PitchBook News - Wiz sets new bar in rapid growth

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The Daily Pitch: VC

March 19, 2025

Presented by Deloitte

🏔️ Private debt has continued its ascent as a broader range of investors seeks reliable returns amid volatility. Global private debt fundraising neared $200 billion last year, and direct lending assets reached $678.5 billion, according to our 2024 Annual Global Private Debt Report, sponsored by the American Investment Council.

The private credit industry is evolving, marked by increasing collaboration between banks and private credit firms. Perpetual-life vehicles continue to post strong growth, tailored to wealth and insurance channels.

⚾ Sixth Street stepped up to the plate with a 10% stake in the San Francisco Giants, marking the latest PE move into professional sports. The investment will help fund stadium renovations and a neighboring real estate project, as MLB continues to attract private capital. Full story

🤓 Nerdio became a unicorn after the cloud computing management startup raised a $500 million Series C led by General Atlantic. Cloudtech and DevOps startups, which provide infrastructure and tools for enterprise clients, have seen growing investment amid the AI boom. Read more

Plus...
• Why are the acquisition prospects for climate-tech companies?
• AI is driving fintech forward despite market volatility
• Partners Group plans to buy a California gas power portfolio for $2.2 billion

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Wiz's $32B sale signals a rapid-growth era

Yellow Dog Productions/Getty Images

Wiz is no stranger to setting records. With its $32 billion sale to Google, the cloud security startup cemented the largest acquisition of a venture-backed company.

Wiz’s sale price is more than 50% above what Google was willing to pay for it less than a year ago. The valuation vaults it past other high-growth startups with similar revenue growth.

Investors say it’s all part of a new era of rapid growth for AI startups that some fear will set the bar too high for other startups looking for an exit.

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A message from Deloitte

Private markets fuel crypto & blockchain growth in 2025

The latest Road to Next indicates that private markets are driving growth in the cryptocurrency, blockchain, and digital assets (CB&DA) sector. Despite price volatility and short histories that keep some investors cautious, expansion-stage dealmaking remained robust in 2024, amassing nearly $1 billion from 91 transactions. Signs of a more supportive regulatory landscape in 2025 could lead to enhanced integration of digital assets across the broader fintech universe. While dealmaking still faces challenges and is overshadowed by pandemic-era figures, rising interest from retail and individual investors indicates a gradually increasing acceptance of digital assets. This momentum underscores the transformative role CB&DA continues to play in financial technology’s evolution.

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Can your climate-tech company find a buyer?

The companies targeting climate-tech acquisitions form a smaller field than that of SaaS or fintech by a wide margin, and acquisition interest varies wildly by niche. But that's not to say there aren't opportunities, especially in fields like intermittent renewables and sustainable foods, according to PitchBook's 2024 Climate Tech M&A Review.

Senior emerging tech analyst John MacDonagh dove into a database of over 10,000 companies to map the M&A outlook for the sector, which is facing an uncertain few years as future federal support hangs in the balance.

read it now

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Partners Group buys $2.2B California gas power portfolio

(Vithun Khamsong/Getty Images)

Partners Group has agreed to acquire a portfolio of natural gas power plants in California from Avenue Capital Group, along with the operator of the plants, for $2.2 billion, and stands to benefit from power demand growth coupled with a need for improved grid reliability in the state.

The deal comprises 11 power plants with a combined capacity of 1.9 gigawatts and its operator, Middle River Power. The latter uses on-site battery energy storage systems at its gas-fired plants, creating hybrid energy centers that utilize surplus renewable energy to charge batteries.

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AI driving fintech forward despite market volatility

Fintech continues to show remarkable resilience despite market turbulence, with industry participants remaining bullish even as the S&P 500 tumbled 4.3% during Fintech Meetup 2025 last week. The sector's confidence stems largely from AI's evolution from experimentation to implementation. This technological edge is accelerating growth trajectories, enabling top AI startups to reach ARR milestones at record speeds.

Our latest analyst note recaps 12 points from the conference that showcase the fintech industry's untapped potential, which is currently just 3% of the $14 trillion global financial services market.

read the note

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People

TPG has appointed Jennifer Chu as chief legal officer and general counsel, succeeding Bradford Berenson. Chu previously spent 18 years at Debevoise & Plimpton.

VC Deals

AI-powered coding assistant Cognition AI has reached a valuation approaching $4 billion after receiving funding in the hundreds of millions led by 8VC, Bloomberg reported.

AI code review platform Graphite has raised a $52 million Series B led by Accel.

Enterprise coding optimization company TurinTech has emerged from stealth with $20 million across a $15 million Series A led by Oxford Capital and $5 million in seed funding.

Brain.space, a Tel Aviv-based neurotechnology startup, raised an $11 million Series A led by Toyota Ventures.

PitchBook webinar: Focus on private credit CLOs

Late 2024 saw the debut of Europe's first CLO backed primarily by private credit debt—setting the stage for a wave of similar deals in 2025. But what's next for the market?

In this webinar, we'll examine the significance of this event and provide a general market update on key private credit developments, as well as an overall leveraged finance update for 2025 so far. Key topics include:

How will CLO issuance shape the private credit market in 2025?

What is next for private credit debt in Europe?

How does M&A activity compare to projections?

Register now to secure your spot.

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PE Deals

TA Associates made a strategic growth investment in Nous Infosystem, which helps improve business models with technology and digital solutions.

Marketing service firm 2X has received a growth investment from Insight Partners, following on an investment from Recognize two years prior.

Summit Partners made a growth investment in Cenosco, a Netherlands-based software developer specializing in asset integrity management.

Fashion retailer Guess has received a take-private offer at $13 per share from WHP Group via its investment arm WHP Investments.

PartnerOne has acquired NetWitness, a threat detection and cybersecurity company from RSA.

Mainsail Partners has provided $45 million of growth capital to Inn-Flow, a software company specializing in software management tools.

Alight, a Swedish power company backed by the infrastructure arm of CVC Capital Partners, acquired its first solar park in Denmark, the 215 MWp Lidso project.

Cordillera Investment Partners invested $10 million in the Professional Triathletes Organisation, an athlete-owned organization that puts on triathlon events globally.

Exits

The Indian unit of LG Electronics obtained approval for a potential $1.5 billion IPO.

New York-based American Industrial Partners has sold EnTrans International, a manufacturer of tank trailers and transportation solutions, to Toronto-listed Terravest Industries.

Kinderhook Industries has closed its sale of Dealer Products Holdings, a manufacturer of functional vehicle accessories, to RealTruck.

Blue Point Capital has completed its sale of Sylvan to E3Tech while also making a rollover investment in the industrial contracting services company.

Fundraising

Cendana Capital has closed its sixth flagship fund-of-funds—focused on investing in sub-$100 million pre-seed and seed funds—at a $400 million hard cap.

Paris-based life sciences investor Sofinnova Partners has closed Sofinnova Biovelocita II on €165 million.

Just Climate, Al Gore's nature-based climate solutions fund, has raised $175 million from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund and CalSTRS.

Industrial investor Carr Hill Partners has secured $210 million in its inaugural fund, surpassing its $175 million target.

New State Capital Partners has closed its fourth eponymous fund on $700 million.

Chart of the Day

Source: Carlyle, TPG, Ares removed DEI language from annual reports as legal risks heighten

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PitchBook News - Wiz sets new bar in rapid growth

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