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The Daily Pitch: VC

March 24, 2025

🦾 VC funding for enterprise SaaS spiked to over $28 billion in Q4—surging nearly 55% quarter-over-quarter, according to our latest Emerging Tech Research on the sector. The rise was fueled by strong investor confidence and two mega-deals: OpenAI at $6.6 billion and xAI at $6 billion. Deal count rebounded to 695 in Q4, suggesting renewed optimism for disruptive business solutions. Read the preview

🛕 More than two-thirds of PE deals in India now include overseas capital, marking a fundamental shift in risk perception among global investors. A relatively stable currency, a fast-growing economy, healthy demographics and relaxed foreign investment restrictions in key sectors have lifted confidence. Full story

Plus...
• StubHub punches ticket for an IPO
• Startup dealmaking slow to drop from investor-friendly peak

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How the Rippling-Deel legal battle could play out

(Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Rippling's legal complaint accusing rival HR software specialist Deel of corporate espionage set the B2B SaaS world on fire.

The case is a rare public battle between two high-profile unicorns, which have combined raised over $2 billion in VC funding. The lawsuit could be settled out of court or escalate into a messy legal fight—or even a federal criminal investigation.

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Startup dealmaking slow to drop from investor-friendly peak

(Drew Sanders/PitchBook News)

The VC environment has continued to shift from investor-friendly into neutral territory across all deal stages, but the pace of change is slow, according to PitchBook's VC Dealmaking Indicator.

Unlike previous cycles, the status quo is holding on for longer due to a lack of significant change in capital supply and demand trends as well as stagnant valuation step-ups at the later stage. The recent increase in market volatility is likely to keep the environment in investor-friendly territory.

explore the indicator

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VC funding for pharma biotools shifts to higher-value deals

VC dealmaking in the pharma biotools market saw mixed results in 2024. Total deal count declined nearly 3% year-over-year to 233, while funding edged up 1.6% to $4.15 billion—signaling a trend toward more strategic, higher-value investments, according to our latest report on the space.

Exit activity was subdued in 2024, with only 11 recorded versus 21 in 2023. Public listings remained steady at four per year, while acquisitions dropped from 17 to seven.

read the preview

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The Daily Benchmark:
2019 Vintage Global PE Funds

Median IRR

15.26%

Top Quartile IRR

21.73%

0.20x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Incline Elevate Fund

Tulco

Arcline Capital Partners

*IRR: net of fees

154 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine startup, is in talks to raise $1 billion at an $18 billion valuation, according to several reports.

BuildOps, a Santa Monica-based startup developing an online platform for contractors, raised a $127 million Series C led by Meritech Capital Partners, valuing it at $1 billion.

Good Good Golf, a lifestyle and media upstart golf brand based in Texas, has secured $45 million in new funding from Creator Sports Capital.

Flexvelop, a German business-equipment-financing company, raised €44 million from investors including InnoVentureFonds and Seventure Partners.

New York-based Inspiren, which operates a senior living management platform, raised a $35 million Series A led by Avenir.

Michigan-based SkySpecs, a renewable energy monitoring startup, has raised $20 million in new funding from Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

Rerun, a Stockholm-based developer of a data infrastructure platform for physical AI, raised a $17 million seed investment led by Point Nine.

Theion, a German sulfur battery startup, secured a €15 million Series A led by Team Global, Geschwister Oetker Beteiligungen and Enpal.

PE Deals

International Data Group has sold Foundry, a company specializing in media, data, and marketing services, to Regent, a PE firm based in California.

TA Associates has invested in Qima, a digital platform specializing in quality control and compliance services.

Bain Capital has acquired a $508 million stake in Manappuram Finance, a non-banking financial company based in India, Reuters reports.

Clearlake Capital is nearing a deal to acquire Dun & Bradstreet, a data and analytics provider. The deal would value the company at $4 billion, Bloomberg reports.

Exits

Technology news web site TechCrunch has been sold, Yahoo announced. Its new owner is Regent, a media-focused PE firm.

NEXT Insurance, a startup offering insurance products to small-to-medium-sized businesses, has been acquired by Munich RE for $2.6 billion.

Sora Finance, an AI-powered debt optimization software platform, has been acquired by Flourish, a financial advising platform, for an undisclosed amount.

Digestive digital health platform Cylinder has purchased Dieta Health, an AI-powered stool imaging service, for an undisclosed amount.

Fundraising

London and Boston-based SV Health Investors has raised $250 million for its second dementia discovery fund.

Chart of the Day

Source: Tech M&A bankers are dragging through their slowest winter in a decade

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PitchBook News - Startup spy games

Older messages

Ever-changing tariffs keep PE on edge

When dry powder stays dry

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