Black founders, investors call for change

| Don't want to receive these emails?

PitchBook

The Daily Pitch: VC

June 5, 2020

Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A

Today's Top Stories

Black founders say protest responses could affect future connections

Isa Watson, founder of Squad, said she'll consider investors' reactions to the current crisis. (Photo by Kwaku Alston)

The recent deaths of George Floyd and other black Americans at the hands of police have sparked an outpouring of support from businesses, founders and investors across the venture capital world, including promises of action to address systemic inequity.

Black entrepreneurs are paying close attention to the industry's responses and watching for genuine signs of commitment. While they're optimistic about the future, they see a long road ahead:

Recommended Reads

An in-depth look at what business leaders can do to build an actively anti-racist company. [Quartz]

In Florida, a billionaire is abandoning his previous anonymity in a bid to convince his peers that sustainable mega-mansions are the wave of the future. [Bloomberg]

How a small Spanish town became one of Europe's worst COVID-19 hotspots. [The Guardian]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

9

VC valuations

1724

People

350

Companies

27

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2014 Vintage Global Buyout Funds
	VC Deals
	Cullinan Oncology secures $98.5M
	Alzheimer's drug developer scores $85M
	Hyperscience raises $60M for automation platform
	Insight Partners leads $20M round for Inky
	Medical imaging startup pulls in $20M
	Exits
	Nikola goes public through a SPAC
	Unity Technologies mulls 2020 IPO
	VMware to buy cybersecurity startup Lastline
	Fundraising
	Mercato Partners wraps up $90M restaurant fund

The Daily Benchmark

2014 Vintage Global Buyout Funds

Median IRR

17.00%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

24.00%

1.45x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Consonance Private Equity

BVIP Fund VIII

Ufenau IV German Asset Light

*IRR: net of fees

78 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Cullinan Oncology secures $98.5M

Cullinan Oncology has raised a $98.5 million Series B from investors including MPM Capital and F2 Ventures. Based in the Boston area, the company is developing therapeutics to treat cancer and other diseases. It raised a $150 million Series A in 2017.

View round

View similar company »

Alzheimer's drug developer scores $85M

Athira Pharma, a developer of regenerative therapies designed to restore brain function, has raised $85 million in Series B financing led by Perceptive Advisors. RTW Investments, Viking Global Investors, Franklin Templeton, Logos Capital, Rock Springs Capital and others also participated in the round. The Seattle-based startup will use the funds in part to continue clinical trials for its lead drug candidate, which is intended to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Additional Investors:

Avidity Capital, Citadel, Highside Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, LifeSci Venture Partners, Sahsen Ventures, Sofinnova Investments, Venrock

View round

View 20 competitors »

Hyperscience raises $60M for automation platform

Process automation startup Hyperscience has raised a $60 million Series C led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with a significant investment from Tiger Global. The company offers a platform that extracts data from documents.

Additional Investors:

Stripes, FirstMark Capital, Battery Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Third Kind Venture Capital, Gaingels Syndicate

View round

View 31 competitors »

Insight Partners leads $20M round for Inky

Inky, the developer of a cybersecurity platform that helps combat phishing attacks, has raised a $20 million Series B led by Insight Partners. The Maryland-based company was valued at $31.6 million in November, according to PitchBook data.

View round

View 40 competitors »

Medical imaging startup pulls in $20M

Nanox, a provider of medical imaging technology intended to detect cancer and other diseases at an early stage, has secured a $20 million investment from SK Telecom. The Israeli company has also partnered with SK Telecom to deploy 2,500 imaging systems in South Korea and Vietnam. Nanox reportedly raised $26 million from investors including SK Telecom, Foxconn and Fujifilm in January.

View round

View similar company »

Exits

Nikola goes public through a SPAC

Electric vehicle startup Nikola has started trading on the Nasdaq after a reverse merger with VectoIQ Acquisition, a blank-check company led by former General Motors executive Stephen Girsky. Nikola raised $700 million through the transaction, which included a PIPE investment from Fidelity Management & Research Company, ValueAct and P. Schoenfeld Asset Management. The Phoenix-based business was valued at $3.25 billion in 2019, according to PitchBook data.

View details

View 35 competitors »

Unity Technologies mulls 2020 IPO

Unity Technologies, the San Francisco-based developer of a platform for designing and operating real-time 3D content, has enlisted Goldman Sachs to lead an IPO that could occur as soon as this fall, according to Bloomberg. Unity, which counts Sequoia and Silver Lake among its investors, was valued at $6.3 billion in May 2019, according to a PitchBook estimate.

View details

View 19 competitors »

VMware to buy cybersecurity startup Lastline

Software company VMware has agreed to acquire Lastline, a provider of AI-based cybersecurity services. VMware will lay off around 40% of Lastline's employees as part of the deal, according to TechCrunch. San Mateo, Calif.-based Lastline raised prior VC funding from Thomvest Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and Dell Technologies Capital. It was valued at $114 million in 2017, according to PitchBook data.

View details

View 35 competitors »

Fundraising

Mercato Partners wraps up $90M restaurant fund

Mercato Partners has closed Savory Fund I, a new vehicle that will invest in restaurant concepts, on $90 million. Andrew Smith, founder of the eponymous restaurant group, will serve as managing director of the fund. Based in the Salt Lake City area, Mercato targets businesses in the technology, branded consumer and food and beverage sectors. It has previously backed companies including business management services provider Domo and online lender Lendio.

View details

View 29 investments »

Chart of the Day

"Another major shift angel & seed investing has seen since the global financial crisis is an enormous growth in deal sizes, which occurred for several reasons. First, as we have often mentioned, companies are beginning to look for this form of capital later in their lifecycle. ... Another factor for the boost in deal sizes has been the increase in larger institutions vying for seed deals."

Source: Q1 2020 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor