VCs: Black-founded startups you need to know

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The Daily Pitch: VC

September 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:

Some advisers and fund managers are reporting more fee pressure behind the scenes

Five VCs share which Black-founded startups they're watching this year

Breaking down one month of trends in the equity, debt and commodities markets

Today's Top Stories

Startup Radar: VCs on Black-founded startups you need to know

MaC Venture Capital's Marlon Nichols
(Phillip Faraone/Getty Images)

Black founders have long been overlooked by the venture community, raising only a minuscule portion of overall capital invested.

We asked five VCs who invest in Black-founded startups to highlight two businesses—one in their portfolio and one not—that they're excited about.

Recommended Reads

The internet was supposed to kill in-person shopping. Did retailers bet wrong on America's feelings about stores? [The Atlantic]

Burying power lines prevents wildfires, but there's a cost. [Wired]

New data shows just how much money New York and California lose when financial firms migrate south. [Bloomberg]

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2019 Vintage Global PE Funds with more than $1B

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Great Hill Equity Partners VII

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VC Deals

San Francisco-based Atomicwork has raised $11 million in a round led by Blume Ventures and Matrix Partners. The startup’s technology automates IT workflow and HR support.

Paptic, a Finnish maker of wood fiber-based packaging materials, has raised €23 million from investors including Ecolab and the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund.

Jude, a London-based bladder health startup, has closed a $4.24 million seed round led by Eka Ventures and Joyance Partners.

US-based infrastructure management platform Facets.cloud has raised $4 million in a round led by 3one4 Capital.

Rig.dev, a Danish open-source application platform for Kubernetes, has secured a $2.2 million pre-seed investment led by ByFounders.

VC-backed equestrian training app Ridesum is buying Blackdog, an AI platform for biomechanical seat and movement analysis for horse riders.

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PE Deals

Permira has agreed to buy UK-listed biopharma services company Ergomed for around £703.1 million.

Exit & IPOs

SoftBank-backed UK chip manufacturer Arm is now looking to raise between $5 billion and $7 billion from its US IPO, down from its previous target of up to $10 billion, Bloomberg reported.

OQ Gas Networks, the pipeline division of Oman's state-owned oil company, OQ, plans to list up to 49% of its shares in what would be the largest IPO in the country in almost 20 years.

Apollo Global is helping Victory Park Capital find a buyer for its Amazon aggregator Perch, Bloomberg reported. Apollo is said to have previously pledged as much as $500 million in debt to Victory Park.

Fundraising

Cube Infrastructure Managers has closed its third fund on €1.35 billion making it the largest fund the firm has ever raised.

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Chart of the Day

"Across the globe, the push for energy transition continues to create M&A opportunities for companies seeking to meet energy initiatives and incentives. In May, Japanese energy firms NTT and JERA acquired Tokyo-based Green Power Investment for $2.2 billion in one of the country's largest-ever deals for a renewable energy company. ... The deal comes amid rising expectations in Japan for the use of renewable energy toward a carbon-neutral society by 2050."

Source: PitchBook's Q2 2023 Global M&A Report

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