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The Daily Pitch: VC

December 3, 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:

A look at how VC-backed IPOs pace against the broader market.

An analysis of what's driving demand for beverage robots and how VCs are fueling the trend.

Today's Top Stories

How venture-backed IPOs pace against the broader market

(Foxeel/Getty Images)

The IPO market in the US has smashed records in 2021 for both total value and count, with $513 billion across 221 listings through Q3—exits that often come with a healthy step-up valuation for private investors.

How do returns on these red-hot IPOs hold up?

Our latest analyst note, shaped by our updated VC-backed IPO index, tracks both current and historic price performance to evaluate the success of these listings against the broader market.

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Beverage robots drink up VC funding

(Westend61/Getty Images)

The hospitality industry has always been characterized by high attrition rates, but labor shortages have disproportionately affected it during the pandemic. The sector is now turning to beverage robots that can help restaurants streamline operations, maintain target service levels and offer new services via precision automation.

Our recent analyst note explores major trends driving the demand for beverage robots and provides an overview of emerging VC-backed startups in the nascent industry, including Botrista, Cafe X and Somabar.

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A message from West Monroe

Why private equity leaders need to level up on data science

Today, a successful deal is dependent on external data sources married with company data, requiring private equity to shift to more advanced analysis to stay competitive. Until recently, analyst experience, personal relationships and Excel prowess were relied on to guide decision-making and review target companies. But new methods have emerged.

Data science identifies how operating executives should focus their resources. Using billions of data points, scarce company resources can be directed to initiatives that generate the highest return on investment. For example, West Monroe recently worked with a private equity-backed software company to evaluate several value-driving questions, including: Who are the customers we can upgrade? How can we quantify our churn risk?

Discover how data science helps the private equity industry deliver increased returns.

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Lawmakers' moonlighting affair is an inconvenient truth for private equity

(Drew Sanders/PitchBook News)

Not for the first time, the relationship between politicians and their corporate connections has come under scrutiny.

The latest focus has been the more than 30 members of the British Parliament who supplement their public income by moonlighting as consultants in the private sector and the potential conflicts of interest that come with their actions.

How could it impact PE and investors' attempts to do business with key decision-makers in the UK?

Recommended Reads

Marketers are rushing to collect their own information on consumers as tech giants and governments institute new privacy protections that threaten the flow of user data utilized to target ads. [The Wall Street Journal]

The growing difficulties of managing the world's largest sovereign wealth fund. [The Economist]

Mounting research on the negative health effects of continuous noise exposure has led cities to take action through ordinances and urban design. Now they're automating the war on noise pollution. [Bloomberg]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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VC valuations

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People

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2016 Vintage Global PE Funds with more than $1B
	A message from BMO Harris Bank
	Security, supply chain and surging prices: The triple threat
	VC Deals
	Rapid grocery delivery startup valued at $1.2B with $260M round
	Mexico's Kueski lands $202M Series C
	Battery Ventures backs Smartling in $160M round
	Panther Labs nabs $120M at unicorn valuation
	Shiftsmart raises $95M for labor management platform
	Business travel startup books $65M
	100 Thieves snags $60M
	Kayak leads $60M round for Life House
	Portfolio Companies
	Swiggy to spend $700M on express grocery delivery
	IRL picks up 'digital nutrition' startup
	VC-backed Picsart to acquire DeepCraft
	Exits & IPOs
	Grab shares close down more than 20% in first day of trading
	Video platform Rumble looks to go public via SPAC

The Daily Benchmark

2016 Vintage Global PE Funds with more than $1B

Median IRR

18.26%

Top Quartile IRR

26.51%

1.54x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Summit Partners Growth Equity Fund IX

TA XII

Parthenon Investors V

*IRR: net of fees

48 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

A message from BMO Harris Bank

Security, supply chain and surging prices: The triple threat

Middle-market borrowers are increasingly seeking to fortify their operations to prevent cybersecurity attacks while managing supply chain issues and inflationary pressures. The latest issue of Transaction Trends has insights into how middle-market companies are currently navigating through these operating challenges.

To learn more, download the full issue of Transaction Trends. You can also contact Stephen R. Isaacs, managing director and head of BMO Sponsor Finance, at Stephen.Isaacs@bmo.com.

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VC Deals

Rapid grocery delivery startup valued at $1.2B with $260M round

New York-based Jokr has raised a $260 million Series B that values the rapid grocery delivery startup at $1.2 billion. The round, which will be used to expand in the US and Latin America, was reportedly led by HV Capital and supported by new and existing investors including Tiger Global, Balderton, GGV and Activant. The company raised $170 million in July.

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Mexico's Kueski lands $202M Series C

Mexican fintech startup Kueski has raised $202 million in debt and equity for its Series C round. The equity portion of the financing was led by StepStone Group, while Victory Park Capital led the debt funding. Other investors including OnePrime Capital, Glisco Partners and Altos Ventures also supported the financing. Kueski offers buy now, pay later services and an online consumer lending platform.

Additional Investors:

Cometa, Richmond Global Ventures, Cathay Innovation, Rise Capital, Angel Ventures Mexico

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Battery Ventures backs Smartling in $160M round

Smartling, the creator of a cloud translation management and automation platform, has raised a $160 million growth investment from Battery Ventures. The startup's tech is used by B2B and B2C brands like Shopify and Lyft to localize multilingual content across various devices and platforms.

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Panther Labs nabs $120M at unicorn valuation

Data security analytics specialist Panther Labs has raised a $120 million Series B led by Coatue, with support from Iconiq Capital, Snowflake Ventures, Lightspeed, S28 Capital and Innovation Endeavors. The new funding values the San Francisco-based startup at $1.4 billion, up from a $45 million valuation in July 2020, according to PitchBook data. Panther Labs' security monitoring platform helps brands detect threats and respond to security incidents.

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Shiftsmart raises $95M for labor management platform

Shiftsmart has raised $95 million in Series B funding led by D1 Capital Partners, with participation from Imaginary Ventures, Spieker Partners and S12F, among other investors. The startup offers a labor management platform that connects skilled workers with companies who are looking for staff in over 50 countries, and provides services like scheduling, payments and onboarding.

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Business travel startup books $65M

Hotel Engine has been valued at $1.3 billion with a $65 million Series B, up from the more than $150 million valuation the company reached with a $16 million round in 2019. The new funding was led by Telescope Partners, with support from Blackstone. The startup's platform, which lets users book hotels for business travel, is used by more than 40,000 companies in over 185 countries.

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100 Thieves snags $60M

100 Thieves, a gaming organization and lifestyle brand, has raised a $60 million Series C led by Green Bay Ventures. Other backers including Breyer Capital, Aglaé Ventures, Tao Capital, Willoughby Capital and Artist Capital Management also participated in the funding, which values the Los Angeles-based startup at $460 million. The round will be used to help 100 Thieves grow its core esports, entertainment and apparel businesses while also launching new businesses and making strategic acquisitions.

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Kayak leads $60M round for Life House

Life House, the creator of a hotel software and operations platform, has raised a $60 million Series C led by new backers Kayak and Inovia Capital. Investors including Tiger Global, Derive Ventures, JLL, Trinity Ventures, Sound Ventures, Thayer Ventures and Cooley also participated. Founded in 2017, the startup manages the operations of nearly 50 hotels in North America.

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Portfolio Companies

Swiggy to spend $700M on express grocery delivery

Indian food delivery platform Swiggy will invest $700 million into expanding its express grocery service, Instamart, Bloomberg reported. The service launched in Gurugram and Bengaluru last year, and it now operates in 18 cities. Swiggy, also based in Bengaluru, has raised funding from investors including Prosus Ventures, SoftBank, Qatar Investment Authority and Accel.

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IRL picks up 'digital nutrition' startup

Venture-backed IRL has acquired AeBeZe Labs, a company focused on "digital nutrition" whose platform helps users understand the potentially negative impacts of content they consume. IRL, which raised a unicorn round led by SoftBank in June, provides a social and event-planning app.

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VC-backed Picsart to acquire DeepCraft

Picsart has agreed to buy research and development company DeepCraft, in a deal that TechCrunch reported to be in the seven-figure range. San Francisco-based Picsart, which provides a digital content creation platform, is backed by investors including SoftBank, Sequoia, DCM and G Squared.

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Exits & IPOs

Grab shares close down more than 20% in first day of trading

Shares of Singapore's Grab closed down over 20% in their first day on the Nasdaq after a brief rise in early hours of trading. The company, which provides ridehailing, delivery and digital payments services, went public through a combination with blank-check company Altimeter Growth Corp., raising $4.5 billion in gross proceeds. Grab's stock closed Thursday at $8.75, giving the company a market cap of about $34.6 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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Video platform Rumble looks to go public via SPAC

Rumble has established plans to go public on the Nasdaq through a combination with blank-check company CF Acquisition Corp. VI that gives Rumble an initial enterprise value of $2.1 billion. The deal, which is expected to provide Rumble with $400 million in proceeds, is set to close in Q2 2022. The creator of a video distribution platform has received prior backing from Peter Thiel, Colt Ventures and Narya Capital.

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