Ecommerce investors look to generative AI

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The Daily Pitch: VC

June 28, 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:

VCs are looking to generative AI as a potential game changer in ecommerce

Take a look at the startups in Sam Altman's VC portfolio

A survey of impact investors shows sourcing deals has grown easier

Explore the market outlook for spatial biology

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Today's Top Stories

How generative AI will impact ecommerce

The ecommerce industry is facing headwinds. Continued deceleration in deal activity saw total deal count plummet 57% in Q1 2023 compared to the previous quarter, while deal value declined 11%, according to our latest E-Commerce Report.

Some VCs are betting on generative AI to be a game changer. From startups beginning to integrate AI into their applications to companies creating their own tools to court customers, ecommerce investors still have plenty of opportunities in the space.

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Inside Sam Altman's VC portfolio

OpenAI CEO and founder Sam Altman
(Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images)

For more than a decade, OpenAI CEO and founder Sam Altman has been gathering an increasing number of startup stakes as an angel investor.

AI, healthcare and software are just some of the areas in which Altman has been taking bets on future technology.

Recommended Reads

PE firms have been targeting larger, more stable companies in private credit deals. [Financial Times]

A survey points to challenges PE-backed businesses face in filling key finance positions and meeting the goals of their owners. [The Wall Street Journal]

Why many ultra-processed foods are unhealthy. [The Washington Post]

The Daily Benchmark:
2013 Vintage Global Secondaries Funds

Median IRR

15.82%

Top Quartile IRR

17.70%

1.08x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Industry Ventures Special Opportunities Fund II

Verdane Capital VIII

Newbury Equity Partners III

*IRR: net of fees

19 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Cyera, a data security startup, has raised a $100 million Series B led by Accel and joined by investors including Sequoia and Redpoint Ventures.

Redpanda, which offers a streaming data platform for developers, has raised a $100 million Series C led by Lightspeed and joined by GV and Haystack VC.

Augmedics, which develops AR technology for use in spine surgery, has raised an $82.5 million Series D led by CPMG.

Ecommerce startup Cart.com has raised $60 million at a $1.2 billion valuation in a Series C backed from investors including B. Riley Venture Capital, Snowflake Ventures and Prosperity7 Ventures.

Web3 gaming startup Mythical Games has raised $37 million for its Series C1 led by Scytale Digital and joined by backers including Andreessen Horowitz, Animoca Brands and Gaingels.

Dexory, a London-based provider of autonomous warehouse robotics, has secured a $19 million Series A led by Atomico.

AdBio Partners has led a €16.5 million seed investment in Astraveus, which operates a microfluidic cell and gene therapy manufacturing platform.

Helsinki-based quantum computing startup Algorithmiq has secured a $15 million Series A led by Inventure VC.

PE Deals

NYSE-listed annuities provider American Equity has received a takeover offer from existing shareholder Brookfield Reinsurance, a unit of Brookfield Asset Management. The deal would value the company at $4.3 billion, Reuters reported.

KKR and NYSE-listed industrial machinery maker Circor have reached a buyout deal of $1.7 billion including debt.

Martin Franklin, the CEO and largest shareholder of Whole Earth Brands, has offered a $169 million buyout deal for the NASDAQ-listed consumer food company.

General Atlantic has invested about $150 million in Odoo, which provides software for small and medium-sized businesses.

Creador has bought a 40% stake in Malaysian pet foods manufacturer Pet World, Reuters reported. The company was previously reported to be planning an IPO in Singapore.

Exit & IPOs

IK Partners is selling French cybersecurity company Nomios to Keensight Capital.

SHS Capital plans to sell its stake in German medtech company Spiegelberg to Luciole Medical.

Paris-listed luxury brands group Kering has agreed to acquire high-end fragrance maker Creed from BlackRock.

Fundraising

Warsaw-based Inovo VC has closed its third fund on €105 million. The fund is targeting up to 30 primarily seed-stage startups in Central and Eastern Europe

EQT is extending the deadline for its latest fund, which is targeting €20 billion, from August to February, Bloomberg reported.

Octopus Investments has launched a £40 million fund to back pre-seed deep-tech startups in the UK and Europe.

UK-based River Capital has launched a £10 million fund with a cornerstone investment from its parent company MSIF.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q4 2022 PitchBook Private Capital Indexes

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