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The Daily Pitch: VC

April 19, 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:

Our latest dashboard compares cities based on the size and maturity of their startup networks

Our latest Emerging Tech Research covers the key trends in AI and machine learning

Blackstone's infrastructure vehicles led the firm's fund performance in Q1

Today's Top Stories

The world's top startup cities

(Chloe Ladwig/PitchBook News)

Network effects matter in venture capital: Investors get over half of their deals through referrals. So it stands to reason that dealmakers should seek these networks out when deciding where to do business.

PitchBook's VC Ecosystem Rankings is a new interactive data dashboard designed to compare global cities based on the size and maturity of their startup networks. The framework helps founders, operators and investors assess locations when deciding where to expand or invest.

explore the dashboard

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VC's growing opportunities in AI and machine learning

The AI and machine learning market is the hottest space in VC right now, but the speed of innovation can generate some noise. Our latest Emerging Tech Research cuts through it, with updated product segments, market size estimates and more. Senior analyst Brendan Burke covers the trends, key players and other drivers in the sector.

read the preview

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Founders shell out equity to AI engineers

(Joey Schaffer/PitchBook News)

Tech companies are taking drastic measures to win the AI talent wars. Deep learning AI researchers and engineers are in higher demand than ever as corporations and startups compete for a dwindling pool of qualified workers.

Plenty of engineers are abandoning large businesses for the startup world, not wanting to miss out on joining a transformative AI company—where even a small employee-owned stake could pay extraordinary dividends.

But when it comes time for offer letter negotiations, founders are suddenly finding themselves on the back foot: Machine learning experts are asking for significantly more equity than what an early employee would typically see—even 3x more.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

7

VC valuations

2175

People

909

Companies

43

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2020 Vintage Global Debt Funds

Median IRR

10.16%

Top Quartile IRR

14.68%

0.24x

Median DPI

Select top performers

ALTUMCK-19

Onex Senior Loan Opportunity Fund I

North Wall European Opportunities Fund I

*IRR: net of fees

86 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

People

Bridgepoint has picked former William Hill CFO Ruth Prior as its new CFO and as a director. Prior will succeed Adam Jones, who will step down later this year.

Climate-focused Buoyant Ventures has hired Alex Behar as a principal investor.

University of Notre Dame CIO Mike Donovan will retire June 30 and will be succeeded by Tim Dolezal, a managing director in Notre Dame's investment office.

VC Deals

Fintech specialist Ramp raised a $150 million Series D2 co-led by Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures, catapulting its valuation to $7.65 billion.

London's Skyports, a drone delivery infrastructure startup, raised $110 million in a Series C led by ACS Group.

Magnus Metal, an Israeli metal casing technology specialist, raised a $74 million Series B led by Entrée Capital and Target Global.

Virginia's Cape, a mobile phone carrier specializing in privacy, raised $61 million from Andreessen Horowitz, A* Capital, XYZ Ventures and others.

Nectar, which is based in Utah, raised a $40 million Series B led by PeakSpan Capital for its HR culture platform.

Swtch Energy, an electric vehicle charging startup, raised a $27.2 million Series B led by Blue Earth Capital.

Pathios Therapeutics, a UK-based developer of cancer therapies, raised $25 million in the first close of its Series B. Investors included Bristol Myers Squibb and Brandon Capital.

Scottish biotech startup Outrun Therapeutics closed a $10 million seed investment from investors including M Ventures and MP Healthcare Venture Management.

Register for the 2024 NVCA Leadership & Awards Gala in San Francisco

Registration is open for the 2024 NVCA Leadership & Awards Gala on May 2 in San Francisco. Please join us to celebrate VC industry leaders who have made significant contributions to promote innovation, advance technology and encourage the creation of new companies.

Register now.

PE Deals

Beleaguered UK music rights investment fund Hipgnosis agreed to a $1.4 billion takeover by Apollo Global Management-backed rival Concord Chorus.

Firehook Bakery, a baked goods company, was acquired by Forward Consumer Partners, the first acquisition from the firm's $425 million Fund I.

Argosy Private Equity acquired Federal Rent-A-Fence, a chain-link fence rental business.

Somera Private Equity acquired majority stakes in the Ty-Gard and Shock-Gard brands through new holding company Gardian Holdings.

Godspeed Capital Management, a PE firm focused on defense and government services, acquired Special Aerospace Services to create a new platform catering to the US defense and intelligence agencies.

GED Infrastructure and Gythio Capital together acquired Marina Port Premià, a marina in Spain.

Exits & IPOs

Cybersecurity giant Wiz is in talks to acquire Lacework for $200 million, The Information reported.

Loar, a manufacturer of aerospace and defense components, is seeking to raise $286 million at a $2.2 billion valuation in an IPO priced between $24 and $26 a share.

Ardian-backed software company Planisware, which raised €278 million for its IPO, saw its shares jump by as much as 33% when it started trading in Paris on Thursday.

Infosys has agreed to acquire in-tech, a German-based service provider of engineering R&D specializing in the automotive, rail transport and smart industry sectors.

EMMA Capital is seeking an IPO for Premier Energy, a power distributor in Romania, which seeks to raise $107 million in its growth initiative, Bloomberg reported.

Partners Group is in talks to potentially divest Taiwan's Formosa Solar Renewable Power, seeking a valuation between $300 million and $400 million, Bloomberg reported.

Fundraising

Vista Equity Partners has pulled in more than $20 billion for its eighth flagship fund, Axios reported.

DTCP has closed its Digital Infrastructure Vehicle II on about €1.6 billion. The new fund is eight times larger than its predecessor.

Shasta Ventures is attempting to move all the holdings of its fifth fund into a continuation fund, and LPs have until the end of Monday to approve the measure, Axios reported.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q1 2024 US PE Breakdown

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PitchBook News - The world's top startup cities

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