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The Daily Pitch: VC

October 7, 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 Andreessen Horowitz is putting its newly minted $2.2 billion crypto fund to work.

Our Q3 Quantitative Perspectives report, packed with market insights, data and dozens of charts.

A breakdown of the top VC investors in Israel this year.

Today's Top Stories

Yields, jobs and capital supply: How macro trends are reshaping private markets

Eighteen months ago, a forecast of surging private valuations and skyrocketing stocks seemed absurd. These days, large swaths of the financial markets couldn't look more buoyant—and a multitude of interesting storylines have emerged from the chaos.

Our latest Quantitative Perspectives report features nearly 70 pages of data and 75 charts, offering a bird's-eye view of alternative markets and illuminating key trends across a range of investment strategies. Topics include:

Fund cash flows, featuring full-year 2020 data capturing the rebound in average distributions and the record distributions by venture funds.

The macro landscape, detailing how inflationary pressure and yield compression have pushed allocators to the private markets.

Impact investing and its effect on real assets fundraising, particularly energy and agriculture.

Debt markets and how their relationship to high-yield bonds may guide debt loads in PE buyouts.

read the report

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A16z shows off deep crypto pockets

(Image courtesy of Axie Infinity)

Andreessen Horowitz has been putting its newly minted $2.2 billion crypto fund to work this week with mega-deals to back trading platform CoinSwitch Kuber and Sky Mavis, the maker of NFT game Axie Infinity.

These rounds also reflect the growing geographic diversity of its crypto portfolio: CoinSwitch Kuber is based in India and Axie Infinity in Vietnam.

Here's a look at a16z's largest crypto deals this year broken down by country.

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Partner Perspectives

Washington's VC scene has emerged

The startup ecosystem in Washington, DC, is coming into its own. VC deal activity surged in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, more than doubling between 2009 and 2014. Investment has remained high ever since, growing into an array of financings ranging from education to media and finance.

In an ongoing partnership with PitchBook Data, BridgeBank has released Markets to Watch: Washington, DC. The numbers show an emphasis on defense and aerospace, as well as several success stories with distinct Washington personalities: software platforms for regulatory monitoring and policy management and tailored to nonprofits, economic agencies and media groups. Washington startups are now catering to a broad clientele base and can take advantage of their proximity to influence.

To download the report, click here.

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OurCrowd tops list of 2021's most active VCs in Israel

Israel has attracted record amounts of venture funding in 2021.
(Ilan Shacham/Getty Images)

Israel has seen unprecedented levels of venture capital investment in 2021, driven largely by an increase in late-stage funding. We took a look at the most active VC investors in Israel so far this year.

Investment platform OurCrowd is leading the way, but who else made the list?

Recommended Reads

Low interest rates are pushing insurers further into alternative assets. [Institutional Investor]

Will a new fantasy startup investing game provide a more democratic route into VC investing? [Sifted]

As the need for limitless clean energy becomes clearer, will hopes for a nuclear fusion-powered future become a reality? [The New Yorker]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

13

VC valuations

1902

People

415

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20

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2016 Vintage Global Venture Funds
	A message from New York Life Investments Alternatives
	Private equity in the pandemic: A look backward, a path forward
	VC Deals
	Elemy secures $219M Series B
	Twin Health brings in $140M
	Zum drives off with $130M Series D
	NeuroBlade banks $83M
	The Mom Project raises $80M
	Tiger Global leads Series A for Favo

The Daily Benchmark

2016 Vintage Global Venture Funds

Median IRR

26.66%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

34.89%

1.59x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

BY Capital 1

USV 2016

Tusk Venture Partners I

*IRR: net of fees

67 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

A message from New York Life Investments Alternatives

Private equity in the pandemic: A look backward, a path forward

New York Life Investments Alternatives partnered with Coalition Greenwich to conduct more than 100 in-depth interviews with middle-market sponsors to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed their core business and investment processes. This report covers the results of that research, including important trends in investing, deal sourcing, transaction financing, exit strategies and fundraising. The findings reveal that sponsors that sharpen investment processes, adopt new technologies and build strong relationships can emerge from the pandemic with portfolios intact, record deal volumes and significant amounts of dry powder. The report offers lessons learned that can help sponsors remain diligent and prudent in capital deployment as markets recover and valuations rise.

Download the research report

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VC Deals

Elemy secures $219M Series B

Elemy has raised $219 million at a $1.15 billion valuation in a round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. Based in the Bay Area, the company is the developer of a healthtech platform intended to provide autism care.

Additional Investors:

Amity Ventures, Avidity Partners, Goodwater Capital, Metrodora Ventures, Premji Invest, Sound Ventures, Whale Rock Capital Management

View round

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Twin Health brings in $140M

Twin Health has raised a $140 million Series C from investors including Iconiq Growth, Sequoia India and Perceptive Advisors. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company offers a healthtech platform for patients with chronic metabolic diseases.

Additional Investors:

Corner Ventures, Helena Special Investments, LTS Investments, Sofina

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Zum drives off with $130M Series D

California-based Zum has raised $130 million in a round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. Zum offers a ridehailing-style school transportation platform and plans to use the funding in part to add electric vehicles to its platform. The company was valued at $194 million in 2019, according to PitchBook data.

Additional Investors:

BMW i Ventures, Sequoia

View round

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NeuroBlade banks $83M

Neuroblade has raised an $83 million Series B led by Corner Ventures. The Tel Aviv-based company is the developer of a computational memory chip that accelerates data processing.

Select Additional Investors:

Grove Ventures, Intel Capital, Pegatron, StageOne Ventures

View round

View 17 competitors »

The Mom Project raises $80M

The Mom Project has raised $80 million in Series C financing led by Leeds Illuminate. The Chicago-based company helps moms upskill and find work. Existing investors Initialized Capital and OCA Ventures also participated in the funding, among others.

View round

View 21 competitors »

Tiger Global leads Series A for Favo

Favo, the developer of a social commerce platform for Latin America, has raised $26.5 million in a round led by Tiger Global. Founded in 2019, the Sao Paulo-based company also helps entrepreneurs create new income streams through sales commissions.

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View similar company »