|
|
|
Snowflake, Sumo Logic and JFrog set IPO terms
|
|
A trio of tech unicorns set their IPO terms as a tech market rout continued Tuesday, pushing down all the major US stock indices.
Snowflake's highly anticipated IPO could net the company $2.7 billion in proceeds, with $500 million coming in a private placement with Salesforce Ventures and Berkshire Hathaway. The cloud data company plans to sell 28 million shares for between $75 and $85 each, with a midpoint price valuing Snowflake at $22.3 billion.
Two other Bay Area tech companies, Sumo Logic and JFrog, updated their terms as well. Sumo Logic plans to sell 14.8 million shares for between $17 and $21 per share, while JFrog aims to offer 8 million shares at $33 to $37 apiece. Its existing investors putting another 3.6 million shares on the block. At the midpoint of their respective price ranges, Sumo Logic would be worth nearly $1.9 billion and JFrog would have a $3.1 billion market value.
Related read: Asana, Snowflake lead tech company rush to public markets in landmark day |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pandemic pushes automation as AI & ML investment tops $12B in Q2
|
|
Venture investors poured $12.6 billion into artificial intelligence & machine learning companies in Q2, with mega-deals in late-stage unicorns in the US and China accounting for most of that total. Valuations spiked in H1 relative to full-year 2019, with median valuations at the early and late stages up nearly 45% and 38%, respectively.
The pandemic has driven demand for AI & ML products and encouraged automation across the economy, according to PitchBook's newest Emerging Tech Research report. But budgets aren't rising in tandem, pushing companies to do more with less in order to add AI capabilities. Other takeaways include:
- The AI & ML sector is projected to be a nearly $125 billion market in 2023, growing at a CAGR of more than 20%
- Exit activity was sluggish in Q2, with just $2 billion in disclosed deal value across 36 exits
- Autonomous robotics could see renewed investor interest as multiple trends converge in the sector
If you have any questions or feedback about the research, we'd love to hear from you: analystresearch@pitchbook.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Klarna could nearly double its value with new funds
|
|
 |
| Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski (Noam Galai/Getty Images) |
|
Payments provider Klarna plans to raise over $500 million, which would give it a $10 billion-plus valuation, according to Reuters. Last year, its valuation reached $5.5 billion after the Stockholm-based company raised $460 million in a round led by Dragoneer Investment Group.
Klarna offers interest-free financing on retail purchases, allowing buyers to pay in installments. It is backed by a range of investors including Sequoia, BlackRock and rapper Snoop Dogg. The business has been expanding outside Europe, especially in the US, where it reportedly added 1 million customers over the past three months.
The company's losses in the first half of this year have increased sevenfold, according to CNBC. Klarna reportedly posted a loss of 522 million Swedish kroner (about $59 million), after a loss of 73 million kroner for the same period last year. Its credit losses reportedly doubled to almost 1.2 billion kroner between January and June. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dawn Capital rides remote work trend with $390M fund
|
|
 |
| (Alistair Berg/Getty Images) |
|
|
Dawn Capital has raised a €333 million (about $390 million) vehicle to sate an appetite for B2B software that has grown as the COVID-19 pandemic redefines the way we work.
The London-based VC's new fund will focus on early-stage rounds in sectors such as fintech, security, and data and analytics. But as the UK encourages workers to return to the office, the future of remote work is less clear.
Will the growth continue in a post-lockdown economy? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On the podcast: Brexit and a pandemic shake up European private equity
|
|
The European private markets were already dealing with the looming impacts of Brexit. And then came COVID-19, causing even more uncertainty among the region's dealmakers.
Dominick Mondesir, a PitchBook analyst focused on private capital in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, joins host Hilary Wiek on the latest episode of "In Visible Capital" to discuss the latest trends from Europe's private equity landscape, including:
- Why investor relations teams tasked with fundraising are bracing for a no-deal Brexit scenario
- The push among private equity firms to carry out bridge financings and bolt-on deals even as dealmaking drops across the board
- How federal monetary support has helped sponsors continue to stay aggressive despite the impact of COVID-19
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The lenders leading the way amid a private debt boom
|
|
In the wake of the global financial crisis, new banking regulations caused many traditional sources of credit on Wall Street to vanish. A boom in direct lending unfolded over the ensuing decade to help fill the gap. Between 2010 and 2019, the amount of global dry powder housed in private debt funds more than quadrupled, rising from $60 billion to over $240 billion.
Many of the firms at the forefront of the direct lending gold rush have been busy putting their capital to work in private equity. PitchBook's Q2 2020 US PE Lending League Tables, sponsored by NXT Capital and Corporate Resolutions, take a close look at the lenders who have been most active in backing buyouts and other private equity deal types, broken down by geography, industry and more: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
With business booming in the midst of the pandemic, ecommerce enabler Shopify is now worth more than eBay, Best Buy, Etsy, Nordstrom, Macy's, Foot Locker, L Brands and Urban Outfitters—combined. [The Wall Street Journal]
Earlier this year, mysterious seeds from China began showing up in American mailboxes across all 50 states. The government told recipients not to plant them. Not everybody listened. [Vice]
Around the world, philanthropists donate tens of billions of dollars every year to charitable causes. So how come inequality keeps rising? [The Guardian] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
|
|
16
VC valuations
|
1274
People
|
426
Companies
|
8
Funds
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
2018 Vintage Global Venture Funds
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PitchBook Webinar: Impacts to US and European VC valuations in the current climate
|
|
Investors are facing a uniquely opaque future in the private markets. That's why getting an aggregate view of the valuations environment—including the latest data across the US and Europe—is critical. Join our Sept. 16 webinar, where PitchBook VC analysts will discuss the latest valuations trends in more detail:
- Many early-stage VCs have been anticipating a drop in pre-money valuations for many red-hot early-stage companies; however, this decline has yet to materialize in the data
- Late-stage VC valuations have seen some strength as investors continue to back the most mature startups to protect value
- Despite an overall slowdown in exits, valuations haven't seen a sharp decline outside of IPOs
- The possible beginnings of an inflection point away from Q1's founder-friendly deal terms may have subsided
RSVP today |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Byju's reaches $10.8B valuation
|
|
| Indian edtech company Byju's has reportedly been valued at $10.8 billion with a $500 million investment led by Silver Lake, with support from Tiger Global, General Atlantic and Owl Ventures. Based in Bengaluru, the company is the provider of a learning app for K-12 students in more than 1,700 cities worldwide. Byju's was valued at an estimated $8.2 billion after raising $400 million earlier this year, according to PitchBook data. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zymergen raises $300M for molecular tech
|
|
| Baillie Gifford has led a $300 million round for molecular tech startup Zymergen. Investors including Baron Capital, DCVC, True Ventures and SoftBank also participated, according to Bloomberg. Zymergen uses biology, machine learning and automation to create materials for sectors including electronics, agriculture and consumer care. The California-based company was valued at $975 million following a SoftBank-led round in 2018, according to PitchBook data. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payments startup Melio reveals $144M in financing
|
|
| Melio has emerged from stealth with $144 million in funding across multiple rounds led by Accel, Aleph, Bessemer Venture Partners, Coatue Management and General Catalyst. Founded in 2018, the New York-based business raised an $80 million Series C in August, a $48 million Series B in March, and $16 million in prior seed and Series A funding. Melio, which operates an accounts payable and receivable platform for small businesses, saw its payment volumes grow 700% between March and August of this year. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payments provider Mollie hits unicorn status
|
|
| Payments specialist Mollie has raised a €90 million (around $106 million) Series B led by TCV. The investment brings the Amsterdam-based company's total funding to €115 million since its inception in 2004 and values it at more than $1 billion, according to TechCrunch. The funds will be used in part for international expansion. The business processes transactions for nearly 100,000 merchants. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Fintech startup Thunes has raised a $60 million Series B led by Helios Investment Partners, with participation from Checkout.com, GGV and Future Shape. Thunes offers a B2B payments platform to connect mobile wallet providers, banks and other financial institutions. Founded in 2016 and based in Singapore, the company operates in more than 100 countries; it plans to use the funding in part to expand operations across Africa, Asia and Latin America. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lightspeed leads $25M round for Hasura
|
|
| Hasura, the provider of a data access infrastructure platform that helps software developers build applications, has raised a $25 million Series B led by Lightspeed. Existing investors Vertex Ventures US, Nexus Venture Partners, Strive VC and SAP.iO Fund also participated. Founded in 2017, the Palo Alto-based company was valued at nearly $30 million in February, according to PitchBook data. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amwell sets terms for IPO
|
|
| Telehealth platform Amwell plans to sell 35 million shares at a range of $14 to $16 apiece in its IPO. At the midpoint of the offering range, the Boston-based company would raise $525 million. Amwell had previously disclosed that Google would buy $100 million of its stock in a separate private placement and be its cloud partner. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Progress set to buy VC-backed software automation platform
|
|
| Progress, a provider of application development software, has agreed to purchase Chef, the developer of a software automation platform, for $220 million in cash. Seattle-based Chef has raised over $105 million in private financing since it was founded in 2008, reaching a valuation of $360 million in 2015, according to PitchBook data. The company is backed by investors including Battery Ventures, Ignition Partners and Amplify Partners. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"The ability to claim a stake in a startup can be an ego-boosting endeavor, with the investor having no intention of working hard alongside the company for growth. This diversity of motivations has led us to observe angel participation along all stages of the VC funding cycle. In 2019, individual angel investors were involved in more than 1,000 US VC deals and participated in over $14 billion in deal value across all stages of investment."
Source: PitchBook analyst note on angel investors |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Who's in the newsletter today?
|
|
Investors
|
|
|
|
Companies
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
