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| In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:
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IoT startups limp on as VC investors look elsewhere
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VC investment in internet-of-things startups dropped sharply in the second half of 2022, and the outlook for 2023 shows a continuation of the downward trajectory. Despite some areas of resilience, the struggle for growth shows that this is a sector more sensitive to macroeconomic risk. Our latest Emerging Tech Research lays out IoT trends and opportunities in H2 2022. Key takeaways include:
- VC investors pulled back support most dramatically from retail and healthcare IoT startups.
- In the most resilient sectors, use cases including commercial drones, connected buses and manufacturing monitoring devices maintained revenue growth of more than 30% in 2022.
- Investors made big bets on smart home technology last year, but revenue growth for the sector fell short of expectations, leaving uncertainty around startups' abilities to reach growth milestones.
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Timeline: Rothschild take-private caps a century of power struggles
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| (Megan Woodard/PitchBook News) |
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In February, Rothschild & Co Concordia, the holding company and largest shareholder of Rothschild & Co, announced a plan to take the group private alongside France's wealthiest families. The more than 200-year-old financial services group will squeeze out minority investors and privatize the ownership structure of the business.
Our interactive timeline outlines the birth, death and resurrection of the Rothschilds' banking dynasty and the tense ownership dynamics that gave way to this year's take-private. |
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VC-backed life sciences companies fought market volatility in 2022
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Q4 rounded out a volatile year for life sciences venture capital activity, with deal value dropping more than 20% from 2021, though activity in the industry remains elevated compared to its pre-COVID years. Early-stage companies fared better than their late-stage counterparts across several metrics, including median pre-money valuation growth and median deal sizes. Orrick's Life Sciences Snapshot offers detailed analysis of these trends and an in-depth roundtable discussion surrounding the growth of mental health offerings in the industry.
Read it now |
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The 10 most active VC investors in Israel
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| (Sean Pavone/Shutterstock) |
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Israel's domestic investors continue to drive venture dealmaking in the country, even as it slows.
Here are the 10 most active VC investors in Israeli startups over the past five years by total deal count. |
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Bain Capital Ventures closes $1.9B, defying VC fundraising slump
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Bain Capital Ventures partner Ajay Agarwal
(Noam Galai/Getty Images) |
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Bain Capital Ventures has secured $1.9 billion in commitments for two vehicles, which marks the first major volley for mega-funds in 2023.
New Fund X and Select Funds IV were oversubscribed and will target startups from seed to growth stage. The funds represent the largest close to date for the firm, which is Bain Capital's venture arm. |
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Klarna steers toward profitability after record losses in 2022
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| (Courtesy of Klarna) |
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After a tough year for the buy now, pay later specialist, Klarna has reported its largest-ever annual loss, coming in at around $884 million.
In 2022, Klarna's valuation took a haircut, and it made significant layoffs—yet the company's recent quarterly figures are showing improvement as it focuses more on profitability. |
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Media and video game companies navigate a crossroads
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| (Tomas Urbelionis/Shutterstock) |
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Streaming and video game leaders continue to reckon with the end of a period of comparatively easy growth. From Netflix to Disney+, global streaming services are pivoting from subscriber growth obsession to managing content costs and reducing operating losses. Meanwhile, for video games, publishers are digesting the reversal of pandemic prosperity and looking for opportunity in recurring and in-game bookings.
Morningstar analysts reveal their top picks and coverage in the wake of the market retreat. |
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Equity crowdfunding can be a low-cost way to invest in private companies. But it's not without its risks. [Financial Times]
A breakdown of the most popular video streaming services by country. [Visual Capitalist]
The mining industry's next frontier is deep, deep under the sea. [Wired] |
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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
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22
VC valuations
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2305
People
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618
Companies
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19
Funds
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2020 Vintage Global VC Funds with less than $250M
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Mental health company Headway may be nearing unicorn status as it plans to raise about $100 million from Spark Capital, Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Accel, Bloomberg reported.
Tech skills training company Bitwise Industries has raised $80 million in a round led by Kapor Center and Motley Fool.
CodaMetrix, which provides hospital billing tech, has raised a $55 million Series A led by SignalFire.
HR tech vendor Bonusly has landed a $18.9 million Series B led by Ankona Capital.
Bpifrance has led a $15.8 million round for Pili, a Paris-based startup that makes sustainable dyes and pigments for use in textiles, ink and paint.
Gable, which helps employers facilitate remote work, has raised a $12 million Series A led by SemperVirens and Foundation Capital, TechCrunch reported.
DeFi exchange Mangrove has raised $7.4 million in a Series A led by Cumberland and Greenfield Capital.
PteroDynamics, an aircraft designer and manufacturer, has secured a $7.5 million seed round led by Kairos Ventures, Lavrock Ventures and CS Venture Opportunities Fund.
Project management platform Cycle has raised $6 million from investors including Boldstart Ventures, 20VC and Hummingbird Ventures.
Y Combinator has led a $2.7 million seed investment for Devyce, a provider of virtual phone numbers for businesses. |
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Don't miss our upcoming webinar
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A panel of speakers will discuss how women founders in the VC and startup ecosystem fared during ongoing market volatility—and provide forecasts for 2023. Key takeaways include:
- Trends in aggregate funding received by female-founded companies compared to all-female and all-male founding teams.
- A gender breakdown for decision-makers at VC firms and how this impacts deal activity for founders.
- Angel investment through unicorn status: how investment evolves throughout the company lifecycle.
Register now to secure your spot. |
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Thoma Bravo has closed on its roughly $8 billion acquisition of Coupa Software, a business spending management platform taken private for $81 per share in cash. The deal, announced in December, also included a minority investment by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Bain Capital and KKR are in the next round of bidding for Fujitsu's $1.3 billion stake in its air conditioning unit, Fujitsu General, Bloomberg reported. Swedish peer Nibe Industrier is also in the running for the 42% stake.
Denham Sustainable Infrastructure, a unit of Denham Capital, has invested £165 million in UK-based electric vehicle charging company EVC.
EIG has invested $90 million in Industrial Sun, a large-scale solar power plant developer in Texas.
Novata has raised $30 million in a Series B led by Hamilton Lane. The ESG data management and analytics platform also received backing from Microsoft's climate fund and firms including Hellman & Friedman and Kohlberg & Company.
Ares Management has agreed to purchase a minority stake in BlueCove, a fixed income manager with $1.8 billion in AUM.
Falfurrias Capital Partners-backed E Tech Group has acquired E-Volve Systems, an industrial automation provider for companies in the food and beverage, life sciences, and consumer products industries.
INVL-backed Inmedica has acquired Lithuanian dental clinic RVL. |
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Navis Capital in talks to sell Imperial Treasure
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| Navis Capital Partners is looking to sell Singapore-based Chinese restaurant chain Imperial Treasure, Bloomberg reported. The sale could value the business up to S$500 million (about $371 million). |
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Brookfield targets $20B minimum for next energy transition fund
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| Brookfield Asset Management has decided to open a second energy transition fund in mid-2023 with a fundraising target of $20 billion, Bloomberg reported. Brookfield's first energy transition fund closed in June on $15 billion. |
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Investcorp raises over $1.2B for PE fund
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| Investcorp has held the final close of Investcorp North American Private Equity Fund I on more than $1.2 billion. The PE fund targets buyout investments in middle-market services businesses and has acquired seven companies so far. |
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Ardian-backed Hy24 teams up with Everfuel for $212M joint venture
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| Danish green hydrogen company Everfuel and Ardian-backed Hy24 have created a €200 million (about $212 million) joint venture to finance the development of electrolyzer capacity across the Nordics. Everfuel will own 51% of the joint venture with Hy24 holding the rest. |
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Blockchain Founders Fund closes second fund on $75M
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| Singapore-based Blockchain Founders Fund has reached a $75 million final close of its second fund. The vehicle will target pre-seed and seed-stage startups focusing on Web3 and blockchain. |
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Emkan Capital pulls in $31M
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| Saudi VC firm Emkan Capital has held a $31 million first close of its debut fund. The vehicle will be used to target early-stage startups in the Middle East and North Africa in sectors such as fintech, ecommerce, AI and healthtech. |
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Ufenau eyes new continuation fund
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| Switzerland-based Ufenau Capital Partners has filed for its fourth continuation fund, Unquote reported. Its last continuation fund closed in April after securing €563 million (about $596 million). |
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