Ukraine defense-tech VC fund targets $50M

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The Daily Pitch: VC

September 18, 2024

Presented by Deloitte Audit & Assurance

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

A new venture vehicle is looking to raise $50M to invest in Ukrainian defense startups

Investment in one ecommerce sector nearly tripled in Q2 2024 from a relatively low Q1, as companies focus on AI

VC all-stars contribute to emerging manager Patron's $100 million gaming fund

The University of Virginia endowment's FY returns fell 50% short of its benchmark

China's dealmaking remains depressed as economic and political risks force caution

Today's Top Stories

Point72 veteran targets $50M for Ukraine defense-tech VC fund

(Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

A former executive with Steve Cohen's Point72 hedge fund is betting big on Ukraine's brewing private defense sector.

Perry Boyle, who was head of equities and capital development for Point72, aims to raise $50 million for MITS Capital's flagship venture vehicle, Boyle told PitchBook exclusively. The firm will invest primarily in seed and Series A rounds for Ukrainian defense startups.

The launch comes as a US presidential election nears and peace prospects for the war remain up in the air. Prominent US VCs, including Andreessen Horowitz and Cerberus Capital Management, have launched defense-focused strategies.

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AI is enhancing ecommerce with virtual influencers

As generative AI continues to sweep across the VC landscape, the ecommerce sector is buying in. Investment in product search technology nearly tripled in Q2 2024 from a relatively low Q1, as companies focus on enhancing customer experience, according to our latest Emerging Tech Research.

In a space where personality and name recognition have major impacts on product discovery, virtual influencers could be the next hit. While humans can make mistakes that cloud a brand’s image, virtual personas give advertisers more control. The report highlights innovations in this area, focusing on how virtual and AI-generated personas reduce risk for brands and can even extend into physical stores.

read the preview

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A message from Deloitte Audit & Assurance

Road to Next—More than a report, a gateway to the VC industry future

Deloitte's quarterly report provides a comprehensive analysis of emerging trends, market dynamics, and VC investment opportunities. Get exclusive insights from Deloitte's Private Growth leader, Heather Gates, in every issue. This issue's guest contributors include Kevan Flanigan, Private Risk & Financial Advisory Leader, and Jamie Rapps, Audit & Assurance Senior Manager. Subscribe today for these insiders' points of view.

Want to catch up on what's trending now? Download the current report focusing on expansion-stage exits. Read how the liquidity crunch has impacted the private markets, from startups seeking capital to investors raising new funds—and how inside and down rounds point to stronger dealmaking ahead.

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Marc Andreessen, Garry Tan back emerging VC's $100M gaming fund

(Israel Sebastian/Getty Images)

Early-stage gaming and consumer investor Patron has raised $100 million for its second fund with backing from a bench of VC all-stars, another sign that LPs are warming back up to the sector.

Backers of the new fund include Andreessen Horowitz founder Marc Andreessen, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, SV Angel founder Ron Conway and Union Square Ventures co-founder Fred Wilson.

Launched by former Riot Games executives, Patron backs startups applying gaming technologies to other verticals.

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VC dealmaking extends quiet spell

(Drew Sanders/PitchBook News)

PitchBook's VC Dealmaking Indicator reflects a quiet investing environment that continues to grow less investor-friendly.

Median valuation step-ups have climbed, with later-stage ones growing the most from Q2 to Q3 due to August's later-stage deal value being the lowest so far this year. The time between funding rounds also dropped from recent peaks, although it's too early to say if this is part of a trend.

explore the indicator

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UVA's endowment returns miss benchmark by over 50%

(UCG/Getty Images)

The University of Virginia's endowment fiscal year returns came in over 50% short of its benchmark, as private market losses filter through limited partners' portfolios.

As university endowments begin to report their fiscal year 2024 results, UVA's performance is indicative of a widespread private market drag on portfolios.

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China's private market dealmaking tumbles

(Owngarden/Getty Images)

China's VC and PE markets have suffered significant drops in dealmaking, with neither projected to reach last year's levels by the end of 2024.

We've put together five charts to showcase key trends that are shaping the region's private markets.

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SEC's transparency push takes new form

(Mara Potter/PitchBook News)

SEC chair Gary Gensler hasn't given up in his push for more investor protections in private funds. Instead of seeking more regulation, Gensler is now pursuing litigation to address bad practices around preferential treatment and fee transparency.

The SEC is bringing more legal actions against private market managers perceived to be violating points that the private fund adviser rule changes would have addressed.

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

24

VC valuations

2459

People

911

Companies

42

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2014 Vintage Global Real Estate Funds

Median IRR

10.14%

Top Quartile IRR

15.46%

1.05x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Exeter Industrial Value Fund III

L-A Saturn Acquisition

Activum SG Real Estate Fund III

*IRR: net of fees

70 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Flink, a Berlin-based grocery delivery startup, raised $150 million from investors including BOND, Mubadala and Northzone.

Hotel Engine, which operates an online hotel booking platform, raised a $140 million round led by PE firm Permira. The company is now valued at $2.1 billion.

Neurological disease treatment developer Nura Bio extended its Series A with $68 million for a total of more than $140 million led by The Column Group.

Nomic Bio, a biotech company profiling biological proteins, raised a $42 million Series B led by an unnamed life science investor.

Intezer, a specialist in AI technology for the cybersecurity industry, raised a $33 million Series C led by Norwest Venture Partners.

Wealth.com, a company developing an estate management and planning platform, raised a $30 million Series A led by GV.

Software monetization specialist Orb raised a $25 million Series B led by Mayfield.

Zevero, a London-based carbon accounting company, received a $7 million seed round led by Spiral Capital.

Timefold, a Belgian provider of planning optimization software, secured a €6 million seed investment led by Lakestar.

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PE Deals

Smartsheet, an NYSE-listed provider of collaborative workplace software, is in talks to be acquired by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners in a deal that would value the company at around $8 billion, Reuters reported.

Princeton Digital Group, a Singapore-based data center operator backed by Warburg Pincus, is considering a private fundraising of $1 billion, Bloomberg reported.

The Carlyle Group bought $300 million of equity-sharing home loans and made a strategic investment in Unison, an investment management company specializing in equity sharing.

Colorado-based work absence-management platform developer AbsenceSoft has been acquired by Luminate Capital Partners.

Serán Bioscience, an Oregon-based company providing services to biotech companies, raised over $200 million in growth financing from Bain Capital Life Sciences.

General Atlantic may partner with Saudi's SURJ Sports Investment to buy a minority stake in Europe's top basketball league EuroLeague at a €1 billion valuation, the Financial Times reported. BC Partners is also in the bidding process.

DC Capital has invested in Florida-based supply chain consulting firm C5MI.

Exits & IPOs

Wavenet, a UK-based IT service provider, is in talks to be sold by Australian PE firm Macquarie Group for around £1.2 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Evisort, a startup using AI for contract and document intelligence, has been acquired by Nasdaq-listed Workday.

London-based buyout firm Cinven agreed to sell a 15% stake in Synlab, a Germany-based medical laboratory operator, to Labcorp for €140 million.

Fundraising

German buyout firm Aurelius Group is aiming to raise €750 million for European Opportunities V, which will be launched toward the end of the year, Private Equity News reported.

Chicago-based VC firm Moderne Ventures raised over $230 million for its latest fund focused on seed to Series B-stage investments in proptech and fintech startups, Axios reported.

Investors

BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, Microsoft and MGX partnered to invest in data center infrastructure to support AI companies. The Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership launched with $100 billion in investment potential.

Chart of the Day

Source: PitchBook Universities: Europe’s top schools ranked by startup founders

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Ukraine defense-tech VC fund targets $50M

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