'Fortnite' creator hits $17.3B valuation

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The Daily Pitch: VC

August 7, 2020

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Today's Top Stories

'Fortnite' creator Epic Games hits $17.3B valuation

Tim Sweeney, co-founder and CEO of North Carolina-based Epic Games. (Rachel Luna/Getty Images)

Epic Games, the maker of the popular "Fortnite" video game, has raised $1.78 billion at a $17.3 billion valuation.

Sony contributed $250 million, a stake that was announced last month, and was joined by investors including Baillie Gifford, BlackRock, Fidelity Management, Lightspeed and KKR. The North Carolina-based company was reportedly valued at $15 billion in 2018.

The latest capital was a combination of newly issued stock and secondary share sales. Endeavor, the Hollywood talent agency and owner of the UFC fighting organization, sold part of its stake in the fundraising round, according to Bloomberg.

"Fortnite" has been the highest-earning digital game for two years running, according to research firm Superdata, with revenue of $1.8 billion last year. Epic also operates the Unreal Engine, which is used by game developers and others to create 3D experiences, and owns social networking app Houseparty.

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Intel's venture capital chief Wendell Brooks steps down

Wendell Brooks has stepped down as head of Intel Corp.'s venture capital arm, ending the reign of an influential deal maker in corporate venture capital.

Brooks, who joined Intel in 2014, resigned from Intel Capital to pursue other opportunities, a spokesman told The Wall Street Journal. Intel named Anthony Lin, who joined Intel's mergers and acquisitions team in 2008, as interim president of Intel Capital.

Brooks, a former investment banker with Allen & Co., oversaw all of Intel's strategic growth including equity investments, corporate acquisitions and new business incubation. Over the years, Intel has been one of the most active players in the corporate venture scene, participating in more than 350 financing deals under Brooks, according to PitchBook data.

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Fintech can expect a bright future after bumpy 2020

Venture investors closed 360 fintech deals in Q2, the lowest quarterly total in three years, yet capital invested in North America and Europe remained roughly on pace with Q1, topping $6 billion. The pandemic's effects on different corners of the industry have been similarly incongruent, with some segments hammered while others thrive.

Overall, this year will likely see a slowdown in VC fintech activity. But the long-term opportunities for startups in the space remain significant, according to PitchBook's latest installment of Emerging Tech Research. Key takeaways from the report include:

Consumer finance companies continued their momentum after a record 2019, bringing in nearly $3.6 billion in the first half of the year

Fintech VC exit activity also stayed strong, with multiple exits of at least $1 billion announced in Q2

Regulation remains the main obstacle to startup growth, driving new partnerships with incumbents

If you have any questions or feedback about the research, we'd love to hear from you: analystresearch@pitchbook.com

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More coronavirus news: Continuing coverage from PitchBook

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Recommended Reads

Executives at Teladoc and Livongo tell the inside story of how the two companies worked out the terms of an $18.5 billion acquisition in the depths of a pandemic. [CNBC]

As the pandemic struck, a private equity firm in New Jersey went on a nursing-home buying spree. [Barron's]

A disappointing IPO this week for Rocket Companies revealed new details about the immense wealth of the mortgage giant's founder and CEO. [Bloomberg]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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People

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2011 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds
	People
	Bain Capital Ventures adds new partner
	VC Deals
	Mental health startup banks $50M
	Crossbeam shines with $25M
	StreetLight glows with new funds
	Thriver raises $33M
	Exits & IPOs
	Microsoft mulls deal for all of TikTok's global business
	Chinese biotech company Jacobio eyes Hong Kong IPO
	Acutus Medical pops in first trading day
	Fundraising
	MetaProp targets $200M for next fund

The Daily Benchmark

2011 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

13.85%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

17.53%

1.63x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Franklin Park Venture Fund Series 2011

Weathergage Capital Investments B

CalPERS Wellspring V

*IRR: net of fees

46 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

People

Bain Capital Ventures adds new partner

Aaref Hilaly has joined Bain Capital Ventures as the firm's sixth Bay Area-based investing partner. Hilaly served as a partner at Sequoia for seven years before holding the same role at Wing Ventures. He has been on the boards of companies such as revenue operations specialist Clari and LightStep, a maker of performance management software. In his new role, Hilaly plans to focus on seed and Series A investments in sectors including infrastructure and application software.

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VC Deals

Mental health startup banks $50M

Advance Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners have co-led a $50 million Series D for Ginger, the developer of an on-demand mental healthcare platform that was founded in 2010. Based in San Francisco, the company offers virtual therapy and psychiatry sessions to employees at more than 200 companies, including Sephora and SurveyMonkey. Ginger was valued at $50 million in 2014 after a $20 million round, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

Cigna Ventures, Kaiser Permanente Ventures

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Crossbeam shines with $25M

Crossbeam, the Philadelphia-based provider of a secure collaborative intelligence platform for B2B companies, has raised $25 million in a Series B led by Redpoint Ventures. FirstMark Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Slack Fund and Uncork Capital also supported the round. The startup was valued at $40 million with a $12.5 million round in August 2019, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

Okta Ventures, Partnership Leaders

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StreetLight glows with new funds

StreetLight Data has raised a $15 million Series D from Macquarie Capital, Activate Capital, Osage University Partners and Ajax Investment Strategies. Based in San Francisco, the startup is the creator of an interactive transportation data platform that tracks the activity of vehicles, bikes and pedestrians. StreetLight raised a $10 million round at a $50 million valuation in 2018, according to PitchBook data.

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Thriver raises $33M

Toronto-based Thriver (formerly Platterz) has raised a $33 million Series B led by Viola Growth, with participation from investors including Vertex Ventures Israel, Union Tech Ventures and Journey Ventures. Launched in 2016, the company operates food and culture programs designed to engage and retain employees.

Additional Investors:

Aleph, Altair Capital, FJ Labs

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Exits & IPOs

Microsoft mulls deal for all of TikTok's global business

Microsoft is weighing a deal to buy TikTok's entire global business, which could include operations in Europe and India, according to the Financial Times. But the Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant had not brought up that prospect in its negotiations with TikTok's parent, ByteDance, according to Reuters. Microsoft disclosed earlier this week it was pursuing TikTok's business in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and faces a Sept. 15 deadline to hash out a deal.

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Chinese biotech company Jacobio eyes Hong Kong IPO

Chinese biotech company Jacobio Pharmaceuticals is readying a potential public listing in Hong Kong that could occur sometime in 2020, according to Bloomberg. The Beijing-based company, which focuses on treatments for cancer and autoimmune and infectious diseases, could reportedly raise as much as $400 million in the offering. Jacobio is backed by investors including Hillhouse Capital and Qiming Venture Partners; it raised a $58 million round that valued it at $305 million in 2018.

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Acutus Medical pops in first trading day

Acutus Medical's shares soared 47% in their trading debut after the company sold 8.8 million shares at $18 apiece in its IPO. Acutus, which develops cardiac imaging and mapping technology, had initially targeted 7.4 million shares at between $16 and $18 each. The Carlsbad, Calif.-based company's stock closed Thursday at $26.50.

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Fundraising

MetaProp targets $200M for next fund

Venture capital firm MetaProp has established a target of $200 million for a growth fund, an SEC filing shows. Founded in 2015, MetaProp focuses on the real estate sector, with a portfolio that includes rental property software creator Avail and Kwant, a construction tech startup. The New York-based firm has made more than 115 investments and raised over $2 billion across multiple funds. MetaProp set a target of $100 million for a third flagship fund last year.

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