PitchBook News - VC's clean energy charge

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The Daily Pitch: VC

August 30, 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 eye nuclear and geothermal energy to keep fueling the clean energy sector's rebound

Is critical minerals mining VC's next frontier?

Our analysts forecast sunnier skies for parts of agtech

Today's Top Stories

For clean energy founders, it feels like 2021 again

In their best quarter since 2021, VC-backed clean energy startups brought in $5.4 billion in Q2, indicating the vertical's resilience. Driving the industry's success is major investment into solar and hydrogen technologies, per our latest Emerging Tech Research, another impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act and the Department of Energy's Hydrogen Shot initiative.

For new opportunities in the buzzy vertical, investors should brush up on nuclear fusion and geothermal energy, where engineers are recording breakthroughs in technologies targeting our reliance on fossil fuels.

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Why VCs are suddenly flocking to mining deals

(MARTIN BERNETTI/Getty Images)

Mining is a quintessential legacy industry, controlled by a small cohort of entrenched companies like Rio Tinto and BHP. Fledgling companies have struggled to overcome the high costs required to disrupt traditional extractive technologies.

It's no wonder that venture investors have historically steered clear of the industry.

But enticed by new innovations, VCs recognize the need for critical minerals to power the energy transition and see a role for new technology in challenging the major players.

Recommended Reads

PE firms borrow billions to expand fiber-optic broadband internet. [The Wall Street Journal]

Google is employing generative AI as part of its push to solve problems in healthcare. [Forbes]

America is using up its groundwater like there's no tomorrow. [The New York Times]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

22

VC valuations

2539

People

525

Companies

12

Funds

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The Daily Benchmark:
2011 Vintage North American Real Estate Funds

Median IRR

14.94%

Top Quartile IRR

19.63%

1.53x

Median DPI

Select top performers

C-III Recovery Fund I

Exeter Industrial Value Fund II

SH Group I

*IRR: net of fees

47 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Apollo.io has raised a $100 million Series D led by Bain Capital Ventures, bringing its valuation to $1.6 billion. The company provides enterprise go-to-market services.

Marketing software startup Mediafly has secured $80 million led by BIP Ventures.

Rockset, which offers a search and analytics database, has received $44 million in a round led by Icon Ventures.

Intuition Robotics has raised $20 million in equity and $5 million in debt in a round led by Toyota's Woven Capital for its AI companion for older adults.

Novatron Fusion Group, a Stockholm-based startup focused on fusion energy production, has raised €5 million led by Climentum Capital.

Finnish AI-powered ecommerce specialist Starcart has closed a €3.5 million investment led by Inventure.

Finland-based Videobot has secured €2 million from investors including Superhero Capital and Expon Capital. The B2B startup creates personalized, interactive videos to increase customer engagement.

UK-based Jitty has raised $2 million led by Gradient Ventures for its property search engine.

PE Deals

TechCrunch, owned by Apollo Global Management-backed Yahoo, has acquired media startup StrictlyVC from the journalist who founded it, Axios reported.

M2 Capital has made a £90 million bid for UK retail chain Wilko, according to reports. Wilko started insolvency proceedings earlier this month.

Nordic Capital-backed Trustly has acquired French recurring payments startup SlimPay. The deal was worth €70 million, according to a Bloomberg report.

Summit Partners has made a growth investment in Greenpeak Partners-backed testing, inspection and certification services provider Certania.

Shoreline Equity Partners has invested in American Landscaping Partners, which provides commercial and residential landscaping in Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

SK Capital Partners has acquired fireproofing materials manufacturer and distributor Isolatek International.

Renovus Capital Partners-backed InflowCX has acquired Ontario-based software development firm NetFore.

Exit & IPOs

Tiger Global has sold its remaining stake in Indian food delivery company Zomato in a deal worth 11.24 billion rupees (around $136 million), Reuters reported.

E.l.f. Beauty has agreed to acquire skin care brand Naturium for $355 million. Naturium received a minority investment from Prelude Growth Partners in 2021.

Fundraising

Lighter Capital, a provider of revenue-based financing, has raised a $130 million credit facility to fund early-stage SaaS, technology services, subscription services, and digital media startups.

Chart of the Day

"Average deal size has come down in 2023, which is to be expected given sponsors are more diligent and hesitant in their approach towards megadeals, focusing rather on deals in the range of €10 million to €25 million."

Source: PitchBook's Q2 2023 European Venture Report

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PitchBook News - VC's clean energy charge

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