Smart farm unicorn struggles in VC drought

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The Daily Pitch: VC

November 13, 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:

Indoor farming startup Bowery is the latest unicorn to show signs of financial stress

Analysts find crypto infrastructure weathered a cooldown in the wider sector in Q3

PE's slowdown still has the big public firms scrambling to show results

A look at some of the best and worst performers in SoftBank's Vision Fund portfolios

Today's Top Stories

VC drought hits indoor farming unicorn with layoffs, valuation cut

(ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/Getty Images)

Vertical farming startup Bowery has done two rounds of layoffs and has slowed some growth plans as its valuation falls, making it the latest unicorn to show financial stress as the sector struggles with a fundraising slowdown.

In the face of sector-wide challenges, Bowery held a first close of its Series D on $85 million, according to a regulatory filing published Friday.

Backed by General Catalyst, Temasek, GV, Fidelity and others, Bowery has put off opening two new smart farms in Georgia and Texas that were originally scheduled to open in Q1 2023, according to public statements and a person familiar with the company's operations.

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China Investment Corp has appointed Bai Xiaoqing its new North America head for its New York office, Reuters reported. Bai was previously in charge of some of the sovereign wealth fund's private equity investments from Beijing.

VC Deals

Melbourne-based Roller, a cloud software startup, secured a $50 million growth investment from Insight Partners.

Telehealth provider Vida Health secured a $28.5 million investment from General Atlantic, Ally Bridge and Canvas Ventures.

Almond Fintech, a B2B technology startup based in Boston, secured a $7 million investment.

Taiwanese surgical glasses startup Surglasses raised a $6.5 million pre-Series A led by Taiwania Capital.

Singapore-based EduFi raised $6.1 million in a round led by Zayn VC for its student loan platform.

Nūmi, a Paris-based developer of cell-cultivated breast milk, secured €3 million from investors including Heartcore Capital, Kima Ventures and Kost Capital.

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PE Deals

Columbia Asia agreed to acquire Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care, a hospital operator in Malaysia and Indonesia, for 5.7 billion Malaysian ringgit (about $1.2 billion). Columbia Asia's backers include TPG, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Malaysia-based Employees Provident Fund.

Waterland-backed UK chartered accountant Cooper Parry has acquired the other half of financial planning company Creaseys Wealth, its joint venture with Creaseys from 2015.

BPEA EQT agreed to submit a tender offer for Benesse Holdings, an education and nursing care provider in Japan whose board has approved of the take-private deal.

3i Group-backed Regional Rail, a Pennsylvania-based freight holding company, agreed to acquire Indiana Eastern Railroad and Ohio South Central Railroad, which combined operate 107 miles of freight railroad in the Midwest.

Exits & IPOs

Japanese state-backed fund INCJ has sold most of its holding in Tokyo-listed semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics, in a deal worth 279 billion Japanese yen (about $1.84 billion).

The Carlyle Group is selling its stake in Japanese geospatial technology provider Kokusai Kogyo to telecoms infrastructure company Mirait One.

Lombard Investments is considering selling its 25% stake in Vietnam-based Hasfarm, a Southeast Asian flower distributor, in a deal that would value the company around $600 million, Bloomberg reported.

Fundraising

Everstone Capital Asia is seeking $1 billion for its latest PE fund focused on India and Southeast Asia, Bloomberg reported.

MBK Partners, which invests in China, Japan and South Korea, is raising capital for its sixth flagship fund, according to a filing with the SEC.

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Smart farm unicorn struggles in VC drought

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