1. Home
  2. Discover
  3. Business
  4. PitchBook News

PitchBook News - When VC goes overboard

Plus: A tale of two trends for VC, the next tech supercycle, global markets battle the storm & more
Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription.
PitchBook
Log in
The Weekend Pitch
January 8, 2023
Presented by Deloitte
(Caroline Suttie/PitchBook News)
When it comes to startups, having a diverse and experienced board of directors can be a key factor to success.

As we head into this new year, the general consensus in the VC world is that funding will be harder to come by and times will be leaner in terms of running a business. Having a strong board with a big name on it is likely to come in handy both in terms of expertise and optics.

But what happens when one of those board members is also a member of a dozen others?

Overboarding, as the practice of accumulating board memberships is known, has been on many minds recently, particularly with publicly listed companies, which are taking a stance against it. According to PwC's 2022 Annual Corporate Directors survey, nearly half of respondents stated that an independent director shouldn't hold more than three board seats.

Loading up on directorships isn't unusual in the venture world. Around 15% of VC investors who have board seats hold more than four, according to PitchBook data. Examples include Khosla Ventures co-founder Samir Kaul, who holds 19 board positions according to his LinkedIn profile, and Index Ventures partner Mike Volpi, who is on 16 boards.

This is The Weekend Pitch, and I'm Leah Hodgson. You can reach me at leah.hodgson@pitchbook.com or on Twitter @LeahFHodgson.
read more
 
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
 
A Message from Deloitte  
Dealmaking remains robust at the intersection of ESG & the expansion stage
After a record-breaking 2021 for ESG dealmaking, this year has seen robust tallies of investment at the expansion stage, totaling $15.7 billion. Yet, balancing ESG priorities with rapid growth can prove challenging. The latest edition of Deloitte's Road to Next series explores key metrics emerging from dealmaking data while discussing insights on key priorities and how ESG implementation can aid growth, with highlights including:
  • How social and governance play pivotal roles in setting the stage for scalability
  • The impact of resilient valuations for ESG-related enterprises even in a cautious environment
  • A spotlight on under-discussed segments of cleantech
Read it now
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
 
 

Trivia
Generative AI funding deals have been the focus of a lot of attention in recent years, and deal value in the sector has risen steadily since 2017. As of Dec. 23, 2022, what was the combined value of funding rounds for generative AI startups?

 A) $1.14 billion
 B) $845 million
 C) $1.37 billion
 D) $2.01 billion

Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch!
 

A Tale of Two Trends in VC
(Genja/shutterstock)
Ready to be done with 2022? Not so fast. Q4 saw ups and downs and was a tale of two trends: While VC exit activity continued its steep decline—dipping below $10 billion for the first time since 2013—fundraising reached new highs, topping $162.6 billion to mark the second consecutive year exceeding $150 billion.

What's behind these opposing trends? Our first look at our upcoming PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor has the data on deals, exits and fundraising for the year. It was the best times, it was … the strangest of times.
 

A field guide for tech's
next supercycle
(Shutter_M/Shutterstock)
What comes after SaaS, smartphones and social media? In some ways, more of the same—the postdigital era will remain very digital, writes Paul Condra, head of Emerging Tech Research at PitchBook.

But the growth drivers of the past decade are maturing, and a new cycle of innovation is underway. It will be distinct from the last because technology, politics and economics are adding new ingredients to the cauldron of innovation.
 

Wrapping up December
(Pedro Talens/Shutterstock)
Before diving headfirst into the new year, it's important to take a minute to look at where we came from.

From major deals and unicorn creation to largest IPOs and returns across indexes and sectors, our latest Global Markets Snapshot has the datasets that PitchBook's Institutional Research team kept an eye on to understand the state of global equity, debt and commodities markets in December.

Want a sneak peek? US and European stock indexes bucked positive trends to end the month down, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rounded out the year above the line.
 

Quote/Unquote
"This is dysfunctional, and I hate it myself. I can understand if the public does, too."

—US Rep.-elect Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, on the election for US House speaker, as quoted by The New York Times.
 

Stay tuned
Keep an eye out for these insights and research reports coming out this week.
  • Agtech, Fintech and Mobility Tech Public Company Comp Sheet and Valuation Guides

  • Grid Storage Beyond Lithium

  • 2023 PitchBook Benchmarks (as of Q2 2022)

  • Q4 2022 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor

  • 2022 Annual US PE Breakdown

  • Private Market Infrastructure
 

Recommended Reads
US moves to bar non-compete agreements in labor contracts. [The New York Times]

What the great reopening means for China and the world. [The Economist]

What if inflation suddenly dropped and no one noticed? [The Wall Street Journal]
 

Trivia
(Je-nar/Shutterstock)
Answer: C)

Through Dec. 23, 2022, there were 78 generative AI funding rounds for a combined value of $1.37 billion.

This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Leah Hodgson and Chris Noble. It was edited by Chris Noble and John Moore.

Were you forwarded The Weekend Pitch? Sign up at pitchbook.com/subscribe.
 
Ads
Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
1
VC valuations
211
People
42
Companies
See what our data software can do
 
Ads
 
About PitchBook | Terms of use | Advertise with us | Contact
Follow us: in twtr fb

This email was sent to you via the PitchBook Platform.

Do you want to change your email address, get a different edition or unsubscribe? Manage your subscription here.

© 2023 PitchBook. Win what's next. All rights reserved.

Older messages

2022 VC data is here

Saturday, January 7, 2023

Also: Who will win the battle for grid-scale battery dominance?; Most markets ended December on a down note; Join live discussions on our '23 outlooks Read online | Don't want to receive these

VC's tale of diverging trends

Friday, January 6, 2023

Tricks of the carbon offsets trade; lidar specialist pulls in $51M+; Perspectum pockets $36M for medical imaging; SarvaGram snags $35M Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your

Cross-border M&A market hangs tough

Thursday, January 5, 2023

Gazing into tech's crystal ball; Round Hill scores deal with U2 producer; Microsoft, OpenAI to team up against Google; Nexus Ventures eyes $700M fund Read online | Don't want to receive these

Global markets brave the storm

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Newly public stocks slide into 2023; SpaceX eyes $137B valuation; VC predictions for Europe, Middle East, Africa; Money View sees $900M valuation Read online | Don't want to receive these emails?

VCs cut through the generative AI hype

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Plus: Charting female founders' 2022, Chinese cloud companies will see growth, but profit? & more Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription. Log in The

You Might Also Like

Easy to understand tutorials via email

Saturday, January 11, 2025

I love that you're part of my network. Let's make 2025 epic!! I appreciate you :) Today's hack Easy to understand tutorials via email Text is boring. Create a short video tutorial, upload

Agency advice when you need it

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Hi there , Running an agency means needing different advice at different times. Sometimes you just need quick feedback from someone who gets it. Which is why I'm building a place for agency owner..

The Ultimate Personal Branding Playbook Drops January 17th

Friday, January 10, 2025

Let's face it—getting noticed in today's market isn't what it used to be... ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

How This Weird Site Makes $88/month!

Friday, January 10, 2025

Each week on the Niche Pursuits podcast, we share a couple of weird niche sites. And every once in a while, these sites are making a SIGNIFICANT amount of money. I recently found a WEIRD website making

♦️ How saying no to (some) customers increases your chances of winning big

Friday, January 10, 2025

How Autodesk became a $60 billion company by staying specific... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Tripling your organic LinkedIn content visibility

Friday, January 10, 2025

Today's Guide to the Marketing Jungle from Social Media Examiner... Presented by social-media-marketing-world-logo It's National Thank Your Customers Week, so thank you Reader! We're

The Single Most Important Thing For Bitcoin Right Now

Friday, January 10, 2025

Listen now (4 mins) | To investors, ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Influence Weekly #371 - How The Military Recruitment Crisis Pushed The Pentagon To Fund MrBeast, TV Stars In A Bid To Woo Gen Z

Friday, January 10, 2025

PayPal Sued Over Browser Extension Allegedly Diverting Creator's Commission ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Weekly Dose of Optimism #126

Friday, January 10, 2025

Sana Biotechnology, Memory Processes, METAGENE-1, McDermitt Caldera, More Speech, Enron Egg, Telepathy Tapes x Jesse Michels ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

AI gets a third of VC cash

Friday, January 10, 2025

Fund performance data drop; Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription. Log in The Daily Pitch: VC January 10, 2025 The Daily Pitch is powered by PitchBook's