to back early-stage companies in healthcare, enterprise AI and industrial automation.
View fund
 
View 72 investments »
 
 
Investors  
KKR's PE portfolio falls 7% in Q2, takes net loss of $828M
KKR posted a net loss of $827.9 million in Q2, compared to net earnings of $1.3 billion in the same period last year. The firm's private equity holdings lost 7% in the quarter. KKR reported its distributable earnings—the allocation of cash that can be returned to investors—fell 9% year-over-year to $840 million, while its AUM rose 14% YoY to $491 billion.
View details
 
View 1,903 investments »
 
Crypto specialist Triblock emerges from stealth
Triblock, a Boston-based Web3 investment firm, has emerged from stealth. The firm has already made 20 investments since mid-2021; it targets pre-seed and seed-stage rounds across DeFi, gaming, NFTs and more.
View details
 
View 1 investments »
 
 
Chart of the Day  
Source: Q2 2022 PitchBook Analyst Note: Private Equity's Opportunity in Supply Chain Management
 
About PitchBook | Terms of use | Advertise with us | Contact
Follow us: in twtr fb

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.

© 2022 PitchBook. Win what's next. All rights reserved.

No comments: