Showing posts with label Google Ventures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google Ventures. Show all posts

Monday, October 28, 2013

Are Increasingly Active Corporate VCs Good Partners For Angels? Q3 2013 Corporate Venture Capital Report published today.



Angels looking for expansion capital for their deals might be well advised to look to Corporate Venture Funds (CVC) according to the Q3 2013 Corporate Venture Capital Report published today by CBInsights.

With limited partners continuing to reduce their investments in traditional VC funds, the large balance sheets of corporate investors are becoming increasingly important in the VC ecosystem. In Q3, CVCs participated in deals that represented just under 30% of overall VC funding. And while corporate VCs typically invest in later stage deals, many of them have worked with angel groups in the past.

Of the most active CVCs shown in the chart below, our local group, the eCoast Angels, has invested alongside Intel Capital and Motorola. James Geshwiler of the Common Angels says they have invested with several of these CVCs, Google Ventures and Intel Capital, as well as Salesforce and Autodesk. Chrstopher  Mirabile at Launchpad Venture Group cites Google Ventures and Intel (and perhaps In-Q-Tel  in the past).


Some highlights from the report.

Google Ventures tops the list of most active CVC investors in U.S.-based companies in Q3’13, followed by Intel Capital, Samsung Ventures and SAP Ventures. Only two healthcare CVCs, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp. and GlaxoSmithKline’s SR One were among the top 10 most active.

The average deal size with CVC participation rose yet again in Q3’13 to hit $17.0M on average. The deal size gap versus overall VC averages in Q3’13 was the widest in five quarters, highlighting the concentration of CVC funding at the mid and later stages and strong balance sheets of corporate venture investors.

New York’s share of corporate venture deals topped Mass. for the first time in five quarters. But despite more deals, NY’s share of CVC funding fell to just 7% - a five-quarter low.

Despite early stage (Seed, Series A) CVC deal share increasing from Q2’13, CVC funding share at the early stage matched a five-quarter low at a combined 9%. A whopping 81% of CVC funding went to mid and later stage (Series C+) funding rounds.

The number of CVCs actively investing remained consistent with Q2’13 levels. But compared to Q4’11, the number of CVCs in the market has jumped 29%.

The most active CVCs in Q3 have also recorded the most exits (M&A and IPO) in the first three quarters of 2013. Intel Capital leads CVCs based on total exits by U.S.-based portfolio companies, followed by Google Ventures and a three-way tie for the #3 spot between SAP Ventures, Samsung Ventures and Mitsui Ventures.

The top 3 mobile & telecom CVC deals took 70% of Q3 mobile CVC funding, which more than doubled Q2’13’s funding amount and marked the highest quarterly total since the start of 2012. On a year-over-year and sequential basis, mobile CVC deals increased 68% and 39%, respectively.

CVC investment in healthcare hit a five quarter low in Q3’13. Compared to Q2’13, deals and funding in the quarter declined by 41% and 27% respectively. Deals and funding were also down on a YoY basis.

Clean Tech saw under 10 deals with participation from Corporate VCs for the third quarter in a row. Funding levels were anemic in Q3’13, dropping below $100M for the second time in five quarters. 

For the first time since Q2’12, California saw CVC funding cross the $1B mark behind a surge in mobile funding.

Many of the observations above are illustrated in the published report, which contains more than 50 pages of geographic, industry and funding round stage breakdowns.

 Most Active CVCs





Tuesday, January 15, 2013

No sign of a “Series A Crunch,” as VC investing amounts drop only slightly in 2012





For 2012, VCs invested $28.3 billion in 3267 deals, CB Insights reports today.  Riding on the back of seed VC investments, deal activity saw a multi-year high.  Funding, however, fell from 2011’s level of over $30 billion.

Based on actual data, the “Series A Crunch,” like the Sasquatch, is much feared but never actually seen in these environs. Series A activity got stronger in the fourth quarter and seed investors were still active. “Any pullback by seed investors spooked by the ‘Series A Crunch’ will probably be in 2013,” says Anand Sanwal, CEO of CB Insights.

What Series A Crunch?
In fact, Series A deals saw the highest percentage of VC funding in the last five quarters. Interestingly, Series A and B both saw deal and funding increases.

Seed Investment Comes Back to Earth
After dominating deal share in Q3 2012, Seed VC funding settled back down to Q2 2012 levels, dropping to 30% in Q4. Funding levels by stage remain largely consistent with prior quarters with some ebb and flow from mid- to later-stage deals.

In contrast to the national trend, in Massachusetts, seed VC continues to grow its presence with 21% of overall deal volume for the state. Meanwhile, Series B is the big winner for funding in Q4.

Most Active VCs
New Enterprise Associates leads all VCs as most active investor in 2012, apparently putting some of its recent $2.5 billion fund to work. The top 5 funds based on activity were rounded out by Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital.

38 States and Washington DC All See Some VC
California, Mass, NY, Washington and Texas remain the top 5 states for VC in Q4, but overall, 38 states got in on the VC action. But as is typical, funding and deals remain concentrated in venture’s big markets. 

Healthcare Recovers
After languishing deal activity, Q4 2012 saw healthcare deal volume recover and funding levels hit a five quarter high. Medical device firms remain the preferred area for VCs investing in healthcare. 

Mobile Sector Continues to Grow
The mobile sector saw a five-quarter high in deal activity. Mobile CRM was the biggest area for deal activity with wireless technologies the winner on the funding front. Mobile deal activity suggests it may be stealing share from internet-oriented deals. 

Internet Sector Dips
Internet falters as California dips on deals and hits a five-quarter low on funding. Mass shows resurgence in internet deal activity as does NY.

Green Tech – A Mixed Bag 
Deal activity climbs after three straight down quarters. Funding remains depressed with absence of mega-deals and negative sentiment hurting clean tech.

NY and Mass Both Gain Versus California 
Deal activity and funding hit five-quarter highs for both NY and Mass while funding to California dipped to a five-quarter low. Mass showed strength in both healthcare and internet. New York saw over 100 deals in the quarter with mobile and internet-focused companies seeing almost 80% of both deals and funding.


The insights above were drawn  from the Q4 2012 VCActivity Report provided by CB Insights. CB Insights produces data-driven reports and analyses related to venture capital, private equity and angel investment on a regular basis, including an in-depth quarterly venture capital report. Their most recent report on angel activity is summarized here.