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The Daily Pitch: VC

May 3, 2021

Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A

Today's Top Stories

Investors wager on US sports betting as legalization spreads

New York is among 21 states that have moved to allow gamblers to bet on sporting events. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

Just a couple of years ago, you had to be somewhere in Nevada if you wanted to place a legal bet on a sporting event.

Today, thanks to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, 21 states and the District of Columbia have moved to allow gamblers to bet on events ranging from college basketball and UFC fights to MLB and even professional table tennis, spurring investors to cash in on a fast-growing market opportunity.

Since 2018, there have been 10 notable private equity deals in the sports betting market, accounting for over $700 million in capital raised, according to PitchBook data.

On the venture capital side, investors have deployed $579 million across 19 deals since 2018.

Recommended Reads

A battle between 7-Eleven and a franchisee in Japan could have profound implications for the company's authority over tens of thousands of franchise shops in the country. [The New York Times]

The Philippines' Apo Island used to depend on tourism to help save rare local turtles. So what happened when the pandemic halted that tourism? [BBC]

For four years, chief mate Mohammad Aisha was trapped aboard the MV Aman, an abandoned cargo ship, by the Egyptian government. [The Wall Street Journal]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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VC valuations

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People

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Companies

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2009 Vintage Global Buyout Funds
	VC Deals
	Capsule becomes unicorn with $300M round
	Mux brings in $105M Series D
	Pachama cleans up with $15M
	Exits & IPOs
	Sonder to go public via SPAC at $2.2B valuation
	Fundraising
	Andreessen Horowitz eyes $1B for crypto fund

The Daily Benchmark

2009 Vintage Global Buyout Funds

Median IRR

11.90%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

23.01%

1.67x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Sentinel Capital Partners IV

Odyssey Investment Partners Fund IV

CIVC Partners Fund IV

*IRR: net of fees

44 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

PitchBook Webinar: US VC in Q1—Reaching for new heights

Join us on May 5 for a webinar detailing the strong results the US VC industry saw in Q1. We'll be sitting down with industry experts from NVCA, Silicon Valley Bank and Secfi to dive into the findings from the Q1 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, including the most recent data on fundraising, deals and exits.

Fundraising is on pace to reach new heights as one of the strongest quarters of all time, with just 14 mega-funds raising $19 billion in aggregate.

Late-stage deal activity was bolstered by over 140 deals of $100 million or larger, resulting in record quarterly capital investment and $51.9 billion invested in late-stage startups.

Exits remained robust, with more companies making their public debuts through SPACs in Q1 than in all of 2020.

Register today to secure your spot.

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VC Deals

Capsule becomes unicorn with $300M round

Digital pharmacy operator Capsule has raised $300 million in Series D funding led by Durable Capital Partners, with participation from Baillie Gifford, T. Rowe Price and Whale Rock. The New York-based startup is valued at more than $1 billion in the round. It had a $400 million valuation in 2019, according to PitchBook data. With the new funding, Capsule plans to build on its pharmacy offerings with app-based telehealth and mental health services.

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Mux brings in $105M Series D

Mux has raised $105 million at a more than $1 billion valuation in a round led by Coatue Management. Founded in 2015, the San Francisco-based company is the operator of a video platform for developers. Mux was valued at $322 million in August, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Cobalt Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group

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View 24 competitors »

Pachama cleans up with $15M

San Francisco-based Pachama has raised $15 million in a round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with participation from Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, Saltwater and Lowercarbon Capital. Founded in 2018, Pachama is the creator of an AI-based remote sensing platform that monitors carbon capture in forests.

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Exits & IPOs

Sonder to go public via SPAC at $2.2B valuation

Sonder, the developer of a platform offering short-term apartment and vacation rentals, has agreed to go public through a SPAC sponsored by Gores Metropoulos II at a valuation of $2.2 billion. The transaction will provide the San Francisco-based company with $650 million in cash proceeds, including a PIPE of $200 million from investors like Fidelity Management & Research and BlackRock. Sonder has raised more than $560 million in venture funding since it was founded in 2014, according to PitchBook data.

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Fundraising

Andreessen Horowitz eyes $1B for crypto fund

Andreessen Horowitz is reportedly working to raise up to $1 billion for a cryptocurrency-focused fund in what would be the firm's third vehicle dedicated to startups in the blockchain ecosystem. Andreessen Horowitz, whose portfolio scored a big win in April with the blockbuster IPO of Coinbase, seeks to raise a war chest of $800 million to $1 billion, according to the Financial Times. Just a year ago, the firm closed its second crypto fund on $515 million.

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View 630 investments »

Chart of the Day

"Fund volume for vehicles sized under €100.0 million dropped off 66.7% from 2019 and considerably contributed to the low fund count—especially as managers of smaller funds found the remote fundraising environment challenging. Nonetheless, two funds closed in this size bucket, including the €97.0 million CapMan Growth Equity II by Finland-based CapMan (HEL: CAPMAN)."

Source: PitchBook's 2021 Nordic Private Capital Breakdown