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The Daily Pitch: VC

September 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:

How VC activity in France is surging—but still lagging behind that of its larger neighbors.

Our global fund performance report breaks down which asset classes performed the best in 2020.

Today's Top Stories

PE and VC dominate global fund performance

With COVID-19 upending the global economy, 2020 proved to be an unprecedented year for private market investors. But private equity and venture capital fund performance thrived nonetheless, according to our latest Global Fund Performance Report, which cites data through Q4 2020 and the early part of 2021.

A few highlights from the findings:

Private equity funds recorded a rolling one-year horizon IRR of 17.7% in 2020, PE's second highest in the past decade, which outpaced the S&P 500 and helped the strategy avoid the collapse it endured during the global financial crisis.
Venture capital funds peaked in Q4 2020, reaching a record quarterly horizon IRR of 14.9%. The strategy continued that momentum into the new year, with a preliminary quarterly IRR of 13.3% in Q1. The strong returns were driven in large part by a healthy exit environment, as VCs looked to capitalize on frothy valuations.
Bogged down by office closures, real estate funds trailed other private alternative asset classes and the broader public markets, continuing two-plus years of underperformance. But investment in warehouses and data centers provides cause for optimism as people work and shop from home.

read the report

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Changes in technology are already affecting the game of golf, making it crucial to educate both golfers and operators about those innovations. In partnership with PitchBook Data, PGA of America has released "The Continuing Evolution of the Golf Course," a brief but comprehensive guide to a range of new technologies.

Some of these are borrowed from other walks of life. Agtech innovations were developed with farmers and crops in mind, but golf courses can benefit from them just as much. CRM technology, drones, benchmarking tools—even weather technology—are all being tailored to the needs of golfers and operators around the US.

Four pages of infographics visualize the innovations taking place. The game of golf isn't changing, but technology is helping improve it in myriad ways.

Download the report here

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A message from TBM Consulting

Five operational due diligence hot spots for identifying hidden value and risk

Multiples grow while due diligence windows shorten. At the same time, there is more to consider with newly exposed risks and opportunities that were not on the radar 18 months ago.

These five operational due diligence areas are becoming more critical in today's private equity environment:

Daily management
Sourcing & inventory strategies
Site leadership capabilities
Labor management best practices
Capital expenditure & automation

Hone in on critical operational opportunities by downloading TBM's briefing, Uncover Hidden Value and Mitigate Operational Risks Faster, or contact Gary Hoover, vice president and Global Private Equity Practice leader, at ghoover@tbmcg.com.

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French VC on track for a record year—but is overshadowed by its neighbors

(ilyaliren/Getty Images)

The French government's push to bolster the country's startup ecosystem, coupled with unexpected tailwinds caused by the pandemic, have created a boom in venture capital activity—yet France still lags behind other major economies in the region.

French startups are on track for a funding record this year, with €4.6 billion (about $5.4 billion) in total raised through June 30, nearly 70% of 2020's annual figure.

But France is trailing its neighbors, as VC investments in the UK and Germany soared even higher in just six months.

The French government is seeking to promote more late-stage capital in the country, as it works to narrow the gap between France and its peers.

Recommended Reads

Out of the public eye, top venture capital and private equity firms are lagging behind in boardroom diversity. [The New York Times]

Will crypto companies' efforts to lure massive sports fanbases into their investor base play out? [Bloomberg]

More and more funds are jumping on the sustainability train, but sometimes the rebranding is in name only. [The Wall Street Journal]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2016 Vintage Global Growth Funds
	VC Deals
	Snyk hits $8.5B valuation
	Solugen raises $350M
	Mammoth Biosciences hits unicorn valuation with $195M round
	Orchard grows with $100M Series D
	Menlo Ventures leads $80M round for Affinity
	Exits & IPOs
	Energy Vault to go public via SPAC
	Investors
	Tom Steyer, Kathryn Hall launch climate fund platform

The Daily Benchmark

2016 Vintage Global Growth Funds

Median IRR

28.23%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

36.90%

1.59x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

KKR Next Generation Technology Growth Fund

Summit Partners Growth Equity Fund IX

Long Ridge Equity Partners II

*IRR: net of fees

18 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Snyk hits $8.5B valuation

Cybersecurity company Snyk has raised $530 million, $300 million of which came from new capital, the remainder from secondary offerings. Sands Capital and Tiger Global co-led the Series F, which valued Snyk at $8.5 billion, up from about $2.6 billion last year. Boston-based Snyk's developer security platform is used by customers including Google and Salesforce.

Additional New Investors:

Baillie Gifford, Lone Pine Capital, Koch Strategic Platforms, T. Rowe Price, Whale Rock Capital Management

View round

View 34 competitors »

Solugen raises $350M

Solugen, a company that uses bio-based resources, like sugar to make chemicals, was valued at $1.8 billion after raising $350 million. Baillie Gifford and GIC led the Series C round with participation from Temasek, BlackRock, Carbon Direct, Refactor Capital and Fifty Years. The Houston-based startup aims to take chemical manufacturing carbon-negative while creating products to address clean water, sustainable materials, personal care and more.

View round

View 1 competitors »

Mammoth Biosciences hits unicorn valuation with $195M round

Mammoth Biosciences has raised $195 million at a valuation of more than $1 billion. The round was led by Redmile Group, with participation from Plum Alley, Mayfield and other investors. The Bay Area-based company is the creator of a CRISPR-based platform that helps detect and cure diseases. Mammoth will use the financing in part to work on developing permanent genetic cures via gene-editing techniques. The startup was valued at $290 million in May 2020.

Additional Investors:

Senator Investment Group, Decheng Capital, Foresite Capital Management, Greenspring Associates, Sixth Street, NFX

View round

View 14 competitors »

Orchard grows with $100M Series D

Orchard, which operates a home buying and selling marketplace, has raised $100 million at a valuation of more than $1 billion. The funding was led by Accomplice. Based in New York, Orchard plans to use the capital in part to expand to new markets in 2022. The company was valued at $350 million in September 2020, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

First American, FirstMark Capital, Juxtapose, Revolution

View round

View 21 competitors »

Menlo Ventures leads $80M round for Affinity

Affinity has raised an $80 million Series C led by Menlo Ventures, with support from investors including Sprints Capital, Pear Ventures and Sway Ventures. Founded in 2014, the company offers customer relationship management tools to more than 1,700 customers across 70 countries.

Select Additional Investors:

Advance Venture Partners, MassMutual Ventures, Teamworthy Ventures

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View 55 competitors »

Exits & IPOs

Energy Vault to go public via SPAC

Energy Vault, a renewable energy specialist, has agreed to go public on the NYSE through a SPAC called Novus Capital Corp. II. The deal will give the combined entity an equity value of about $1.6 billion. Energy Vault expects to receive $388 million from the transaction, including a $100 million PIPE from SoftBank, Palantir and other investors. The company stores energy from wind and solar operations; it has received venture capital funding from backers such as SoftBank and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.

View details

View similar company »

Investors

Tom Steyer, Kathryn Hall launch climate fund platform

Farallon Capital founder Tom Steyer and Kathryn Hall, the founder of Hall Capital Partners, have launched a platform for investing in climate tech, according to reports. Galvanize Climate Solutions will launch a series of funds to invest in a range of opportunities from startups to mature companies. The new firm's backers include Marc Benioff's Time Ventures and Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective.

View details

View 2 investments »

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Chart of the Day

"While $1 billion to $5 billion funds did take in 57.6% of the capital raised, this was a much less extreme ratio than the general fund universe, where the largest funds made up only 1.7% of all funds, but 32.8% of the capital raised."

Source: PitchBook's Q2 2021 Private Fund Strategies Report