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The Daily Pitch: VC

August 9, 2021

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

In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:

An analysis of how tech like field sensors and crop drones is driving sustainable farming

A look at why investors are raising climate tech funds at a rapid pace

Today's Top Stories

Betting the farm on sustainable agtech

(SimonSkafar/Getty Images)

The agricultural industry is at the heart of a global sustainability push to find a way to feed billions of people while confronting climate change.
Our latest analyst note—the second in a series on ecological food supply systems—explores environmental threats to agriculture and the technology that has been developed to face them. Examples include:

To improve soil health, startups are developing lightweight machinery and analytics that promise more precise and automated farm work.

Water reclamation systems and microbial treatments are being deployed to curb the impact of synthetic fertilizer, a major pollutant.

Drought and water scarcity have helped drive investment in irrigation tools and indoor-farming startups.

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Why investors are raising climate tech funds at a torrid pace

(Malte Mueller/Getty Images)

Climate tech has significantly evolved since the cleantech investment craze of the early 2000s.

Today, the investment landscape is powered by a broader base of investors using billions of dollars to tackle one overarching global threat: climate change.

So far in 2021, global investors have already closed as many climate-focused funds as were raised during the previous five years combined, according to PitchBook data.

The new wave of climate-related deals has been bolstered by a confluence of recent trends including a staggering rise in extreme weather disasters, an international push for net-zero emission targets and new tech breakthroughs.

Recommended Reads

With sights set on improving the lagging US healthcare system, here's how VC investors are riding the healthtech wave through the pandemic. [Bloomberg]

While students aren't receiving robot tutors in the mail quite yet, schools are turning to AI to keep students engaged and save educators' time. [The Wall Street Journal]

Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman shares her thoughts on the SPAC revolution and a new generation of investors. [Fortune]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

101

People

29

Companies

1

Funds

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2009 Vintage European Funds-of-Funds
	VC Deals
	Zeroheight raises $10M
	Carputty drives off with $7M+
	Fundraising
	Stage 2 Capital launches $80M fund

The Daily Benchmark

2009 Vintage European Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

12.85%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

15.13%

1.72x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Storebrand International Private Equity IX

AlpInvest Partners Fund IV - Fund Investments

Wilshire European Private Markets Fund VIII

*IRR: net of fees

12 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Zeroheight raises $10M

Zeroheight has raised a $10 million Series A led by Tribe Capital. The London-based company operates a DesignOps platform intended to help UX teams manage projects. Adobe, Y Combinator, FundersClub and Expa also participated in the round.

View round

View 1 competitors »

Carputty drives off with $7M+

Carputty has raised a $7.2 million seed round led by Kickstart Fund. The Atlanta-based company offers a car financing platform to help consumers access pre-approved loans without affecting their credit scores.

Select Additional Investors:

Kinetic Ventures, Aries Capital Partners, University Growth Fund

View round

View 2 competitors »

Fundraising

Stage 2 Capital launches $80M fund

New York-based Stage 2 Capital has raised $80 million for its second fund to invest in early-stage software startups. The new fund's LPs include executives from leading tech companies including Snowflake and Zoom. Stage 2 launched in 2018 and raised $15 million for its first fund. Its portfolio includes marketing tech startup Sendoso and small business platform Gosite.

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View 18 investments »