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Robinhood rakes in $2.4B more to weather trading chaos
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| More than 1 million users are said to have downloaded Robinhood's app on Friday. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) |
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Robinhood has added $2.4 billion to its war chest after raising $1 billion last week in a scramble to secure funds to withstand a trading craze in stocks like AMC Entertainment and GameStop. The online brokerage is also considering raising $1 billion in debt from banks to help with the trading volatility, Reuters reported.
The $3.4 billion amassed since last Thursday is more than the roughly $2.2 billion Robinhood had raised through last October, according to PitchBook data. Ribbit Capital led the new round, with participation from Iconiq Capital, Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures and NEA.
The stock trading company has been at the center of the ongoing Wall Street drama between retail investors and short-sellers, which has propelled the price of a number of stocks, and more recently, the price of silver.
The enormous capital infusion will likely help Robinhood deal with collateral requirements stemming from the recent trading surge, help support the influx of new accounts and remove trading restrictions that caused widespread outrage from users last week, The Wall Street Journal reported.
More than 1 million users downloaded the Robinhood app on Friday amid the trading frenzy, exceeding the number of downloads in all of December, Forbes reported. Robinhood's decision to restrict trading on certain hot stocks last week swiftly drew lawsuits that alleged market manipulation and breach of contract.
Related read: The seismic saga of GameStop and Robinhood |
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Digital pharma upstarts face down threats, legacy rivals
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| (the_burtons/Getty Images) |
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A growing crop of venture-backed online-only pharmacy startups like NowRx, Ro and Medly are trying to crack the $300 billion-plus prescription drug industry. In a new research note, PitchBook analysts outline the risks and potential rewards awaiting these challengers, including:
- Online fraud is a looming threat that digital companies must tackle
- Central distribution hubs, walk-in patient services and aid for the uninsured are among the experiments in the fragmented e-pharmacy industry
- Consolidation outlook: Pharmacy incumbents are likely to acquire startups in this market
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How is AI changing life sciences?
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The latest edition of Orrick's quarterly publications devoted to life sciences is now available, featuring a spotlight roundtable from key players at Roche, Valo Health, Intelligencia and Clover Health discussing how artificial intelligence and machine learning are going to impact the sector in coming years. In addition, analysis of market trends in venture investment based on PitchBook datasets breaks down key findings across financing metrics.
Read it now |
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Theo Epstein joins Arctos Sports Partners
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| Former Chicago Cubs executive Theo Epstein is making the jump from baseball to private equity. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) |
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Arctos Sports Partners, a private equity firm founded in 2019 to purchase passive stakes in professional sports franchises, has hired former pro baseball executive Theo Epstein as an executive-in-residence, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
It's the second recent instance of a famed executive leaving baseball to work with a private equity firm. Billy Beane of "Moneyball" fame is partnering with RedBird Capital Partners in the RedBall Acquisition SPAC, which is aiming to buy a stake in a pro sports franchise.
Epstein will reportedly advise Arctos' portfolio of teams on leadership, culture and other areas while also remaining in his current role as a consultant to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. Epstein, 47, announced last November he was stepping down as president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, concluding a nine-year run highlighted by a 2016 World Series. Before that, he won two championships as general manager of the Boston Red Sox.
Sportico reported in November that Arctos had brought in around $950 million for its debut fund, a vehicle that could raise as much as $1.8 billion, according to PE Hub. The fund is expected to buy minority stakes in professional sports teams across North America and Europe. Last week, Sportico reported that the NBA had voted to change its rules to allow private investment firms to own as much as a 20% stake in up to five different franchises, potentially opening up new targets for Arctos.
Related read: RedBird Capital teams with Billy Beane on sports SPAC |
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On the podcast: How evolving mindsets and innovation are building a better supply chain
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This week on "In Visible Capital," we talk about the state of the supply chain amid the pandemic, the latest logistics technologies and more. Ironspring managing partner Ty Findley, FLEXE CEO Karl Siebrecht and Playground Global founder Bruce Leak join host Lee Gibbs and PitchBook emerging tech analyst Asad Hussain to discuss:
- The challenges of improving flexibility and efficiency in a space that's only beginning to adopt modern tech
- The logistics industry's response to severe disruptions in the early days of COVID-19
- How startups are building more resilience across the supply chain
Subscribe to "In Visible Capital" wherever you get your podcasts, and look for new episodes every Tuesday. |
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A profile of Frank Slootman, the CEO-for-hire who helped guide Snowflake through a year for the ages in 2020. [Forbes]
There are a lot of different kinds of friendships. And they've all been affected by the widespread social isolation of the pandemic. [The Atlantic]
Philadelphia picked a 22-year-old graduate student with no background in healthcare to help lead its vaccination race. Three weeks later, hype had turned to scandal. [NPR] |
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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
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17
VC valuations
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1285
People
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397
Companies
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18
Funds
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2016 Vintage Global Buyout Funds
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Databricks hits $28B valuation with new round
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UiPath valued at $35B with new funding
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Weights and Biases banks $45M
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| Weights and Biases has raised a $45 million Series B led by Insight Partners. The San Francisco-based company is the provider of an experiment tracking platform for users of machine learning models and operations. The company has more than 70,000 users across over 200 enterprises and institutions, including Open AI and Toyota Research. George Mathew, managing director at Insight Partners, has joined the company's board. |
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Spanish EV charging startup lands new funding
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| Wallbox has raised €33 million (around $40 million) in a round co-led by Cathay Innovation and Wind Ventures. The Barcelona-based company, which develops chargers for electric and hybrid vehicles, recently launched a smart home EV charger in North America. Existing investors including Iberdrola and Seaya Ventures also participated in the funding. |
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| Cellino has raised $16 million in a round co-led by The Engine and Khosla Ventures. Based in the Boston area, the company is developing cell-based regenerative therapies via automation of stem cell production. Humboldt Fund and 8VC also participated in the funding. |
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Wheels Up to merge with SPAC in $2.1B deal
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Otonomo to go public in $1.4B SPAC deal
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Otonomo, the provider of a car data platform, has agreed to go public via a merger with SPAC Software Acquisition Group Inc. II. The deal values the startup at $1.4 billion. Otonomo collects data from a network of over 40 million vehicles worldwide to aid emergency services, traffic management and more. It has raised capital from investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners, Dell and Hearst. |
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Teamworthy Ventures eyes $125M for Fund III
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| Teamworthy Ventures has set a target of $125 million for its third flagship fund, according to an SEC filing. The New York-based firm makes seed, early-stage and growth investments in sectors such as consumer and enterprise software, edtech and ecommerce, with a portfolio that includes Bark, ClassPass and Ibotta. |
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Sequoia China, Illumina team on incubator
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| Sequoia China and Illumina have joined forces to launch an incubator for genomics startups. The companies chosen for the incubator's bi-annual cycles will receive investment and business guidance from Sequoia China and access to Illumina's sequencing systems, reagents and genomics knowledge. |
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W.K. Kellogg names Carlos Rangel new CIO
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| W.K. Kellogg Foundation has selected Carlos Rangel as its chief investment officer. Rangel, who joined the Battle Creek, Mich.-based foundation as a portfolio manager, was most recently head of Kellogg's project that aims to expand racial equity in the business. Rangel succeeds Joel Wittenberg, who is retiring after 11 years in the role. |
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"In terms of fundraising, direct lending was the hardest hit sub-strategy of private debt in 2020. These funds rely predominantly on private equity sponsors for their own deal flow, and institutional interest in new vehicles dwindled amid the slowdown in buyouts in Q2 and Q3. Potential investors also pivoted to other sub-strategies that tend to do well in bear markets, such as distressed debt and special situations funds."
Source: PitchBook's 2020 Annual Global Private Debt Report |
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