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The Daily Pitch: VC

October 19, 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:

Europe's IPO boom is cooling as a series of PE-backed companies have shelved plans to go public.

Robotic boat startup Saildrone has landed new funding, as ocean data companies seek novel ways to confront climate threats.

Our Global Real Estate Report explores the state of private investment funds in the first half of 2021.

Today's Top Stories

Startups enter uncharted waters—with help from VCs

Saildrone's robotic boats gather data from the oceans.
(Courtesy of Saildrone)

Investors believe that precision maps made with far-flung sensors can turn profits, as climate threats call for novel ways to monitor a changing planet.

Ocean data startup Saildrone has raised a $100 million Series C led by Bond Capital, with participation from XN, Standard Investments, Emerson Collective and Crowley Maritime.

The California startup made waves recently when one of its solar- and wind-powered drones captured video from inside Hurricane Sam and survived the voyage. The company's data is used for defense applications, climate and weather forecasting, and monitoring of fisheries and wind farms.

Saildrone has emerged as an apparent leader, but competitors abound. Bedrock and Terradepth offer ocean data collected by unmanned submarines, and Xocean is building out a surface fleet.

In space, a similar robotic armada is being employed for Earth monitoring. Satellite data companies Planet and Spire both struck SPAC deals to go public this year, with the former valued at around $2.8 billion.

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Real estate funds dip after decade of growth

Global property investment is still reeling from pandemic-era changes to how people use real estate and government-led efforts to support the market.

Our latest Global Real Estate Report assesses the state of private investment funds in the first half of 2021. Key takeaways include:

The pool of private capital targeting real estate deals shrank for the first time since 2011, led by drops in debt, distressed and opportunistic funds.

The market looks dramatically different depending on where you stand: Industrial real estate and self-storage, for instance, have flourished amid the disruption, while retail and residential have been more volatile.

Fears of inflation have not sent private investors flocking to real estate, which is often seen as an inflation hedge, but that could change if prices continue to rise.

read the report

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A message from CohnReznick

ESG strategy: Eight ways to create value for private equity firms

Private equity firms are in a unique position to impact financial and social value creation. Each functional component—fund operations, investment acquisition and management, and portfolio management—offers the opportunity to positively impact and deliver outstanding value to stakeholders. Applying an ESG lens when sourcing investments and throughout due diligence can expose ESG-related risks and opportunities. Developing, implementing and monitoring ESG strategy throughout the portfolio is key to sustainable value creation. Reporting ESG metrics against strategy will buoy relationships with investors and regulatory agencies. Assessing a firm's ESG objectives, including what has been implemented so far and what the next steps should be, is a sensible starting place.

Learn more in our new infographic: "ESG Strategy: 8 Ways to Create Value for Private Equity Firms"

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European private equity's IPO exit boom cools off as deals are shelved

(Chris J. Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

The wave of IPOs that has characterized much of this year's exit activity seems to be losing momentum. Last week, UK roofing company Marley and fitness chain Pure Gym became the latest PE-backed companies to shelve plans to go public.

Continental listings have also been put on ice. Dutch ecommerce company Cool Blue has postponed its IPO plans, just as Bain Capital-backed Parts Holding Europe did back in June.

Is this a sign that the tide is turning, or are investors just biding their time as the economy enters a new phase of pandemic recovery?

Recommended Reads

College pipeline programs have helped firms hire more women for junior-level roles. But keeping them and pushing them to the top remains a challenge. [Institutional Investor]

From petrified snacks to out-of-date calendars and plants run amok, many returning office workers have had to confront slightly unnerving time capsules of pre-pandemic life. [The Wall Street Journal]

Some studies suggest that it can take at least 10 years to master a skill. Can MasterClass deliver the same in just a few hours? [The New Yorker]

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2020 Vintage North American PE Funds
	VC Deals
	Zopa hits $1B valuation
	Deel raises $425M Series D
	Scribe secures $30M
	Our Next Energy charges up with $25M
	TripleBlind banks $24M
	Hunt Club tracks down $10M
	Fundraising
	Alaska Airlines launches venture arm

The Daily Benchmark

2020 Vintage North American PE Funds

Median IRR

14.27%

Top Quartile IRR Hurdle Rate

65.58%

1.06x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Everlane Equity Partners I

Crestview Partners IV

Accelmed Partners II

*IRR: net of fees

67 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Zopa hits $1B valuation

Zopa has raised $300 million at a roughly $1 billion valuation in a round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, Reuters reported. The UK-based company is the developer of a peer-to-peer lending platform.

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View 46 competitors »

Deel raises $425M Series D

Deel has raised $425 million at a $5.5 billion valuation in a round led by Coatue. Based in the Bay Area, Deel operates a platform that helps companies including Coinbase and Shopify manage payroll and onboarding processes for global teams. Deel was valued at $1.3 billion in April, according to PitchBook data.

Select Additional Investors:

Andreessen Horowitz, Green Bay Ventures, Neo Innovation, Spark Capital, Y Combinator

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View 3 competitors »

Scribe secures $30M

Scribe has raised a $22 million Series A led by Tiger Global, in addition to a previously unannounced $8 million seed round led by Amplify Partners. Based in the Bay Area, Scribe's workflow documentation platform allows users to automatically generate and share step-by-step guides for any process.

Select Additional Investors:

AME Cloud Ventures, Haystack Management Company, Morado Ventures, XYZ-Ventures

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Our Next Energy charges up with $25M

Breakthrough Energy Ventures has led a $25 million Series A for Our Next Energy. Founded in 2020, the Michigan-based company is a developer of energy storage solutions for electric vehicles.

Additional Investors:

Assembly Ventures, BMW i Ventures, Flex, Volta Energy Technologies

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View 3 competitors »

TripleBlind banks $24M

TripleBlind has raised a $24 million Series A co-led by General Catalyst and Mayo Clinic. Based in Kansas City, Mo., the company is a developer of private data sharing solutions intended to help enterprise customers share sensitive data and meet regulatory standards.

Select Additional Investors:

Accenture Ventures, Basecamp Fund, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, Flyover Capital, NextGen Venture Partners

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View 45 competitors »

Hunt Club tracks down $10M

Chicago-based Hunt Club has raised a $10 million Series A led by Teamworthy Ventures. The company is the developer of an HR tech platform used to identify candidates via internal referrals and recommendations.

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View similar company »

Fundraising

Alaska Airlines launches venture arm

Alaska Airlines has launched its corporate venture arm, Alaska Star Ventures, with plans to invest in emerging technologies that can help the company reach its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, TechCrunch reported. Its first investment is in UP Partners' $230 million mobility tech-focused venture fund.