PitchBook News - Magic Leap conducts mass layoffs

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The Daily Pitch: VC

April 23, 2020

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Today's Top Stories

Magic Leap lays off half of staff, seeks funding amid economic decline

Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz in New York in 2016
(Brian Ach/Getty Images Entertainment)

Augmented reality pioneer Magic Leap has laid off droves of employees as the coronavirus pandemic worsens an already gloomy outlook for its technology. Around half of the Florida-based company, or more than 800 employees, have been let go, according to an employee briefed on the matter.

CEO Rony Abovitz said looking ahead, the startup will focus on enterprise applications and the release of its second-generation device. Magic Leap is also said to be in talks to raise additional funding:

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2003 Vintage Global PE Funds
	People
	Bill Gurley won't take part in Benchmark's next fund
	VC Deals
	Nitrome Biosciences picks up $38M
	Menlo Ventures leads Series A for H1
	Fishtown Analytics banks $12.9M
	Granulate mines $12M Series A
	Two Sigma leads $11M round for Remote
	Portfolio Companies
	Vice said to consider layoffs
	Lambda School lays off 19, cuts executive pay

The Daily Benchmark

2003 Vintage Global PE Funds

Median IRR

14.46%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

26.84%

1.71x

Median TVPI

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Rhone Capital II

Genstar Capital Partners III

Onex Partners I

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22 Funds in Benchmark »

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People

Bill Gurley won't take part in Benchmark's next fund

Benchmark's upcoming $425 million fund will launch without Bill Gurley as a general partner, The Wall Street Journal reported. The longtime venture capitalist—known for bets on Uber, Grubhub, Zillow and others—is not expected to leave Benchmark and will continue to work with his existing portfolio companies. San Francisco-based Benchmark reportedly accelerated plans for the new fund to capitalize on falling company valuations.

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VC Deals

Nitrome Biosciences picks up $38M

Nitrome Biosciences has raised a $38 million Series A co-led by Sofinnova Partners and AbbVie Ventures. The Dementia Discovery Fund, Mission Bay Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments also participated in the round. The San Francisco-based biopharma company is developing drugs to treat patients suffering from Parkinson's disease and other age-related disorders.

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Menlo Ventures leads Series A for H1

New York-based H1 has raised $12.9 million in a round led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from investors including Y Combinator, Underscore VC and Liquid 2 Ventures. Founded in 2017, H1 is the developer of a data analytics platform that connects medical professionals and healthcare companies. Menlo Ventures partner Greg Yap will join the company's board.

Additional Investors:

dRx Capital, Baron Davis Enterprises, ClearPoint Investment Partners

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Fishtown Analytics banks $12.9M

Fishtown Analytics has raised a $12.9 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz. The Philadelphia-based company is a developer of open-source engineering software for in-warehouse data management; its customers include Lyft and JetBlue. Martin Casado, a general partner at a16z, will join the company's board.

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Granulate mines $12M Series A

Granulate has raised $12 million in a round led by Insight Partners, with participation from TLV Partners and Hetz Ventures. The Tel Aviv-based company offers a data analytics platform. Lonne Jaffe, a managing partner at Insight Partners, will join Granulate's board.

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Two Sigma leads $11M round for Remote

Remote has raised $11 million in a seed round led by Two Sigma Ventures, with participation from Index Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, Inkef Ventures, Remote First Capital and General Catalyst. Founded in 2019 and based in San Francisco, the startup is the developer of a platform designed to help companies manage payroll, taxes and benefits and hire talent for remote jobs.

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Portfolio Companies

Vice said to consider layoffs

Vice Media has prepared an internal document that describes a plan for layoffs of more than 300 employees in its digital operations, one of multiple options the New York-based media startup is considering amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal. Vice raised $450 million from TPG Capital at a $5.7 billion valuation in 2017, and it counts TCV and Disney among its other backers.

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Lambda School lays off 19, cuts executive pay

Lambda School, an online coding education startup, has laid off 19 employees and cut executive pay by 15%. CEO Austen Allred said the business impact of the coronavirus outbreak and a desire to sharpen the company's focus were factors in the decision. The California-based business has raised nearly $50 million from investors including Bedrock, GV, Tandem Capital and Y Combinator.

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Chart of the Day

"... [Sovereign wealth funds'] mix of VC deals has shifted in recent years as they have been completing more early-stage deals. This can be attributed to SWFs building in-house investment teams with the ability to source and evaluate more early-stage deals; however, simply participating in more early-stage VC deals does not necessarily mean an investor is more capable or sophisticated."

Source: PitchBook analyst note on sovereign wealth funds