PitchBook News - Huntress snags unicorn status

Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription.

Log in

The Daily Pitch: VC

June 19, 2024

Presented by Lucas Institute for Venture Ethics

In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:

Our analysts explore how VC-backed enterprise SaaS startups can help sharpen business intelligence

A newly minted cybersecurity unicorn may be looking toward an IPO

Hamilton Lane wrapped up its largest fund ever on $5.6 billion for secondaries

Healthcare conference highlights regulatory stress looming over PE

Today's Top Stories

Cybersecurity startup Huntress hits unicorn status; IPO in sight?

(Oscar Wong/Getty Images)

Huntress, a cybersecurity startup for small businesses and enterprises, has more than doubled its last valuation set in May 2023 to over $1.5 billion, the company announced Tuesday.

"I think the north star is an IPO in the next couple years," said Alex Kurland, GP at Meritech Capital, which co-led Huntress' Series D alongside Kleiner Perkins and Sapphire Ventures.

Share:

Antitrust looms large over PE in healthcare

PE firms are watching with bated breath as California deliberates on legislation to further strengthen regulators' remit to challenge PE bets in healthcare. At the 2024 Healthcare Capital Markets & Innovation Summit, regulatory scrutiny was the talk of the town: Headline risk and state-level review requirements pose the most pressing threat, emboldened by the Federal Trade Commission's more proactive approach.

But there are positive tailwinds for investors too, shared in our latest analyst note. After the successful IPO of healthcare payments company Waystar, the promise of an exit for large healthcare IT specialists feels much more real. On the deals side, there's momentum brewing in pharma services. Look for the launch of our Pharma Services Report in tomorrow's newsletter.

read it now

Share:

For top investors, AI and machine learning still reign

AI and machine learning are dominating dealmaking at some of the world's most successful VC firms, according to our Emerging Tech Indicator—and it isn't even close when compared to other verticals.

The indicator, which tracks investment activity at a subset of the world's biggest VC firms, found that AI and machine learning accounted for over a third of ETI deal value in Q1, totaling $1.2 billion of $3.2 billion. Meanwhile, crypto continues its resurgence, with a more than 50% jump in deal value quarter-over-quarter.

read the preview

Share:

From seed to exit (or bankruptcy)

How many rounds of VC financing does the average European startup raise?

If you said four, you were right. And despite some startups these days going on to Series G, H and even I rounds, the median European startup that had a €500-million-plus exit (about $537.9 million) only went as far as a Series C. That's one of the many findings on the startup lifecycle that are covered in our recent analyst note.

By collecting and evaluating more than a decade of historical data, the research gives new clarity to common patterns and nuances in Europe's venture dealmaking world.

read it now

Share:

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

11

VC valuations

1755

People

818

Companies

25

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2015 Vintage Non-US PE Funds

Median IRR

16.88%

Top Quartile IRR

21.70%

1.16x

Median DPI

Select top performers

DouglasBay Capital II

Waterland Private Equity Fund VI

Asia Industrial Germany Promotion Capital Fund I

*IRR: net of fees

45 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Waabi, the Toronto-based developer of a generative AI system for use in truck driving, raised a $200 million Series B led by Uber and Khosla Ventures.

Marea Therapeutics, which is developing treatments for cardiometabolic diseases, raised $190 million over two rounds, a Series A led by Third Rock Ventures and a Series B led by Sofinnova Investments, Forbion, Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund and VenBio.

Talkiatry, a New York-based provider of accessible psychiatric care, raised a $130 million Series C led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Clip, a Mexico-based payments company, raised a $100 million Series D led by Morgan Stanley Tactical Value and an unnamed second investor.

Genspark, a startup using AI to develop a web search engine, raised a $60 million seed round led by Lanchi Ventures at a $260 million valuation, Reuters reported.

Finbourne closed a £55 million Series B led by Highland Europe and AVP for its investment data management platform.

Iambic Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biotech startup, raised a $50 million Series B extension led by Mubadala and Exor Ventures.

Decagon, a startup developing AI customer support chatbots, raised $35 million over two rounds, a seed led by Andreessen Horowitz and a Series A led by Accel.

CuspAI, a UK-based developer of an AI search engine for materials, raised $30 million in seed funding led by Hoxton Ventures.

Ramify completed an €11 million Series A led by 13books Capital and Fidelity International Strategic Ventures for its wealth management platform.

PitchBook webinar: Navigating the evolving credit landscape

As the debt markets surge and conditions become increasingly favorable to borrowers and their sponsors, competition for leveraged buyouts between syndicated lenders and private credit grows more and more pronounced. Now, as interest rates remain high, borrowers are experiencing much more flexibility throughout the credit landscape.

Join our credit experts as we leverage our enhanced credit intelligence solutions—powered by LCD—to discuss what market participants can expect for the remainder of the year. Learn how to streamline your credit workflows with PitchBook.

Register now to secure your spot.

Share:

PE Deals

Infocom, a Tokyo-based company known for providing online manga, will be bought by Blackstone for 275 billion Japanese yen (about $1.7 billion) from Teijin, Bloomberg reported.

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, a global data infrastructure provider across various countries in Asia, will receive a roughly $1.3 billion investment from KKR and Singtel for a minority stake.

Rift Valley Energy, a renewable energy company based in Tanzania and owned by Meridiam, will receive $15 million in debt from British International Investment. That amount could grow up to $25 million.

African Infrastructure Investment Managers, the owner of an African renewable energy business, is looking to sell a stake in the company, Bloomberg reported. BlackRock is a potential buyer, according to the report.

Air Distribution Technologies, which manages a variety of products and brands for building airflow, has been sold to Truelink Capital by NYSE-listed Johnson Controls.

Exits & IPOs

An investor group led by Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to invest in GEMS Education, a Dubai-based education provider. The deal represents a partial exit for CVC Capital Partners, which led a consortium that acquired a 30% stake in the company in 2019.

Shell has agreed to acquire Pavilion Energy, a Singaporean liquefied LNG company, from state-backed investor Temasek.

Special purpose acquisition company Lionheart Holdings has been listed on Nasdaq after an IPO priced at $200 million.

Tamboran Resources, an Australian gas drilling company, has filed for a US IPO priced at $175.5 million.

Basis, a startup developing a financial platform for growth-stage companies, has been acquired by Digits, an automatic bookkeeping software company.

Karo Healthcare, a Swedish consumer health products developer, is the subject of talks for a sale by owner EQT at a value above €2 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Fundraising

Pritzker Private Capital, a Chicago-based PE firm co-founded by Illinois governor JB Pritzker, has launched a new buyout fund targeted at $3 billion.

PE firm Kinderhook Industries has raised $2.75 billion for its eighth capital fund.

Engine Ventures, a tech incubator that was created at MIT, raised $398 million for its third fund targeted at manufacturing, energy, materials, and more.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q1 2024 Biopharma Report

About PitchBook | Terms of use | Advertise with us | Contact

This email was sent to you via the PitchBook Platform.

Do you want to change your email address, get a different edition or unsubscribe? Manage your subscription here.

PitchBook Data Inc., 901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1200, Seattle WA 98164, United States

PitchBook News - Huntress snags unicorn status

Older messages

SaaS is stuck in a rut

AI media captures VC's focus

The alphabet soup of VC round labels

PE chases the 'everything rally'

AI IPO gives VCs a reality check for exits

You Might Also Like

The best countries to manufacture your product [Roundup]

This "Boring" Website Makes $35k/month + A Special Deal

How brands leverage commerce media for seasonal success in 2025

Holiday Special: Lifetime Access for Less Than $1/Day

Create a LinkedIn funnel from personal posts

New SEO strategies for 2025

Can We Mine Bitcoin In Space With Solar Panels?

AI keeps its grip on early-stage deals

Found Ya 📍

The Pareto Principle in Practice: Why Two Is Better Than Three