| | | | | The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A | | June 26, 2025 | | The Daily Pitch is powered by PitchBook's industry-defining research and best-in-class data | | | | | | | 🚀 VC funding for the space-tech industry is nearing record heights. But investor bets are becoming more concentrated as the sector matures—and much of the nearly $6 billion tally so far this year came from a single round for stratospheric exploration specialist World View. Learn more
🧠Alphabet's Gradient Ventures is raising $200 million for its new AI-focused fund. The CVC arm is raising this vehicle just a year after its last one, underscoring the high demand for AI investments amid the ongoing sluggishness of the broader VC market. Full story
Plus...
• Betting startups are hot right now, and Kalshi has raised $185 million at a $2 billion valuation
• The UN pension fund's CEO is leaving for the GP side, taking a role at Northern Trust | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Top VCs are ushering in the era of AI agents | | Early-stage investments by the top VC firms in Q1 consolidated around AI agents and the underlying infrastructure to deploy them. With these high-profile backers, emerging AI startups are set to usher in a new era of enterprise operations.
While top VCs closed the fewest seed and early-stage deals since 2020, total deal value remained elevated—with large bets on AI, alternative energy and biotech, according to our latest Emerging Tech Indicator. The report covers the products and technologies these firms are funding and what that says about where VC is headed next. | | | | | | | | | | | Scale your startup with $1M, tailored support, and Buffalo behind you | | 43North is investing $5 million into startups through its annual competition. Five companies will each receive a $1 million investment for 5% equity, plus free incubator space in Buffalo, NY, and access to mentors, investors, and strategic partners.
But this is about more than capital. 43North offers hands-on support, high-impact programming, meaningful connections, and a community built to help startups grow faster. Since 2014, it's backed 74 startups across SaaS, fintech, health tech, climate tech, logistics, consumer, and more — including a publicly traded company and others supported by top-tier firms like Bessemer, Greycroft, and Rise of the Rest. These companies have raised over $1 billion and created more than 3,000 jobs globally.
Applications are open June 11–July 9, 2025. Ready to scale? Start your application now | | | | | | | | | VC climate-tech funding falls for third year in a row | | VC funding for the climate-tech industry held relatively steady at $9 billion in Q1, but only when compared to last year's quarterly totals. Zoom out, and this follows a trend of declining annual deal value each year since the sector's peak in 2021—with 2024 marking the third consecutive year of decline.
Despite the overall slowdown in dealmaking, Q1 saw strong funding for nuclear and geothermal energy specialists as well as industrial decarbonization technologies, according to our latest analyst note. It also covers how AI is reshaping climate tech, including applications for optimizing battery performance and monitoring large areas of land. | | | | | | | Questioning PE's illiquidity premium | |  | | (Alexander Spatari/Getty Images) | | | In a routine performance update to the board of trustees last week, Steven Meier, the chief investment officer of New York City's $280 billion pension fund system, pulled up a shocking slide.
The New York City Employees Retirement System has about $8.6 billion invested in PE funds. The slide showed that over the past 10 years, that strategy has underperformed the Russell 3000 by 300 basis points.
It revived the age-old question: Does PE's illiquidity premium really exist? | | | | | | | | | | | | Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: | | 592 Deals | 2064 People | 790 Companies | 28 Funds | | | | | | | | | | The Daily Benchmark: 2014 Vintage Global Real Asset Funds | | | | | | | | | | | | Astorg appointed Jerome Triebel as its head of the France and Benelux region for the firm's mid-cap fund. | | | | | | | | | | Xbow, a company developing an AI security tool, raised a $75 million Series B led by Altimeter Capital.
Insurtech startup Clearspeed raised a $60 million Series D led by Align Private Capital.
Zama, a startup developing encryption technology for blockchain, raised a $57 million Series B led by Blockchange Ventures and Pantera Capital at a valuation over $1 billion.
OpenRouter, a startup operating a marketplace for choosing AI models, raised $40 million in seed and Series A rounds led by Andreessen Horowitz and Menlo Ventures. OpenRouter is now valued at $500 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.
San Francisco-based Mandolin, a healthtech startup specializing in medication access, raised $40 million in seed and Series A funding from investors including Greylock, SignalFire and Maverick.
Metaview, which builds AI for recruiting and hiring, raised a $35 million Series B led by GV.
Payroll and compliance startup Niural raised a $31 million Series A led by Marathon Management Partners.
San Jose-based Kognitos, a business automation startup, raised a $25 million Series B led by Prosperity7 Ventures.
Synthflow AI, a Berlin-based company developing an AI platform for automated phone calls, raised a $20 million Series A led by Accel. | | | | | | | | | Catch our next series of webinars | | Hear our expert analysts break down shifts in private market expectations at the halfway mark of 2025. From increased uncertainty to volatile global markets, get the timely coverage you need to make informed decisions.
Register now to secure your spot. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | VC-backed electric bike and scooter company Lime has hired bankers for its IPO, Reuters reported.
Bain Capital Japan-backed ADK, an advertising group, has been acquired by South Korea-based game company Krafton for about 75 billion Japanese yen (about $516.2 million).
Mubadala Capital is among the cornerstone investors in the IPO of FWD Group, a Hong Kong-based insurance company.
Greylock Partners and Felicis-backed agentic AI startup Predibase has agreed to be acquired by NYSE-listed Rubrik. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Shell denied reports of plans to acquire rival oil company BP. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Who's in the newsletter today? | | People | | | | Investors | | | | Companies | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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