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The Daily Pitch: VC

June 14, 2021

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Today's Top Stories

Europe's unicorn herd grows bigger and faster in 2021

(Nay Sakdi Chay Kay Kaew/EyeEm/Getty Images)

When Paris-based crypto security startup Ledger raised $380 million in a Series C led by 10T Holdings last week, it became the latest in a growing cohort that has made 2021 a record year for unicorns.

In total, 23 companies in Europe and Israel have become unicorns so far this year, easily beating 2020's total of eight, according to PitchBook data.

The UK is currently leading the pack, logging the most unicorns overall. But German startups have done particularly well this year, with eight of the 2021 cohort based in the country.

The increasing participation of US-based investors has been a major factor in the increase of $1 billion-plus European startups.

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An interview with Eurazeo CEO Virginie Morgon on making ESG work for private equity, investing in the US and keeping portfolio companies afloat during the pandemic. [Private Equity News]

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2016 Vintage European Venture Funds
	VC Deals
	Mexico's Clip collects $250M
	Cerebral raises $127M
	Beauty and wellness startup Fresha bags $100M
	Popmenu gobbles up $65M
	Tokyo-based Heartseed lands $37M
	Exits & IPOs
	Peter Thiel-backed Atai seeks $200M in IPO
	Didi Chuxing files to go public

The Daily Benchmark

2016 Vintage European Venture Funds

Median IRR

15.99%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

24.63%

1.08x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

BY Capital 1

Scottish Equity Partnership V

Seed Capital Denmark III

*IRR: net of fees

5 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Mexico's Clip collects $250M

Clip, a digital payments and commerce company serving the Mexican market, has raised a $250 million funding round led by SoftBank's Latin America Fund and Viking Global Investors. The deal values Clip at nearly $2 billion. The Mexico City-based startup's other investors include General Atlantic, Ribbit Capital and Goldman Sachs.

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Cerebral raises $127M

Cerebral, a mental health startup that launched in January 2020, has secured a $127 million Series B at a valuation of $1 billion, according to a PitchBook estimate. The round was led by Access Industries, with support from Artis Ventures, Oak HC/FT and others. Cerebral will use the new capital in part to add group therapy to its services, and to add several new areas of mental health to its offerings.

Select Additional Investors:

Silver Lake, AirAngels, WestCap Group

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Beauty and wellness startup Fresha bags $100M

General Atlantic has led a $100 million Series C for London-based Fresha. The startup helps users find, book and pay for beauty and wellness appointments, and offers business automation software to salons, spas and barbershops. The funds will be used for Fresha's international expansion, product development and potential acquisitions.

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Popmenu gobbles up $65M

Popmenu has raised a $65 million Series C led by Tiger Global, with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Bedrock Capital, Base10 and Felicis Ventures. Founded in 2016 and based in Atlanta, the company offers an AI-based marketing and ordering platform for restaurants. Popmenu raised $17 million in October.

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Tokyo-based Heartseed lands $37M

Heartseed has raised a $37 million Series C from investors including UTokyo IPC, SMBC Capital, Medipal Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Investment. The company is a developer of myocardial regenerative medicine intended to treat heart failure. Heartseed will use the new funds to accelerate the global clinical trial of its lead pipeline study developed in Japan.

Additional Investors:

Itochu Chemical Frontier, Keio Innovation Initiative, Medical Incubator Japan, Nissay Capital, SBI Group

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Exits & IPOs

Peter Thiel-backed Atai seeks $200M in IPO

Atai Life Sciences, a biotech startup that aims to treat mental health disorders with psychedelics, plans to raise about $200 million by selling 14.3 million shares at between $13 and $15 apiece in a Nasdaq IPO. At the midpoint price, Atai would be worth $2.13 billion based on the number of shares outstanding. It was valued at $2 billion after a funding round this past March, according to PitchBook data. Apeiron Investment Group owns a 21.1% stake in the German company, which has also received backing from Peter Thiel's Thiel Capital.

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Didi Chuxing files to go public

Chinese ridehailing giant Didi Chuxing recorded a net profit of $837 million in the first quarter of 2021, with $6.4 billion in revenue, according to a filing for its upcoming Nasdaq IPO. SoftBank owns a 21.5% equity stake; Uber, which sold its Chinese ridehailing business to Didi, owns 12.8%.

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View 38 competitors »