More is at stake in Ukraine than meets the eye

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The Weekend Pitch

February 27, 2022

Presented by Stout

(Anton Petrus/Getty Images)

This is Andrew Woodman in London. I had another topic planned for this Sunday, but by Thursday morning, when Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, this crisis had become too big to ignore. It scarcely needs to be said that those hit hardest are the people of Ukraine, and the greatest tragedy has been the loss of life they have suffered and may still suffer in the coming weeks.

Yet the shock and dismay felt from the invasion has been widespread. Many have friends and family who are gravely impacted. In the tech and venture capital industries there will be companies—with colleagues in the country—for whom the crisis has a personal dimension, PitchBook among them.

Like the pandemic that we are not yet fully recovered from, the latest international crisis has demonstrated how easy it is to take for granted what is "normal" and driven home just how interconnected we all are.

This is The Weekend Pitch, and you can reach me at andrew.woodman@pitchbook.com or follow me on Twitter @adwoodman.

When it comes to the sheer volume of VC investment in European countries like the UK, France and Germany, Ukraine has always had a relatively modest amount of startup activity, so our coverage of the country has historically been light. But it would be a mistake to let that diminish Ukraine's contribution to startup growth, not just in Europe, but across the globe.

Quote/Unquote

A military cargo truck in central Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday morning.
(Daniel Liel/Getty Images)

"A number of [startup] employees are going to fight and they want to go to the front, and of course, we have to respect that."

—Cristobal Alonso, CEO of Startup Wise Guys, an Estonian accelerator that has five team members based in Ukraine and around 36 portfolio investments in the country.

Deal Flow

The global median VC fund size reached a new peak of $50 million last year, representing an 8% year-over-year uptick from the previous record set in 2020.

Check out our 2021 Annual Private Fund Strategies Report for additional details on how the private fundraising market performed by strategy, region, stage and more.

Did you know ...

(PM Images/Getty Images)

… That growth equity fundraising in the US rose sharply in 2021—posting the highest figure in a decade and more than twice the amount in 2020?

The surge in activity is primarily driven by PE investors on the hunt for stronger returns and exposure to higher growth companies. The outlook for growth equity in 2022, however, remains uncertain.

Datapoints

US female founders tallied a record number of public listings and acquisitions in 2021.

As a whole, US VC-backed companies showed exceptional signs of strength last year, generating more than $774 billion in exit value.

So how exactly did female founders compare? Our visualization shows how exits for female-founded companies lined up against the overall exit boom in the venture ecosystem.

Recommended reads

How diesel giant Cummins plans to beat Tesla in the green engine battle. [Forbes]

As the five-day workweek fades, the implications for work, cities and the geography of labor will be fascinating, posits one writer. [The Atlantic]

Meet Diana Beresford-Kroeger, a Canada-based botanist and author who's created a forest designed to withstand a warming planet. [The New York Times]

As inventories remain tight, luxury New York homes are getting scooped up in off-market deals. [The Wall Street Journal]

What the Russia sanctions could mean for US inflation. [Money]

Nations on Europe's northern rim have bucked the trend of plunging fertility rates, shining a spotlight on the Nordic welfare model. [Bloomberg]

This edition of The Weekend Pitch was written by Andrew Woodman and Priyamvada Mathur. It was edited by Alexander Davis, Angela Sams and Sam Steele.

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