PitchBook News - Robotics AI startup grabs $400M

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The Daily Pitch: VC

November 5, 2024

The Daily Pitch is powered by PitchBook’s industry-defining research and best-in-class data

Today's Top Stories

Happy election day, America. 🗳️

(Chloe Ladwig/PitchBook News)

PE is learning to bump, set and spike.

Volleyball is one of several niche sports to attract private capital in recent years. Another is padel, a racket sport that originated in Mexico and has taken hold in Spain.

Andrea Gaini reports that passionate fans and the allure of getting in on the ground floor are driving investment in up-and-coming sports. More than $10 billion has been deployed in the sports category this year as investors capitalize on the intersection of live events and intellectual property. Full story.

Also...

🦾 Physical Intelligence was valued at $2.4 billion in a $400 million round led by billionaire Jeff Bezos, Thrive and Lux Capital. The AI robotics startup is betting the generalist approach that spawned ChatGPT can produce autonomous machines capable of learning complex tasks. Go deeper.

✈️ Stonepeak Capital is paying $3.1 billion to acquire Air Transport Services, whose customers include Amazon and the US Department of Defense. The take-private transaction reflects how PE firms are increasingly active in the aerospace sector following pandemic-era disruptions. Read more.

Food and beverage dealmaking keeps its momentum in Q3

The food and beverage consumer packaged goods industry has shown resilience in the first three quarters of 2024 despite economic headwinds—reaching an estimated 385 PE deals compared to 2021's peak of 531, according to our debut report on the sector.

The momentum has primarily been fueled by robust dealmaking in alcohol, baked goods and celebrity brands, with a notable shift toward smaller deals and growth rounds rather than large acquisitions. Firms continue to build on existing platforms through add-on deals.

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Private debt headlines capital return indexes

PitchBook's Q2 2024 Private Capital Indexes provide a view of private capital returns across active, closed-end funds, covering data on $4 trillion in fund NAV. The report also includes insights and quarterly return benchmarks for the private markets, offering a snapshot of performance over the last quarter.

Our data indicates that private debt has been the best performer over the last year, while VC and real estate funds continue to struggle. The report also provides indexed returns for PE, real assets, funds-of-funds and secondaries.

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EQT-led acquisition shows PE is leveling up gaming deals

(Flavia Morlachetti/Getty Images)

Private equity firm EQT, Canada's $466 billion pension fund and Singapore's state investor Temasek have completed the acquisition of Irish video game company Keywords Studios, as PE managers and allocators expand their interest in the gaming industry.

The space is traditionally dominated by VC, but in 2024, PE gaming deals have hit the highest total deal value they've seen in more than a decade.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

2152

People

766

Companies

21

Funds

See what our data software can do

The Daily Benchmark:
2016 Vintage Global Debt Funds

Median IRR

9.10%

Top Quartile IRR

11.00%

0.92x

Median DPI

Select top performers

PAG Enhanced Credit Fund

VSS Structured Capital III

EnTrust Blue Ocean Fund

*IRR: net of fees

65 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

People

Nuveen Private Capital hired Katherine Elmore-Jones from The Carlyle Group as head of private equity business development in Europe, a newly-created role.

VC Deals

DeepRoute.ai, a China-based startup developing autonomous driving technology, raised $100 million from an unnamed automaker.

TCC, a German telemedicine startup, received a €20 million Series A led by Thomas Potzsch.

Yazen Health, a Swedish digital-weight loss startup, raised a €19.5 million Series A led by Evli Growth Partners and Helsana HealthInvest.

Don't miss our upcoming webinar

2024 is showing signs of recovery for the venture market, with macroeconomics providing more support for valuations in both late and early stages. However, some areas of the market are still pacing below trough 2023 levels, and it is unclear if a full rationalisation has taken place.

While various areas of the venture ecosystem emerge as clear winners, our experts are analyzing which parts of deals, exits and fundraising are showing resilience and how they could impact the coming months. In this webinar, industry experts and PitchBook analysts will share findings from our Q3 2024 European Venture Report, sponsored by J.P. Morgan, and provide insights on market trends, IPO windows, and unicorn valuations.

Register now to secure your spot.

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PE Deals

Blackstone is in advance talks to acquire Retail Opportunity Investment, a San Diego-based owner of neighborhood and community shopping centers, Reuters reported.

Southern Veterinary Partners and Mission Veterinary Partners, two portfolio companies of Shore Capital Partners, are in talks to be combined into a new entity in a $8.6 billion deal that would give Silver Lake co-ownership, Bloomberg reported.

Altera, a chipmaking unit of Intel, is in talks to be spun out into a separate business, and Silver Lake and Bain Capital are preparing bids for a minority stake, Reuters reported.

London-based asset manager M&G has acquired a 65% stake in real estate investor BauMont.

Performive, a company providing IT services to middle-market businesses, has been acquired by Renovus Capital Partners after the firm's majority investment.

IW Capital made a follow-on investment in Globavista, a UK-based software provider for the maritime sector.

London buyout firm ECI Partners invested in CMap, a UK-based provider of professional services automation software provider.

CompTIA, which provides certifications and training for the IT industry, has been acquired by HIG Capital and Thoma Bravo.

Portfolio Companies

Franchise Group, a portfolio company of B. Riley that owns The Vitamin Shoppe and other brands, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Exits & IPOs

The methanol and petroleum gas unit of OQ, the state energy company of Oman, is considering an IPO in which the business could be valued as much as $1.5 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Grocery store and shopping center operator Lulu is looking to raise $1.72 billion in its Abu Dhabi IPO.

Jio, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is planning an IPO in 2025, Reuters reported. The unit was last valued at $112 billion.

Fundraising

Los Angeles-based PE firm Shamrock Capital raised $1.6 billion across two funds: more than $1.25 billion for Shamrock Capital Growth Fund VI and about $320 million for Shamrock Capital Clover Fund I.

Coatue is launching a new fund targeting $1 billion to invest in AI and tech companies.

INA, Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, and Granite Asia, a VC firm based in Singapore, will invest $1.2 billion in Indonesian tech companies.

BlueFive Capital, a new firm led by former Investcorp co-CEO Hazem Ben-Gacem, plans to launch its first fund with $1 billion to invest in financial services companies, Bloomberg reported.

Portuguese early-stage investor Faber launched its third fund with a €60 million target.

Chart of the Day

Source: Q3 2024 Global M&A Report

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PitchBook News - Robotics AI startup grabs $400M

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