PitchBook News - Startups deliver for foodtech market

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

PitchBook

Log in

The Daily Pitch: VC

August 10, 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 food delivery services brought home a strong Q2 for the foodtech market.

SaaS Ventures' Collin Gutman explores venture ecosystems outside traditional tech hubs for the "In Visible Capital" podcast.

Today's Top Stories

Ultrafast groceries, microalgae highlight Q2 in foodtech

Fueled by rapid consumer adoption of restaurant and grocery delivery services, the foodtech vertical delivered another strong quarter in Q2 with startups around the world raising $6.2 billion across 280 deals.

Our latest Emerging Tech Research report explores VC activity in the foodtech sector, highlighting key deals, exits and industry opportunities in the food delivery market.

Key takeaways include:

Ecommerce-focused food suppliers led Q2 funding with $3.1 billion invested across 29 deals.

Ultrafast grocery, the latest online food delivery trend, is characterized by startups offering 20-minute-or-less delivery of goods, betting on consumers who prefer spontaneous food orders over trips to the store.

The latest protein to garner VC attention is microalgae. Several corporate food companies have formed partnerships with microalgae providers to develop new plant-based products and reduce their carbon footprint.

The food delivery market in India is estimated to exceed $21 billion by 2026. As the market is large and underpenetrated, we believe ghost kitchens may play a greater role in the development of India's food delivery market.

read it now

Share:

On the podcast: Venturing outside Silicon Valley

Over the past decade-plus, venture capital investors have been searching for the next Silicon Valley. And the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the hunt, with industry heavyweights touting the benefits of moving to cities that embrace tech culture.

Collin Gutman, co-founder and managing partner at SaaS Ventures, joined the "In Visible Capital" podcast to discuss what it takes to grow venture ecosystems in cities outside traditional tech hubs, and why he's more bullish than ever on the future of tech. The episode is sponsored by Vanta. Topics include:

How Miami has emerged as a destination for tech companies and VC, and what other cities could soon follow suit.

How a mix of state-run funds and private capital can contribute to building a startup ecosystem.

Why institutional investors should think about geographical diversity when teaming with startups.

listen now

Share:

A message from the National Science Foundation

Invention to impact

Caribou Biosciences, a UC Berkeley spinout, uses a CRISPR-based approach to develop "off-the-shelf" therapies and potentially broaden the use of engineered immune cells in cancer treatments. The company recently raised $304 million.

Caribou Biosciences (NSF-1315621) 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 research and development. 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-plus exits.

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

Share:

Moove continues hot streak for African fintech startups

(CatLane/Getty Images)

Moove, a provider of revenue-based vehicle financing services for drivers in Africa, has collected a $23 million Series A co-led by Speedinvest and Left Lane Capital. The company also announced it has raised $40 million in debt.

The Nigerian startup, which caters to the continent with the lowest per capita vehicle ownership in the world, is Uber's exclusive car financing and vehicle supply partner in sub-Saharan Africa. Clocktower Technology Ventures and Spartech Ventures also participated in the funding, among others.

Moove is the latest entrant in the African fintech market to attract investor attention in 2021. Fintech startups in the region have secured around $330.5 million in H1, more than double the amount raised the entire year before, according to a report from Disrupt Africa, a tech-focused research and news organization based in the continent.

Related read: Is Africa fintech's next frontier?

Share:

Recommended Reads

Big tech may be arriving in small towns across the US, but there's a catch. [Time]

Why have the retail versions of private equity vehicles performed so poorly? Blame big promises and fat fees. [Forbes]

The autonomous driving future faces complex decisions like what a self-driving car should do in the face of an oncoming crash. But what if we could stop vehicles from getting into life-or-death situations in the first place? [The Washington Post]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

25

VC valuations

1310

People

359

Companies

25

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2018 Vintage North American Funds-of-Funds
	A message from NetSuite and ContinuServe
	NetSuite and ContinuServe join forces to deliver carveouts at deal speed
	VC Deals
	UpGrad books $185M
	Snorkel AI lands $85M Series C at unicorn valuation
	LawVu picks up new funding
	Exits & IPOs
	SpaceX to take off with Swarm
	Fundraising
	Craft Ventures expands into growth deals, locks down $1.1B in new funds
	Sands Capital collects $560M for latest life sciences fund
	Energy Capital Ventures raises $45M for ESG-focused fund

The Daily Benchmark

2018 Vintage North American Funds-of-Funds

Median IRR

13.82%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

26.88%

1.15x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

HarbourVest Partners XI-Venture

Top Tier Venture Velocity Fund 2

HarbourVest Partners XI-Buyout

*IRR: net of fees

31 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

A message from NetSuite and ContinuServe

NetSuite and ContinuServe join forces to deliver carveouts at deal speed

ContinuServe uses NetSuite technology to deliver carveouts in a new solution that brings the leading cloud-based enterprise resource planning solution together with a premier business process outsourcing provider.

ContinuServe acquires NetSuite on behalf of the client and drives the technology carveout using proprietary tools to stand up a functional enterprise class NetSuite solution faster than comparable solutions. Once the business is operational, ContinuServe seamlessly transitions ownership of the system without a need for reimplementation or data migration, reducing risk and financial strain on both the private equity firm and the carveout.

NetSuite's preconfigured industry-specific ERP solution is the leading cloud-native solution and the No. 1 solution for carveouts.

To learn more about this new solution and how it drives value, download this compelling white paper.

Share:

VC Deals

UpGrad books $185M

Indian edtech startup UpGrad was valued at $1.2 billion after raising $185 million, according to reports. Temasek led the round with participation from IFC and IIFL. The company, which targets the higher education market, was said to be valued at over $600 million in April.

View details

View 43 competitors »

Snorkel AI lands $85M Series C at unicorn valuation

Snorkel AI has raised $85 million at a $1 billion valuation in a round co-led by Addition and BlackRock. The Palo Alto-based startup helps data scientists and developers build AI applications via machine learning tools that label and manage datasets. Founded in 2019 by a team spun out of the Stanford AI Lab, Snorkel AI was valued at $135 million in April, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

GV, Greylock Partners, Lightspeed, Nepenthe Capital, Walden Venture Capital

View round

View 1 competitors »

LawVu picks up new funding

LawVu has raised a NZ$17 million (around $11.9 million) Series A led by Insight Partners. The legal tech startup is the developer of a cloud-based platform designed to help companies such as Nissan and Fonterra manage legal operations and access third-party collaboration tools.

Additional Investor:

AirTree Ventures

View round

View 30 competitors »

Exits & IPOs

SpaceX to take off with Swarm

Elon Musk's SpaceX is acquiring satellite specialist Swarm for an undisclosed sum, according to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission. Swarm operates a network of small satellites that connect to internet of things devices. The Bay Area startup has been backed by Craft Ventures and Social Capital. It was valued at $85 million in 2019, according to PitchBook data.

View details

View similar company »

Fundraising

Craft Ventures expands into growth deals, locks down $1.1B in new funds

Early-stage investor Craft Ventures has announced that it's moving into growth deals as part of more than $1 billion in funds raised across two new vehicles. The San Francisco-based firm, which specializes in backing SaaS and marketplace startups, said it raised $612 million for its third flagship fund, along with $510 million for its debut growth effort. Craft's portfolio includes SourceGraph, ClickUp and CloudTrucks.

View details

View 130 investments »

Sands Capital collects $560M for latest life sciences fund

Sands Capital has closed its second vehicle dedicated to life sciences investments on $560 million. The fund will be used to continue Sands' focus on backing companies that provide private therapeutics, diagnostics and life sciences tools. The Arlington, Va.-based firm launched the first vehicle in the strategy in 2018 and has invested in 20 life sciences businesses to date.

View fund

View 84 investments »

Energy Capital Ventures raises $45M for ESG-focused fund

Energy Capital Ventures has launched a $45 million ESG investment vehicle with backing from natural gas utilities including Avista Utilities and Black Hills Corporation. The fund will invest in early-stage companies targeting areas like decarbonization, renewable natural gas and hydrogen. Chicago-based ECV is led by veteran VC investor Vic Pascucci III.

View fund

View investment »