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The Daily Pitch: VC

February 28, 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 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Report dives into the market segments driving growth in the maturing vertical.

Apollo Global Management is launching a $100 billion sustainable investing platform to target a range of strategies that will bolster its decarbonization efforts.

Our 2021 Annual Foodtech Report examines the sector's investment activity and assesses emerging opportunities.

Today's Top Stories

Maturing data science infrastructure drives record VC funding for AI startups

Artificial intelligence startups are riding high on rapid enhancements to open-source models, such as those used for multilingual translations and computer vision.

However, venture capital funding for AI and machine learning grew less robustly than software VC overall. Startups in the sector collected $115 billion in 2021, growing only 87.2% year-over-year from $61.4 billion in 2020.

Our 2021 Annual AI and ML Report dives into the vertical's investment activity and trends, assessing emerging opportunities across market segments like horizontal platforms, semiconductors and autonomous machines.

read the preview

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Apollo's $100B sustainable investing platform looks beyond private equity

(Olivier Le Moal/Getty Images)

Apollo Global Management is increasing the firepower behind its decarbonization efforts to the tune of $100 billion.

The asset manager plans to deploy the capital through a new platform devoted to energy transition and the decarbonization of industrial sectors by 2030, highlighting a trend that has become a top priority for firms.

"When you talk about energy transition, it's a theme, not a sector; it permeates so much of what we all do," said Olivia Wassenaar, an Apollo investor who was just promoted to lead the firm's sustainable investing initiative. "So for us, it made sense to come up with a platform approach so that we're thoughtful and coordinated in finding the best source of capital to meet the needs of companies and communities across the globe."

Recommended Reads

Do ESG funds simply represent a hopeful marketing-induced trend that will neither benefit the planet nor provide investors with higher returns? [Institutional Investor]

When a job is done remotely, it's almost impossible to give credit simply for showing up. As a result, managers are rethinking how they value employees' work and how it should be compensated. [Fortune]

The astronomy community is buzzing about the newest space telescope on the block, but Hubble is still going strong. [The Atlantic]

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Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2013 Vintage Global Secondaries Funds
	A message from PitchBook
	Unabated: Reflecting on 15 years of private capital markets growth
	VC Deals
	Valoreo nabs $80M Series B
	InfStones collects $33M
	Fundraising
	Spark pulls in $2B+ across two funds
	Hack VC raises $200M crypto fund

The Daily Benchmark

2013 Vintage Global Secondaries Funds

Median IRR

14.59%

Top Quartile IRR

17.43%

1.45x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

Industry Ventures Special Opportunities Fund II

Industry Ventures Secondary Fund VII

Lexington Middle Market Investors III

*IRR: net of fees

17 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

A message from PitchBook

Unabated: Reflecting on 15 years of private capital markets growth

Over the past 15 years, there have been several key inflection points that have contributed to the growth, maturation and deepening of the global private capital markets. From the global financial crisis and the first unicorn to recent US elections and the pandemic, these factors paved the way for today's record-breaking investment landscape—and will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the future.

What past financial events do you think contributed to today's dealmaking environment? What future implications do these events present for the next 15 years? PitchBook wants to hear your thoughts!

Submit your ideas to pr@pitchbook.com and you may be quoted in an upcoming feature.

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VC Deals

Valoreo nabs $80M Series B

Valoreo has raised $80 million in a round led by L Catterton. Founded in 2020, the Mexico City-based startup acquires, operates and scales ecommerce businesses across Latin America.

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InfStones collects $33M

InfStones has raised a $33 million Series B from investors including Susquehanna International Group, Dragonfly Capital and Qiming Venture Partners. Based in Palo Alto, the company is a provider of blockchain infrastructure for Web3 apps.

Select Additional Investors:

DHVC, INCE Capital Partners

View round

View similar company »

Fundraising

Spark pulls in $2B+ across two funds

Spark Capital has closed its newest set of early-stage and venture-growth funds with over $2.1 billion in commitments. The firm's portfolio includes fintech company Plaid and Slack, the developer of a workplace messaging platform.

View fund

View 320 investments »

Hack VC raises $200M crypto fund

Hack VC has raised $200 million to back early-stage crypto, Web3 and blockchain startups. Based in the Bay Area, the VC firm's portfolio includes crypto exchange operator BlockFi and Canva, the developer of a graphic design platform.

Chart of the Day

"During 2021, first-time VC funds raised $18.8 billion, slightly larger than the $18.0 billion logged in 2020. First-time fund count dropped 27.2% YoY as a modest 311 funds closed in 2021."

Source: PitchBook's 2021 Annual Private Fund Strategies Report