PitchBook News - Ranking Q2's most active investors

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The Daily Pitch: VC

August 15, 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:

Our Q2 2024 Global League Tables rank the top investors, advisers and more across PE and VC

Acclaimed AI researcher Anna Patterson is raising capital for her latest AI venture

Global PE funds saw an uptick in performance at the tail end of 2023

European VC looks to 2025 for its wider IPO window

Today's Top Stories

NEA leads round for ex-Google AI exec Anna Patterson's stealth startup

Anna Patterson co-founded Gradient Ventures in 2017.
(Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

A startup founded by acclaimed AI researcher Anna Patterson is raising cash to enter an industrywide quest to solve the AI chip shortage with better infrastructure.

NEA is leading the deal for Ceramic, which is developing software to optimize how large language models use chips, according to three people with knowledge of the deal.

Patterson is most well-known in Silicon Valley for her long tenure at Google, including as VP of engineering for AI, and for setting up Google’s fund for backing early-stage AI companies, Gradient Ventures.

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Ranking the most active investors of Q2

The latest edition of our Global League Tables is now available for Q2 2024, spanning the spectrum of private market activity. The interactive tables rank everything from the busiest PE investors by region to the most active law firms in VC. Who set the pace?

see the rankings

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Appetite wanes for VC defense-tech deals

(Simon Wohlfahrt/Getty Images)

VC funding for defense tech is set to return to pre-pandemic levels this year. But the sector is still producing outsize VC rounds.

California-based Anduril, which supplies drone-related technology to the US military, recently raised one of 2024's biggest defense-tech rounds—pulling in $1.5 billion from backers including Founders Fund and Sands Capital.

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IPO Watchlist: 10 European startups most likely to go public

London Stock Exchange (Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

IPO activity has been quiet this year for VC-backed European companies but signs suggest a wider window in 2025. So far, only 10 IPOs have closed, which would imply another decade-low total for 2024 at the current rate.

Here's a look at the region's 10 startups most likely to go public.

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Private equity fund performance turns a corner

(Noomcpk2528/Getty Images)

PE fund performance ended 2023 with positive momentum, a trajectory that is expected to continue into 2024 figures.

After a year of muted exit and M&A activity, global PE funds saw an uptick in performance at the tail end of the year. Global PE funds' one-year IRR ended 2023 at 10.5%, up from 8.5% in Q3 2023, according to our Q4 2023 Global Fund Performance Report.

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How much debt is too much?

(Jenna O'Malley/PitchBook News)

It could be a landmark year for private debt—with Ares Management's $34 billion haul for its US senior direct lending strategy being the latest in a spate of outsized credit fund closes.

Overall, private debt assets under management have risen to more than $1.6 trillion, according to PitchBook's 2023 Global Private Debt Report, with dry powder of over $500 billion.

Much of this private debt capital now underpins the PE industry. It raises the question of whether there is such a thing as being over-leveraged—particularly during periods of volatility.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

15

VC valuations

1978

People

600

Companies

34

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2019 Vintage Global Real Estate Funds

Median IRR

9.39%

Top Quartile IRR

15.94%

0.22x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Lubert-Adler Workforce Housing Fund

Longpoint Realty Fund I

Cabot UK Core-Plus Industrial Fund

*IRR: net of fees

65 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Sahara AI, a startup developing technology that recognizes copyrighted data used in AI models, raised a $40 million Series A led by Pantera Capital and Polychain Capital.

Flexiloans, which offers a digital lending platform, is in talks to raise around $35 million, The Economic Times reported.

Syfe, the Singapore-based developer of an investment platform, closed a $27 million Series C from investors including Valar Ventures and Unbound.

Companion Protect, a Kansas City-based pet insurance and health company, raised a $20.25 million Series A extension from investors including Avanta Ventures, Liberty Mutual Insurance and Old Republic International.

Capitalize, a startup developing technology to automate 401(k) rollovers, raised a $19 million Series B led by RRE Ventures, Axios reported.

CodeRabbit, a startup creating a code reviewer that uses AI, raised a $16 million Series A led by CRV.

ArborXR, which is creating a platform to manage AR and VR devices remotely, raised a $12 million Series A led by Mercury Fund and Cortado Ventures.

Consensus, a startup building a search engine aimed at scholars and medical professionals, raised an $11 million Series A led by Union Square Ventures.

PE Deals

Thyssenkrupp is ramping up talks with The Carlyle Group and German state lender KfW to sell a majority stake in its warship division, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Reuters reported.

Middle-market investor Gauge Capital will invest in AGT Robotics, a Canadian robotic welding company.

Kiteworks, a company providing a cloud-based cybersecurity platform to organizations, received a $456 million growth investment from Insight Partners and Sixth Street.

Chartis Group, a healthcare consultancy and advisory firm, will be acquired by Blackstone from Audax Private Equity in a deal that could value the company around $1.4 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Helkama Bica, a Helsinki-based company that manufactures cables for telecommunications, marine and industrial uses, has been acquired by Accent Equity.

Exits & IPOs

Loc Performance, which manufactures track systems for tanks, has been acquired by German publicly listed company Rheinmetall for $950 million.

Green, a Swiss data center operator, is in talks to be sold by owning firm InfraVia in a deal valuing the company at around €1 billion, Bloomberg reported.

IK Partners sold Swedish vehicle inspection provider Carspect to Munich-based Tüv Süd. The exit comes via IK Partners' Small Cap II Fund.

Sunda International, a China-based home and personal care products company with subsidiaries in several countries in Africa, is considering a Hong Kong IPO that could raise up to $200 million, Bloomberg reported.

EIG is considering a sale of Maverick Natural Resources, an oil and gas company, in a deal that could value Maverick at around $3 billion, Reuters reported.

Fundraising

EQT has launched its next Asia PE fund with an initial target of $12.5 billion.

Canadian VC firm Radical Ventures has raised $800 million for its latest fund, Bloomberg reported. The fund will target investments in later-stage AI startups.

Resurgens Technology Partners, an Atlanta-based PE firm, has closed on $800 million for its third fund targeted at software companies, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q4 2023 Global Fund Performance Report (with preliminary Q1 2024 data)

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PitchBook News - Ranking Q2's most active investors

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