Business Blog: Plump unicorns rein in late-stage VC M&A

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The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A

July 21, 2025

The Daily Pitch is powered by PitchBook's industry-defining research and best-in-class data

💸 AI innovation in the fintech industry is happening where consumers can't see it. That's helping enterprise startups attract a majority of the VC funding in the sector, compared to their retail fintech counterparts. So far this year, enterprise startups have banked nearly 75% of overall fintech VC deal value, putting 2025 on track to tie the highest proportion in the last 10 years, according to PitchBook data. Go deeper

Plus...
• VC funding for the water-tech sector is holding up to pressure
• Climate-focused PE funds are performing better than you might think
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Early-stage M&A powers VC exits as unicorns plump up

Startup exits accelerated quarter-over-quarter, thanks to early-stage M&A—not IPOs—driving deals. Unicorn acquisitions, due to bloated valuations, slowed. Pre-seed, seed and early-stage startups made up more than 60% of VC-backed M&A deals in Q2.

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Water-tech funding goes with the flow

Startups in the water-tech sector held up to pressure in the first quarter, pumping in over $196 million in VC funding, according to our latest analyst note. That pool could put 2025 on course to match the yearly tallies for the previous two years.

Companies focusing on sustainable water solutions for data centers, as well as water treatment and desalination technology for mining and other industries, have netted particular investor interest.

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European PE carveouts slow after bumper year

(Jenna O'Malley/PitchBook News)

Carveout activity in European PE has started to lose momentum. So far this year, just €26.3 billion (about $30.6 billion) has been invested across 341 deals, a notable decline compared to last year, when carveouts made up nearly 20% of all PE deal value in Europe.

PitchBook Benchmarks for PE, VC and more

PitchBook Benchmarks offer a window on the latest data for closed-end fund returns across strategies and vintage years. The latest update has data through Q4 2024, with preliminary returns through Q1.

See the data

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

Deals

186

People

Companies

Funds

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The Daily Benchmark: 2018 Vintage Global VC Funds

Median IRR

12.67%

Top Quartile IRR

22.20%

0.19x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Inter-Atlantic Ivy

BioStar Ventures III-XF

gumi Cryptos Capital Fund I

*IRR: net of fees

78 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Perplexity, the developer of an AI-powered search engine, raised a $100 million round at an $18 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.

Hong Kong-based life insurer Bowtie raised up to $70 million led by Sun Life Hong Kong for its Series C.

Physical AI startup BrightAI, which specializes in tasks like pest control, raised a $51 million Series A led by Khosla Ventures and Inspired Capital. The round values the company at around $300 million, Bloomberg reported.

Indiana-based animal biotech startup BiomEdit raised an $18.4 million Series B led by Anterra Capital.

Blockskye, which develops blockchain-based travel infrastructure, raised a $15.8 million round led by Blockchange.

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PE Deals

BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners is in talks to acquire a $10 billion stake in the Jafurah natural gas project from Saudi Aramco.

Advent International acquired most of Reckitt Benckiser Group's homecare business in a $4.8 billion deal.

A group led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management will acquire Navex, a risk and compliance software developer, from BC Partners in a $2.5 billion deal, Bloomberg reported.

Stonepeak invested $1.3 billion in Singapore-based internet infrastructure company Princeton Digital Group.

Estonia-based drone company Threod Systems is considering a sale to a PE firm or defense manufacturer, Bloomberg reported.

Sullivan Street Partners plans to acquire the aerostructures business of Senior, a UK-based components producer for aerospace and defense.

Capza will buy a strategic minority stake in DI Environnement, a France-based environmental services company.

Cobepa took a minority investment in accounting firm SAX.

EQT acquired Adalvo, a European B2B pharmaceutical company.

Exits

EQT and Vitruvian Partners-backed insurer CFC is mulling a listing in London at a £5 billion valuation, the Financial Times reported.

Waterland Private Equity sold its majority stake in Coeo, a German debt collection services provider, to Italy's doValue.

Fundraising

London-based PE firm Pollen Street Capital raised €2 billion for its fifth fund.

Ares Management launched a new fund targeted at individuals and investing in media, entertainment and sports.