M&A stays strong despite geopolitical turmoil

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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

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.

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]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 »