PitchBook News - Synthetic biology rekindles VC interest

Read online | Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription.

PitchBook

Log in

The Daily Pitch: VC

June 21, 2021

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

Today's Top Stories

Wall Street wins signal the start of a synthetic biology revolution

(Courtesy of Ginkgo)

Venture capitalists foresee a bright future for synthetic biology companies that are notching big breakthroughs after a decade of innovation.

The excitement is driven in part by public debuts for two leaders in the field: Zymergen went public in April at a roughly $3 billion valuation, and Ginkgo was valued at $15 billion in a SPAC deal.

The cost to design and produce engineered cells has fallen rapidly, and new opportunities in everything from agriculture to cancer drugs keep sprouting up.

One investor's take: "I think in 10 years we will probably look back and will recognize that this is the most important technological revolution of our time."

Recommended Reads

A glimpse inside Female Founders Fund founder Anu Duggal's summer home that pays homage to the power of women. [The Wall Street Journal]

Could processing actually help reduce food's carbon footprint? [BBC]

Biologist Juliane Diller was the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Amazon at age 17. Fifty years later, she runs Panguana, a research station founded by her parents in Peru. [The New York Times]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

4

VC valuations

245

People

62

Companies

3

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2017 Vintage US PE Funds
	VC Deals
	BharatPe eyes $2.5B valuation
	Neo4J grabs $325M
	Hydrosat picks up $5M
	Fundraising
	Fortino Capital amasses $124M for latest VC fund
	MetaProp closes $100M fund
	Investors
	Credit Suisse pares ties with SoftBank

The Daily Benchmark

2017 Vintage US PE Funds

Median IRR

11.85%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

19.96%

1.17x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Falfurrias Capital Partners Fund III

SSC Partners Cantium

Bain Capital Life Sciences Fund

*IRR: net of fees

100 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

BharatPe eyes $2.5B valuation

Tiger Global is in talks to invest about $250 million into Indian fintech specialist BharatPe, TechCrunch reported. The Series E could value the company at $2.5 billion, up from the $900 million valuation it reportedly received earlier this year. The startup offers a platform for mobile payments and loans aimed at small businesses.

View details

View 19 competitors »

Neo4J grabs $325M

Neo4J, a graph technology startup, has raised a $325 million Series F at a valuation of more than $2 billion. The round was led by Eurazeo and joined by investors including GV, Creandum, Greenbridge Partners and DTCP. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company has raised more than $515 million in venture funding to date, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

One Peak Partners, Lightrock

View round

View 53 competitors »

Hydrosat picks up $5M

Hydrosat has raised $5 million in seed financing led by Cultivation Capital. The company uses thermal infrared imagery to provide geospatial analytics services to commercial and government customers.

Additional Investors:

Expon Capital, Freeflow Ventures, Industrious Ventures, Synova Capital, Techstars, Yield Lab

View round

View similar company »

Fundraising

Fortino Capital amasses $124M for latest VC fund

Belgium-based investor Fortino Capital Partners has closed its third fund on €105 million (about $124 million). The vehicle will be used to back early-stage B2B software and technology startups in Europe, with a focus on the Benelux region, France and Germany. Initial investment sizes will range from €1 million to €3 million. The fund's predecessor launched in 2016 with €80 million in capital.

View fund

View 42 investments »

MetaProp closes $100M fund

MetaProp, a venture capital firm that makes early-stage real estate technology investments, has raised $100 million for its third fund. The New York-based firm has previously backed brokerage startup Side, text message marketing company Attentive and VergeSense, an office analytics provider. The fund's predecessor closed on $40 million in 2018.

View fund

View 90 investments »

Investors

Credit Suisse pares ties with SoftBank

Credit Suisse is curtailing business with SoftBank, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Swiss bank and the Japanese conglomerate's founder, Masayoshi Son, have also ended a longtime personal lending relationship, according to the report. SoftBank-backed specialty finance company Greensill Capital collapsed in March. Credit Suisse, which had been financing some of Greensill's loans and packaging them up into bond-like instruments, is left recovering $10 billion in funds on behalf of investors.

View details

View 198 investments »

Share: