PitchBook News - Sequoia, a16z lead the pack for gen AI

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The Daily Pitch: VC

June 12, 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:

Continuation fund exits roughly doubled in Q1 compared to a year ago

Sequoia and a16z lead our list of the busiest investors in generative AI

Another big vehicle closes as mega-funds dominate European fundraising

Biopharma unicorns take the lead in our Global Unicorn Indexes

Today's Top Stories

Sequoia, a16z top list of most active generative AI investors

(Joey Schaefer/PitchBook News)

Despite a broader VC slowdown, investors can't get enough of generative AI. And while the hype cycle may be past its peak, the sector has far outperformed others.

We've updated our tracker of the 10 most active VC investors in generative AI, which is headlined by Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz.

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Gen AI's prompt for GPs: Are you a disruptor or a disruptee?

(Jenna O'Malley/PitchBook News)

For investors, the conversation around generative AI has rapidly changed.

Questions about the technology's impact that seemed abstract and distant 18 months ago—"Will AI impact the value of my portfolio?" or "How will it shape investment decisions?"—are now real and present.

For fund managers, particularly VCs, the gen AI boom has surely created new investment opportunities. But it also has spawned a whole new set of risks for business models that face being upended by a radical wave of innovation.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

29

VC valuations

2489

People

847

Companies

36

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark: 2016 Vintage Global VC Funds with less than $250M

Median IRR

20.89%

Top Quartile IRR

31.08%

0.73x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Medicxi Ventures 1

7Wire Ventures Fund

BY Capital 1

*IRR: net of fees

48 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Milan-based AI startup iGenius is looking to raise €650 million at a €1.7 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.

AlphaSense raised $650 million at a $4 billion valuation in a round led by Viking Global Investors and BDT & MSD Partners, as part of a deal to acquire private market data specialist Tegus for $930 million.

Kardium, which is developing treatment for irregular heartbeats, raised a $104 million round led by Fidelity Management & Research.

Cognigy, a German startup using AI to develop automated customer communication tools, raised a $100 million Series C led by Eurazeo Growth.

Bright Peak Therapeutics, a biotech company developing treatment for cancer and autoimmune diseases, raised a $90 million Series C led by JJDC.

Adcytherix, a French biopharmaceutical startup, closed a €30 million seed investment led by Pontifax.

YesWeHack, a Paris-based cybersecurity startup, completed a €26 million Series C led by Wendel.

Zeliq, a Paris-based AI sales specialist, secured a $10 million seed investment led by Exor.

CampusAI raised $10 million in a round led by angel investor Maciej Zientara for its AI training platform.

Pente, a New Jersey-based wireless communication service provider, received a strategic investment from a corporate venture capital fund operated by Mitsubishi Electric and Global Brain.

PE Deals

General Atlantic is buying a 24.9% stake in Sustainable Development Capital, a fund manager focused on energy efficiency and decarbonization.

Bain Capital has offered to buy a 23.9% stake in Australian-listed auto parts retailer Bapcor for A$1.83 billion (about $1.21 billion).

DXC Technology, an IT services corporation, is in talks to be acquired by Apollo Global Management and Kyndryl Holdings, Reuters reported.

Kologik, a company providing software for public safety organizations, has been acquired by PE firm Greater Sum Ventures.

UK-based Maven Capital Partners has invested in VoxSmart, which offers a communication surveillance platform, alongside existing investor Toscafund Asset Management.

HIG Capital agreed to sell Italian IT company DGS to ICG.

Exits & IPOs

Paris' Voodoo, a mobile games company, acquired social media app developer BeReal for €500 million, less than BeReal's reported €600 million valuation in 2022.

Actuate Therapeutics plans to sell 5.56 million shares priced between $8 and $10 in its upcoming IPO. At the midpoint price, the company would raise $50 million at a fully diluted market capitalization of $207 million, Renaissance Capital reported.

United Fiber & Data, which operates a fiber and broadband network on the US East Coast, will be acquired by Lightpath.

Shopko Optical, a Wisconsin-based vision service provider, has been acquired by Germany-based Fielmann Group from Monarch Alternative Capital.

Fundraising

L Catterton has launched a new Asia-Pacific fund targeted at $800 million, Private Equity International reported.

InTandem Capital Partners, a healthcare-focused PE firm, has closed on $715 million.

1infinity Ventures, a VC firm focused on responsible investments in AI technology, has launched a new fund targeted at $500 million to support ethical and environmentally friendly AI.

Accession Capital Partners has reached a final close for its fifth fund on €336 million. The vehicle is around 30% bigger than its predecessor.

Munich-based Vsquared Ventures has closed its second fund on €214 million to back early-stage deep-tech startups.

Day One Ventures, an early-stage VC firm founded by Masha Bucher, has raised $150 million for its third fund, Fortune reported.

Collaborative Fund, a VC firm investing in climate, food and health technology, has raised $125 million.

Chart of the Day

Source: H1 2024 VC Tech Survey

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PitchBook News - Sequoia, a16z lead the pack for gen AI

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