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The Daily Pitch: VC

January 8, 2025

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

🛍️ TikTok Shop rival Whatnot is now valued at nearly $5 billion less than 6 years after it was founded. Along with its new price tag, the ecommerce startup joined other growth-stage companies in running a tender offer as the IPO drought drags on. Full story

🎆 New year, new private credit tie-ups: Sixth Street will manage $13 billion of Northwestern Mutual's assets to invest in asset-backed finance, among other strategies. It's the latest in a parade of asset managers and insurance companies forming alliances. Go deeper

Plus...
• Robots take over the warehouse in our latest Emerging Space Brief
• Funding for European female startup founders declined for the third straight year

Healthcare AI faces 3 critical tests

(Julia Midkiff/PitchBook News)

Investments in AI for emerging healthcare & life sciences innovations remained consistent through the end of 2024, indicating investor confidence in the transformative potential of AI technology across these industries. Deal activity held steady through the period, and the $10.5 billion invested across 511 deals in 2024 was slightly above 2023, according to our latest Emerging Tech Research.

The AI applications include disease detection, surgical robotics, drug discovery and clinical documentation. The ultimate success of AI in healthcare will depend on several critical factors including:

Clinical validation of AI-discovered drugs through rigorous trials
Navigating complex regulatory landscapes for widespread adoption
Building trust and confidence in real-world AI applications among providers and patients

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Funding for Europe’s female founders declines for third straight year

(Julia Midkiff/PitchBook News)

The amount of capital raised by European startups with at least one female founder has declined for the third year in a row, according to our European VC female founders dashboard.

Europe’s female founders raised €10.2 billion ($10.6 billion) across 1,905 deals in 2024, down from 2023’s totals of €10.6 billion over 2,671 deals. A weak Q3, with the smallest amount of capital invested in a quarter since 2020, prevented the yearslong skid from being snapped.

Notable deals in 2024 included a €933.2 million Series B for London-based consumer lending services provider Astound, co-founded by COO Michelle He, and a €137.9 million seed round for Spanish online gardening marketplace developer Planteka, founded by CEO Sanitha Alam.

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IPO revival won’t solve PE’s liquidity issues

(Image by PitchBook News)

Over the past few years, private equity firms have battled slowed fundraising, fewer exits and diminished distributions to their limited partners.

As we move into 2025, PitchBook analysts expect PE-sponsored initial public offerings to gain some meaningful traction. But the uptick won’t be enough to salvage the many aging funds struggling to return cash to their investors.

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How warehouse robotics can deliver for investors

PitchBook’s latest Emerging Space Brief explores the world of warehouse robotics: the technology used to automate the handling and fulfillment of orders within logistics facilities.

From autonomous robotic systems to drones, the adoption of these technologies has been turbocharged following an unprecedented labor shortage—and startups are cashing in. Pickle Robotics, which specializes in robots used for unloading, raised a $50 million Series B while Dexory raised an $80 million Series B for its robots that automate data collection and inventory management.

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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

12

VC valuations

3075

People

887

Companies

41

Funds

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The Daily Benchmark:
2018 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

15.75%

Top Quartile IRR

18.11%

0.17x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Emerging Manager Choice

Peakview Capital Fund III

Spectra Investments IV

*IRR: net of fees

44 Funds in Benchmark »

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VC Deals

Anthropic is raising a $2 billion round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners that would value the AI startup at $60 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Husk Power Systems, an operator of mini solar power grids in India and Nigeria, is planning to raise a $400 million round and is considering an IPO.

Investment platform developer Addepar is raising a $250 million round from investors including 8VC, Valor Equity Partners, WestCap and more at a $3.25 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.

Aviceda Therapeutics, a biotech startup developing treatments for inflammation, raised a $207.5 million Series C led by Omega Funds and TCGX.

Dublin-based Fire1, which develops medical devices to monitor heart failure, raised a $120 million round led by Polaris Partners and Elevage Medical Technologies.

Francis Medical, a startup creating treatments for prostate, kidney and bladder cancer, raised an $80 million Series C led by Arboretum Ventures and Solas BioVentures.

Biotech startup XyloCor Therapeutics, which focuses on cardiovascular disease therapies, raised a $67.5 million Series B led by Jeito Capital.

Deciphex, a Dublin-based AI-powered digital pathology startup, closed a €31 million Series A led by Molten Ventures.

Senseera, an Israeli liquid biopsy startup, raised a $7.1 million seed investment led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

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PE Deals

Keyhaven Capital Partners backed Miura Partners and Evolve Healthcare Partners' acquisition of HealthTech BioActives, a Spanish maker of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Luxembourg-based Oraxys and France-based Swen Capital Partners acquired Netherlands-based VAM WaterTech, a company specializing in water treatment and recycling in the agrifood sector.

Berkshire Partners invested in Austin-based energy and power specialist Electric Power Engineers.

Vocational education student platform developer CourseKey received an investment from PSG.

Exits

A majority stake in Paycor has been sold by PE firm Apax Partners to Nasdaq-listed Paychex for $4.1 billion.

HBX Group, a Spain-based travel technology platform developer, is planning an IPO which could raise over €1 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Startup Wonder Group has acquired food delivery app GrubHub from Just Eat Takeaway for $650 million.

TTTech Auto, an Austria-based automotive software developer, has been acquired by Netherlands-based computer chip maker NXP Semiconductors in a $625 million deal.

Septentrio, a company specializing in global navigation satellite technology, was acquired by Sweden-based Hexagon.

Mutares exited Stockholm-based facilities services management company Asteri Facility Solutions to SOL Facility Services.

Brightbridge Ventures and Lead Edge Capital exited UK-headquartered credit marketplace Aro Finance to ClearScore.

Fundraising

London-based AP Ventures is raising its third fund with a target of $500 million, according to SEC filings.

Quilvest launched Quilvest Secondaries Fund which primarily targets GP-led transactions, Secondaries Investor reported.

Vespa Capital rebranded to Arlane and reached a €120 million final close on its third fund.

Chart of the Day

Source: Unicorn companies tracker

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PitchBook News - Betting on AI to transform healthcare

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