PitchBook News - The VC deal that rescued Robinhood

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The Daily Pitch: VC

July 29, 2021

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

Today's Top Stories

Robinhood's rescue: The VC deal that turned a crisis into one of 2021's biggest IPOs

(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

When Robinhood came under fire amid the GameStop fiasco earlier this year, the company's IPO prospects would have been dim if not for an infusion of capital from its VCs. Within a matter of days, those investors structured a $3.5 billion convertible debt deal.

Six months later, the company is set for its long-awaited public debut, pricing at $38 per share on Wednesday night.

The investors in the emergency funding round stand to be rewarded with a return of 44% at the offering price, according to PitchBook's calculations.

Despite the company's impressive recent revenue growth, Robinhood's shares priced significantly below the $50 to $60 range where the company's secondary market bids had hovered since March.

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Unpacking impact funds by category and geographical presence

(Natnan Srisuwan/Getty Images)

While impact investing is commanding more attention and capital than ever, it hasn't been easy for LPs and GPs with specific categories of impact in mind to find each other.

Adopting the Impact Reporting and Investing Standards framework, PitchBook's latest analyst note breaks down fund data to discover which asset classes, global regions and specific impact categories are closing the most impact-focused funds and luring the most capital commitments to the space. Key insights include:

We estimate there is $286 billion in assets under management targeting impact funds as of Dec. 31, and PitchBook has data on the space going back as far as 1984.

Energy is a perennial target of impact funds, as it can absorb a large number of investment dollars, while the biodiversity and ecosystems sector garners infrequent attention.

Climate-focused impact investments are backed largely by North America-based funds, while a focus on education is more often found in funds outside of North America and Europe.

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Foreign VCs are left to lick their wounds after China bans for-profit tutoring

Cindy Mi's VIPKid is one of several Chinese tutoring startups that attracted foreign backers. (Dave Zhong/Getty Images)

Tutoring companies that cater to school-age children must shun profits, foreign investors and IPOs, Chinese regulators have ruled. That puts some of the world's most valuable edtech startups in a bind.

Online tutoring leaders like Yuanfudao and Zuoyebang have grown dramatically with backing from global investors like SoftBank, Tiger Global and Temasek.

Venture capital-backed tutoring companies in China raised $6.5 billion in 2020 alone, with much of that going to a select few.

What's next? "For many investors, it's down to minimizing losses," said Joshua Chao, a venture capital analyst at PitchBook.

Recommended Reads

As port congestion and a lack of fishers cause prices to spike, many restaurant diners may find that seafood has vanished from menus. [Bloomberg]

Hellman & Friedman CEO Patrick Healy on SPACs, inflation and whether the IPO boom will last. [CNBC]

Discounted pricing has created competition between investment banks and independent research providers in the UK and Europe. [Financial Times]

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2018 Vintage Global Real Estate Funds
	VC Deals
	Gupshup lands $240M
	Algolia picks up $150M Series D
	SonderMind brings in $150M Series C to support mental health platform
	Class books $105M for remote learning tools

The Daily Benchmark

2018 Vintage Global Real Estate Funds

Median IRR

6.60%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

11.73%

1.06x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Invesco Strategic Opportunities III

LEM Multifamily Fund V

Blue Heron Real Estate Opportunity Fund III

*IRR: net of fees

77 Funds in Benchmark »

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VC Deals

Gupshup lands $240M

Gupshup has raised $240 million from investors including Tiger Global, Think Investments and Malabar Investments. The San Francisco-based company offers a platform to boost customer engagement through conversational messaging such as chatbots. Gupshup raised $100 million at a $1.4 billion valuation this past April, according to PitchBook data.

Select Additional Investors:

Harbor Spring Capital, Fidelity Management & Research

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Algolia picks up $150M Series D

Algolia has raised $150 million at a $2.25 billion valuation in a round led by Lone Pine Capital. The San Francisco-based company offers a search platform to increase online engagement and more. Algolia was valued at $641.2 million in 2019, according to PitchBook data.

Select Additional Investors:

Accel, DAG Ventures, Glynn Capital, Owl Rock Capital, Salesforce Ventures

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SonderMind brings in $150M Series C to support mental health platform

Drive Capital and Premji Invest have co-led a $150 million round for SonderMind, the operator of a mental health platform that connects licensed therapists and patients. The funding values the Denver-based company at $1.57 billion, according to PitchBook data. General Catalyst, Partners Group, Smash Ventures, Kickstart Fund and F-Prime Capital also participated in the round.

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Class books $105M for remote learning tools

Class Technologies has raised a $105 million Series B led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. The funding also included participation from Learn Capital, Reach Capital, Slow Ventures, Sound Ventures, Chimera Investment and others. The Washington, DC-based company is a provider of teaching and learning tools used in remote education via Zoom. Class was valued at $260 million in April, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

GSV Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners, Maven Equity Partners, Owl Ventures, Insight Partners, Swan & Legend Venture Partners, Revolution

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