Two ends of the same mobility tech market

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The Daily Pitch: VC

April 5, 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:

Volatility in valuation metrics for recently public mobility tech companies complicates the quest for profit.

Amazon is jumping into the generative AI fray with its new accelerator.

As Sanabil Investments reveals VC ties, parent PIF basks in oil profits and seeks to grow its venture presence.

Today's Top Stories

Profits (or lack thereof) define recently public mobility tech companies

To discuss mobility tech valuations, contact jonathan.geurkink@pitchbook.com.

Mobility tech, like other technology sectors, outperformed the broader market in Q1 2023, despite depressed share prices for newly public mobility tech companies. Even within that subset, the spread of valuations is wide, with much volatility. The stock movement of established mobility tech players reflects this, as Tesla rebounds and Rivian fumbles.

Investors can watch for revenue growth and continued valuation volatility, and our Q1 2023 Mobility Tech Public Comp Sheet and Valuation Guide gathers the latest data on stock performance, revenue forecasts and market caps of key publicly traded companies.

see the data

Share:

Amazon lures generative AI startups to its cloud

(Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Shutterstock)

Amazon has unveiled a new generative AI accelerator in hopes of getting more startups to use Amazon Web Services, offering $300,000 in AWS credits to 10 startups. But what does this mean for the ongoing battle between Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon for cloud supremacy?

As these giants watch cloud services growth stall, the heavy computing needs of generative AI startups could bring a jump-start to their businesses.

Recommended Reads

A crowded sports sector is forcing private equity firms to hone their strategies. [The Wall Street Journal]

Incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act have farmers turning corn into ethanol and manure into methane, but environmental groups worry about increased pollution. [The New York Times]

The US warehouse capital boomed during the pandemic. Now it's facing a slowdown. [Bloomberg]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

12

VC valuations

2623

People

716

Companies

25

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2011 Vintage US PE Funds

Median IRR

17.85%

Top Quartile IRR

25.17%

1.97x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Monomoy Capital Partners II

Carousel Capital Partners IV

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners SBIC Fund

*IRR: net of fees

52 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Quantexa, a London-based company that develops data analysis software, has raised $129 million at a $1.8 billion valuation. The Series E was led by GIC.

London-based fintech startup TerraPay has closed a $100 million Series B with backing from Prime Ventures and Partech Africa.

AI robotics startup Covariant has raised a $75 million Series C co-led by Radical Ventures and Index Ventures. AIX Ventures and Northgate Capital also participated.

AMSilk, a German industrial supplier of bio-fabricated silk protein materials, has secured an additional €25 million for its Series C. The new funding round, which brings the Series C to €54 million, was led by Athos.

Swedish electric boat maker X Shore has raised €26.5 million in a round led by SEB Investment Management.

Munich-based driver interaction platform 4.screen has closed a €21 million Series A led by S4S Ventures and Continental Corporate Venture Capital.

Ecommerce startup Strivacity has secured a $20 million Series A2 led by SignalFire with backing from Ten Eleven Ventures.

IRIS Ventures has led a €17 million investment in Vicio, a Barcelona-based food delivery startup specializing in burgers.

MakerVerse, a Berlin-based provider of a platform for sourcing industrial parts, has raised €9.4 million in a round led by 9.5 Ventures.

PE Deals

Brookfield Asset Management has hired banks to find buyers for its 50% stake in Oregon-based wind farm Shepherds Flat, Bloomberg reported.

PSG has led a growth investment in retail customer analytics platform Buxton. The firm has installed one of its senior advisers as Buxton's new CEO.

Eir Partners has acquired a majority stake in Gifthealth. The company's pharmacy software is intended to streamline the prescription process.

Cuadrilla Capital-backed InfoDesk has acquired Wide Narrow to bring together two SaaS platforms focused on business enterprise insights.

Vance Street Capital has invested in Aero Group Holdings, which owns a portfolio of aerospace brands represented by Tempest Aero Group.

Audax Private Equity-backed Jitterbit has acquired Zudy using mezzanine capital and an equity investment from Yukon Partners. Zudy offers an app development platform.

Inverness Graham has acquired Innovia Medical, which provides medical devices and surgical tools, from Shore Capital Partners.

Bridgepoint has invested in cybersecurity company DataExpert. The investment came via Bridgepoint Development Capital IV, a fund focused on investing in mid-market growth businesses.

Exit & IPOs

Foresight Group has exited two of its portfolio companies: GovGrant, which helps businesses secure tax credits, and Datapath, a digital display specialist.

Duke Street is looking to sell UK discount retailer The Original Factory Shop after holding the company for more than 15 years, Sky News reported.

Fundraising

MidOcean Partners has closed its sixth and largest fund, MidOcean Partners VI, on $1.5 billion. The fund, which targets middle-market investments, has made two investments to date, deploying 15% of its committed capital.

Venture capital firm Kaszek Ventures has closed a $975 million fund to invest in startups located in Latin America, according to reports.

Tailwater Capital has closed its upstream oil and gas-focused Tailwater Royalties Fund on more than $100 million in commitments.

Corporate M&A

French cosmetics giant L'Oréal has agreed to buy Australian skincare brand Aesop for roughly $2.5 billion from Natura &Co. The deal is expected to aid L'Oréal's international expansion, particularly in China.

UK wealth manager Rathbones has agreed to acquire Investec Wealth & Investment in a deal worth £839 million. Following the all-share transaction, Investec Group will own over 41% of the combined group, with voting rights of 29.9%.

Chart of the Day

Source: 2022 Annual Global Private Market Fundraising Report

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public mobility tech companies The Daily Pitch

Two ends of the same mobility tech market

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