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The 20 most valuable venture-backed companies in the US
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| (Malte Mueller/Getty Images) |
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Stripe recently unseated SpaceX to claim the top spot on the list of the most valuable VC-backed companies in the US. Its sky-high valuation—$95 billion—is a testament to the rise of fintech and investor confidence in the sector during the pandemic.
- Using PitchBook data, we tracked the 20 most valuable VC-backed companies in 2019, 2020 and 2021, a period in which the valuations at the top of the list soared.
- From Robinhood to Chime, several fintech companies brought in heaps of capital from existing investors looking out for the health and growth of their larger portfolio companies.
- The delivery space also saw significant growth, as Instacart's valuation skyrocketed during the pandemic, placing it third on the list for 2020.
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How biotech became VC's beacon of hope
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| (ssuaphoto/Getty Images) |
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As the world battled through the pandemic, VC investment in biotech and pharma thrived in 2020. The industry saw $28.5 billion invested across 1,073 deals, a 60.5% year-over-year increase, as investors recognized the importance of vaccine development.
Our latest analyst note explores how supercharged investor interest in innovative biotech startups has driven the sector beyond its early 2020 projections, and why VC-backed biotech and pharma financings are expected to remain strong this year. Among the highlights:
- Details on recent trends that have shaped the industry, from access to public capital to the proliferation of new financing structures such as SPACs.
- Insights into the still-hot IPO market for VC-backed biotech companies, which saw $11.5 billion raised across 73 biotech public listings in 2020.
- A look at how IPOs and M&A transactions have funneled liquidity back to investors, who in turn have redeployed resources and human capital back into the biotech and pharma space.
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ESG KPIs and why they matter
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PE firms are turning attention on ESG KPIs to meet stakeholder expectations and create value across the portfolio. LPs in both US and international markets will be affected by regulatory reform generating new ESG disclosure mandates; thus, increased requests from LPs around ESG performance should be anticipated.
Evaluating how to set and report on ESG KPIs should be considered a best practice across the PE industry. LPs and other stakeholders want to see demonstrated ESG improvement through industry-relevant KPI tracking, while avoiding data overload. Tracking ESG KPIs allows investors to identify trends, compile comprehensive and meaningful data across their portfolio, and provide updates to stakeholders in real time.
Learn more about best practices for setting and tracking KPIs. Read it here. |
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Illumina's $7.1B Grail acquisition hits FTC roadblock
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The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to block Illumina's proposed $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail, a provider of non-invasive DNA-based cancer screening, in an unusual move challenging a would-be merger of non-competitors.
- The FTC's complaint, backed by a 4-0 vote, alleges the acquisition would lessen innovation in the US market for oncology screening known as MCED, or multi-cancer early-stage detection tests.
- If approved, the deal would reunite the two companies. Grail was founded in 2016 as part of San Diego-based Illumina and was later spun out as an independent company. Last September, Illumina agreed to acquire Grail, now based in Menlo Park, Calif., just days after Grail announced plans to go public.
- The FTC will seek a federal court order and preliminary injunction to stop the deal pending an administrative trial set to begin in August.
- The complaint alleges that Illumina controls the market for gene-sequencing tools used by Grail and its MCED competitors. The biotech giant's purchase of Grail could hinder competitors' ability to enter the MCED market because it would take years for other test developers to switch to a new so-called next-generation sequencing platform, the FTC said.
- Illumina said in a statement it disagrees with the FTC case and will continue to pursue the deal.
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Around 40% of US-grown corn goes toward making ethanol. With motorists returning to the roads, higher demand for the crop could lift already lofty corn prices. [The Wall Street Journal]
Some 13,000 bodegas serve hundreds of communities in New York City. The fates of these convenience stores are a window into the uneven impact of COVID-19 across the city's five boroughs. [Bloomberg]
Japan's Kyoto cherry blossoms are a quintessential sign of spring. This year, they peaked on the earliest date in more than 1,200 years of records—a sign of something else. [The Washington Post] |
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Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:
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18
VC valuations
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1727
People
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501
Companies
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24
Funds
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A message from Nasdaq Private Market
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Nasdaq Private Market conducts record liquidity programs in 2020
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Despite the initial uncertainty prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, Nasdaq Private Market conducted a record 90 programs, generating a value of $4.5 billion as companies sought to reward and retain employees. Since its inception, NPM has conducted over 450 liquidity programs with 49,000 participants, generating more than $29 billion. In a report analyzing this activity, themes uncovered include:
- Private companies increase focus on liquidity to reward employees
- Late-stage VC activity sets new highs
- High-growth companies centralize secondary activity via NPM
Access the report here |
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NFT pioneer Dapper Labs valued at $2.6B
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| Crypto startup Dapper Labs has closed a $305 million round led by Coatue Management, with participation from athlete investors including Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala. The funding reportedly values the company at $2.6 billion. Based in Vancouver, Canada, Dapper Labs is the creator of Flow, an open-source blockchain, and NBA Top Shot, a platform for buying and selling non-fungible tokens like sports highlights and collectibles. |
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Pyxis Oncology closes $152M Series B
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Omega Therapeutics secures $126M to treat cancer and other diseases
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| Omega Therapeutics has raised a $126 million Series C from investors including Flagship Pioneering, Fidelity Management and Research, BlackRock and Point72. Based in the Boston area, the company is developing therapies to treat cancer, inflammatory conditions and other diseases without changing patients' genetic codes or nucleic acid sequences. Omega Therapeutics was valued at $200 million in July, according to PitchBook data. |
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6sense lands $125M Series D at $2.1B valuation
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| 6sense, the provider of an account engagement platform, has raised $125 million in a round led by D1 Capital Partners, valuing the company at $2.1 billion. Based in San Francisco, 6sense uses AI, big data and machine learning to help B2B companies achieve predictable revenue growth. The startup raised $40 million at a $300 million valuation in January 2020, according to PitchBook data. |
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Cameo banks $100M Series C
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| Cameo has raised $100 million at a valuation north of $1 billion in a round led by E.ventures. The Chicago-based company teams with celebrities to create birthday greetings and other personalized videos for customers. With the financing, E.ventures partner Jonathan Turner has joined the company's board. |
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Rightway hits $1.1B valuation with Khosla-led round
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| Healthtech startup Rightway has raised $100 million at a $1.1 billion valuation. Khosla Ventures led the Series C round, with Thrive Capital, Tiger Global and others also participating. New York-based Rightway makes software to help people navigate the healthcare system and pharmacy benefits. The startup raised $20 million in 2019. |
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Zoomin picks up $52M Series C
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Self-driving car startup Aurora teams with Volvo
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| Volvo has tapped Aurora to help it develop fully autonomous semi-trucks, with an eye toward creating a transport-as-a-service business model in which the auto giant would offer a variety of services. Last year, Aurora began testing its self-driving trucks in the Dallas area and acquired Uber's self-driving unit. It also recently inked a partnership with truck maker Paccar. |
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Deliveroo shares plummet in stock market debut
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| Shares in Deliveroo dropped by as much as 30% in its London debut wiping around £2 billion off its valuation. The UK-based food delivery company set its shares at the bottom of its range at £3.90, giving it an opening market cap of around £7.59 billion. Deliveroo sold £1.5 billion worth of shares in the listing, raising £1 billion of gross proceeds to invest in new initiatives to boost growth. Early investors including Index Ventures, DST Global and Accel sold part of their stakes in the IPO. |
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Electric air taxi startup Lilium inks SPAC deal
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Canvas Ventures wraps $350M fund
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| Canvas Ventures has closed its third vehicle on $350 million, bringing the eight-year-old firm's total capital raised to date to $835 million. Canvas will continue investing primarily in Series A rounds for startups focused on sectors like fintech, digital health and logistics. The firm has backed companies including autonomous vehicle technology maker Luminar and wedding marketplace operator Zola. |
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"We observed a significant fundraising bifurcation in 2020 between established VC firms (those that have raised four funds or more) seeing much more success than emerging VC firms (those that have raised three funds or less). ... Established firms represented more than 70% of total capital raised for the first time since 2014, and we project that share will exceed 75% in 2021."
Source: Q4 2020 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor |
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