PitchBook News - Tech layoffs are lowest in 2+ years

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The Daily Pitch: VC

November 1, 2024

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Miro CEO Andrey Khusid (Ramsey Cardy/Getty Images)

Tech layoffs are at their lowest level in over 2 years.

That may sound surprising: After all, productivity startup Miro trimmed 15% of its workforce on Wednesday. Blockchain developer Consensys and publicly traded file-sharing company Dropbox also shed 20% of staff this week.

Rosie Bradbury reports that the tech industry's cost-cutting measures spurred a vicious cycle of layoffs. But that downsizing has put startups on firmer footing. Full story.

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PitchBook's senior healthcare analyst Aaron DeGagne kept an ear to the ground at the annual HLTH USA conference, and our latest analyst note highlights top company news and key takeaways from the healthtech industry's No. 1 networking event.

The note also covers our perspective on AI in healthcare, debates surrounding the emergence of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, and our view on buzzy investment categories such as revenue cycle management and consumer wearables.

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VC dealmaking bottoms, but fails to bounce

Venture investment is on pace to top $175 billion this year, surpassing both last year and 2020 levels, but a more forceful recovery is being held back by the ongoing lack of liquidity. The Q3 2024 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, sponsored by J.P. Morgan, Dentons and Deloitte, now includes league tables ranking the industry's most active players.

The slowdown has spurred some VC firms to ramp up due diligence and push for more investor protections in term sheets. But many other investors have simply left the market, either because their funds have dried up or because they are hesitant to call more LP capital.

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PE mid-market deals fare best in driving profitability

(Pavel Muravev/Getty Images)

The sources of value creation differ between mid-sized and large-cap PE deals in North America.

Data shows the former saw improvements in profitability play a role in value growth, while the latter entirely depended on the increase in valuation multiple and revenue growth for value creation.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

1807

People

732

Companies

44

Funds

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The Daily Benchmark:
2015 Vintage Global VC Funds

Median IRR

16.10%

Top Quartile IRR

24.36%

0.49x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Index Ventures Growth III

Outlander 1 Archimedes

Anthos Capital III

*IRR: net of fees

84 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Beta, a startup that builds vertical takeoff and landing electric aircraft, raised a $318 million Series C led by the Qatar Investment Authority.

Evommune, a Bay Area-based biotech startup focused on treatments for chronic immune diseases, raised a $114 million Series C led by RA Capital Management and Sectoral Asset Management.

Elektrofi, which develops technology for self-administering medicines, raised a $112.25 million Series C led by Novo Holdings, RA Capital Management, Royalty Pharma and others.

LuxWall, a startup that makes insulated, energy-efficient windows, raised a $51 million Series B led by Climate Investment and Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, Axios reported.

Cybersecurity company Bugcrowd, which develops an AI-powered security platform, raised $50 million from Silicon Valley Bank.

Flower, a Stockholm-based energy grid startup, received a €45 million Series A led by Northzone.

Tel Aviv-based Noma, a startup specializing in data and AI lifecycle security, raised $32 million, including a Series A led by Ballistic Ventures.

AI camera and video startup Spot AI raised a $31 million round from investors including Qualcomm Ventures, Scale Venture Partners and StepStone Group.

Australia's Neara, which offers AI-powered predictive modeling software for critical infrastructure, raised a $31 million Series C led by EQT.

Country Delight, a Bengaluru-based direct-to-consumer dairy products provider, raised $25 million in venture debt from Alteria Capital.

Estonia's Modash, an creator-partnerships specialist, received an €11 million Series A led by henQ.

PE Deals

Blackstone is bidding for a roughly $5 billion minority stake in the cellphone business of Canada-based Rogers Communications, the Globe and Mail reported.

Olam Agri, the agriculture unit of Olam Group, is in talks to be acquired by Saudi Agricultural & Livestock Investment in a $4 billion deal, Bloomberg reported.

Bain Capital invested in The Openwork Partnership to support its wealth, mortgage and protection advice growth.

Ardian acquired Ion Beam Services, a European semiconductor equipment and services company.

Sagard NewGen acquired FuturMaster, a SaaS provider of supply chain planning and revenue growth management solutions.

Healthcare marketing platform operator Health Monitor Network has been acquired by Gridiron Capital.

Exits & IPOs

Data center operator Global Switch, which operates in Europe and Asia, is in talks to sell a stake in its UK-based business for about £1.5 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Cinven announced that Elliott Advisors will sell its stake in Synlab to Ephios Bidco, while Cinven will reduce its indirect stake but stay the majority shareholder.

Canada-based health software company Strata Health has been acquired by Toronto Stock Exchange-listed VitalHub.

Ubiquicom, a company developing supply chain and logistics technology, has been acquired by Italy-based ZAPI Group.

Fundraising

KKR is targeting $20 billion for its next buyout fund.

PSG is in talks to transfer $1.8 billion worth of stakes into a new continuation fund that will be backed by GIC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Bloomberg reported.

Chart of the Day

Source: PitchBook buyout replication portfolio

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PitchBook News - Tech layoffs are lowest in 2+ years

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