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The Daily Pitch: VC

April 16, 2020

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Today's Top Stories

Layoffs at Opendoor add to SoftBank's real estate woes

Real estate tech startup Opendoor has laid off 35% of its staff, reportedly around 600 employees, in the latest blow to the SoftBank Vision Fund portfolio of companies.

Several of SoftBank's other real estate investments, including online brokerage Compass and hotel chain Oyo, have reportedly laid off or furloughed large swaths of employees. Restaurant robotics startup Zume, also backed by SoftBank, let go of roughly 200 workers yesterday following even larger cuts last month, according to Business Insider. SoftBank expects to lose 1.8 trillion yen (about $16.7 billion) on its Vision Fund investments for the year ended March 31.

To help the affected employees, Opendoor is offering eight weeks of pay and 16 weeks of health insurance reimbursement. CEO Eric Wu has donated his annual salary to a relief fund for laid-off personnel.

More coronavirus news: Continuing coverage from PitchBook

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How tech will drive the treatment of future outbreaks

Healthcare staffers at work in an ICU in Barcelona.
(David Ramos/Getty Images News)

The COVID-19 outbreak brought the global economy to a standstill and exposed the inadequacies of the developed world's health systems in addressing fast-spreading pandemics. Our latest research note details the numerous startups developing technologies aimed at decreasing pandemic risk, factors driving investment in and adoption of these technologies, and our outlook for these technologies in a post-pandemic future.

Disease-tracking and public healthcare data companies are deploying technologies to identify and monitor epidemics and at-risk populations
At-home testing startups await regulatory approval to provide consumers with coronavirus tests
Biopharma and medical supply companies are developing vaccines and tools to combat infections
Telemedicine companies are capitalizing on relaxed regulations to expand service while many patients are housebound

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Recommended Reads

When will life return to normal? It might be the wrong question to ask in the weeks, months and years ahead. [The Atlantic]

Across Asia, hackers and hobbyists are building some of the most widely used tools for tracking the spread of COVID-19. [Bloomberg]

Slowly but surely, VCs are branching out from their coastal roots, making it easier than ever for startups in places like Montana and Ohio to find funding. [The New York Times]

A famous Tesla bull weighs in on investing during a pandemic—and why she still has plenty of optimism about her most well-known bet. [Institutional Investor]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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VC valuations

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Today's Headlines


	The Daily Benchmark
	2012 Vintage Global Real Assets Funds
	VC Deals
	BioCatch closes $145M Series C
	AI-driven ID startup Onfido wraps up $100M round
	ByHeart brings in $70M for baby formula
	Attentive adds to Series C
	Coder secures $30M
	Portfolio Companies
	Carta cuts 150+ workers, seeks funding
	Exits
	DraftKings proceeds with reverse merger plans
	Fundraising
	Andreessen Horowitz to double down on crypto with $450M fund

The Daily Benchmark

2012 Vintage Global Real Assets Funds

Median IRR

12.05%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

16.10%

1.40x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Invesco Real Estate Fund III

Aberdeen UK Infrastructure Partners

EnCap Flatrock Midstream II

*IRR: net of fees

70 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

BioCatch closes $145M Series C

Behavioral biometrics startup BioCatch has raised $145 million in a round led by Bain Capital's tech opportunities division. Founded in 2011, the Tel Aviv-based company is a developer of AI-based software that analyzes users' online behavior to prevent fraud. BioCatch raised $30 million in 2018.

Additional Investors:

Maverick Ventures, American Express Ventures, OurCrowd, Industry Ventures, CreditEase

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AI-driven ID startup Onfido wraps up $100M round

Onfido, a startup developing so-called immunity passports for people who have had COVID-19, has secured $100 million in a round led by TPG Growth. The company, which has offices in London and San Francisco, raised $50 million just over a year ago. It specializes in AI-based ID verification services chiefly aimed at fraud prevention.

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ByHeart brings in $70M for baby formula

ByHeart has raised a $70 million Series A co-led by Polaris Partners, D1 Capital Partners and OCV Partners, with participation from Red Sea Ventures, Bellco Capital and other investors. Founded in 2016 and operating in New York and Pennsylvania, the startup is a developer of baby food and formula. The startup is currently undergoing clinical trials, with plans to launch its products in 2021.

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Attentive adds to Series C

Attentive has raised an additional $40 million in Series C funding from lead investors Sequoia Global Equities and Coatue, according to TechCrunch. The New York-based company is the developer of a mobile messaging platform that helps businesses market their products. Its first Series C tranche brought in $70 million at a valuation of $740 million in January, according to PitchBook data.

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Coder secures $30M

Coder has raised a $30 million Series B led by GGV Capital, with participation from Redpoint Ventures, Uncork Capital and In-Q-Tel. The round brings the startup's total private funding to more than $40 million. Founded in 2017 and based in Austin, Coder offers open-source tools designed to help software developers write code and manage projects. Glenn Solomon, a managing partner at GGV Capital, will join the company's board.

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Portfolio Companies

Carta cuts 150+ workers, seeks funding

Andreessen Horowitz-backed Carta is laying off more than 150 employees and plans to raise up to $200 million from investors, according to Bloomberg. The company runs an equity management platform that's used by investors and startups. Carta was valued at $1.8 billion last April, according to PitchBook data, and the new funding could reportedly propel its valuation to $3 billion.

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Exits

DraftKings proceeds with reverse merger plans

Fantasy sports betting company DraftKings is maintaining plans to go public this month via a reverse merger, according to Bloomberg, even as sports seasons have evaporated globally as a result of the pandemic. In December, Boston-based DraftKings agreed to the $3.3 billion reverse merger with SBTech and Diamond Eagle Acquisition. Sports cancellations have recently forced the company to issue credits to many of its app users.

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Fundraising

Andreessen Horowitz to double down on crypto with $450M fund

Andreessen Horowitz has announced plans to raise $450 million for a second fund focused on cryptocurrency, according to the Financial Times. The VC firm's first crypto fund, which launched with $350 million in 2018, has backed Facebook's Libra digital currency project, decentralized computing startup Dfinity and Coinbase, the developer of a digital currency trading platform.

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View 537 investments »

Chart of the Day

"Investors poured a record €5.1 billion into unicorn deals in 2019, accounting for 15.5% of the total European VC deal value, the highest proportion ever in a calendar year."

Source: PitchBook's 2019 Annual European VC Valuations Report