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The Daily Pitch: VC

February 9, 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:

High interest rates and labor shortages batter healthcare services dealmaking

Five VCs active in climate tech share which startups they're watching this year

SoftBank's Vision Fund reports its largest quarterly return in almost three years

A look at the 10 most active VC investors in Canadian startups

Today's Top Stories

A frosty winter for private equity in healthcare services

PE dealmaking in healthcare services declined an estimated 16.2% year-over-year in 2023, while platform deals hit a seven-year low as acquirers reeled from high interest rates and a prolonged labor crunch. Healthcare services companies made up 20% of leveraged loan default value in 2023, and large deals remain difficult to finance, according to our Q4 2023 Healthcare Services Report.

In 2024, rainmakers will be closely following interest rate cuts and antitrust scrutiny targeted at PE healthcare services as they wait for more favorable exit opportunities.

read the report

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Startup Radar: VCs on climate-tech startups you need to know

(Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images)

Climate tech is expected to be a major theme for VC investors throughout 2024.

We asked five VCs active in the climate-tech market to share two startups—one in their portfolio, one not—that they expect to excel this year.

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Meet the 10 most active investors in Canadian startups

(Joey Schaffer/PitchBook News)

The US' northern neighbor has proven that it can be a big player in the tech scene. Home to some of the biggest startups in the VC ecosystem, such as ecommerce giant Shopify and generative AI company Cohere, VCs have been investing significantly in Canadian startups.

These are the most active investors betting big on the Great White North.

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SoftBank's Vision Fund roars with $4B gain; Arm lockup nears end

(Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

Although the global VC landscape remains sluggish, for SoftBank's Vision Fund, recovery is already here.

The Japanese conglomerate's tech investment arm reported a $4 billion gain in the last three months of 2023, the division's largest quarterly return in almost three years.

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What shrinking UK exchange means for private markets

(Jenna O'Malley/PitchBook News)

When Dublin-based gaming giant Flutter made its New York stock debut on Monday, the UK-listed company also revealed that it will be moving its primary listing from London to New York.

The move is yet another in a series of recent blows to the London Stock Exchange's prestige as a listing destination. On the same day as Flutter's announcement, a Bloomberg report revealed that the number of companies trading on the exchange has contracted by 25% over the past decade.

For private market investors, the short-term effect may seem relatively benign, even positive. However, a diminished London stock market could have negative consequences for the long-term health of the private markets ecosystem in the UK and beyond.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

11

VC valuations

3299

People

832

Companies

35

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2018 Vintage Global VC Funds with less than $250M

Median IRR

22.43%

Top Quartile IRR

31.82%

0.07x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Boulder Ventures VII

Inter-Atlantic Ivy

Chile Outlier Seed Fund I

*IRR: net of fees

42 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

People

Arjun Infrastructure Partners has appointed Misha Nahorny as a managing director in its London office where he will help expand the firm's European investment activity.

VC Deals

The Walt Disney Company's $1.5 billion investment into Fortnite maker Epic Games is valuing the company at $22.5 billion, The Information reported. It's a 29% valuation cut from the company's last fundraising less than two years ago.

Project 3 Mobility, the Croatian developer of an autonomous urban mobility system, has closed a €100 million Series A from investors including Tasaru Mobility Investments, Neurone and Elaf Auto.

San Francisco-based Unlearn, which creates digital twins of clinical trial participants, has raised a $50 million Series C led by Altimeter Capital.

Pennylane, a Paris-based provider of accounting software, has reached unicorn status with a €40 million investment from Sequoia and DST Global.

Stockholm-based Xensam has raised $40 million from Expedition Growth Capital for its AI-powered software asset management platform.

Daedalus, a German builder of precision-manufacturing factories, has secured a $21 million Series A led by NGP Capital.

Thea Energy, a New Jersey-based fusion energy startup, has raised a $20 million Series A led by Prelude Ventures.

San Francisco-based Aizon, which develops AI-powered software for pharmaceutical manufacturing, has raised a $20 million Series C led by NewVale Capital.

Paris-based Jow has extended its Series A with $13 million led by Northzone. Jow offers an app for grocery shopping.

Austin-based Closinglock, a real estate fraud prevention startup, has raised a $12 million Series A led by Headline.

LimaCharlie, a cybersecurity cloud software startup based in California, has raised a $10.2 million Series A led by Sands Capital.

Don't miss our upcoming Tech Talk webinar

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PE Deals

Apollo Global Management is in talks to purchase a minority stake of around 30% in the Starbucks franchise AlShaya Group operates in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, Reuters reported.

General Atlantic has made a minority investment in Partners Capital Group, a London-based outsourced investment office.

Indianapolis-based Bloomerang has received an investment from Warburg Pincus for its nonprofit management software platform.

Teamfront has received a growth investment from Mailsail Partners. Teamfront provides payments solutions and business management software.

Verlinvest has picked up a minority stake in Paris-based skincare brand Cible Skin, which will use the investment to expand across Europe, the US and China.

Fundraising

TiLT Capital, the energy transition platform of French PE firm Siparex, reached a €320 million final close of its first fund, exceeding its €300 million hard cap.

BNP Paribas Asset Management launched its BNP Paribas Agility Co-Invest Fund 2, which aims to raise between €700 million and €900 million for European minority investments. Its predecessor reached a €739 million close in 2021.

Investors

New York-based GP stakes investor Blue Owl Capital is launching a joint venture with Abu Dhabi-headquartered asset manager Lunate to provide growth capital to mid-sized private capital GPs.

Chart of the Day

Source: 2023 Annual European Venture Report

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PitchBook News - The climate-tech startups to watch

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Seed stage dodges VC valuation slide

Is this the end of co-investments?

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