European VC valuations continue their charge

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The Daily Pitch: VC

February 17, 2022

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 2021 Annual European VC Valuations Report examines the key trends across stages, industries and regions that shaped valuations last year.

We take a look at US VC firms with an uncanny ability to make home runs out of early-stage investments by backing unicorns-to-be.

Riverstone has taken a stake in Blackhorn Ventures as it seeks to support its decarbonization strategy and access early-stage investments.

Today's Top Stories

Frenzied European dealmaking drives valuations through the roof

European VC valuations continued to break records in 2021 across all stages as investors competed fiercely to participate in outsized rounds.

Pandemic-induced growth for tech startups and an increase in nontraditional investors helped drive the astonishing climb in companies' price tags. Our 2021 Annual European VC Valuations Report takes an in-depth look at the key trends across stages, industries and regions that shaped valuations last year. Highlights include:

Median late-stage valuations rose more than 61% year-over-year, contributing to the creation of dozens of new unicorns.

Software startups benefited the most from the boost, with pre-money valuations for late-stage companies roughly doubling from their previous record in 2020.

The aggregate post-money valuation of European unicorns grew to €329.7 billion in 2021, nearly tripling from 2020's total.

Strong exit activity produced a bumper year for 2021 post-money valuations, with the upper quartile seeing a 143.3% increase year-over-year.

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Thrive, Ribbit lead VCs with the highest unicorn batting average

(Vershinin/Getty Images)

There's nothing wrong with backing a company after it has emerged as a market leader, but the skill of VC investing lies in spotting those startups early on.

So which firms are most adept at making home runs out of early-stage investments? In this analysis, we take a look at US VC firms with an uncanny ability to back unicorns-to-be.

Recommended Reads

A look at the unlikely supply chain woes holding up home building. [The New York Times]

A move to a cheaper city comes with a pay cut at many tech companies. But amid a hot talent market, some businesses are finding a different way to handle such relocations. [Protocol]

At the end of 2008, Firefox was flying high. Nearly 15 years later, it's a different story. How will the browser's fate create larger implications for the web as a whole? [Wired]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

11

VC valuations

1597

People

450

Companies

33

Funds

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2014 Vintage Global PE Funds
	A message from Moss Adams
	Fintech continues to evolve
	VC Deals
	Uniphore books $400M Series E
	Flutterwave picks up $250M Series D
	Tiger Global leads $200M round for Genesis
	Spotter raises $200M to support creator platform
	Walking Fish Therapeutics lands $73M
	Equip scoops up $58M

The Daily Benchmark

2014 Vintage Global PE Funds

Median IRR

18.20%

Top Quartile IRR

26.20%

1.72x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Consonance Private Equity

Ufenau IV German Asset Light

Spectrum Equity VII

*IRR: net of fees

100 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

A message from Moss Adams

Fintech continues to evolve

Private investment in fintech accumulated gradually throughout the 2010s, culminating in record-breaking tallies in 2021 and easily exceeding $100 billion in aggregate deal value to date.

Learn how as investment has grown, mature fintechs have commanded larger financings, fueling rapid expansion as well as preparations for liquidity events.

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VC Deals

Uniphore books $400M Series E

Uniphore has raised $400 million at a $2.5 billion valuation in a round led by NEA. Based in Palo Alto, the company is the developer of a conversational automation platform designed to help enterprise businesses manage interactions with their customers.

Additional Investor:

March Capital

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Flutterwave picks up $250M Series D

Flutterwave has raised $250 million at a valuation of more than $3 billion in a round led by B Capital Group. The company, which offers a cloud-based payments platform, has offices in Lagos, Nigeria, and San Francisco.

Select Additional Investors:

Alta Park Capital, Avenir Growth, Glynn Capital, Green Visor Capital, Lux Capital, Tiger Global, Whale Rock Capital

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Tiger Global leads $200M round for Genesis

Genesis has raised a $200 million Series C led by Tiger Global. The company offers an application development platform for financial institutions.

Additional Investors:

Accel, GV, Illuminate Financial Management, Insight Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Tribeca Early Stage Partners

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Spotter raises $200M to support creator platform

Spotter has raised a $200 million Series D led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. Founded in 2019, the funding values the Los Angeles-based company at $1.7 billion. Spotter helps YouTube creators scale operations and license existing content by providing upfront cash.

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Walking Fish Therapeutics lands $73M

Walking Fish Therapeutics has raised a $73 million Series A co-led by Northpond Ventures and First Spark Ventures, with support from Terra Magnum Capital Partners. Based in the Bay Area, the company is a developer of B cell therapeutics intended to help patients with cancer or protein-deficiency diseases.

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Equip scoops up $58M

Equip has raised a $58 million Series B led by The Chernin Group. Based in San Diego, the company is a provider of virtual eating disorder treatment programs.

Additional Investors:

.406 Ventures, Alex Morgan, F-Prime Capital, General Catalyst, Katie Couric, Optum Ventures, Tiger Global

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