PitchBook News - Tiger Global dips into seed funding

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The Daily Pitch: VC

May 12, 2021

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Today's Top Stories

Hedge giant Tiger Global dips its feet into seed-stage funding

(krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images)

PitchBook data shows that Tiger Global has backed more than 100 companies so far this year. But the firm's investment in Blair, a seed-stage provider of income-share agreements for bootcamps, trade schools and other educational institutions, stands out.

Typically, Tiger Global backs more mature companies. But TechCrunch reported last week that the firm has led a $6.3 million seed funding for Blair. The deal was Tiger Global's first seed round of the year and sits well above the $2.6 million median seed deal size, according to the Q1 2021 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the firm's other deals have been at the Series B stage or later, according to PitchBook data.

Betting early on promising new startups may give late-stage investors a competitive edge in subsequent rounds of financing. The rising valuations seen in seed-stage deals in recent years reflect the growing involvement of larger brand-name firms seeking earlier access to hot prospects.

However, not all seed-stage companies are interested in having a firm like Tiger Global lead their deals. Many early-stage founders are looking for go-to-market strategy guidance from experienced investors—something that Tiger Global does not offer. Unlike traditional VC firms, Tiger Global doesn't take board seats and it generally has a hands-off approach with its investments. Neither Tiger Global nor Blair responded to a request for comment.

For some startups, the hefty prices offered by Tiger Global will be hard to resist, even at the seed stage. These founders may decide to accept capital at a high valuation, and then build a strong board at the next round of financing.

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SoftBank to make $1.6B bet on THG technology unit

Fitness supplement shop Myprotein is among THG's portfolio of ecommerce companies. (Anne-Marii/Flickr)

Eight months after THG (formerly The Hut Group) completed its record-breaking London IPO, SoftBank is set to invest $1.6 billion in its yet-to-be-formed technology unit THG Ingenuity and the intellectual property that helped the UK company build its ecommerce empire.

SoftBank will also invest $730 million in the parent company as part of a roughly $1 billion fundraising round, and will also have the option to take a 19.9% stake in THG Ingenuity.

The deal values the new division at $6.3 billion, just short of the $7.11 billion valuation that THG secured in its IPO last September.

The Guardian reported that the group's founder Matthew Moulding described the unit as a "social media influencer platform." It is designed to promote THG's health and lifestyle brands and those of its third-party clients.

THG, which has a portfolio of 11 online beauty and nutrition brands, including Espa, Lookfantastic and Myprotein, has also agreed to buy Bentley, a UK manufacturer of prestige skincare and haircare products, for $255 million.

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A message from NSF

Invention to impact

Using neuroscience, sports science and an immersive environment, NeuroTrainer is helping athletes by measuring and analyzing how they perform cognitive tasks to improve focus, speed and situational awareness.

NeuroTrainer (NSF-1950948) is one of hundreds of deep-tech startups funded annually by the National Science Foundation, a government agency that plays a central role in accelerating discoveries into the marketplace.

Each startup can receive up to $2 million to support translational R&D. NSF helps teams navigate the earliest stages of technology translation, investing roughly $200 million annually in startups. In the last five years, these companies have gone on to raise billions in follow-on capital, and the portfolio has had 100+ exits.

Learn more about NSF funding for startups at seedfund.nsf.gov.

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Global M&A begins its post-pandemic recovery

The pandemic is not over, but the global economy is showing signs of recovery—and so is M&A. In all, 8,753 deals worth a combined $917.7 billion were closed in the first quarter of 2021. The total includes massive, headline-grabbing takeovers, but it is also an indication that confidence is returning in 2021.

Our Q1 2021 Global M&A Report, sponsored by Liberty GTS and Mercer, looks at key macroeconomic drivers behind the rebound in deal activity, from the vaccine rollout to the impact of the US government stimulus. Our analysts also drill down into the specific regional and sector trends fueling the comeback. Highlights include:

The wave of consolidation among European companies has helped deal flow in the region hit a quarterly peak, with mergers among European banks and insurers being particularly prominent.

Healthcare services have dominated dealmaking, accounting for over half of global M&A volume for the period, with healthcare technology deals also showing a significant uptick.

An outlook for the coming quarters and why current indicators suggest even more activity in the months ahead as a surge of deals announced at the start of the year come to fruition.

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Recommended Reads

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How BMW is quietly stealing the spotlight from Tesla and bringing investors along for the ride. [Fortune]

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2013 Vintage Global Venture Funds with more than $250M
	VC Deals
	ParcelLab takes in $112M
	CircleCI secures $100M, buys Vamp
	Legion lands $50M Series C
	Salesforce Ventures, RLH Equity invest in Astound Commerce
	Portfolio Companies
	BuzzFeed in talks to buy Complex Networks
	Exits & IPOs
	Blackstone-backed Oatly aims for $10B valuation in IPO
	Ginkgo Bioworks inks SPAC deal
	Investors
	BLCK VC launches scout program

The Daily Benchmark

2013 Vintage Global Venture Funds with more than $250M

Median IRR

24.21%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

30.90%

2.21x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

OrbiMed Private Investments V

Frazier Healthcare VII

Scale Venture Partners IV

*IRR: net of fees

11 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

ParcelLab takes in $112M

Ecommerce startup ParcelLab has raised a $112 million Series C led by Insight Partners, with participation from Endeit Capital, Capnamic Ventures and Coparion. The Germany-based company works with retailers including IKEA and Farfetch to create customer-facing features such as order tracking and returns.

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CircleCI secures $100M, buys Vamp

San Francisco-based CircleCI, the developer of a continuous integration and delivery platform that helps engineering teams automate software delivery, has raised $100 million in a Series F led by Greenspring Associates at a $1.7 billion valuation. The round also saw participation from IVP, Sapphire Ventures, Baseline Ventures and others. The company has also announced its acquisition of Vamp, the Dutch provider of a release orchestration platform, which will broaden CircleCI's presence across the software delivery supply chain.

Additional Investors:

Eleven Prime, Top Tier Capital Partners, Threshold Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Owl Rock Capital, NextEquity Partners

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Legion lands $50M Series C

Legion, the provider of an AI-based workforce management platform, has collected $50 million in a round led by Stripes, bringing the company's total funding to $85.5 million. Legion's technology helps businesses in sectors including manufacturing, retail and hospitality provide flexibility and safety to employees. The startup was valued at $100 million last September, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

Dollar General, First Round Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Webb Investment Network, XYZ Ventures

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Salesforce Ventures, RLH Equity invest in Astound Commerce

Los Angeles-based private equity firm RLH Equity Partners has agreed to invest in Astound Commerce, with existing backer Salesforce Ventures also participating. Oakland, Calif.-based Astound provides digital commerce services to companies including Puma, L'Oréal and Under Armour. The company has been backed by Salesforce Ventures since 2019.

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Portfolio Companies

BuzzFeed in talks to buy Complex Networks

News publisher BuzzFeed is in talks to acquire Complex Networks as part of a pending deal to go public through a reverse merger with a SPAC, The Information reported. In March, BuzzFeed was said to be negotiating a merger with a blank-check company called 890 5th Avenue Partners. Complex Networks owns a variety of entertainment-themed websites.

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Exits & IPOs

Blackstone-backed Oatly aims for $10B valuation in IPO

Oat milk maker Oatly has set the terms for its IPO, with plans to offer 64.7 million American depository shares and another 19.7 million shares from shareholders at between $15 and $17 apiece. The Swedish company could raise up to $1.4 billion and achieve a valuation of around $10 billion, according to an SEC filing. The growth arm of Blackstone invested $200 million in Oatly last July, with celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman and Jay-Z also participating in the round, which valued the company at roughly $2 billion.

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Ginkgo Bioworks inks SPAC deal

Ginkgo Bioworks plans to go public through a merger with blank-check company Soaring Eagle Acquisition. The deal gives the synthetic biology specialist a $15 billion equity valuation and is expected to provide $2.5 billion in cash. Ginkgo recorded $76.7 million in revenue last year with a net loss of $124.8 million. It was valued at $4.86 billion last year, according to PitchBook data.

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Investors

BLCK VC launches scout program

Sequoia and Lightspeed have partnered with nonprofit BLCK VC to create a scout program for aspiring Black investors. The program will include two cohorts each year and work with 15-20 scouts over a six-month period. Sequoia and Lightspeed already operate their own scout programs, which rely on a network of founders and others to source seed investments.