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PitchBook News - Mapping SoftBank's executive exodus

VC cultivates regenerative agriculture; Intuitive Machines inks $1B space SPAC; General Atlantic, SoftBank swap Kahoot stake
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The Daily Pitch: VC
September 19, 2022
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In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:
 
Today's Top Stories  
SoftBank's executive exodus leaves Masayoshi Son in a bind
(Chloe Ladwig/PitchBook News)
For more than two years, SoftBank has recorded a string of executive departures that have eroded much of the leadership surrounding CEO Masayoshi Son.

A PitchBook analysis found that the Vision Fund has lost around half its leaders in the years following WeWork's failed IPO in 2019. Most of the board has also turned over, including several members who had advised the firm for more than a decade.

The departures come at a pivotal moment for SoftBank, which continues to offload assets amid heavy losses in its startup portfolio.
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VC cultivates regenerative agriculture
Regenerative agriculture is gaining ground with global food companies and governments, spurring investment in related technologies. In the US, the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act includes commitments for these sustainable farming practices—meant to restore land, conserve natural resources and mitigate climate change.

Against this backdrop, global agtech startups brought in $2.5 billion in venture funding in Q2 2022, a quarter-over-quarter decline of more than 23%, with indoor farming and ag biotech specialists gleaning the most investor attention.

Our latest Emerging Tech Research update digs deeper into the data and also explores emerging opportunities in agtech:
  • RNA and synthetic biology companies are developing alternative fertilizers and pesticides.

  • Feed additive startups aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock.
read the preview
 
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A message from SS&C Intralinks  
How are Latin American private investors responding to global market turbulence?
Private market activity has shifted dramatically over the past few years in response to large-scale macroeconomic events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring inflation. Latin America—home to several developing economies and an expanding tech industry—has faced a unique confluence of factors during this period as it continues to grow. VC investment shot up in 2021 alongside global dealmaking trends, whereas PE activity remained steadier. SS&C Intralinks' Private Investment in Latin America report explores trends in VC, PE and M&A activity in the region, including a spotlight on cross-border activity, an area particularly sensitive to global economic and political changes.

Read it here
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Sapphire Partners on how emerging VC managers can stand out
(eamesBot/Shutterstock)
2022 is proving to be a record year for venture fundraising. But not all funds are receiving equal treatment from LPs; fundraising has been especially difficult for new and emerging managers.

We spoke with Laura Thompson, a partner at Sapphire Partners, about the current fundraising environment, how emerging managers can grab LPs' attention and what types of funds may be underrepresented now.
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Real estate tokenization: An emerging use for blockchain
The division of real estate into digital tokens purchasable by investors, known as tokenization, has the potential to solve issues historically associated with real estate investing, such as illiquidity and high barriers to entry.

Our recent analyst note explores how the emergence of blockchain networks such as ethereum, algorand and solana has enabled startups to slice real estate into small pieces that are stored on blockchains and traded. Growing demand among both retail and institutional investors for exposure to the sector supports tokenization, yet barriers to adoption remain.

The report also includes a profile of Lofty, which seeks to be a leader in this industry by building a real estate marketplace that allows investors to acquire tokens representing fractional ownership in residential rental properties.
read it now
 
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Recommended Reads
The Biden administration put out a framework on regulating crypto. Here's what's in it. [CNBC]

How TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is navigating the limits of his own power amid the demands of the app's Chinese parent company. [The New York Times]

The world has a $1 trillion La Niña problem. [Bloomberg]
 
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Quick Takes  
  The Daily Benchmark  
  2018 Vintage Global VC Funds  
  VC Deals  
  Crypto platform Portofino lands $50M+  
  HICX hauls in $30M growth round  
  Parler picks up $16M Series B  
  Federato secures $15M Series A  
  General Atlantic, SoftBank swap Kahoot stake  
  Portfolio Companies  
  ByteDance to repurchase shares worth $3B from investors  
  Exits & IPOs  
  Intuitive Machines inks $1B space SPAC  
 
 
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The Daily Benchmark  
2018 Vintage Global VC Funds
Median IRR
38.19%
Top Quartile IRR
58.67%
1.71x
Median TVPI
Select top performers
Inter-Atlantic Ivy
Magma Partners II
CP Ventures Fund 1
*IRR: net of fees
85 Funds in Benchmark »
Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks
 
VC Deals  
Crypto platform Portofino lands $50M+
Portofino Technologies has raised over $50 million from Valar Ventures, Global Founders Capital and Coatue. The startup is a developer of high-frequency trading technology for digital assets.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
HICX hauls in $30M growth round
HICX, which provides an enterprise supplier management platform, has secured $30 million. The round was led by Wavecrest Growth Partners and Espresso Capital.
View round
 
View 65 competitors »
 
Parler picks up $16M Series B
Parler has raised $16 million from undisclosed investors. The social media platform provider also announced its acquisition of cloud company Dynascale.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Federato secures $15M Series A
Federato has raised $15 million in a round led by Emergence Capital, TechCrunch reported. The company provides risk-management software for insurance underwriters.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
General Atlantic, SoftBank swap Kahoot stake
SoftBank is selling its 15% stake in Norwegian edtech company Kahoot to General Atlantic.
View round
 
View 10 competitors »
 
 
Portfolio Companies  
ByteDance to repurchase shares worth $3B from investors
ByteDance will spend up to $3 billion to repurchase shares at up to $176.9 apiece in a deal that values the company at around $300 billion, Reuters reported.
View details
 
View 6 competitors »
 
 
Exits & IPOs  
Intuitive Machines inks $1B space SPAC
Intuitive Machines has signed a merger agreement with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp., in a deal that could value the space exploration infrastructure company at more than $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. Intuitive Machines' data and technology are used in NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon.
View details
 
View 2 competitors »
 
 
Chart of the Day  
Source: PitchBook's Q2 2022 US VC Valuations Report
 
Who's in the newsletter today?
Investors
Coatue
Emergence Capital
Espresso Capital
General Atlantic
Global Founders Capital
SoftBank
Valar Ventures
Wavecrest Growth Partners
Companies
ByteDance
Dynascale
Federato
HICX
Inflection Point Acquisition Corp.
Intuitive Machines
Kahoot
Parler
Portofino Technologies
 
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