12º Investors raising funds - 6th May

Analyst reports:

• State of Private Markets: Q1 2023 : The venture capital industry faced significant declines in both capital raised and deal count in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year. The quarter saw the slowest capital raised and deal count since 2017. There was a decline in total rounds across all stages. Other notable Q1 events include a spike in down rounds and an increase in startups opting for bridge rounds. There was a 20% increase in the number of venture-backed companies acquired or merged with another company with the majority of those deals valued at $10 million or less. (Link)
• Global Fund Performance Report (as of Q3 2022 with preliminary Q4 2022 data). Private equity and venture capital funds are generating lower returns on their investments with both strategies lagging far behind their 10-year averages on performance. Preliminary data from Q4 2022 shows PE and VC funds’ quarterly horizon IRR at -0.2% and -0.8%, respectively. (PitchBook)

News:

• US PE exits slow to a trickle in Q1. Sales of PE-backed companies in the US have been sluggish in 2023 as buyout firms avoid offloading their investments at lower valuations. (Link)

Inverstors raising funds:

• Horizon Capital of London held a $254m first close for a growth equity fund focused on companies in Ukraine and Moldova. Link
• QED Investors, an Alexandria, Va.-based VC firm, is raising $600m for its eighth flagship fund and $250m for its second growth fund, per SEC filings. Link
• Vera Equity, a fintech VC firm co-founded by former Venmo COO Michael Vaughn, raised $20m for its first fund. Link
• Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group are launching a $1b decarbonization fund targeting U.S. and European startups in floating offshore wind power and renewable aviation fuels, per Nikkei. Link
• Sound Ventures, an LA-based VC firm, raised $243m for a fund focused on AI startups. Link
• Wen Hsieh is stepping down as a partner with Kleiner Perkins to launch a $200m-targeted fund being backed by Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC. Link
• Brightspark, a Canadian VC firm, held a C$75m first close on its second fund (targeting C$120m). Link
• Gigascale Capital has launched to invest in early-stage climate startups. Its founders are Mike Schroepfer (ex-Meta CTO), Victoria Beasley (Prelude Ventures) and Evaline Tsai (Fine Structure Ventures). Link
• OGCI Climate Investments is targeting $750m for its second fund. Link
• Cowen Healthcare Investments raised $556m for its fourth fund. Link
• Elefund, a Mountain View, Calif.-based VC firm, is raising $100m for its third fund. Link
• Fourward Ventures, a consumer-focused VC firm led by talent manager Will Ward, is raising $50m for its debut fund. Link
• HV Capital, a German VC firm, raised €710m for its ninth fund. Link
• Investindustrial of London raised more than €1.1b for its third growth fund. Link
• Pacific Avenue Capital Partners, an LA-based PE firm focused on midmarket corporate divestitures, raised over $500m for its debut fund. Link

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