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PitchBook News - Podcast: The rise of Edison Partners

AI, machine learning extend hot streak; SoftBank leads $400M round for OPay; payments startup Zepz hits $5B valuation; Shelf.io picks up $52M+
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The Daily Pitch: VC
August 24, 2021
Like our newsletter? The data comes from the PitchBook Platform — our data software for VC, PE and M&A
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In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:
  • Edison Partners GP Kelly Ford joins the "In Visible Capital" podcast to discuss how her firm has fared during the pandemic and managed to exceed benchmarks when it comes to a diverse workforce.

  • An analysis of how startups are breaking new ground in AI and machine learning while racking up record funding from VCs.
Today's Top Stories
How AI and machine learning are landing record VC funding
The pandemic pushed data-driven enterprises to adopt AI and machine learning across industries. However, AI development is costly, and its usage remains limited within organizations.

Our latest installment of Emerging Tech Research spotlights private companies in the space, including Databricks, DataRobot and Samsara. The report also tracks major industry trends—covering developments in natural language processing, AI chip optimization and intelligent robotic systems. Key takeaways include:
  • AI venture funding set a third consecutive quarterly record in Q2 2021, with $31.6 billion invested in the vertical. The number includes 11 deals that closed at more than $500 million.

  • VC exits in the vertical continued to boom in Q2, with more than $68 billion in exit value. Of the 13 IPOs during the quarter, notable exits include autonomous vehicle maker TuSimple and UiPath, an enterprise automation software provider.

  • Natural language AI is becoming more widely used in text classification, chatbots, translation, call center automation and survey analysis.
read the preview
 
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On the podcast: The rise of Edison Partners in the PE growth landscape
As private equity fundraising continues to surge, it's become harder than ever for lower-middle-market investors to compete.

But firms like Edison Partners have managed to succeed by showing that bigger isn't always better. General partner Kelly Ford joins the latest episode of "In Visible Capital" to discuss how the New Jersey-based investor has successfully transitioned from venture capital to growth equity investing. Other highlights include:
  • Ford discusses how the firm and its portfolio companies have fared during the pandemic.
     
  • Ford describes how Edison has managed to exceed benchmarks when it comes to hiring a diverse workforce.
     
  • PitchBook emerging tech analyst Robert Le shares some insights from our Q1 and Q2 Emerging Tech Research reports on insurtech.
listen now
 
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A message from Stout
Considerations in the valuation of pre-IPO equity interests
It's more important than ever to follow a rigorous methodology when valuing pre-IPO equity interests. The AICPA's Accounting and Valuation Guide suggests:
  • Determining possible future outcomes available to the company
  • Estimating and allocating future equity value to each share class
  • Weighting each possible outcome by its respective probability to determine the expected future probability-weighted cash flows to each share class
  • Discounting the expected equity value to present value
  • Dividing the present value by the respective number of shares outstanding to calculate the value per share of each class
Download Stout's A Roadmap for the Valuation of Pre-IPO Equity Interests to learn more about what companies need to consider as they begin their pre-IPO journey.
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Recommended Reads
Machines have spent decades using artificial intelligence to grasp the meaning of English words and sentences. Now AI is learning other languages. [Wired]

While there may be a science to picking a fund manager, one writer argues that it can sometimes be best to just go with your gut. [Institutional Investor]

How do you rack up 1.7 million followers on TikTok? Just ask professional slackliner Breannah Yeh. [The New York Times]
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Quick Takes
  The Daily Benchmark  
  2010 Vintage European VC Funds  
  Partner Perspectives  
  The booming tech M&A cycle shows no signs of stopping  
  VC Deals  
  SoftBank leads $400M round for OPay  
  Payments startup Zepz worth $5B with Series E  
  Shelf.io picks up $52.5M  
  Balto brings in $37.5M for Series B  
  Covera Health nabs $25M Series C  
 
 
The Daily Benchmark
2010 Vintage European VC Funds
Median IRR
18.00%
Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate
21.56%
1.37x
Median TVPI
Select top performers
Advent Life Sciences Fund I
Atomico Ventures II
Forbion Capital Fund II
*IRR: net of fees
7 Funds in Benchmark »
Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks
Partner Perspectives
The booming tech M&A cycle shows no signs of stopping
Velocity Global
Midway through 2021, well over $360 billion in deal value and nearly 2,800 transactions have occurred in tech. Cross-border M&A volume has also been on the upswing, at nearly 1,000 deals closed for an aggregate of nearly $140 billion. In Velocity Global's latest report, the key trends defining general and cross-border dealmaking in tech are analyzed in-depth, producing findings such as:
  • Mature unicorns and PE funds are increasingly integral players
  • Transaction multiples in cross-border dealmaking are edging up, indicating willingness to pay up
  • Buyers are targeting companies earlier in their lifecycle, heading into the realm of venture-backed portfolios at a faster clip
Read the full report
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VC Deals
SoftBank leads $400M round for OPay
OPay has raised a $400 million round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of $2 billion, Bloomberg reported. Other investors including Sequoia China, Redpoint China, Source Code Capital and SoftBank Ventures Asia also backed the African fintech company. Based in Lagos, Nigeria, OPay facilitates mobile payments, bank transfers, savings accounts and more, with a specific focus on unbanked users. The round reportedly represents the Vision Fund 2's first investment in Africa.
Additional Investors:
Dragonball Capital, 3W Partners Capital
View round
 
View similar company »
 
Payments startup Zepz worth $5B with Series E
London-based Zepz, formerly known as WorldRemit, has raised $292 million at a valuation of $5 billion. The startup offers a cross-border payments platform, with more than 11 million users across its two brands, WorldRemit and Sendwave. Investors in the round included Farallon Capital, Leapfrog, TCV and Accel.
View round
 
View 35 competitors »
 
Shelf.io picks up $52.5M
Shelf.io has raised a $52.5 million Series B co-led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners. Founded in 2017, the company offers a customer support platform for enterprise clients such as HelloFresh and Glovo.
Select Additional Investors:
Contour Venture Partners, Base10 Partners
View round
 
View 28 competitors »
 
Balto brings in $37.5M for Series B
Balto has raised a $37.5 million Series B led by Stripes and RingCentral Ventures. Existing investors including Sierra Ventures, TIA Ventures and SaaS Venture Capital also participated in the round, which values Balto at $169 million, according to PitchBook data. The St. Louis-based startup uses AI and real-time analytics to help sales representatives improve their phone conversations.
Additional Investors:
Stage Venture Partners, Sandalphon Capital, Cultivation Capital, Atreides Management
View round
 
View 29 competitors »
 
Covera Health nabs $25M Series C
Covera Health has raised $25 million in a round led by Insight Partners, with participation from Equity Group Investments. The New York-based company is the developer of an analytics platform intended to help healthcare providers reduce medical misdiagnoses and improve quality of care. Covera Health was valued at $92.5 million in January 2020, according to PitchBook data.
View round
 
View similar company »
 
PitchBook Webinar: Private fund strategies, manager style
Join our upcoming webinar on Sept. 1 to hear PitchBook analysts discuss private fund strategies through the lens of manager style. Using the PitchBook Private Manager Style framework, we will explore how to assess qualitative characteristics of private market managers.

Key topics include:
  • Understanding the broad levers private market managers use to build portfolios and how this has changed over time.

  • Understanding how a manager's exposures fit within an existing private markets portfolio.

  • Ensuring a manager's actual investment history is consistent with its stated strategy.

  • How to quickly compare managers.

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Chart of the Day
Source: PitchBook's Q2 2021 Private Fund Strategies Report
Who's in the newsletter today?
Investors
3W Partners Capital
Accel
Atreides Management
Base10 Partners
Contour Venture Partners
Cultivation Capital
Dragonball Capital
Equity Group Investments
Farallon Capital
Insight Partners
Leapfrog
Redpoint China
RingCentral Ventures
SaaS Venture Capital
Sandalphon Capital
Sequoia China
Sierra Ventures
SoftBank
SoftBank Ventures Asia
Source Code Capital
Stage Venture Partners
Stripes
TCV
TIA Ventures
Tiger Global
Companies
Balto
Covera Health
Glovo
HelloFresh
OPay
Shelf.io
Zepz
 
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