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VCs Put Workaholic Month Behind Them
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By Yuliya Chernova, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Dear VCs, you worked hard in November!
In the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, investors were viewing startup pitch decks at an unprecedented rate, according to data from DocSend, a document-sharing and analytics software provider that is part of Dropbox.
“This year we saw a record-setting spike—so much so that we thought it was an error in our data,” said Justin Izzo, who is research lead for DocSend at Dropbox. “But it turned out that it was investors cramming in a lot of work before taking some time off,” Mr. Izzo added.
Activity peaked the week of Nov. 8 when pitch decks saw 44 interactions with investors on average, a jump from about 28 times two weeks prior, according to DocSend data. When Thanksgiving rolled around, investor activity cooled, so that they opened decks about 26 times, per DocSend. Investor-deck interactions are a proxy for venture demand for deals, Mr. Izzo said.
In November 2020, investor activity was more consistent, with investors checking out decks roughly 20 times a week throughout the month.
Overall, VCs are working at faster rates, interacting with more decks and going through them faster in 2021 than in the previous three years, according to DocSend.
The relatively slow Thanksgiving week of 2021 was at a level well above any other week in the prior three years in terms of investor interactions with pitch decks on DocSend.
“Even though investors were trying to take some time off over Thanksgiving, they still did more work than they would have pre-Covid because the market is so hot and they don't want to miss out on anything,” said Russ Heddleston, co-founder and head of commercial, DocSend at Dropbox.
And now on to the news...
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PHOTO: NAVER Z
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Metaverse bet. SoftBank Group Corp. is investing $150 million in a South Korean metaverse platform that has amassed a large following of young female users by selling high-fashion items for 3-D avatars, according to the companies involved in the deal, Jiyoung Sohn reports for The Wall Street Journal.
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Naver Corp.’s Zepeto, which users access via a mobile app, is Asia’s busiest metaverse platform with about 2 million active users a day. People scan a photo and can build digital likenesses of themselves, then hang out in virtual worlds. Users can voice chat with each other and roam through virtual spaces.
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The SoftBank Vision Fund 2 investment values Zepeto, launched in 2018, at more than $1 billion. A group of South Korean investors including HYBE Co., which manages K-pop boy band BTS, is separately pouring in about $41 million at the same valuation. The Series B fundraising round led by SoftBank was announced Tuesday.
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$62.5 Billion
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The predicted size of the AI software market in 2022, a 21.3% increase from this year, according to a Gartner Inc. report. (WSJ Pro)
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Steven Cohen’s Venture Firm Backs 24-Hour Stock-Trading Startup
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Hedge-fund billionaire and New York Mets owner Steven A. Cohen is backing a startup that wants to let investors trade stocks 24 hours a day, seven days a week, WSJ reports. Point72 Ventures, Mr. Cohen’s early-stage venture-capital fund, is leading a $14.25 million funding round for 24 Exchange, which is set to announce the transaction later Wednesday.
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Electricity-Market Tech Platform Voltus Going Public in $1.3 Billion SPAC Deal
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Voltus Inc. is going public by combining with a special-purpose acquisition company in a merger that values the electricity-market technology startup at about $1.3 billion, the companies said, according to the Journal. Based in San Francisco, Voltus uses software to manage small, decentralized electricity systems known as distributed energy resources for customers such as Coca-Cola Co. and Home Depot Inc.
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Facebook Parent Told to Sell Giphy by U.K. Regulator
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The U.K.’s top competition regulator directed Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook, to sell social-media animated-images company Giphy, saying its acquisition could limit competition among platforms and U.K. advertisers, the Journal reports. Facebook bought Giphy in May 2020 for $315 million, according to documents published as part of a review of the deal by the Competition and Markets Authority that has been under way since last year. The regulator said Tuesday that the deal, among other things, had removed Giphy as a potential challenger in the display-advertising market, in line with its provisional findings issued in August. “We disagree with this decision,” Meta said in a
statement. “We are reviewing the decision and considering all options, including appeal.”
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Correction: Private-equity firms have announced a record $944.4 billion worth of deals in the U.S. so far this year, including buyouts and exits, according to Dealogic. A Top News item in Monday’s newsletter incorrectly said they had announced $944.4 billion worth of buyouts.
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Funds
Lightspeed China Partners raised a total of $920 million for a pair of new funds, evenly split between an early-stage vehicle and an emerging growth-stage investor. Lightspeed China Partners V LP and Lightspeed China Partners Select II LP will focus on sectors including green tech, deep tech, enterprise tech, health tech and consumer across China. The firm said it closed Lightspeed China Partners IV at $360 million and Lightspeed China Partners Select I at $200 million at the beginning of 2019.
Borderless Capital launched its Borderless ALGO Fund II with $500 million in commitments to invest in digital assets powering the next generation of decentralized applications on the Algorand blockchain. Last week, the Miami-based firm closed a $10 million fund to invest in the ecosystem surrounding PlanetWatch.
Vienna-based Speedinvest launched a new €80 million (approximately $90 million) fund to support European climate tech startups. So far, the Climate & Industry Opportunity fund has participated in financing rounds for packaging platform Packhelp and micro-mobility startup TIER Mobility.
People
Certificial, an intelligent insurance verification and monitoring platform, appointed Katherine Moura as chief marketing officer. She was previously CMO at CoverHound and CyberPolicy. Jersey City, N.J.-based Certificial said it raised a $5.8 million Series A round in June from IA Capital, Nationwide, Cofounders Capital, Fin Venture Capital and Cameron Ventures.
Exits
Cryptocurrency services provider Blockchain.com acquired Argentinan crypto company SeSocio for an undisclosed amount. In March, Blockchain.com said it raised $300 million in funding led by DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners and VY Capital valuing the London- and Miami-based company at $5.2 billion.
German internal communications platform Staffbase acquired Valo Solutions, a provider of intranet and workplace services for Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Microsoft Teams. Terms weren’t disclosed. In March, Staffbase said it secured a $145 million round from General Atlantic, Insight Partners and e.ventures.
Beauty and wellness appointment booking app Booksy purchased Kiute, a provider of salon management and booking software in France, for an undisclosed sum. Early this year, San Francisco-based Booksy picked up a $70 million Series C round from Cat Rock Capital, Sprints Capital, OpenOcean, Piton Capital, Manta Ray Ventures and others. Kiute is listed in the portfolio of Serena Capital.
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Accel Club, an Amsterdam-based startup that buys and grows e-commerce brands, completed a $170 million round of equity and debt. Redseed led the equity portion, which included support from Flyer One Ventures. North Wall Capital led the debt financing.
Via Transportation Inc., a New York-based public transit software provider, scored $130 million in Series G funding at a $3.3 billion valuation. Janus Henderson led the round, which saw participation from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, ION Crossover Partners, Koch Disruptive Technologies and Exor.
CloudTrucks, a San Francisco-based trucking business management provider, secured $115 million in Series B financing, bringing the company’s valuation to $850 million. Tiger Global Management led the round, which included contributions from Menlo Ventures, Flexport and others.
Fundbox, an AI-powered financial platform for small businesses with offices in Plano, Texas, and Tel Aviv, closed a $100 million Series D round at a valuation of $1.1 billion. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan led the funding, which included participation from Allianz X, Khosla Ventures and others.
Reibus International Inc., an Atlanta-based industrial materials marketplace, raised $75 million in Series B funding at a valuation of $750 million. Lead investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2 was joined by Canaan Partners, Nosara Capital, Battery Ventures, Bowery Capital, Initialized Capital and FJ Labs in the round.
Cycode, a San Francisco-based software supply chain security provider, raised $56 million in Series B funding. Lead investor Insight Partners was joined by YL Ventures in the round.
ThreeFlow, an employee benefit placement collaboration platform, collected a $45 million Series B round. Accel led the funding, which included contributions from Emergence Capital, Equal Ventures and First Trust Capital Partners.
Solutions by Text, a Dallas-based text messaging platform for consumer financial services institutions, collected $35 million in growth financing. Edison Partners led the investment, with additional participation from Stifel Venture Bank, a division of Stifel Bank. The company also appointed David Baxter as chief executive. He previously led sales at ACI Worldwide. Kelly Ford, general partner at Edison Partners, will join the Solutions by Text board.
Endowus, a Singapore-based wealth management app, added 35 million Singapore dollars ($27 million) in new funding. Prosus Ventures and EDBI co-led the round, which included participation from Z Venture Capital, UBS, Singtel Innov8 and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Abacum Inc., a San Francisco-based provider of collaborative financial planning and analysis software, closed a $25 million Series A round led by Atomico.
Axiado Corp., a San Jose, Calif.-based hardware security startup, closed a $25 million oversubscribed Series B round led by individual investor Dennis Anthony H. Uy and Orbit Venture Partners.
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David Marcus, seen in 2019, will be succeeded by Stephane Kasriel. PHOTO: ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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