PitchBook News - Has agtech hooked its VCs again?

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The Daily Pitch: VC

November 10, 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:

Our analysts glean signs that VCs are returning to agtech

LPs pull away from emerging managers and underperforming GPs

An emerging blockchain VC taps Lightspeed's LP network to raise a $285 million fund

PE's positive start to the year widens the performance gap between PE and VC

Analysts find dealmaking in Germany has been mixed

Today's Top Stories

Are VCs returning to agtech?

It's been a long dry spell for agtech funding, but early signs indicate VCs are starting to return. Total deal value improved nearly 20% in the third quarter, according to our latest Emerging Tech Research on the space.

Median deal sizes and valuations are nearing record highs, with startups making leaps in areas such as biopesticides and agroforestry.

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LPs prioritize performance to stick with top-quartile managers

(Tim Grist Photography/Getty Images)

As the downturn continues, LPs are reluctant to commit to underperforming GPs, preferring top-quartile funds over middle-tier vehicles or unproven emerging managers.

"The number of first-time funds is way down," said Kevin Kuryla, the global head of UBS' private funds group. "You either have to have a fantastic track record and reputation or you have to be super brave."

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German PE displays strength amid weaker VC performance

PE dealmaking in Germany has increased compared with Q2 and shows less of a decline than VC year-over-year despite a cooling economy. VC deal value has continued its slump, according to our Q3 2023 Germany Market Snapshot—the latest in our Country Snapshot series.

While the German economy is forecast to grow next year, factors such as high inflation and weak consumption continue to weigh on the financial markets, including IPOs, which have nearly ground to a halt.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

34

VC valuations

2034

People

764

Companies

22

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2012 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

17.00%

Top Quartile IRR

20.35%

1.16x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Commonfund Capital Natural Resources Partners IX

Schroders Capital Private Equity Global Innovation VII

Florida SBA Ventures III

*IRR: net of fees

54 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Boston-based medical technology startup Elucid raised an $80 million Series C led by Elevage Medical Technologies.

Summer raised $68 million, comprising a $50 million debt facility from Setpoint Capital and an $18 million Series A from QED and Lightspeed. New York-based Summer offers a short-term rental platform.

New York-based Arch, which provides an administrative tool for private investors, raised a $20 million Series A led by Menlo Ventures.

Ooodles, a London-based hardware rental platform, raised $12 million led by Smart Lenders Asset Management.

Raus, a Berlin-based startup that offers cabins for nature-based stays, secured €8.5 million led by Roch Ventures.

Doctorly, a provider of medical practice software based in Berlin, raised an additional €7.2 million for its Series A in a round led by Simon Capital, Sifted reported.

Copenhagen-based fintech startup Performativ secured a €5.5 million seed investment led by FinTech Collective.

Fyma received $2.1 million led by Quadri Ventures. The London-based AI startup analyzes real-time video feeds.

PE Deals

Switzerland's Energy Infrastructure Partners is in talks to acquire a minority stake of just under 10% in Italian energy company Eni's renewables unit, Plenitude, for about €750 million, Bloomberg reported.

Inflexion agreed to sell legal rankings company Chambers and Partners to Abry Partners in a deal valuing the business at more than £400 million, the Financial Times reported.

HarbourView Equity Partners agreed to acquire "certain publishing assets" from singer Kane Brown, expanding the firm's country music portfolio.

Pamlico Capital invested in Texas' Beck Technology, a software provider for the construction industry.

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners-backed consulting company Resolution Economics acquired the training services divisions of Biddle Consulting Group.

Mauloa made a minority investment in O'Connor Plumbing, a Washington, DC-area business focused on recurring commercial maintenance.

Fundraising

TPG is looking to reach a $6 billion final close on its eighth flagship Asia buyout fund in the first half of next year, the company said during its earnings call.

Toronto-based Persistence Capital Partners closed a continuation fund for MedSpa Partners, a medical aesthetics platform the firm founded in 2019, on more than C$375 million (about $272 million), led by Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

Great Range Capital held the final close of its third fund on $250 million. The Kansas City-based PE firm invests in Midwestern lower-middle-market businesses.

Investors

Pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is looking to sell up to $2 billion in PE assets in secondary transactions to free up capital for new deals, Bloomberg reported.

Grupo Romero Asset Management reached an agreement with The Carlyle Group to transfer the latter's Latin America-focused team to establish GRAM's PE platform in the Americas.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q3 2023 US VC Valuations Report

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PitchBook News - Has agtech hooked its VCs again?

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