New VC hotspots emerge in Europe in 2020

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The Daily Pitch: VC

December 24, 2020

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Today's Top Stories

Hot or not: Where European VC funding went in 2020

With its $160 million round, e-scooter startup Voi helped Sweden hit $3.2 billion of venture funding in 2020. (Courtesy of Voi)

Including Israel, European companies collected $46 billion in venture funding as of Dec. 14, outpacing last year's high, according to PitchBook data.

The UK still accounts for the majority of VC deal flow in the region. But deal value in the country increased less than 2% in 2020, PitchBook data shows. For other countries, including Norway and Germany, it was a year when venture investment soared to new highs.

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So many things about the world have changed during the past nine-plus months of the pandemic. One of them might be the way we think about our privacy. [Recode]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2015 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds
	VC Deals
	WeRide picks up $200M
	Drug discovery startup nails down $109M Series A
	Exits & IPOs
	Nuro takes over fellow self-driving startup Ike
	AT&T buys tech to aid HBO Max expansion
	Fundraising
	Joe Montana's Liquid 2 Ventures eyes $100M

The Daily Benchmark

2015 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

13.85%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

16.85%

1.34x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

HarbourVest Partners X-Venture

Adams Street 2015 US Fund

Commonfund Capital Venture Partners XI

*IRR: net of fees

47 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

WeRide picks up $200M

WeRide has raised a $200 million Series B1 from commercial vehicle manufacturer Yutong Group. The funding follows a $150 million round the Guangzhou-based startup raised in 2018. WeRide, which is a developer of tech for autonomous vehicles, obtained China's first driverless testing permit in July. Yutong and WeRide plan to collaborate on developing self-driving buses.

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Drug discovery startup nails down $109M Series A

Neomorph, which uses targeted protein degradation to develop drug therapies for cancer and other diseases, has raised $109 million. Established by Deerfield Management earlier this year, the San Diego-based company plans to use the new funding in part to advance lead programs and expand its research team.

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Exits & IPOs

Nuro takes over fellow self-driving startup Ike

Nuro has acquired Ike in a merger of two self-driving vehicle startups. Two-year-old Ike is developing autonomous technology for the trucking industry, and Nuro focuses on last-mile delivery. Nuro has owned a minority stake in Ike since 2018. Ike has reportedly raised more than $50 million in funding from investors including Redpoint Ventures, Bain Capital and Fontinalis Partners.

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AT&T buys tech to aid HBO Max expansion

WarnerMedia, a unit of AT&T, has bought You.i TV, which offers technology to build video apps for mobile, streaming and gaming devices. WarnerMedia plans to use the technology to deploy its HBO Max streaming app worldwide. You.i TV had received prior funding from investors such as WarnerMedia, Kayne Anderson and Wise Ventures.

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Fundraising

Joe Montana's Liquid 2 Ventures eyes $100M

Liquid 2 Ventures, an early-stage venture firm led by football legend Joe Montana, has set a $100 million target for its third fund, according to an SEC filing. The firm's portfolio includes Colombian delivery startup Rappi, healthtech company Nurx and GitLab, a maker of open-source tools used by software developers.

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View 212 investments »