PitchBook News - SPACs meet mobility in a $100B boom

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The Daily Pitch: VC

January 19, 2021

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Today's Top Stories

SPACs and mobility startups: A $100B boom that's just getting started

The electric Air sedan by Lucid (Courtesy of Lucid)

Until recently, mobility and electric-vehicle startups were the domain of VCs and a few strategic corporate backers. But the 2020 explosion of blank-check dealmaking has remade the landscape by introducing a whole new cast of characters as key investors driving these emerging technologies.

PitchBook's newly published EV/Mobility SPAC Handbook details the transformation and maps out the startups that have completed SPAC mergers (or announced plans to do so). Other highlights of this analyst note:

Introducing the PitchBook SPAC Mobility Index, a basket of 26 EV and mobility companies that went public through SPAC reverse mergers with a combined value of $100 billion.

The Index is coming off a red-hot second half of 2020, when it notched a 77.7% return.

See analysts' top picks for future EV and mobility SPAC merger targets, including lidar specialist AEye, automaker Lucid Motors and EV platform provider Rimac Automobili.

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Fintech startups begin year with blistering fundraising pace

(marchmeena29/Getty Images Plus)

Venture capital-backed fintech companies kicked off the new year with billions of fresh funding, showing an eagerness to build on pandemic-era momentum.

Consumers and banks alike have readily embraced digital financial services in the past year—largely out of necessity. And while investors are encouraged by the pace of adoption, they warn that overenthusiasm could lead to reckless spending by portfolio companies.

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In a bid to keep up with TikTok, Snapchat is minting new teenage millionaires by sending out direct payments to the creators behind some of its most popular videos. [The New York Times]

Readers can more frequently find Luke Mogelson working as a war correspondent in countries including Syria and Afghanistan. On Jan. 6, he was on the ground to cover a different kind of conflict. [The New Yorker]

From new support for employees' mental health to a growing wage gap between men and women, nine predictions of trends that, for better or worse, may shape the workplace in 2021. [Harvard Business Review]

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	2017 Vintage Global PE Funds
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	Investor Jeffrey Housenbold leaving SoftBank
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	Grab mulls US IPO this year
	Oqton collects $40M+
	SoftBank backs OneWeb with fresh funding
	Exits & IPOs
	Blackstone's Bumble readies public debut
	Medium picks up VC-backed e-book provider
	Fundraising
	Tiger Global eyes $3.75B for next venture fund

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Investor Jeffrey Housenbold leaving SoftBank

Jeffrey Housenbold, who has led many venture capital deals on behalf of the SoftBank Vision Fund, is reportedly leaving the firm. Housenbold, a managing partner, is starting his own business, Bloomberg reported, citing a memo written by Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra. With SoftBank, Housenbold took part in venture rounds worth at least $6.2 billion since 2017, according to PitchBook data.

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VC Deals

Grab mulls US IPO this year

Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery startup Grab is considering raising more than $2 billion in a US IPO this year, Reuters reports. Earlier this month, Grab's financial services unit secured over $300 million in a Series A. Grab previously raised $200 million in a round led by STIC Investments in Aug. 2020.

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Oqton collects $40M+

Oqton has raised more than $40 million in a Series A co-led by Fortino Capital, PMV and Sandvik. Founded in San Francisco and based in Belgium, Oqton is a developer of cloud-based software intended to streamline manufacturing processes.

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SoftBank backs OneWeb with fresh funding

OneWeb has received an investment from SoftBank and Hughes Network, bringing the company's total funding to $1.4 billion. Based in London, OneWeb is developing a network of low-Earth-orbit satellites designed to deliver global high-speed internet. The company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November with a $1 billion equity investment from the UK government and Bharti Global.

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Exits & IPOs

Blackstone's Bumble readies public debut

Dating app operator Bumble has filed for an IPO. Bloomberg reported last September that the company was planning a debut that could result in a valuation of more than $6 billion. In 2019, Blackstone acquired a majority stake in MagicLab, then the parent company of both Bumble and fellow dating app Badoo, at a valuation of some $3 billion. Badoo now also resides under the Bumble umbrella.

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Medium picks up VC-backed e-book provider

Online publishing platform Medium has acquired Glose, a Paris-based digital book hub. Founded in 2014, Glose allows readers to access audiobooks and e-books from major publishers and to connect with other readers on its social platform. The startup received backing from investors including Kima Ventures and Expon Capital, and it was valued at €8 million (about $9.7 million) in 2018, according to PitchBook data.

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Fundraising

Tiger Global eyes $3.75B for next venture fund

Tiger Global is aiming to close a new $3.75 billion venture fund in March, TechCrunch reported. The vehicle, reportedly dubbed Tiger Private Investment Partners XIV, is slated for the same amount of capital as the firm's previous venture fund, which closed 12 months ago.

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