PitchBook News - Agtech harvests a strong year for VC

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The Daily Pitch: VC

March 22, 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 Agtech Report takes a detailed look at the sector's investment activity, emerging opportunities and more.

The US PE middle market had its busiest year on record in 2021.

The supply of capital in the VC industry is increasing rapidly, helping startup founders push their preferences in term sheet negotiations.

Today's Top Stories

Agtech books strongest year yet for VC funding and exit value

Agtech startups are capitalizing on innovative technologies that promise financial, social and environmental returns to an increasingly diverse set of backers including tech, impact and nontraditional investors. VCs invested $10.5 billion across 751 deals in agtech startups in 2021, a deal value increase of more than 58% year-over-year.

Ag biotech companies are expected to continue drawing substantial investment amid demand for environmentally friendly agricultural practices and an increasing awareness of climate change and food security issues.

Our 2021 Annual Agtech Report dives deep into the sector's investment activity, comprehensively assessing emerging opportunities across market segments like indoor farming, ag biotech and agricultural finance.

read the preview

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Increasing capital in VC industry gives founders an edge in dealmaking

(Feodora Chiosea/Getty Images)

US VC firms had a record year for fundraising in 2021, helping startup founders access a deeper and wider pool of capital.

As the supply of funding increases, founders are likely to have more options in searching for capital, working with more partners and potentially finding attractive deal terms.

We took a deep dive into how trends in startup-friendly term sheets and more are coinciding with robust VC fundraising activity in the US.

Recommended Reads

Despite all the excitement around cities like Austin and Miami, the biggest tech expansion has been quietly taking place in Toronto. [The New York Times]

Why some astronomers are tallying the growing carbon footprint of space science. [Wired]

The Nebraska cattlemen planning to build their own plant to bypass the meat-processing giants with a monopoly on cattle prices. [The Wall Street Journal]

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

30

VC valuations

1550

People

502

Companies

44

Funds

See what our data software can do

Quick Takes


	The Daily Benchmark
	2012 Vintage Global PE Funds between $250M-$500M
	Partner Perspectives
	A big year in Philadelphia
	VC Deals
	CommerceIQ brings in $115M Series D
	Bionic snags $65M in Series B
	Glia hits unicorn status with $45M Series D
	Helcim rakes in $16M
	Satellite intelligence startup scores $16M
	Sequoia debuts accelerator program
	Fundraising
	Qualcomm launches $100M fund

The Daily Benchmark

2012 Vintage Global PE Funds between $250M-$500M

Median IRR

14.10%

Top Quartile IRR

23.61%

1.68x

Median TVPI

Select top performers

BVIP Fund VIII

Frontenac X Private Capital

Excellere Capital Fund II

*IRR: net of fees

25 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

Partner Perspectives

A big year in Philadelphia

Philadelphia's VC ecosystem had a record-breaking 2021, with almost $8 billion invested during the year. Almost half of that amount was raised by one company, Gopuff, which is becoming a poster child for the city's consumer scene. Perhaps most tellingly, outside investors are validating Philadelphia's ecosystem. In 2021, New York-based VCs more than doubled the number of investments they made in Philadelphia. Investors from Silicon Valley and Boston also flocked to the city last year.

In conjunction with PitchBook, PACT Philadelphia has released its 2021 Philadelphia Venture Report. The report covers dealmaking trends across sectors, stages, exits and fundraising, among others.

To download the report, click here.

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VC Deals

CommerceIQ brings in $115M Series D

CommerceIQ has raised $115 million in a round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, with support from Insight Partners, Trinity Ventures, Shasta Ventures and Madrona Venture Group. The Palo Alto-based company offers an ecommerce management platform that helps online brands automate operations.

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Bionic snags $65M in Series B

Insight Partners has led a $65 million round for Bionic, a Palo Alto-based application security posture management startup that launched out of stealth in 2020. Cyberstarts and Battery Ventures also backed the round.

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Glia hits unicorn status with $45M Series D

Glia, a provider of digital customer service solutions, has raised a $45 million round led by Insight Partners, bringing the startup's total funding to $152 million and propelling its valuation to over $1 billion. Glia's tech is used by banks, credit unions, insurance companies and others.

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Helcim rakes in $16M

Payments specialist Helcim has raised a $16 million Series A co-led by Information Venture Partners and Aquiline Capital Partners. The Calgary-based company works with small businesses in 800 industries across the US and Canada.

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Satellite intelligence startup scores $16M

New York-based Ursa Space has raised a $16 million Series C led by Dorilton Ventures, with support from existing backers such as Razor's Edge Ventures, RRE Ventures and Paladin Capital Group. The startup, which provides users with satellite imagery and analytics, was valued at $117 million in May, according to PitchBook data.

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Sequoia debuts accelerator program

VC firm Sequoia has launched Arc, a program focused on growing seed-stage companies in the US and Europe. Startups will receive a $1 million investment and participate in eight-week sessions to learn how to start, build and scale their businesses.

Don't miss our upcoming ESG webinar

Sustainable investing and ESG continue to carve out a niche in the market, but this growth hasn't been without ambiguity or a lack of consensus on what these trends are and how they operate.

This webinar will explore some of the prevailing sustainable investing philosophies, the groups behind them, and how this intersects with topics like greenwashing and impact.

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Fundraising

Qualcomm launches $100M fund

Qualcomm has raised $100 million to launch its Snapdragon Metaverse Fund, which is intended to support immersive reality and related AI startups in sectors including gaming, health, media and education.

View details

View 406 investments »