PitchBook News - Fitness startups embrace lockdown life

| Don't want to receive these emails?

PitchBook

The Daily Pitch: VC

May 7, 2020

Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A

Today's Top Stories

COVID-19 has catalyzed opportunities for digital fitness startups

Remote yoga classes are one way to work out during a pandemic. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images News)

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced consumers to say goodbye to fitness facilities and find alternative ways to work up a sweat. Many are turning to exercise methods that are disrupting the fitness and mental health industries.

In our latest research note, PitchBook analysts break down how companies in the fitness space are grappling with new challenges and seizing new opportunities to reshape their business models and operations. The note also offers:

A breakdown of startups across multiple segments, including mental health, fitness applications, devices and facilities
Context for the ongoing shift to at-home fitness devices
Details on how pandemic-focused policies may help battered businesses survive

read it now

More coronavirus news: Continuing coverage from PitchBook

Share:

KKR still hunting for deals despite $1.3B loss during Q1

KKR co-CEO Henry Kravis says the first quarter was the most volatile one he had seen for global markets since the financial crisis.
(Dave Angerer/Getty Images)

KKR became the latest publicly traded private equity shop to reveal the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak on its portfolio, reporting a loss of around $1.3 billion in Q1 on Wednesday.

But with $58 billion in dry powder, the famed investor known for opportunistic buying doesn't expect to stay sidelined:

Recommended Reads

Facebook is bringing in a group of global luminaries to form its new oversight committee. The decisions they make could have impacts that spread far beyond the company itself. [Protocol]

Paranoia about cheating is making online learning terrible for everyone. [Recode]

Silver Lake and hard-charging co-CEO Egon Durban have been more aggressive than most private equity firms in the early days of a pandemic. [The Wall Street Journal]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

7

VC valuations

1207

People

385

Companies

19

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2014 Vintage Global Buyout Funds
	VC Deals
	RWDC Industries nabs $133M
	LetsGetChecked completes $71M Series C
	Covariant picks up $40M Series B
	Portfolio Companies
	Tech talent startup lays off 135, cuts executive pay
	Endeavor to exit Epic Games
	Exits
	Franklin Templeton buys fintech company
	Fundraising
	Runa Capital collects $157M for latest flagship vehicle
	Melitas Ventures targets $60M

The Daily Benchmark

2014 Vintage Global Buyout Funds

Median IRR

17.00%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

24.00%

1.45x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Nautic Partners VII

Consonance Private Equity

BVIP Fund VIII

*IRR: net of fees

78 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

RWDC Industries nabs $133M

RWDC Industries has raised a $133 million Series B co-led by Vickers Venture Partners, Flint Hills Resources, CPV/CAP Pensionskasse Coop and International SA. The Singapore-based company offers biopolymer materials designed to reduce the demand for single-use plastic.

Additional Investors:

Eversource Retirement Plan Master Trust, WI Harper Group

View round

View similar company »

LetsGetChecked completes $71M Series C

Healthtech startup LetsGetChecked has raised $71 million in a round co-led by Illumina Ventures and HLM Venture Partners. Deerfield, CommonFund Capital and Angeles Investments also participated, among others. Founded in 2015, LetsGetChecked is a provider of at-home medical tests. The company, which is based in New York and Dublin, will use the funding in part to scale its COVID-19 testing operations.

Additional Investors:

Transformation Capital Partners, Optum Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners

View round

View 5 competitors »

Covariant picks up $40M Series B

Covariant, a Bay Area developer of AI-based robotic software, has raised $40 million in a round led by Index Ventures. Founded in 2017, Covariant raised $20 million in January 2019 at a $150 million valuation, according to PitchBook data. Index Ventures partner Mike Volpi will join the company's board.

Additional Investors:

Amplify Partners, Radical Ventures

View round

View similar company »

Portfolio Companies

Tech talent startup lays off 135, cuts executive pay

Andela, a New York-based startup that trains remote engineers in Africa, has reportedly laid off 135 employees and instituted executive pay cuts as demand for its services falls. The startup has raised around $178 million in private funding and was valued at $700 million in January 2019, according to PitchBook data. Andela's investors include the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Generation Investment Management, which was co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore.

View details

View 6 competitors »

Endeavor to exit Epic Games

Hollywood talent agency and entertainment giant Endeavor has agreed to sell its stake in Epic Games as part of the North Carolina-based company's latest fundraising round, which is expected to come at a valuation of more than $15 billion, according to Bloomberg. Epic is best known as the developer of the "Fortnite" video game and, more recently, the owner of the Houseparty app. Endeavor, which is backed by Silver Lake, owns other companies hit hard by the virus, including the UFC and WME.

View details

View 44 competitors »

Exits

Franklin Templeton buys fintech company

Franklin Templeton has purchased AdvisorEngine, which operates a digital wealth platform and provides other tech and consulting services to financial advisory firms in the US. New York-based AdvisorEngine had raised prior funding from Kirenaga Partners and WisdomTree Investments; it landed a $5 million investment at a $67 million valuation in 2017, according to PitchBook data.

View details

View 40 competitors »

Fundraising

Runa Capital collects $157M for latest flagship vehicle

Runa Capital has raised $157 million for its third flagship fund, surpassing a target of $135 million, according to TechCrunch. Runa typically makes early-stage investments in deep tech and software startups in sectors such as fintech, edtech and healthtech. Operating out of the US and Europe, the firm was an early backer of Nginx, the provider of an open-source web server that was acquired by F5 Networks last year.

View fund

View 90 investments »

Melitas Ventures targets $60M

Melitas Ventures is seeking to raise $60 million for a new venture fund, according to an SEC filing. The New York-based firm invests in seed- and early-stage food and beverage startups, including healthy cereal maker Magic Spoon and energy bar company Verb.

View details

View 18 investments »

Chart of the Day

"The one-year horizon IRR from real assets has been trending downward since the beginning of 2017, though it has remained in positive territory since emerging from the financial crisis in the back half of 2010. While the preponderance of funds in this space are in real estate, natural resources funds may see pressure in 2020 should fears over a pandemic manifest into global supply chain difficulties."

Source: PitchBook's Global Fund Performance Report as of Q2 2019