PitchBook News - Coinbase considers direct listing

Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription.

PitchBook

Log in

The Daily Pitch: VC

July 10, 2020

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

Today's Top Stories

Coinbase said to explore direct listing

Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong
(Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is setting up for a public market debut that could happen this year or early next, according to Reuters.

The company is reportedly considering a direct listing rather than a traditional IPO. It is in talks with investment banks and lawyers but has yet to formally register with the SEC, again according to Reuters. Coinbase recently hired Paul Grewal, Facebook's former deputy general, as its chief legal officer.

The startup was valued at $8 billion in 2018 after raising $300 million in a round led by Tiger Global, according to PitchBook data. Other investors include IVP, Andreessen Horowitz and the NYSE.

More coronavirus news: Continuing coverage from PitchBook

Share:

Controversial facial recognition startup Clearview AI faces international probe

As privacy concerns mount, facial recognition technology has come under increasing scrutiny. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Clearview AI is being investigated by regulators in the UK and Australia over its data scraping practices, which the controversial facial recognition technology company has used to build a database of more than 3 billion photos taken from around the web.

It's the latest challenge for the New York startup, which is already facing legal action in several US states and Canada:

Recommended Reads

For city planners and other urbanists, the pandemic could be an opportunity to transition away from our longstanding love affair with cars. [The New York Times]

The blog Slate Star Codex is foundational to what might be called the modern rationalist movement. Now, it's at the center of a battle between Silicon Valley and The New York Times. [The New Yorker]

A Seattle-area startup made the shift to permanently working from home. The downside: no more foosball. The upside: a new record in quarterly sales. [GeekWire]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

5

VC valuations

1338

People

373

Companies

15

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2015 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds
	People
	Chelsea Clinton weighs starting VC firm
	VC Deals
	Kernel picks up $53M Series C
	LogDNA banks $25M, names new CEO
	MariaDB secures another $25M for Series C
	Portfolio Companies
	ByteDance weighs changes at TikTok amid scrutiny
	Sony to buy stake in Epic Games for $250M
	Exits
	SoftBank-backed Relay looks to raise $264.6M in IPO
	Fundraising
	Rethink Impact closes $182M fund focused on female entrepreneurs

The Daily Benchmark

2015 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

13.75%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

19.40%

1.35x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Adams Street 2015 US Fund

HarbourVest Partners X-Venture

HarbourVest Partners X-Combined

*IRR: net of fees

50 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

People

Chelsea Clinton weighs starting VC firm

Chelsea Clinton is in the early stages of creating a venture capital firm with a working name of Metrodora Ventures, according to Axios. The firm has reportedly already committed to backing two startups, including Poppy Seed Health, the developer of a pregnancy support app. Clinton currently serves as vice chair of the Clinton Foundation.

View details

VC Deals

Kernel picks up $53M Series C

Kernel has raised $53 million in a round led by General Catalyst, with participation from investors including Khosla Ventures, Eldridge, Tiny Blue Dot and Manta Ray Ventures. Based near Los Angeles, the company is a developer of brain-recording technology that enables neuroscience experiments to be performed remotely. Quentin Clark, managing director at General Catalyst, has joined the company's board.

View round

View 1 competitors »

LogDNA banks $25M, names new CEO

Emergence Capital has led a $25 million Series C in LogDNA, which operates a log-management platform to help developers create and debug applications. The startup also announced that Tucker Callaway, LogDNA's president and chief revenue officer, will take over as CEO, while current CEO Chris Nguyen will transition to chief strategy officer.

Additional Investors:

Initialized Capital Management, Providence Equity Partners, TI Platform Management, Radianx Capital, Trend Forward Capital, Top Tier Capital Partners

View round

View 42 competitors »

MariaDB secures another $25M for Series C

MariaDB, the developer of an open-source cloud database, has added $25 million to its Series C via a new tranche led by SmartFin Capital, with participation from investors including GP Bullhound. With this funding extension, MariaDB has now raised more than $125 million and doubled its valuation. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company is also backed by Alibaba and Intel Capital, among others.

View round

View 44 competitors »

Portfolio Companies

ByteDance weighs changes at TikTok amid scrutiny

TikTok owner ByteDance is considering establishing a separate headquarters for the video app outside China or creating a new management board, according to The Wall Street Journal. The potential changes are reportedly an effort to distance the app from its China ties, which have come under scrutiny in the US and India. Earlier this week, the app was reportedly pulled from online stores in Hong Kong.

View details

View 31 competitors »

Sony to buy stake in Epic Games for $250M

Sony has agreed to buy a 1.4% stake in "Fortnite" maker Epic Games for $250 million, reportedly valuing the video game developer at $17.9 billion. Epic was valued at an estimated $15 billion with a prior funding round in 2018. The company's existing backers include Lightspeed, Kleiner Perkins and KKR.

View details

View 43 competitors »

Exits

SoftBank-backed Relay looks to raise $264.6M in IPO

Relay Therapeutics, a developer of small-molecule therapeutics intended to treat cancer, has established a range for its upcoming IPO, according to an SEC filing. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company is seeking to raise up to $264.6 million and establish an initial market cap of as much as $1.47 billion by offering 14.7 million shares for between $16 and $18 apiece on the Nasdaq. Relay has received prior funding from investors including SoftBank (40.7% pre-IPO stake) and Third Rock Ventures (20.66%).

View details

View 42 competitors »

Fundraising

Rethink Impact closes $182M fund focused on female entrepreneurs

Rethink Impact has closed its second flagship fund on $182 million, bringing the VC firm's total assets under management to almost $300 million. The vehicle will focus on backing female tech entrepreneurs. Rethink Impact closed its previous flagship fund on $112 million in 2017, according to The New York Times. Operating out of San Francisco, New York and Washington, DC, the firm has backed more than 25 companies that prioritize gender diverse teams. About 65% of the current fund's backers are female.

View fund

View 97 investments »