PitchBook News - Biotech's IPO surge kindles hope

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The Daily Pitch: VC

February 2, 2024

The Daily Pitch is powered by PitchBook’s industry-defining research and best-in-class data

In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:

VC boosts carbon-tech specialists focusing on the industry's more challenging issues

The IPO calendar for biotech listings has filled up—will tech companies follow suit?

Arch's $3 billion fund target signals confidence for life sciences and biotech fundraising

Our latest Global Markets Snapshot breaks down one month of trends in the equity, debt and commodities markets

With a big deal, Europe has its first unicorn of 2024

Today's Top Stories

Biotech IPO surge sparks hope for tech offerings

(Tanja Ivanova/Getty Images)

The biotech IPO calendar has suddenly filled up. Some see it as a harbinger of future tech offerings—after all, pharma and biotech listings led the rise and fall of the last IPO wave.

But not everyone is convinced: Biotech companies have different motivations for going public, and tech startups may wait for a market leader to test the waters before they risk stepping forward.

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Industrial carbon-tech specialists capture VC boost

Startups focusing on carbon and emissions tech didn't see the dealmaking frenzy in Q4 that they did in the previous quarter—when VC funding topped $8 billion. But the sector still captured more than $2 billion in Q4, according to our latest Emerging Tech Research.

The industrial segment, which includes low-carbon manufacturing, recycling and mining, has been particularly hot in the past 12 months, bringing in $8.5 billion.

read the preview

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Arch Venture Partners targets $3B Fund XIII in most ambitious raise to date

(Anchalee Phanmaha/Getty Images)

Arch Venture Partners, a Chicago-based VC with a nearly 40-year tenure investing primarily in life science and biotech startups, is looking to raise $3 billion for its 13th fund, according to a regulatory filing.

And the tougher fundraising environment may be giving name-brand firms like Arch an edge.

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January wrap-up: One month in global markets

Our latest Global Markets Snapshot breaks down a month of trends in the equity, debt and commodities markets, tracking returns across a range of indexes and sectors. It also features private market activity, including major deals, fundraising, IPO performance, lending volume and unicorn creation.

In this monthly digest, we provide the datasets that the PitchBook Institutional Research Group is keeping an eye on as we start off the new year.

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Europe has its first unicorn this year: DataSnipper

(Peterschreiber.media/Getty Images)

DataSnipper, an Amsterdam-based automation specialist, has reached a $1 billion valuation following its Series B.

The company is the first European startup to have gained a 10-figure price tag in 2024. Last year was a lackluster one for unicorn creation amid a downturn in VC investment.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

13

VC valuations

1929

People

893

Companies

47

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2016 Vintage Global Real Estate Funds

Median IRR

10.17%

Top Quartile IRR

13.60%

0.79x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Blackstone Edison Managed Partners

Bensell Host US Fund

Perella Weinberg Real Estate Fund III

*IRR: net of fees

67 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Heart Aerospace raised a $107 million Series B from investors including Sagitta Ventures, EQT Ventures and Norrsken VC. The Swedish company is developing electric airplanes.

Watershed raised a $100 million Series C led by Greenoaks for its enterprise sustainability platform.

Ohio-based biotech startup Basking Biosciences secured $55 million led by Arch Venture Partners.

Boston-based Cohere Health raised $50 million led by Deerfield Management. Cohere's platform automates the prior authorization process for health plans.

ArteraAI, an AI startup based in San Francisco specializing in cancer treatment, research and therapy, secured $20 million from investors including Prosperity7 Ventures, EDBI and Walden Catalyst Ventures.

Palto Alto-based AI governance and cybersecurity startup Lightbeam.ai raised $17.8 million in a Series C led by Vertex Ventures.

Munich-based Planet A Foods secured $15.4 million in a Series A led by World Fund for its cocoa-free chocolate.

Paris-based deeptech startup Greenerwave raised €15 million from investors including Bpifrance, Intelsat and Safran Corporate Ventures.

Game studio Saltwater Games raised $5.5 million in a seed round led by Deus X Capital.

Evaro secured a €1.4 million seed investment led by Cornerstone VC and Exceptional Ventures. The UK-based company offers AI-powered clinical and drug prescription services.

PitchBook Emerging Tech Talks webinar: Disruption in CRM

Join Emerging Tech Research analysts Derek Hernandez and James Ulan as they investigate Y Combinator's newest crop of CRM startups and their plans to out-innovate incumbents. Discussions with multiple founders will cover how they're building better products and their experiences in helping helping companies track customers, provide technical support and more. Key topics include:

Where large incumbents are falling short and how startups can break through.

What founders are learning about customer needs.

How AI is currently changing CRM, and predictions for the future.

Register now to secure your spot.

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PE Deals

Vestar Capital Partners-backed food provider Roland Foods is exploring a sale of at least $700 million, Reuters reported.

Rise Growth Partners, an investment firm for registered investment advisers, has secured $250 million from Charlesbank Capital Partners, Axios reported.

Francisco Partners has completed its acquisition of weather tech provider The Weather Company from IBM.

PFS, a Spanish company backed by AnaCap Financial Partners that specializes in credit lifecycle management, has acquired consulting company AIS Group.

Exits & IPOs

Temasek-backed digital technology company UST is considering a US IPO that could raise at least $500 million, Bloomberg reported.

Fundraising

KKR closed its latest Asian infrastructure vehicle on $6.4 billion. KKR Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors II is considerably larger than its predecessor, which reached a $3.9 billion close in 2021.

Sustainability-focused infrastructure firm Generate Capital has raised $1.5 billion from an investor group that includes CalSTRS, Hesta and QIC, Bloomberg reported.

Vienna-based Speedinvest closed its fourth flagship fund on €350 million. The vehicle will target early-stage investments.

Lithuanian early-stage VC firm Practica Capital closed its second fund on €80 million.

Investors

Bain Capital is looking to expand its activity in India, Bloomberg reported. The firm has earmarked $7 billion for investments in the country over the next three to five years and is planning to expand its India team by 15% to 20%, according to the report.

Chart of the Day

"Carveouts have seen a rise in their share of the overall deal mix. These transactions offer sellers an opportunity to generate cash and enable buyers to potentially reduce their check size, which is particularly pertinent in a high-interest-rate environment. As such, carveouts and divestitures have witnessed an increase in their proportion of all middle-market deals for the first time since 2015."

Source: Q3 2023 US PE Middle Market Report

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PitchBook News - Biotech's IPO surge kindles hope

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