PitchBook News - What's driving AI & ML mega-exits

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The Daily Pitch: VC

November 23, 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:

Our Global Real Assets Report explores growing investor interest in infrastructure bets and the future of oil and gas amid ESG pressures.

An analysis of what's driving the rapid rise in mega-exits for AI and machine learning startups, and what 2022 might hold for the space.

MoonPay adds to the $26.7 billion that cryptocurrency and blockchain companies have amassed in global VC funding this year.

Today's Top Stories

What's driving the AI & ML mega-exit boom

(monsitj/Getty Images)

The rapid increase in mega-exits of AI and machine learning startups demonstrates promising areas for private companies to apply AI & ML, including autonomous vehicles, information security and IT operations.

Mega-exits in the sector have tripled from eight to 26 year-over-year through the third quarter of 2021, with deal value quintupling to $153.3 billion.

Our latest analyst note explores leading use cases for AI mega-exits and why companies that use deep learning as their primary AI architecture are on pace to overtake supervised machine learning startups in mega-exits by 2022.

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This may be a turning point for real assets

The outlook for real assets is more bullish than it has been in years. However, only time will tell whether GPs and LPs will be attracted to strategies that have underperformed for years.

Our Q3 2021 Global Real Assets Report dives deep into fundraising activity, commodity performance, transportation trends and more. Takeaways include:

Infrastructure managers have continued to attract capital by delivering reliable fund returns in the region of 10%.

The passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure package in the US may create some public-private partnership opportunities for private capital, while government transportation and renewable energy projects in Europe and Australia continue to facilitate investment.

Fundraising in oil and gas has been lackluster in 2021, continuing a steady decline that began in the mid-2010s. It remains to be seen whether elevated prices will lure capital back into the strategy despite ESG pressures.

read the report

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Partner Perspectives

PE's push into the mental health space

Private equity is paying increased attention to the mental and behavioral health space. Dealmaking figures show a post-COVID bump in transactions, following a surge in patient demand over the past 18 months.

In partnership with PitchBook, Vector Medical Group has released Private Equity's Push into the Mental Health Space. The surge in demand caught many providers off guard, especially with social distancing requirements forcing appointments online. PE capital is helping mental health providers boost their telehealth capabilities. Similar trends are happening in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation market. The report includes an in-depth Q&A on the mental health market with Dana Jacoby, CEO of Vector Medical Group.

To download the report, click here.

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MoonPay adds to crypto's $26B+ cash pile

As the cryptocurrency universe grows, entrepreneurs see an opportunity to provide fintech infrastructure akin to payments giants like Stripe and PayPal.

Infrastructure startup MoonPay has raised $555 million at a $3.4 billion valuation, co-led by Tiger Global and Coatue.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain companies have amassed $26.7 billion in global VC funding across 1,475 deals this year, more than quadruple last year's haul.

The Series A was the first round of institutional capital for Miami-based MoonPay, a profitable company with clients including NFT marketplace OpenSea and Bitcoin.com, a platform for buying and holding digital currencies.

Tiger Global's stable of crypto unicorns has grown to nearly a dozen, including FTX, TaxBit and BlockFi.

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Recommended Reads

Why public retirement funds are facing a cash crunch that could force them to sell assets at losses to pay pension checks. [The Wall Street Journal]

As demand for labor rises, how many workers are willing to rejoin the labor force? [Financial Times]

How brands are adopting strategic aesthetics to ensure consumers can't resist the lure of a well-designed package. [The Atlantic]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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VC valuations

1541

People

514

Companies

17

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2013 Vintage Global Growth Funds
	VC Deals
	LTK hits $2B valuation
	Tiger Global leads $250M round for Deliverr
	Sword Health brings in $163M Series D
	AutoFlight flies off with $100M Series A
	Singapore's Pace banks $40M
	Render hauls in $20M

The Daily Benchmark

2013 Vintage Global Growth Funds

Median IRR

12.30%

Top Quartile IRR

19.70%

1.50x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Financial Partners Fund I

DFJ Growth 2013

Insight Venture Partners VIII

*IRR: net of fees

17 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

LTK hits $2B valuation

Influencer marketing platform LTK has raised $300 million from SoftBank at a $2 billion valuation. The company connects brands with influencers to create social media shopping experiences. Formerly known as RewardStyle and Liketoknow.it, Dallas-based LTK was valued at $374.5 million in 2015, according to PitchBook data.

View round

View 68 competitors »

Tiger Global leads $250M round for Deliverr

Deliverr, a provider of ecommerce fulfillment services, has raised a $250 million Series E led by Tiger Global. In January, the San Francisco-based company raised $170 million at a $900 million valuation, according to PitchBook data.

View round

View 28 competitors »

Sword Health brings in $163M Series D

Sword Health has raised $163 million at a $2 billion valuation in a round led by Sapphire Ventures. The New York-based company provides virtual healthcare for patients with musculoskeletal conditions. The fundraise also includes a secondary investment of $26 million.

Select Additional Investors:

Bond Capital, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Green Innovations, Khosla Ventures, Localglobe, Sozo Ventures

View round

View 13 competitors »

AutoFlight flies off with $100M Series A

Electric aircraft startup AutoFlight has raised $100 million in a Series A round led by Berlin-based tech holding company Team Global and its CEO Lukasz Gadowski. The Chinese startup is creating both passenger and cargo autonomous aircraft and aims to enter mass production by 2024. Following the funding, AutoFlight will create a European subsidiary in Germany to work on its air taxi program.

View round

View 1 competitors »

Singapore's Pace banks $40M

Pace has raised a $40 million Series A from investors including UOB Venture Management, Marubeni Ventures and Atinum Partners. The company is the developer of a buy now, pay later platform for merchants across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Additional Investors:

Alpha JWC Ventures, AppWorks, Genesis Alternative Ventures, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia

View round

View similar company »

Render hauls in $20M

Render has raised a $20 million Series A led Addition, with participation from General Catalyst and South Park Commons. Based in the Bay area, the company's DevOps platform helps companies such as Clearbit and Anker to host applications and websites in the cloud.

View round

View 3 competitors »

PitchBook Webinar: Private fund strategies—Spotlight on VC

Join PitchBook on Dec. 1 for a discussion on the current state of private fund performance in the latest installment of our recurring webinar series, Private Fund Strategies.

Get the latest insights into market performance across asset classes and strategies, including a spotlight on VC and massive VC-backed exit value, record-breaking fundraising, and the continued proliferation of mega-deals.

Key topics include:

A quarterly update on private market fund performance and fundraising.

A spotlight on performance across VC strategies, including a detailed comparison of established and emerging fund managers.

A deep dive on sector specialist fund manager performance.

Deal-level returns as seen through our original research.

Sign up today

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Chart of the Day

Source: PitchBook's H1 2021 Global Real Estate Report

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PitchBook News - What's driving AI & ML mega-exits

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VC valuations surge higher

PE's inconvenient truth

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