PitchBook News - SoftBank goes it alone on Vision Fund 2

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The Daily Pitch: VC

May 13, 2021

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Today's Top Stories

SoftBank goes it alone on Vision Fund 2 as portfolio profits leap

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son (Koki Nagahama/Getty Images)

A year ago, SoftBank struggled to attract investors to its second Vision Fund amid steep losses. Now, the Japanese firm is sitting on record-setting profits, but it's in no rush to raise outside capital.

SoftBank added $10 billion of its own money to the Vision Fund 2, bringing the total to $30 billion. Its Latin American fund is also self-financed.

"We don't have to beg," said CEO Masayoshi Son, adding that the company wasn't opposed to eventually bringing on outside LPs.

The firm has set a voracious investment pace this year, headlining deals for chipmaker Sambanova and Didi Chuxing's self-driving unit.

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2014 Vintage European Real Estate Funds
	VC Deals
	Agtech specialist Inari hauls in $208M
	Acquco snags $160M to acquire third-party Amazon sellers
	NetSPI grabs $90M for cybersecurity services
	Handshake grabs $80M at $1.5B+ valuation
	Stampli pulls in $50M
	Exits & IPOs
	Better.com set to go public at $7.7B valuation through reverse merger
	Bird to go public via SPAC

The Daily Benchmark

2014 Vintage European Real Estate Funds

Median IRR

9.60%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

11.33%

1.35x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Activum SG Real Estate Fund III

Brockton Capital Fund III

Kildare European Partners I

*IRR: net of fees

14 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Agtech specialist Inari hauls in $208M

Agtech startup Inari has raised a $208 million Series D at a $1.2 billion valuation. Flagship Pioneering, which founded Inari, co-led the round and was joined by Alexandria Venture Investments, Investment Corporation of Dubai, Banque Pictet, Rivas Capital, G Squared and Pavilion Capital. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company develops seeds for crops such as corn and soy, using gene-editing technology.

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Acquco snags $160M to acquire third-party Amazon sellers

Acquco, the operator of an ecommerce platform that acquires and scales Amazon third-party sellers, has closed a $160 million Series A from investors including CoVenture, Singh Capital Partners and Crossbeam. The New York-based startup will use the funds in part to help grow its portfolio to over $500 million in revenue by next year.

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NetSPI grabs $90M for cybersecurity services

NetSPI has received $90 million in a growth funding round led by KKR, with participation from Ten Eleven Ventures. The Minneapolis-based company is a provider of application and network security testing services. It will use the capital to expand its cybersecurity and client experience teams, bolster product innovation and grow operations in the US and globally.

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Handshake grabs $80M at $1.5B+ valuation

Career networking startup Handshake has raised an $80 million Series E led by Lightspeed and Spark Capital, with support from Coatue Management, Valiant Peregrine Fund and others. The round values the company at over $1.5 billion and brings its total private backing to more than $230 million. Based in San Francisco, Handshake helps college students attend virtual recruiting events and find jobs and internships.

Additional Investors:

True Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, EQT Ventures, GGV Capital, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Emerson Collective

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Stampli pulls in $50M

Stampli, the developer of an AI-based automation platform for accounts payable communications, documentation and payments, has raised $50 million in Series C funding. The round was led by Insight Partners, with participation from SignalFire, NextWorld Capital and others. With the new capital, Stampli has raised around $87 million to date.

Additional Investors:

UpWest, Hillsven, Bloomberg Beta, Naver

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PitchBook Webinar: Q1 2021 EMEA private market update

This European private market webinar will uncover how the industry performed in the first quarter of 2021, including overviews of venture and private equity deals, exits, and the fundraising landscape. Our analysts will share their VC and PE predictions for the remainder of the year and review some of the largest funds in the market. Key statistics:

European venture activity set new records in 2020 despite a global pandemic.

European PE deal flow rebounded quickly in H2 2020, while exits remained muted as sponsors waited for valuations to fully recover.

European fund managers had varying degrees of success in 2020, depending on their strategy and level of experience.

Register here to secure your spot

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Exits & IPOs

Better.com set to go public at $7.7B valuation through reverse merger

Better.com has agreed to merge with a SPAC called Aurora Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values the digital mortgage lender at around $7.7 billion. The transaction includes a $1.5 billion PIPE investment from SoftBank, Novator Capital and Activant Capital. Better.com has previously raised funding from investors such as IA Ventures, Goldman Sachs and Kleiner Perkins. The New York-based company was valued at $6 billion following an investment from SoftBank in April, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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Bird to go public via SPAC

E-scooter company Bird has announced its plans to go public via a reverse merger with Switchback II, a blank-check company, at a valuation of $2.3 billion. The transaction includes a $160 million PIPE led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. Bird will also receive access to a $40 million asset financing facility provided by Apollo Investment Corporation and MidCap Financial Trust. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company was valued at $2.85 billion when it raised $75 million in January 2020, according to PitchBook data.

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Chart of the Day

"2020 also saw successful fundraises by new GPs based in regions lacking significant private equity presence, including Breck Partners in Frisco, Texas, Rallyday Partners in Denver, and Pike Street Capital in Seattle. Although 2020 data does not show a marked increase in funds located in these nontraditional regions, it remains to be seen whether pandemic-induced migrations away from major financial centers will extend to private equity fundraising in 2021 and beyond."

Source: PitchBook's 2020 Annual US PE Middle Market Report