PitchBook News - Crypto startups tally a record quarter

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The Daily Pitch: VC

April 9, 2021

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Today's Top Stories

Crypto startups post record quarter as opportunities abound

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong plans to take his company public next week. (Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

Bitcoin's latest bull market helped drive venture capital investment for cryptocurrency and blockchain startups to unprecedented highs.

The sector landed a record $3 billion in Q1 2021 across 239 VC deals, according to PitchBook data.

Several mega-rounds went to startups that are escorting institutions into the crypto fold. And the $350 million rounds raised by Dapper Labs and BlockFi topped the list.

More validation is on the way: Coinbase is set to go public via a direct listing after posting a remarkable jump in revenue. The exchange operator has also emerged as a top crypto investor.

Recommended Reads

According to one newly published paper, the investment strategies of pensions and other large investors are encouraging some corporations' bad behavior. [Institutional Investor]

How is Tiger Global beating Silicon Valley VC firms at their own game? A look inside the hedge fund's deal machine. [The Information]

Americans were notorious for not using their vacation days. Then, the pandemic happened. [The Atlantic]

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2014 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds
	VC Deals
	OneTrust hits $5.3B valuation
	India's ShareChat valued at $2.1B in Lightspeed-backed round
	Ramp raises $115M Series B
	Tiger Global backs chatbot provider Gupshup
	Ventus Therapeutics collects $100M
	Sales commission platform operator secures $46M
	LL Cool J's Rock the Bells lands $8M
	Fundraising
	Index Ventures unveils $200M seed fund

The Daily Benchmark

2014 Vintage Global Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

12.45%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

17.53%

1.42x

Median TVPI

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Bowside Capital Fund III

Greenspring Global Partners VI

SVB Strategic Investors Fund VII

*IRR: net of fees

57 Funds in Benchmark »

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VC Deals

OneTrust hits $5.3B valuation

Privacy tech startup OneTrust has raised a $210 million extension of its Series C in a deal led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, with additional investment from Franklin Templeton. The company, which provides a privacy, security, data governance and compliance platform, is now valued at $5.3 billion. The extension brings OneTrust's Series C total to $510 million; it has now raised $920 million in total private funding since its founding in 2016. Based out of Atlanta and London, OneTrust counts Insight Partners, Coatue and TCV among its existing investors.

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India's ShareChat valued at $2.1B in Lightspeed-backed round

Indian social media startup ShareChat has raised $502 million at a $2.1 billion valuation from investors including Tiger Global, Lightspeed, Twitter and Snap. The company's platform, which is designed to find trending content, draws 160 million monthly active users across 15 Indian languages. ShareChat is also the creator of a short-video app called Moj that has grown rapidly to 120 million monthly users in the wake of India's TikTok ban last year.

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Ramp raises $115M Series B

Spend management platform provider Ramp has taken in $115 million at a $1.6 billion valuation. D1 Capital Partners and Stripe co-led the Series B round. New York-based Ramp sells corporate credit cards and accounting software, and is nearing $1 billion in annualized transaction volume.

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Tiger Global backs chatbot provider Gupshup

Tiger Global has led a $100 million financing for Gupshup, a San Francisco-based company that helps users increase customer engagement through conversationalist messaging such as chatbots. The investment values the company at $1.4 billion and is its first financing since 2011, when it was valued at $177.1 million with a $10 million round, according to PitchBook data. Gupshup has reportedly received prior backing from Tenaya Capital, Cambrian Ventures and New Horizons.

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Ventus Therapeutics collects $100M

Biotech startup Ventus Therapeutics has landed a $100 million Series B to advance its pipeline of medicines that target the innate immune system to treat diseases. RA Capital Management led the funding, with other investors such as GV and Casdin Capital participating. Last year, Ventus launched with a $60 million Series A led by founding investor Versant Ventures.

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BVF Partners, Cormorant Asset Management

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Sales commission platform operator secures $46M

CaptivateIQ, the developer of a platform that helps companies automate sales commission tracking, has raised a $46 million Series B from Accel and existing investors Sequoia, Y Combinator, Amity and S28. Last year, CaptivateIQ was valued at $48 million, according to PitchBook data.

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LL Cool J's Rock the Bells lands $8M

Rock the Bells, a direct-to-consumer content and commerce company dedicated to hip-hop, has raised an $8 million Series A led by Raine Ventures. Hip-hop artist LL Cool J is the founder and CEO of the company. Additional investors in the round included M13, Willoughby Capital Holdings and Workday co-CEO Aneel Bhusri.

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Redpoint Ventures, Harris Barton Asset Management

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Fundraising

Index Ventures unveils $200M seed fund

Index Ventures has launched a dedicated seed fund, Index Origin, with $200 million. In the past 18 months, Index has made almost 40 seed investments in startups like Fast and Remote. With the new vehicle, the VC firm has now raised $2.2 billion across three funds in the last 12 months. Operating out of London, San Francisco and Geneva, Index invests at a variety of stages. It has backed companies including Robinhood, Slack and Squarespace.

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