PitchBook News - Female founders face anti-DEI wave

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The Daily Pitch: VC

March 6, 2025

Presented by Fidelity Private Shares^SM

🛫 PE investments in aerospace and defense rebounded last year as high buyer interest and narrow price gaps powered a deal spree. PitchBook recorded an estimated 333 deals in the sector last year, smashing 2021's record. Growing demand for passenger aviation and rising defense spending have given firms more confidence to pay high multiples. Read more

👉 AI cloud computing giant CoreWeave acquired Weights & Biases, which offers an AI developer platform for deep learning, to expand its tech stack. The deal, reportedly for about $1.7 billion, comes as CoreWeave gears up to go public on the Nasdaq. Full story

Plus...
• AI analytics startup scoops up $175 million to join the VC-backed M&A splurge
• Eurazeo's largest buyout fund yet: $3.2 billion

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Anti-DEI wave threatens to hold back female founders

Female founders collectively raised nearly $39 billion in 2024, but the share of funding awarded to women dropped year-over-year, and anti-DEI sentiment may hold them back even more, according to our latest US All In report, sponsored by Wilson Sonsini, Fidelity Private Shares and Flourish Ventures.

Many of the entry points for female founders—such as funds dedicated to investing in underrepresented founders—may potentially be under legal threat during the Trump administration. But rising above the fray, there are the breakouts: 13 new female-founded unicorns were minted last year, and VCs have been aggressively courting Anthropic's Daniela Amodei and Thinking Machines' Mira Murati.

A European edition of the All In report, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, is also available for download.

read the report

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AI specialist Quantexa snags $175M for M&A splurge

(KanawatTH/Getty Images)

London-based Quantexa, an AI analytics startup, is on the hunt for acquisitions after wrapping up a $175 million Series F. With the fresh capital, the company is looking to accelerate its growth plans, namely by deepening its North American presence and pursuing M&A opportunities.

Overall, acquisitions with VC-backed buyers are on the rise after a sharp drop in 2022.

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People

Former Morgan Stanley tech investment banker Michael Grimes is expected to lead the new US sovereign wealth fund, Reuters reported.

Ryan Breslow has returned as the CEO of fintech startup Bolt, which faced past controversy for allegedly misleading investors and inflating metrics.

Former British prime minister David Cameron joined Finback Investment Partners, the investment firm founded by Jeb Bush.

VC Deals

Flock Safety is in talks to raise a $250 million round led by Andreessen Horowitz at a $7.5 billion valuation for its technology to read license plates, Bloomberg reported.

Epirus, a developer of anti-drone systems, raised a $250 million Series D led by 8VC and Washington Harbour Partners.

Cybersecurity startup SpecterOps raised a $75 million Series B led by Insight Partners.

Spain's Multiverse Computing, an AI-driven quantum computing specialist, secured €67 million from the Spanish government to develop AI compression technology.

Zeitview, the developer of AI inspection software for construction projects, raised a $60 million round led by Climate Investment.

Finland-based nuclear energy startup Steady Energy raised €22 million to advance its small modular reactor technology in a round led by 92 Ventures.

Ataraxis AI, a precision medicine startup focused on cancer detection and treatment, raised a $20.4 million Series A led by AIX Ventures.

Stargate Hydrogen, an Estonia-based clean energy company, raised €11 million to develop its hydrogen production technology.

PE Deals

The credit and insurance arm of Blackstone is buying a minority stake in transportation infrastructure investor ITE Management. Blackstone will also provide ITE with $2 billion in funds for future investments in a forward-flow agreement.

Bain Capital is nearing a deal to acquire Seven & I Holdings' supermarket assets in Japan, valued at over $1 billion, Bloomberg reported.

PX3 Partners-backed Cleanova agreed to buy Micronics, a company specializing in industrial filtration. The combined business will have an enterprise value of $1.3 billion.

Sweden-based EcoDataCenter raised $478 million from unnamed institutional investors to build eco-friendly data centers.

Partners Group and KKR together invested $140 million in Darwinbox, an India-based HR technology platform.

Exits

Abu Dhabi-based PE firm Gulf Capital is considering a sale of Art Fertility Clinics, Bloomberg reported.

KKR agreed to sell Seiyu, a Japanese supermarket chain, to Tokyo-listed Trial Holdings for an undisclosed amount.

Fundraising

Lane42 Investment Partners has launched with $2 billion for PE investments.

Investors

Warburg Pincus signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia pension fund manager Hassana Investment Co. to explore deals in the country.

Chart of the Day

Source: PitchBook VC Dealmaking Indicator

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PitchBook News - Female founders face anti-DEI wave

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