PitchBook News - VC gets to heart of healthcare

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The Daily Pitch: VC

September 8, 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:

VC boosts startups on a path to better heart health

How generative AI is energizing seed-stage investing

KKR tops our list of PE biotech dealmakers

Here are the 10 top performing buyout fund families

Today's Top Stories

Cardiovascular disease startups get to heart of the matter

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, but new innovations offer promising paths to improve heart health, as our latest Emerging Tech Research explores. Eyeing a market worth more than $300 billion, cardiovascular disease and heart health startups have raised over $20 billion in VC funding since 2020.

A new class of weight loss drugs is targeting a massive market, but incumbents present a formidable obstacle for startups.

A majority of VC funding is going toward startups whose most advanced product is in Phase 2 trials.

Areas of opportunity include AI detection of vascular disease, digital hypertension management and surgical tech for outpatient cardiac procedures.

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Generative AI seed-stage frenzy fuels YC takeover

(Julia Midkiff/PitchBook News)

Over 65% of the companies in Y Combinator's summer cohort are developing tools for AI and machine learning—134 startups in total, with a third focused on generative AI. The segment is energizing seed-stage investing: Capital raised by seed-stage generative AI doubled to $280 million from the first quarter to Q2.

Investors fear that sitting out or acting slowly means missing out, but they also fear the actions of large incumbents and the consequences of overzealous valuations.

Recommended Reads

How Blackstone sprinted ahead of its peers in AI. [Institutional Investor]

This is the true scale of New York's Airbnb apocalypse. [Wired]

TikTok is wading into Southeast Asia's ecommerce wars. [The Economist]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

10

VC valuations

2625

People

567

Companies

16

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2015 Vintage European Debt Funds

Median IRR

6.76%

Top Quartile IRR

8.59%

0.89x

Median DPI

Select top performers

TPG Specialty Lending Europe Fund I

MTP Energy Opportunities Fund II

Veld Credit Opportunities Fund III

*IRR: net of fees

19 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

People

Creandum, a Stockholm-based early-stage VC firm, has promoted Peter Specht to general partner.

VC Deals

Biotech startup Mariana Oncology has raised a $175 million Series B led by Deep Track Capital and Forbion.

Indian mobility company Ola Electric has raised $140 million in a round led by Temasek, Reuters reported.

Shop Circle, a London-based provider of ecommerce tools, has closed a $120 million Series A led by 645 Ventures and 3VC.

Inceptive, a biotech startup, has secured $100 million from Nvidia Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.

Certa, a management platform specialist, has raised a $35 million Series B led by Fin Capital and Vertex Ventures.

CLARA Analytics, an AI automation startup for insurance claims, has raised a $24 million Series C led by Spring Lake Equity Partners.

AI drug discovery specialist Noetik has raised a $14 million seed round led by DCVC.

Don't miss our upcoming webinar

J. Thelander Consulting and PitchBook will explore how compensation at investment firms has changed in recent years. Across a range of positions from managing general partners to entry-level analysts, our experts—including Jody Thelander—will discuss base salaries and bonuses, along with the best practices for fund structure, including fund formation and carried interest.

Register to secure your spot.

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PE Deals

I Squared Capital-backed Star Leasing Company, which specializes in trailers, has agreed to acquire Commercial Trailer Leasing in a deal that would value the combined company around $1.6 billion, Bloomberg reported.

H2 Green Steel, a Swedish sustainable steel producer, has raised about €1.5 billion from a group led by Altor Equity Partners, GIC, Hy24 and Just Climate.

ICG has agreed to invest €400 million in renewable energy company Enfinity Global through its infrastructure team.

Bain Capital has agreed to acquire Harrington Process Solutions from Nautic Partners. Harrington is a piping and engineered fluid process product distributor.

Igneo Infrastructure Partners has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Soltage, which develops and operates solar power and battery storage, from Prudential Private Capital and its current management.

Consumer-focused investor Consortium Brand Partners has acquired a 70% stake in VC-backed fashion brand Draper James from its founder, actress Reese Witherspoon.

UK power company Octopus Energy, which is backed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Generation Investment Management, has acquired a stake in Norway-based offshore wind developer Deep Wind Offshore.

PE firm ZMC has acquired Chicago-based InProduction from Dubin Clark. The company provides temporary seating and structures to the live events industry.

Exit & IPOs

The Carlyle Group is seeking a buyer for UK-based video game developer Jagex, targeting a valuation of £1 billion, Reuters reported.

NEP Group, backed by The Carlyle Group, has been negotiating with potential buyers for its live events business, which could be valued at $2 billion, Reuters reported.

Fundraising

Middle-market PE firm Astara Capital Partners has closed its first fund on $312 million. The firm focuses on investments in industrial, manufacturing and services businesses.

Monomoy Capital Partners has raised $300 million for Monomoy Credit Opportunities Fund II, which targets investments in the secondary market for first lien term loans and senior secured notes of middle-market companies.

Israeli VC firm Pitango has launched its second healthtech fund with a target of $175 million.

Climate-tech investor World Fund has secured an additional €50 million from LPs including KfW Capital and Ignitis Group.

Chart of the Day

"Q4 2022 was the sixth consecutive quarter in which the secondaries one-year IRR outperformed the overall private capital universe, posting a return of 2.8% compared with private capital's 0.7%. However, the margin of outperformance has steadily eroded over the past four quarters: In Q1 2022, secondary funds surpassed private capital by a margin of 11.3 percentage points, a figure that has decreased every quarter since."

Source: 2023 Global Fund Performance Report (as of Q4 2022 with preliminary Q1 2023 data)

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PitchBook News - VC gets to heart of healthcare

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