PitchBook News - A sign of hope in supply chain tech

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The Daily Pitch: VC

June 20, 2024

Presented by Lucas Institute for Venture Ethics

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

Pharma services has emerged as the hottest area in healthcare for PE investment

Infrastructure funds account for the bulk of real assets fundraising

How a far-right win in upcoming elections might impact France's private markets

AI could soon be serving up something in the kitchen tech market

Today's Top Stories

Vecna Robotics' self-driving forklifts take on 100-year-old workflow

(Courtesy of Vecna Robotics)

An unprecedented influx of venture dollars triggered a supply chain tech boom at the height of the pandemic as households raided Amazon's coffers for rolls worth their weight in gold: suddenly elusive toilet paper.

Then it went bust. Supply chain tech investors have been praying for acceleration capital ever since.

Vecna Robotics just closed its Series C on $100 million, capping a yearslong effort and giving the startup a $400 million valuation, according to PitchBook data. The round signals some hope for a sector whose glory days now seem distant.

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PE healthcare investors pile into pharma services

Over the past two years, pharma services has emerged as the hottest area of healthcare for PE investment. The sector covers contract and outsourced services for the biopharmaceutical industry. Our Launch Report: Pharma Services kicks off with breakdowns of the sector's four segments: outsourcing, clinical services, consulting services, and manufacturing and distribution.

Three key trends have powered growth and investment in pharma services: scientific advancements, a growing emphasis on specialty drugs and consolidation opportunities for outsourcing organizations.

read the report

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A message from Lucas Institute for Venture Ethics

Trusted AI assessment designed by VCs for early-stage companies

Concerned about staying ahead of regulatory hurdles and meeting enterprise and government AI standards? The Lucas Institute's Trusted AI assessment is here to help you unlock the potential for accelerated growth! Designed with insights from limited partners, venture capitalists, leading tech teams, and policymakers, this 10-minute assessment is tailored for early-stage companies and their investors. By addressing potential regulatory challenges early, your portfolio companies can stay on track to meet their growth targets and scale faster.

Encourage your companies to start their RAI assessment now and pave the way for rapid, trustworthy growth.

Portfolio companies can start their RAI assessment here

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LPs want infrastructure exposure, despite muted fundraising

(Artur Debat/Getty Images)

Capital allocators are continuing to build their exposure to infrastructure funds, despite less-than-stellar fundraising figures at the start of the year.

On the heels of 2023, when infrastructure funds gathered $120.9 billion in capital commitments, last quarter's fundraising figures aren't record-breaking, but they do signal sustained investor interest in the asset class.

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Can AI's recipe work in the kitchen?

While AI is making a splash nearly everywhere, it hasn't been cooking up much in the kitchen—but that may soon change.

The 2024 Smart Kitchen Summit, the only conference dedicated exclusively to kitchen tech, just wrapped up in Seattle and AI was top of mind for attendees. Topics included the roles that AI and robotics might play in restaurants and how generative AI could assist with healthy eating. PitchBook analyst Alex Frederick was there and serves up the key takeaways.

read it now

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How a far-right election win could impact France's private markets

RN leader Jordan Bardella (NurPhoto/Getty Images)

French voters are heading to the polls this month, and there is a real possibility the country's parliament could see a big swing to the right.

French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap parliamentary election last week after far-right party Rassemblement National won 31% of the European election vote, outperforming Macron's party.

Here's how such a swing could impact the VC and PE markets.

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Survey: Europe suffers lack of founders with technical expertise

(Mixmagic/Getty Images)

Research from London-based VC firm Antler has pointed to a lack of technical founders for why Europe has yet to produce a tech giant. Only 26% of European unicorn founders have software development or engineering backgrounds—but a new generation of technical founders is emerging.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

17

VC valuations

2151

People

803

Companies

26

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2020 Vintage Global PE Funds with $1B+

Median IRR

14.66%

Top Quartile IRR

22.77%

0.09x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Tenex Capital Partners III

Icon Software Partners

Providence Strategic Growth IV

*IRR: net of fees

84 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Zencity, a Tel Aviv-based community engagement platform for local governments, has closed a $40 million Series C led by StepStone Group.

Tandem Health, a Swedish developer of an AI-driven co-pilot for healthcare clinicians, has raised a $9.5 million seed investment led by Northzone.

Fossa Systems, a Spanish satellite-based IoT startup, has completed a €6.3 million Series A led by Indico Capital Partners and Nabtesco Technology Ventures.

Bisly, a Tallinn-based intelligent building automation platform, has secured a €6.2 million Series A from investors including Aconterra and Pinorena Capital.

StoryBox, a Munich-based provider of AI video creation solutions for businesses, has raised a €5.5 million Series A led by Wille Finance.

PE Deals

A CVC-led investor group is set to acquire London-listed investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown for £5.41 billion pounds.

B2B software investor Fortino Capital has invested in Simcon, a German provider of plastic injection molding simulation software.

Exits & IPOs

Golden Goose, an Italian luxury sneaker brand backed by Permira, has postponed its plans to list in Milan due to market volatility.

TA Associates is looking to exit Netrisk Group, a price comparison company based in Hungary, Reuters reported.

Grovepoint is to exit UK-based payments company Takepayments to Global Payments at a $250 million valuation.

Eurazeo has invested in Rydoo, a provider of expense management software based in Belgium.

Main Capital Partners has exited Amsterdam-based recruitment software company Textkernel to US-based peer Bullhorn.

Everwood Capital has exited renewable energy company DVP Solar Worldwide to Copenhagen-based Glentra Capital

Fundraising

Wind, a Paris-based early-stage VC firm, has held a €90 million first close for its €130 million climate fund.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q1 2024 Global Real Assets Report

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PitchBook News - A sign of hope in supply chain tech

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