1. Home
  2. Discover
  3. Business
  4. PitchBook News

PitchBook News - Fintech's holiday markdowns

Plus: Batteries stay positive in clean energy slump, Gen AI caught up in tech's doldrums, venture values still falling in Europe & more
Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription.
PitchBook
Log in
The Weekend Pitch
November 26, 2023
Presented by Arbelon Holdings
(Jenna O'Malley/PitchBook News)
Turkeys aren't the only things being carved up this holiday season.

Many fintech startups beset by high interest rates, cutbacks in enterprise budgets and a pullback in venture will have to consider 'distressed acquisitions' over the next four to six months, insiders say.

"The corp dev folks are sharpening their pencils," said Jay Ganatra, partner at Infinity Ventures and former managing partner at PayPal Ventures.

This is the Weekend Pitch and I'm Rosie Bradbury. You can reach me at rosie.bradbury@pitchbook.com or @_RosieBradbury on X.

Distressed fintech deals have started to pop up. Take Peta, which was last valued at $800 million and backed by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures and Tarsadia Investments. The credit card startup is seeking a buyer and its survival is in question, Fortune reported this week.

Investors say the next six months should see a rise in the number of fintech-to-fintech deals as founders seek ways to stay afloat.
read more
 
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
 
A message from Arbelon Holdings  
Arbelon invests in spine-surgery navigation system developer Pathkeeper
Pathkeeper's system combines state-of-the-art anatomical AI with 3D laser imaging to offer real-time, guided navigation in a smooth and simple process. Led by a team of surgeons, commercial leaders from the spine market, and engineers with a proven track record of industry-changing innovation, Pathkeeper has developed a safe and affordable navigation system for spine surgeries, which allows surgeons to perform radiation-free complex surgeries faster and with higher accuracy.

Arbelon Holdings invests in medical device companies. An additional investment round for PathKeeper has been launched after several systems have already been installed in the US with good clinical feedback.

Read more about Pathkeeper
Share: Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
 
 

Trivia
Former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images)
Ousted and now rehired OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has had an eclectic background, serving as the president of Y Combinator and creating his own cryptocurrency. Altman served as the CEO of what company for eight days in 2014?

A) Flipboard
B) Reddit
C) Twitter
D) Shopify

Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch!
 

Batteries stay positive despite sector's woes

(Santiago Urquijo/Getty Images)
Cleantech had a bit of a rough quarter, with VC funding down 18% year-over-year, per our new Q3 2023 Clean Energy Report.

But on the positive side, battery energy storage and hydrogen startups are still bringing in the big bucks. Investors are bullish on the technology that has been accelerated to hyperdrive by federal funding schemes and the private market's push toward an energy transition.
 

Gen AI is suffering through tech sector's doldrums

(Dem10/Getty Images)
Dealmaking trends within the generative AI emerging space are only on pace to match 2021's VC funding total, when excluding Big Tech mega-deals. While generative AI isn't proving immune to broader tech slowdowns, there are still promising opportunities within the space and several exits on the horizon

Our latest Emerging Tech Research lays out the trends, who's behind all the investment and what the future may hold.
 

European venture valuations coming down to earth

(Alexsl/Getty Images)
Recovery in valuations for European venture-backed companies is unlikely to be on the cards in the near future as median price tags continue to fall across the board, according to PitchBook's Q3 2023 European VC Valuations Report.

Deal sizes, on the other hand, have proven to be more of a mixed bag with only venture growth seeing a drop.
 

Quote/Unquote
Satya Nadella (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
"Irrespective of where Sam is, he's working with Microsoft, that's the case on Friday and it's the case today and that will be the case tomorrow."

—Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, speaking to Bloomberg about OpenAI and its briefly ousted CEO Sam Altman, who has since been reinstated.
 

Stay tuned
Keep an eye out for these insights and research reports coming out this week:
  • Q3 2023 Emerging Tech Indicator
  • Q3 2023 Retail Fintech Report
  • Q3 2023 Medtech Report
  • Q3 2023 Public PE Roundup
 

Trivia
Answer: B)

Sam Altman was the CEO of online news and discussion aggregation site Reddit for only eight days in 2014. Read more about Altman's extensive VC portfolio and how investors reacted to the chaos at OpenAI on PitchBook News. The latest? He's been reinstated.
This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Rosie Bradbury, Jacob Robbins and Leah Hodgson. It was edited by James Thorne and Ron Prichard.

Were you forwarded The Weekend Pitch? Sign up at pitchbook.com/subscribe.
 
Ads
Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
230
People
79
Companies
See what our data software can do
 
Ads
 
About PitchBook | Terms of use | Advertise with us | Contact
Follow us: in twtr fb

This email was sent to you via the PitchBook Platform.

Do you want to change your email address, get a different edition or unsubscribe? Manage your subscription here.

© 2023 PitchBook. Win what's next. All rights reserved.

Older messages

Tech giants take hold in AI

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Also: Where top VCs are placing their early bets; Hopes of a recovery for the UK markets?; The factors driving investment activity in clean energy... Read online | Don't want to receive these

Early-stage startups' uphill battle

Friday, November 24, 2023

Will Shell's commitment to cleantech waver?; rebound hopes fade for fund performance; reining in 'shadow banking' Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your

Do signs point to recovery for Europe VC?

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Investors pump up Botox-dealing medspas; VCs retreat from mobility tech; OpenAI's Altman reinstated Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription. Log in The Daily

OpenAI's secondary buyers vanish

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Battery energy storage startups score mega-deals; banks' critical role in Japan's VC market; lenders pull back from club deals Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your

Adding tech unicorns to PitchBook Indexes

Monday, November 20, 2023

Shear takes over at OpenAI; What's hot in generative AI's VC ecosystem?; China takes lead in autonomous car deals Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription.

You Might Also Like

‘We found the thing that gives us joy’: Microchild on the microverse, music, and shared language

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

The wife and husband pair of Shannon Sengebau McManus and Jonathan Camacho Glaser are souls behind the band Microchild. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

🦅 Reminder: Masterclass with Jesse Pujji

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

At 1:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

[Webinar tomorrow] Canadian? How to Grow Your Amazon FBA Business as a Canuck

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Hey Reader, Are you a Canadian? No? Well, you should never skip a single line on an EcomCrew email but this is one exception and you can continue with your day. Yes? Then congratulations on hitting the

The state of ad serving for brands and agencies

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

How ad-serving technology is changing and unlocking new opportunities ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

♟️ OpenAI's smart chess move!

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Guess who's sweating? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

March Madness is here: Tap into the hype with these marketing plays

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

And more insights to drive smarter social strategies and ROI ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

ET: March 11th 2025

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Exploding Topics Logo Presented by: Exploding Topics Pro Logo Here's this week's list of rapidly trending topics, insights and analysis. Topic #1 Gruns (trends) Chart Gruns is a DTC startup

If SEO is dead…

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Here's a surefire way to fall behind your competition: Declare SEO as dead and stop optimizing your content. Sure, the strategies that worked five years ago may not work today, but businesses that

Niche = $$$

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Why Your Tiny Newsletter Could Be an Advertiser's Dream ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

The Founder Institute targets first VC fund

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Startups join the M&A big leagues; Hinge Health files for IPO; stablecoin surges with regulation in play; VC-backed IPOs give up post-election gains Read online | Don't want to receive these