News: The banks scooping up ex-SVB talent

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

The banks scooping up ex-SVB talent

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The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A

May 17, 2023

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

In today's Daily Pitch, you'll find:

Banks like HSBC and Stifel are scooping up former SVB talent. Our tracker shows who's gone where.

Our analyst note examines how business development companies have stepped in as capital availability for startups has dried up.

PE firms have shrunk the check sizes they've been writing for buyouts by prioritizing add-on acquisitions.

Today's Top Stories

Tracker: The banks scooping up ex-SVB talent

(Drew Sanders/PitchBook News)

Silicon Valley Bank has faced an exodus of tenured talent following its collapse and subsequent purchase by First Citizens. At least 78 senior bankers have fled to competitors, according to a PitchBook analysis of the departures.

HSBC is the biggest recruiter of employees fleeing SVB. It has brought on at least 28 senior bankers and executives since March. Stifel, MUFG, Moelis & Co. and JP Morgan have also padded their ranks with high-level talent.

Our interactive tracker details who's gone where.

see the tracker

Lenders jump as capital waits on the sidelines

Business development companies are a crucial puzzle piece in the growing venture debt market. Firms like Hercules and TriplePoint offer debt financing to VC-backed companies—and they've taken off as capital availability for startups has dried up.

As rates have risen, BDCs have captured a greater income share and are optimistic about venture exit market prospects, according to our analyst note: Q1 2023 Public BDC Venture Lender Earnings.

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VC flight to quality on display at Fintech Nexus USA

Fintech Nexus USA, an annual conference focused on all things fintech, just wrapped up in New York City. Our analysts perceived an overwhelming consensus: Investors are focusing on quality startups and core fintech opportunities as deals and funding decelerate. Covering how generative AI will be integrated into fintech platforms, how fraud prevention is leading investor interest and what neobanks are considering to achieve profitability, it's all broken down in our analyst note on the conference.

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PE turns to add-ons with large LBOs out of reach

(evkaz/Shutterstock)

Private equity investors are holding off on big-ticket leveraged buyouts until debt becomes affordable again. In the meantime, add-on strategies provide some relief.

But as PE firms reevaluate riskier assets in an increasingly challenging macroeconomic environment, smaller potential acquisitions may be the first to go.

Mr. Altman goes to Washington

Sam Altman testifies before the Senate.
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Sam Altman has a clear mandate for regulators: police the AI industry. A reprieve from the antagonistic showdowns that have defined recent visits by tech executives to Capitol Hill, the OpenAI CEO and co-founder spoke to the Senate yesterday about regulating the AI industry.

Senators from both parties agreed they had failed to regulate prior tech revolutions—and vowed to not miss the boat this time.

"Congress failed to meet the moment on social. We have an obligation to not miss it with AI," Sen. Richard Blumenthal said.

Twitter buys VC-backed hiring startup in first Musk-era deal

(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Twitter has made its first acquisition since Elon Musk took over leadership: San Francisco-based tech hiring platform Laskie.

The deal comes as Twitter makes preliminary moves to fulfill Musk's ambitions of turning it into a "super app."

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VC Deals

Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst have co-led a $50 million seed round for Hippocratic AI, a large language model startup for healthcare professionals.

Spiff, a software startup for sales commissions based in Salt Lake City, has raised a $50 million Series C led by Salesforce Ventures.

Swiss robotics startup ANYbotics has raised a $50 million Series B led by Walden Catalyst and NGP Capital.

Bitcoin technology and fintech startup River has raised $35 million in a round led by Kingsway Capital and joined by investors including Peter Thiel.

Drug Farm, a biotech startup developing immunotherapies, has raised a $27 million Series C led by YD Capital.

Aibidia, a Helsinki-based transfer pricing platform, has closed a €13 million Series A led by DN Capital and FPV Ventures.

Enosix, a data integration startup, has raised a $10 million growth round led by MK Capital.

UK-based TidalSense has raised £7.5 million in a round led by BGF and Downing Ventures. The startup offers AI-driven diagnostic and monitoring solutions for respiratory medicine.

Data visualization startup Visual Layer has raised $7 million in seed funding from Madrona and Insight Partners.

Edtech startup Oneday has secured a €5.7 million Series A from investors including Ananda Impact Ventures, Brighteye Ventures and Outward VC.

SapientAI, the creator of an AI test coder, has raised $5 million in seed funding from 8VC, Correlation Ventures and GTMfund.

Tenzo, a platform designed to optimize efficiency and increase revenue for restaurants, has raised a $5 million Series A led by Amadeus Capital Partners and S28 Capital.

PE Deals

Maravai LifeSciences Holdings, a manufacturer of reagents for COVID-19 vaccines, has rejected a buyout offer from Thomas H. Lee Partners, Reuters reported.

Lead Edge Capital has made a strategic growth investment in GrowthZone, which offers nonprofit membership management software.

Norwegian brand management company Papirfly, which is backed by Verdane, has acquired French peer Keepeek.

Sovereign Capital Partners has invested in UK-based LB Group, a chartered accountancy services firm.

BGF has invested £19 million in Brompton Bicycle, a maker of folding bikes.

Macquarie Asset Management has pulled out of the running for a takeover of Telecom Italia's landline network, leaving KKR as the sole bidder, Bloomberg reported.

Fundraising

Seedcamp has closed its sixth flagship fund on $180 million. The vehicle will target angel and seed investments in areas including AI, cybersecurity, healthtech and fintech.

Corporate M&A

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit to block pharmaceutical giant Amgen's $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, a drug developer focused on rare diseases. Both biotechnology companies are publicly traded on the Nasdaq.

Chart of the Day

"Following the concentration trend of the past handful of years, the majority of capital was allocated toward experienced managers. ... 80.5% of capital raised went to funds of over $1 billion, and 81.1% of real estate funds were larger than their predecessor funds with the median step-up figure at 58.1%."

Source: PitchBook's H2 2022 Global Real Estate Report