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VCs defy pandemic expectations with a record-breaking 2020
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The onset of the pandemic last year created widespread uncertainty across the private markets. Many venture capitalists responded by flocking to the familiar, focusing on existing portfolio companies and established relationships rather than chasing new deals. The result was a series of new annual records across the US VC industry, including new all-time highs for deal value, fundraising value and exit value.
The Q4 2020 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, presented in partnership with Silicon Valley Bank and Velocity Global, presents a bevy of data, analysis and charts breaking down every facet of the past 12 months—plus a look at what to expect in the year to come. Other key takeaways include:
- The IPO market may well remain strong in 2021 following enormous IPOs from Airbnb and DoorDash in December
- Two-thirds of all VC deal value in the US came from late-stage rounds, the highest percentage on record
- The race for a COVID-19 vaccine contributed to a record-breaking fundraising year in healthcare
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VC industry responds to crisis by curbing political spending
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| The riot at the US Capitol and resulting political crisis have had a chilling effect on campaign contributions. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images) |
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In the wake of the political crisis sparked by the riot at the US Capitol, the venture capital industry's main lobbying group said it's pausing campaign contributions to lawmakers who opposed certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
- VenturePAC donated $723,358 to campaigns across both parties in 2019 and 2020, including funds backing senators whose terms are up in 2022 or 2024, the group disclosed to PitchBook News.
- "We are continuing conversations with our members and leaders in the industry, including those who contribute to the Venture PAC, to hear their feedback as we consider future Venture PAC contributions," a spokesperson said via email.
- The decision by VenturePAC, the fundraising arm of the National Venture Capital Association, comes one day after a similar move by the American Investment Council, which represents the private equity industry. Several major corporations have cut campaign ties as a rebuke to politicians who sided with President Trump.
- The turmoil has also prompted Sequoia partner Doug Leone, a top VC who has supported Trump in the past, to renounce the president. Recode quoted Leone saying in a statement, "After last week's horrific events, President Trump lost many of his supporters, including me."
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A message from Finistere Ventures
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Crop protection is one of the most highly invested segments in agtech. The seed of this enthusiasm for the sector was in large part planted by significant exit activity earlier in the last decade. However, in the years since, exits in this sector have slowed down, despite a significant uptick in new investments.
In this market update, Finistere Ventures draws on PitchBook datasets to investigate what's been driving this lull in exits to determine where crop protection heads from here. In addition, Finistere Ventures summarizes the lessons that investors within the space should draw from the pharmaceutical industry, particularly the valuable role that small molecule discovery plays.
Read the post here. |
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Affirm, Motorsport Games take off in market debuts
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Shares of Affirm nearly doubled in their first day of trading to close at $97.24 apiece, giving the provider of a "buy now, pay later" service a fully diluted value of around $30.8 billion. The enthusiastic welcome to the Nasdaq bodes well for a lineup of fintech companies that plan to go public in the coming months.
Affirm raised $1.2 billion in its IPO after selling 24.6 million shares for $49 each. Jasmine Ventures, controlled by Singapore's GIC and Affirm's leading investor, held a stake worth more than $1 billion at the IPO price. Pre-IPO investor Shopify's shares were worth $995 million and Lightspeed's worth $918 million.
video game startup Motorsport Games also skyrocketed in its debut, rising 75% to close at $35 per share. The company raised $60 million after selling 3 million shares at $20 apiece. Motorsport is the owner of the NASCAR video game series.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that investors in Motorsport unit 704Games had sued its parent company, accusing CEO Dmitry Kozko of improperly obtaining a discounted stake in 704Games. |
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There's no such thing as a free lunch. Unless you're a hedge fund basking in the glow of SPAC mania. [The Wall Street Journal]
The strange saga of Bill Jones, a former elected official turned fugitive who reemerged last month after more than two decades on the run. [The New York Times]
The rise of remote work has shaken up much of corporate America. One unexpected side effect: a record-breaking amount of whistle-blowing. [Bloomberg] |
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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
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8
VC valuations
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1464
People
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430
Companies
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20
Funds
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2008 Vintage Global Buyout Funds
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Blend hits $3.3B valuation with latest round
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| Blend has raised a $300 million Series G co-led by Tiger Global and Coatue. The funding values the San Francisco-based company at $3.3 billion. In August, Blend raised $75 million at a $1.7 billion valuation, according to PitchBook data. Blend's digital lending platform is used by more than 285 financial institutions to process mortgages, consumer loans and more. |
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Rapyd raises $300M for payments platform
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| Fintech startup Rapyd has raked in $300 million through a Series D led by Coatue. New investor Spark Capital and existing backers General Catalyst, Entrée Capital and Tiger Global also participated. Rapyd's technology lets companies accept and send payments through cards, bank transfers and more, without having to build their own infrastructure. The startup's valuation doubled to $2.5 billion with the new funding, up from $1.2 billion in 2019, TechCrunch reported. |
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MX's value jumps fourfold with new capital
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| Fintech startup MX has raised a $300 million Series C led by a $150 million investment from TPG Growth. CapitalG, Greycroft and Point72 Ventures also took part in the financing. MX provides technology for banks to analyze financial data, giving consumers more transparency and insights about their money. The company is now valued at $1.9 billion, more than quadruple the $450 million valuation it held in 2019, according to PitchBook data. |
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| Accel and Silversmith have co-led a $140 million round for Webflow, with participation from CapitalG and others. Founded in 2013, Webflow is the developer of a no-code platform that allows users to design, build and launch websites. The San Francisco-based company has more than 100,000 customers, including Getaround, Zendesk and Upwork. |
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Sleep specialist secures $24M
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| Bryte has raised a $24 million Series A led by Archina Capital. Founded in 2016, Bryte provides a personalized, AI-based sleep technology platform that measures and adjusts factors like temperature, firmness and pressure points for users. |
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| Stacklet has raised an $18 million Series A led by Addition. The company, which came out of stealth in August, is the creator of a cloud governance platform that helps brands manage security, asset visibility, operations and cost optimization. Stacklet was valued at $14 million last year, according to PitchBook data. |
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M13 Ventures leads $15M round for Rho
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VC-backed Flo Health settles FTC claims it shared user data
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| Flo Health has settled claims with the Federal Trade Commission that it shared users' health information with outside data analytics providers. The startup, which provides an app for tracking fertility and menstrual cycles, had promised users that their health information would be kept private. But the FTC alleged that Flo shared sensitive data with third parties, including Facebook and Google's analytics divisions. The company is backed by investors including Mangrove Capital and Flint Capital. |
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PE-backed Weber strikes deal for smart oven startup
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| Grilling company Weber has acquired a 100% stake in June, a San Francisco-based company that makes smart oven products. BDT Capital Partners has owned a majority stake in Weber since 2011. June was valued at $174 million with a VC funding round in 2018, according to PitchBook data. |
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Glilot launches $170M early growth fund
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| Israeli early-stage venture capital firm Glilot Capital has raised $170 million for its first early growth fund. The vehicle will make post-Series A investments of between $5 million and $20 million in about 15 enterprise software and cybersecurity companies. Lior Litwak, a former partner at Microsoft's venture fund, M12, will lead the vehicle. |
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Harlem Capital gets $10M from Apple for diverse founders
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| Apple has announced it will invest $10 million with Harlem Capital to support the firm's 1,000 investments in startups with diverse founders over the next 20 years. Harlem Capital, which backs early-stage startups, will also offer feedback to the tech giant's quest to advance economic opportunities. Apple also plans to support the firm's internship program, helping to open opportunities for women and minority investors. |
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"Through Q3 2020, median early-stage valuations have paced higher, while late-stage valuations have flattened from 2019 figures as a broad variety of investor types have participated in rounds. Nontraditional investors typically enter the ecosystem and drive up competition at the early and late stage, and this has continued in 2020."
Source: Q3 2020 European VC Valuations Report |
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