PitchBook News - US VCs go hunting for euros

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The Weekend Pitch

April 21, 2024

Presented by Stout

(Joey Schaffer/PitchBook News)

Venture capital investors are going through a tough time with fundraising, and US GPs are getting hit particularly hard.

In the first quarter of this year, a meager 100 VC vehicles closed, worth a total of $9.3 billion, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, with last year seeing the lowest fund count since 2015. On a percentage basis, the number of closed VC vehicles in the US fell further last year than in Europe, Asia and Africa.

US-based LPs are still feeling the impact of the imbalance in their portfolios from the public market downturn over the past couple of years. Additionally, the lack of capital being returned to LPs due to muted exit activity for VC-backed companies has meant that for some, putting more cash into VC is not an attractive option.

This is especially an issue for first-time and emerging managers, who typically don’t have as strong LP networks to tap into when looking for funds.

With options more limited in the US than in previous years, many of these GPs will be looking to Europe to fulfill their capital needs.

This is The Weekend Pitch, and I'm Leah Hodgson. You can reach me at leah.hodgson@pitchbook.com or on X @LeahFHodgson.

Trivia

PitchBook News recently launched a new dashboard that tracks the top cities for startups, measuring funds that have been raised, deal counts, values, exits and a host of other metrics. San Francisco topped the list, but can you guess which city ranks second?

A) New York City
B) Beijing
C) London
D) Seoul

Find your answer at the bottom of The Weekend Pitch!

Mega-rounds give European VC a boost

Mega-rounds give
European VC a boost

(KevinHyde/Getty Images)

Mega-rounds claimed nearly half of European venture capital deal value in the first quarter of the year in further proof that quality over quantity is the priority for VC investors. Deal value for these rounds—defined as over €100 million (about $106 million)—stood at €8.2 billion in Q1, according to PitchBook’s Q1 2024 European Venture Report.

The shift toward higher-quality companies has helped push overall European VC deal value up from last quarter. Deal count, on the other hand, has taken a sharp fall.

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European PE sees
a slow start to 2024

(Marqs/Getty Images)

PE dealmaking in Europe declined in the first three months of the year as investors largely eschewed mega-deals in favor of smaller add-ons. Our Q1 2024 European PE Breakdown illustrates how overall deal value declined 37.2% from Q4 and 19.6% year-over-year. Exit activity was similarly lackluster.

Nevertheless, the region had a record quarter for fundraising. A handful of final closes for mega-funds buoyed the total.

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Public performance lights
paths for private peers

Our Q1 2024 Public Comp Sheets and Valuation Guides compile the latest data on stock performance, valuations, revenue growth, EBITDA growth, free cash flow and earnings per share for key publicly traded companies using the PitchBook Excel plug-in. The series covers nine areas of focus, with gaming set to finish off the lineup in Tuesday's Daily Pitch.

Healthcare services
Fintech and payments
AI and machine learning
Enterprise SaaS
Medtech
Foodtech
Mobility tech
Agtech

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Quote/Unquote

(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

"Oil and gas companies have such robust balance sheets right now that they can afford to experiment with more climate-tech investments without many consequences to their bottom lines."

—Arne Morteani, founding partner at London-based climate impact fund Kiko Ventures speaking to PitchBook about oil and gas companies investing in startups, on the heels of Chevron's VC arm raising $500 million.

Stay tuned

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

Q1 2024 Global M&A Report
Analyst Note: Paris Blockchain Week Recap
Emerging Space Brief: Quantum Sensing
Q1 2024 Gaming Public Comp Sheet and Valuation Guide

Trivia

(Chloe Ladwig/PitchBook News)

Answer: A)

New York City is the second-best city in the world for startups, followed by Beijing. You can see which cities made the list, where capital is flowing and who is poised for growth on the dashboard here.

This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Leah Hodgson, Andrew Woodman, Clarinda Simpson and Jacob Robbins. It was edited by Andrew Woodman and Ron Prichard.

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PitchBook News - US VCs go hunting for euros

Trivia

Mega-rounds give
European VC a boost

European PE sees
a slow start to 2024

Public performance lights
paths for private peers

Quote/Unquote

Stay tuned

Trivia

Older messages

Taking the private out of PE

The world's top startup cities

A comeback for European VC?

AI, EVs and NFTs top emerging spaces

Does US have too many startups?

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PitchBook News - US VCs go hunting for euros

Trivia

Mega-rounds give European VC a boost

European PE sees a slow start to 2024

Public performance lights paths for private peers

Quote/Unquote

Stay tuned

Trivia

Older messages

You Might Also Like

Mega-rounds give
European VC a boost

European PE sees
a slow start to 2024

Public performance lights
paths for private peers