PitchBook News - Foodtech on the up-and-up

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The Daily Pitch: VC

October 18, 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:

Median deal size and exits trend upward for Europe's beleaguered PE market

VCs piggyback on the Ozempic and Wegovy craze via weight management startups

Analysts find foodtech dealmaking is rising

General Catalyst's unprecedented healthcare play and other themes from HLTH 2023

Today's Top Stories

Navigating the flavorful frontier of foodtech investment

Our Emerging Tech Research Foodtech Overview covers the trends, industry segments and VC opportunities in the space.

Dealmaking has started trending upward, with Q2 2023 deal count rising more than 13% quarter-over quarter. And there's still plenty on the menu, from bio-engineered foods to new food production methods.

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Green shoots appear in European PE

European private equity deal value may have fallen compared with last quarter, but our Q3 2023 European PE Breakdown outlines where a slow recovery may be building and where activity has been brisk.

While investors have stepped away from mega-deals, the median deal size has nonetheless increased quarter-over-quarter.

Exits are picking up, supported by a thawing in the IPO markets. But secondary buyouts account for a significant share of activity.

Buyout mega-funds led by experienced managers continue to dominate fundraising.

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A message from J.P. Morgan

Our views on venture

The U.S. economy has performed better than expected in 2023, but risks are elevated heading into 2024. With the recent uptick in IPO activity, there are glimmers of optimism for venture markets, although a broader reopening could still be months away. And in response to market disruption in the banking sector, startups are more focused on treasury management and engaging with banking partners for networking opportunities.

Together with PitchBook, Ginger Chambless, Head of Research for Commercial Banking, and other J.P. Morgan experts explore the VC landscape for founders and investors.

Read now

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Weight loss startups ride the Ozempic, Wegovy wave

(Drew Sanders/PitchBook News)

Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have been a blockbuster success for the pharmaceutical industry. The trend is also proving lucrative for startups specializing in weight management.

Investors are celebrating the renewed attention on a historically overlooked category, but some fear the "perverse incentives" that come alongside profiting from drug prescriptions.

Recommended Reads

Is it getting too expensive to have fun? Americans are cutting back on live entertainment as ticket prices balloon. [The Wall Street Journal]

Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov first wrote about harvesting the sun's energy for power in 1941. Now, can space solar power become a reality? [Financial Times]

AI startups need more data centers. France wants to build them. [Sifted]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

7

VC valuations

2392

People

594

Companies

39

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark: 2020 Vintage Global PE Funds with less than $250M

Median IRR

16.20%

Top Quartile IRR

26.60%

0.06x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Ansor Fund I

Beyond Capital Partners Fund II

Invicta Pilot Fund

*IRR: net of fees

23 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Atom Bioscience, a Chinese startup developing treatments for inflammatory and metabolic diseases, raised $83 million in a Series D led by Kaitai Capital.

San Francisco-based insurtech startup Nirvana raised a $57 million Series B led by Lightspeed.

Procurify, a Canadian fintech startup, raised a $50 million Series C led by Ten Coves Capital.

Cross-border consumer credit bureau Nova Credit secured a $45 million Series C.

New York-based fraud prevention startup Prove Identity secured $40 million led by MassMutual Ventures and Capital One Ventures.

Lanes & Planes closed a $35 million Series B led by Smash Capital. The Munich-based company offers corporate travel management software.

Cybersecurity startup Fingerprint raised a $33 million Series C led by Nexus Venture Partners and Uncorrelated Ventures.

Berlin-based Upvest raised €30 million from investors including BlackRock, Notion Capital and HV Capital for its investment API.

Belgium's Ampacimon secured €10 million from investors including Korys, Junction Growth Investors and Noshaq for its grid enhancing technology.

Scottish insect genetics startup Beta Bugs raised £1.72 million led by The Tricapital Syndicate.

PitchBook webinar: Crypto and digital assets

Despite the bear market, traditional financial institutions continue to forge ahead, exploring and investing in digital asset and crypto products.

PitchBook's Robert Le, a senior research analyst specializing in cryptocurrency, will lead a conversation about the landscape at present—and in 2024 and beyond. Rosenblatt Securities' Dushyant "D" Shahrawat and Goldman Sachs' Mathew McDermott will examine crypto trends within traditional financial institutions as well as current opportunities and challenges.

Register now to secure your spot.

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PE Deals

Pioneer Point Partners acquired PerPetum Europe, a Belgium-based developer of decarbonization energy projects, and invested in Italian residential energy efficiency company Comat Servizi Energetici.

KKR agreed to buy a minority stake in New York-based healthcare investment firm Catalio Capital Management.

Wind Point Partners acquired Assisi Pet Care, a UK-based producer of pet food and treats.

Berkshire Partners invested in PDQ, a provider of IT asset management software.

Fundraising

Stockholm-listed EQT has raised nearly €20 billion for its 10th flagship buyout fund, Private Equity News reported.

LeapFrog Investments is aiming to raise $1 billion for its Emerging Consumer Fund IV, which will target the financial and healthcare sectors in emerging growth markets.

Graycliff Partners closed its fifth lower-middle-market fund on $600 million.

Investors

French investment group Wendel is in exclusive talks to acquire UK middle-market PE firm IK Partners.

Chart of the Day

"More recently, growth equity has filled the void left by platform LBOs, having gained 4.2 percentage points in the last quarter alone. Growth equity now accounts for 15.0% of all US PE deal value, which is more than twice its share as recently as Q2 2022. For the first time, growth equity deals will likely outnumber platform LBO deals for the year."

Source: PitchBook's Q3 2023 US PE Breakdown

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PitchBook News - Foodtech on the up-and-up

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