PitchBook News - PE talent sticks around—for now

Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription.

Log in

The Weekend Pitch

December 3, 2023

Presented by the U.S. National Science Foundation

(Drew Sanders/PitchBook News)

Despite fundraising woes, private equity is managing to hold on to its talent—for the time being.

While recruiters don't expect an impending flight from the industry, persistence of fundraising headwinds could lead to a migration of talent away from underperforming firms.

Faced with a challenging year in dealmaking, fundraising and exits, PE executive search firms have identified a slowdown in hiring in 2023, leaving a large pool of qualified candidates.

This is the Weekend Pitch, and I'm Jessica Hamlin. You can reach me at jessica.hamlin@pitchbook.com or @jessicaAhamlin on X.

The deceleration in hiring is a symptom of the troubling fundraising environment in the private markets. From H1 2022 to H1 2023, PE and VC fundraising fell 16.6% and 47%, respectively—a product of a restricted LP capital supply, elevated interest rates and a pullback in bank lending.

Fundraising challenges hit mega-funds hard. In November, PE behemoth The Carlyle Group reportedly lowered its target for a pan-Asia PE fund by at least 30%. Earlier in the year, TPG cut the size of its flagship funds.

The capital shortage has led to a cutback in talent searches and hiring, according to recruiters.

Startup-minded VCs expect AI-driven recovery in '24

(Petri Anttila/Courtesy of Slush Media)

VCs gathered at Helsinki startup conference Slush predicted a rebound in venture dealmaking this year, driven by AI exuberance.

Generative AI and how it will shape the future of tech dominated both the conference panels and investor conversations. Our notebook from PitchBook reporter Leah Hodgson has the details.

Trivia

Medtech—which encompasses technologies, sensors, devices, and services for medical care—has seen upward momentum in VC funding and M&A activity, with VC deal value up 14.1% in Q3. How much capital did medtech startups raise last quarter?

A) $3.2 billion
B) $1.9 billion
C) $6.8 billion
D) $2.3 billion

Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch!

Public firms revise the PE playbook for the long game

Rather than touting long-term growth tactics, the executives running the largest US-listed PE firms focused their messaging in Q3 on managing "higher for longer" expectations around interest rates. One of the answers: hold back PE assets from exits until they can grow into previously acceptable valuations.

Our latest US Public PE and GP Deal Roundup checks the vital signs of seven key alternative assets managers, diving deeper than Q3 earnings calls.

Top VCs back biotech while AI investment slows

(CastaldoStudio/Getty Images)

Our latest Emerging Tech Indicator digs into the technologies and startups that top investors are backing, sharing quarterly insights on investment activity from a subset of the world's most successful VC firms. One highlight: Despite a decline in deal activity in Q3, biotech came out on top while investment in AI slowed.

Read more about where top VCs are placing their bets and the key trends they're watching.

Medtech's cutting edge

Would you invest in a startup developing a cardiovascular surgical device? If yes, you're not alone: It's been the most active category for medtech investment in 2023, with $487.7 million in VC funding in Q3 alone.

Read up on cutting-edge medtech innovation, from Sonde, which tracks respiratory health using voice pattern recognition software, to Inivata, which scans for cancer recurrence.

Quote/Unquote

(Anton Petrus/Getty Images)

"This is happening at a time in which we have probably the most significant secular, fundamental downstream demand for those minerals, and that's really the thing that's creating the compelling investment opportunity."

—Kamal Toor, co-managing partner at Kinterra Capital, talking to PitchBook News about the firm's $565 million fund dedicated to investing in minerals and mining.

Stay tuned

Keep an eye out for these insights and research reports coming out this week:

Q3 2023 Foodtech Report
Q3 2023 Global Private Market Fundraising Report
2023 Japan Private Capital Breakdown
Q3 2023 Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Report
Q3 2023 Biopharma Report
Q3 2023 Enterprise SaaS Report

Trivia

(Shing Lok Che/Getty Images)

Answer: A)

In Q3, medtech startups raised $3.2 billion from VC investors. To read more about medtech, the key trends and startups raising capital, read our Q3 2023 Medtech Report.

This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Jessica Hamlin, Leah Hodgson, Emily Burleson, Jacob Robbins and Rosie Bradbury. It was edited by Heather West and Sam Steele.

Were you forwarded The Weekend Pitch? Sign up at pitchbook.com/subscribe.

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

119

People

80

Companies

1

Funds

See what our data software can do

About PitchBook | Terms of use | Advertise with us | Contact

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.

PitchBook News - PE talent sticks around—for now

Startup-minded VCs expect AI-driven recovery in '24

Trivia

Public firms revise the PE playbook for the long game

Top VCs back biotech while AI investment slows

Medtech's cutting edge

Quote/Unquote

Stay tuned

Trivia

Older messages

VC survey: GenAI, geopolitics, and growth

New year, new VC?

Top GPs' private credit surplus

Medtech primed for strong finish to 2023

Retail fintech holds its ground

You Might Also Like

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

🦅 Reminder: Masterclass with Jesse Pujji

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

The state of ad serving for brands and agencies

♟️ OpenAI's smart chess move!

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

ET: March 11th 2025

If SEO is dead…

Niche = $$$

The Founder Institute targets first VC fund