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The Daily Pitch: VC

March 22, 2023

The Daily Pitch is powered by PitchBook’s industry-defining research and best-in-class data

In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:

Our analysts dive deep into the emerging space of generative AI.

Investment in sustainable aviation fuels is nowhere near what airlines need to meet their ambitious net-zero goals.

Investors are proceeding cautiously when it comes to autonomous vehicles and other mobility tech.

Today's Top Stories

Sharpening the focus on generative AI

Generative AI has taken the VC tech space by storm. Programs like Stable Diffusion and Google's Bard have captured widespread attention. Social media feeds are filled with AI-generated portraits and screenshots from interactions with OpenAI's ChatGPT bot.

Our vertical snapshot dives deep into generative AI, exploring the data, deals and key players in the emerging market, which is expected to reach more than $42 billion globally in 2023.

read it now

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Global airlines crave green fuel. Few are willing to bet on it.

(Drew Sanders/PitchBook News)

A consortium of 300 airlines—responsible for more than 80% of all air passengers—has committed to reaching net-zero by 2050. Their strategy relies heavily on an industry-wide transition to sustainable aviation fuels.

But where the rubber meets the tarmac, the checks that airlines are writing for green fuel technology are nowhere near matching the daunting scale of the task ahead.

Recommended Reads

JP Morgan thought it purchased nickel. It received bags of rocks. [Fortune]

Whether or not TikTok is banned, the app has already forced its rivals to adopt a less lucrative business model. [The Economist]

The unraveling of US News' college rankings. [The Wall Street Journal]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

14

VC valuations

2194

People

634

Companies

24

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2016 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

23.96%

Top Quartile IRR

31.25%

1.96x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Spectra Investments III

Weathergage Capital Investments 2016

Next Coast Ventures I

*IRR: net of fees

38 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Investment platform eToro has secured $250 million at a $3.5 billion valuation from investors including Ion Group and SoftBank as part of an agreement made in the event that eToro's planned SPAC merger fell through.

Gravie, a company that provides health insurance plans to employers, has raised a $179 million growth equity investment led by General Atlantic.

Fitness app maker Tonal is in talks to raise $125 million at a valuation between $200 million and $300 million led by L Catterton, The Information reported. At the low end, that would be an 86% drop from its $1.45 billion valuation in 2021, according to Pitchbook data.

HR tech startup Rain has secured a $116 million Series A led by QED Investors and Invus Opportunities. The deal includes $66 million in equity and $50 million in debt.

Artera, which is developing an AI-powered test for prostate cancer, has raised $90 million from an investor consortium that includes Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Time Ventures and Koch Disruptive Technologies.

A Web3 chat platform that facilitates commerce between creators, Op3n has secured a $28 million Series A led by Animoca Brands, TechCrunch reported.

XXII, a Paris-based video stream analysis platform, has raised a €22 million Series A. Investors in the round included Bpifrance, Kima Ventures and 574 Invest.

Wingtra, a Zurich-based maker of commercial mapping drones, has secured a $22 million Series B from investors including DiamondStream Partners and Verve Ventures.

DragonflyDB, a datastore for the cloud, has raised a total of $21 million in seed and Series A funding led by RedPoint and Quiet Capital, respectively.

B2B payments platform Two has closed an €18 million Series A led by Shine Capital and Antler.

Munich-based DeepDrive has raised a €15 million Series A led by BMW I Ventures and Co-pace. The startup makes drive units for electric vehicles.

Data observability startup Sifflet has secured a €12 million Series A led by EQT Ventures, TechCrunch reported.

Vitestro, a Dutch maker of an autonomous blood-drawing device, has closed a €12 million Series A led by Sond Capital.

HSBC Asset Management has led a €10 million Series A for Chargetrip, an Amsterdam-based software company specializing in fleet management for electric vehicles.

PE Deals

Regent has agreed to buy Pearson Online Learning Services, a unit of UK education group Pearson, for a deferred sum. Regent will pay Pearson 27.5% of the division's adjusted earnings each year for six years plus a proportion of the proceeds when it sells the business.

BlackRock has led a $90 million minority investment in Macro, a film and TV studio and agency focused on representing people of color. HarbourView Equity Partners and Goldman Sachs Asset Management also participated.

Gart Capital Partners has invested in Topo Designs, an outdoor apparel and accessories retailer. Gart's equity investment marks the first time the brand has received outside funding.

Guidepost Growth Equity has made a minority investment in ClassWallet, a purchasing platform used by state agencies and school districts.

Exit & IPOs

Canada's Brookfield Asset Management is looking to buy the 50% stake in Spanish renewable power company X-Elio it does not already own from KKR.

Fundraising

Growth-oriented PE firm Arcline Investment Management has closed its third fund, Arcline Capital Partners III, on $4.5 billion.

Seed Club Ventures, a venture arm launched by accelerator Seed Club, has emerged from stealth to announce its $25 million debut fund.

Chart of the Day

"US middle-market PE saw a year of subdued deal activity in 2022 after experiencing a record-breaking pace of dealmaking just the year before. ... When compared with the middle market's historical dealmaking pace, deal activity was healthy in 2022 and showed stabilization from the frenzied activity levels seen in 2021."

Source: PitchBook's 2022 Annual US PE Middle Market Report

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