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M&A stays strong despite geopolitical turmoil

YL Ventures raises $400M cybersecurity fund; Europe's VC exits cool off; Unusual Ventures collects $485M; Hugging Face nabs $100M
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The Daily Pitch: VC
May 10, 2022
Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A
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In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:
  • Our recent Global M&A Report explores how the sector has stayed strong despite geopolitical conflicts.

  • Ongoing public market volatility caused a dramatic drop in European exit activity in Q1.
Today's Top Stories
YL Ventures raises $400M fund targeting Israeli cybersecurity startups
(KrulUA/Getty Images)
YL Ventures, a venture firm focused on backing Israel-based cybersecurity companies at the seed stage and beyond, has raised a $400 million fifth vehicle. The fund is a significant step-up in size from the firm's $135 fourth vehicle that closed at the end of 2020 and represents the largest seed-stage cybersecurity fund ever raised by any VC firm.

The Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv-based firm said it initially set out to raise a $180 million to $200 million fund and rely on special-purpose vehicles for follow-on financings. But when YLV realized that the funding environment is becoming more difficult, it decided to fold future SPV capital into its main fund for backing its portfolio companies from seed through late-stage rounds.
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Global M&A remains strong despite geopolitical conflicts
Global M&A activity bifurcated for much of Q1 2022. Previously negotiated deals closed on time, while announced activity diminished due to the uncertainty created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to our latest Global M&A Report, sponsored by Liberty GTS.

Final deal counts for the quarter fell compared to the fervent activity seen in the back half of 2021, but were healthy relative to the past five years. Key findings include:
  • As much of the globe pushes beyond the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer spending has been dampened as housing and transportation costs lift.

  • Higher-growth companies have lagged, as have tech-heavy indexes including the Nasdaq. Going forward, analysts expect deal professionals will be walking a tightrope.

  • Capital intensive industries—including energy and industrials—appear poised for prolonged growth, despite higher raw materials costs.

  • PE continues to account for a swelling proportion of deal activity, including a significant percentage of the biggest deals. Eight of the 20 largest deals to close in Q1 were led by financial sponsors.
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Europe sees dramatic drop in Q1 VC exit activity
(MirageC/Getty Images)
Last year saw record levels of VC-backed exits in Europe, but ongoing volatility in the public markets has caused investor appetite to cool off.

Inflation, interest rates and geopolitical tensions are among the factors driving a fall in public listings.
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Recommended Reads
Congress may soon require US government agencies to vet tech startups seeking federal capital, as research has found China may be targeting companies that have received Pentagon funding. [The Wall Street Journal]

How climate change and human activity are destroying the layers of fungi, lichen and bacteria that protect deserts from erosion. [Wired]

After having its facial recognition tech deemed illegal by many countries and facing heavy fines from others, Clearview AI's legal battle has reached Illinois' courts. [The New York Times]
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Quick Takes
  The Daily Benchmark  
  2018 Vintage European PE Funds  
  A message from OnBoard  
  How board technology is transforming governing practices  
  VC Deals  
  OHouse secures $182M Series D  
  Aspen Neuroscience raises $147.5M  
  HIG leads $120M round for Pyramid  
  Hugging Face nabs $100M  
  Brightseed grows with $68M in new funding  
  Mashgin brings in $62.5M  
  Paymob banks $50M for payment platform  
  RGo Robotics emerges from stealth with $20M  
  Fundraising  
  Unusual Ventures collects $485M for third fund  
 
 
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The Daily Benchmark
2018 Vintage European PE Funds
Median IRR
19.79%
Top Quartile IRR
31.53%
1.27x
Median TVPI
Select top performers
TDR Capital IV
Nordic Capital Fund IX
V4C Poland Plus Fund
*IRR: net of fees
30 Funds in Benchmark »
Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks
A message from OnBoard
How board technology is transforming governing practices
With the digital transformation of the boardroom, VC and PE firms are uniquely challenged with supporting multiple boards as they adapt to new technologies and virtual meetings—moving away from physical books to tablet devices with multi-factor authentication and reducing the time spent on logistical tasks. This allows more time for strategic discussion and decision-making.

Granite Partners recognized that effective boards play a crucial role in their mission of growing companies to create value for all stakeholders. By embracing board technology, they now have a streamlined and secure way to provide board members with easy access to sensitive audit and valuation documents in a single, well-organized, and easy-to-navigate location.

Find out how to leverage boardroom technology to drive greater efficiency. Read about it here.
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VC Deals
OHouse secures $182M Series D
OHouse has raised $182 million from investors including SoftBank Ventures Asia, BRV Capital Management and Vertex Growth. Based in Seoul, the company is the developer of an online marketplace for home furnishings and interior design services.
View round
 
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Aspen Neuroscience raises $147.5M
Aspen Neuroscience has raised a $147.5 million Series B co-led by GV, LYFE Capital and Revelation Partners. San Diego-based Aspen is developing cell replacement therapies designed to target neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease.
View round
 
View 56 competitors »
 
HIG leads $120M round for Pyramid
HIG Growth Partners has led a $120 million Series E for Pyramid Analytics. Incorporated in Amsterdam, with regional headquarters in cities like London, New York and Tel-Aviv, the company is the creator of a decision intelligence platform for enterprises. Other investors including Sequoia, Viola Growth and JVP also participated in the round.
View round
 
View 78 competitors »
 
Hugging Face nabs $100M
Hugging Face has raised a $100 million Series C led by Lux Capital. The funding reportedly values the New York-based company at $2 billion. Hugging Face operates a platform for open-source machine learning models for developers. Sequoia, Coatue and Addition also participated in the funding, among others.
View round
 
View 1 competitors »
 
Brightseed grows with $68M in new funding
Bay Area-based Brightseed has raised a $68 million Series B led by Temasek. The company uses artificial intelligence to track the interaction of plant-based bioactives with human biological systems and discover health benefits.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Mashgin brings in $62.5M
Mashgin has raised a $62.5 million Series B led by NEA. The funding values the Palo Alto-based company at $1.5 billion. Mashgin is a developer of touchless self-checkout kiosks for locations including convenience stores, sports stadiums and airports.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Paymob banks $50M for payment platform
Paymob has raised a $50 million Series B co-led by Kora Capital, PayPal Ventures and Clay Point. Based in Cairo, the company offers payment infrastructure that helps businesses across Africa and the Middle East accept online and in-store transactions. Paymob has now raised nearly $70 million in total private funding.
View round
 
View 4 competitors »
 
RGo Robotics emerges from stealth with $20M
RGo Robotics, a Boston-area developer of artificial perception tech that enables robots to understand their surroundings and operate autonomously, has exited stealth with $20 million. The funding was led by MoreTech Ventures.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Fundraising
Unusual Ventures collects $485M for third fund
Unusual Ventures has raised $485 million for its third flagship fund, which will be used to invest in seed-stage software companies across the SaaS, infrastructure, fintech and consumer applications verticals. Founded in 2018 and based in Menlo Park, the firm's portfolio includes Carta, Wonderschool and Arctic Wolf.
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View 133 investments »
 
Chart of the Day
Source: PitchBook's 2021 Annual US PE Middle Market Report
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Who's in the newsletter today?
Investors
Addition
BRV Capital Management
Clay Point
Coatue
GV
HIG Growth Partners
JVP
Kora Capital
LYFE Capital
Lux Capital
MoreTech Ventures
NEA
PayPal Ventures
Revelation Partners
Sequoia
SoftBank Ventures Asia
Temasek
Unusual Ventures
Vertex Growth
Viola Growth
Companies
Arctic Wolf
Aspen Neuroscience
Brightseed
Carta
Hugging Face
Mashgin
OHouse
Paymob
Pyramid Analytics
RGo Robotics
Wonderschool
 
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