 Pulling away from the herd. VC pulled away from the pack in 2020 and 2021 to make it by far the most successful private fund strategy. PitchBook data shows that the rolling one-year internal rate of return (IRR) for VC reached 65.5% as of Q2’21, marking the fifth quarterly increase in a row. The average for the figure is now well above the 10.8% average from 2007 to 2020. More: 
- After lagging behind larger funds, the IRR for vehicles of $250M or less is just below the overall average and that of the largest funds.
- The returns from VC funds of almost every vintage have grown thanks to the massive year for exits, brought on predominantly by the booming stock market.
- Valuation boosts between rounds for portfolio companies boosted the residual value to paid-in capital.
- The meteoric jump throughout the last year became more muted in the quarterly growth in Q2’21, indicating that the bull run may be tapering off as markets normalize.
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Wayflyer, a merchant financing platform using big data analytics, has raised $150M Series B. The Dublin-based company was valued at $1.6B from the round, co-led by DST Global and QED Investors. Prosus, Madrone Capital Partners, and J.P. Morgan participated. More: - Previous investors, including Lane Capital and Guillaume Pousaz, the founder of Checkout.com, were also involved.
- Wayflyer helps e-commerce startups bridge the period between expenditure and incomings, the latter of which frequently are held up due to reconciliation and other delays.
- The situation was exacerbated during the pandemic by shipping delays and increases in the price of a shipping container from $4,000 to $14,000.
- CEO Aidan Corbett noted that the company is not yet profitable but claims that achieving this metric in 2022 is a matter of choice.
- The company has yet to touch the $76M it raised in May, instead opting to draw from the $100M in debt it raised at the same time.
- Those funds were primarily deployed in the form of loans ranging from $300,000 to $400,000 to cover inventory purchases, shipping costs, and other big-ticket items.
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 A message from AXONIUS The software as a service (SaaS) model was a major paradigm shift in the history of IT — and has since become a go-to for many organizations. After all, SaaS models offer unquestionable benefits, like increased flexibility, accessibility, and cost savings. But as SaaS adoption continues to skyrocket, it's creating more complexity for IT and security teams. Tasks like gaining visibility into SaaS apps, monitoring spending, managing configuration, and licensing can feel complicated. Impossible, even. In this new white paper, Axonius explains why a modern, comprehensive approach to SaaS management — one that challenges what we think we know about the process — can help. Download "Navigating the Complexity of SaaS Management" and learn: - The top SaaS challenges — including shadow SaaS and SaaS spend — and how it impacts IT and security teams
- Current approaches to SaaS management — and their limitations
- Why a modern, comprehensive approach to SaaS management can help
Download the white paper now.
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Richard Liu, founder and CEO of Chinese e-commerce behemoth JD.com, has donated $2B in stock to charity. The move comes as the latest in a growing line of Chinese tech billionaires using charitable spending as a way to appease government regulators. More: - Given JD’s $75.08 closing price on Tuesday and Liu’s plans to donate 62.4 million shares, the total sum comes out to $2.34B.
- Liu has stepped back from the day-to-day running of JD since the appointment of a corporate president in September.
- That move could serve to protect him from the type of personal restriction that befell Jack Ma, who was barred from leaving the country following his critical remarks about Chinese banks.
- Last year, Meituan founder Wang Xing and Xiaomi founder Lei Jun made sizable donations to the tune of $2B and $2.2B, respectively.
- In 2020, Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang gave a 2.37% stake to a philanthropic vehicle.
- ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has also given away tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes.
- As Beijing increasingly seeks to reduce wealth inequality, these founders’ goodwill could go a long way to protecting the rest of their fortunes.
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Parisian occupational health software firm padoa clinched a $90.3M (€80M) investment by Five Arrows Growth Capital. The fresh capital brings the startup’s total funding to date to almost $120M (€105M). More: - Founded in 2016, the company reaches over 200,000 companies, providing them with a dashboard to help manage their workers’ well-being.
- That includes tools to manage their staff, health-focused prevention strategies, and a platform to connect employers and employees.
- The occupational health market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% from 2021 to 2028.
- That should bring it to $5.5B from the $4.4B it stands at today.
- The company is a product of the Kamet Ventures startup studio and currently has 140 employees. It plans to add another 60 to its ranks throughout 2022.
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 A message from M1 FINANCE M1 Finance is a US-based fintech company that allows you to manage and grow your money, the way you want. M1 lets you invest, borrow, and spend all from one app. All you do is set your financial strategy and they will automate the rest. Hundreds of thousands of investors are automating their money with M1 Finance. M1 doesn’t believe that speculating and day trading is a viable path to building long-term wealth, so they built a hassle-free, distraction-free, and management fee-free app to easily invest, borrow, and spend. For a limited time, you can earn up to $500 when you sign up. Terms and conditions apply. Sign up here *Investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. M1 Finance LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.
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 Today's Funding 💸 AI/ML - Pecan AI (Ramat Gan, Israel), analytics platform for BI analysts and business users: $66M C led by Insight Partners, participation from GV, S-Capital, GGV Capital, Dell Technologies Capital, Mindset Ventures, et al.
Biotech/Health - Nuclera (Cambridge, U.K.), benchtop protein printing technologies: $42.5M B from M&G, Amadeus Capital Partners, E Ink, RT Partners, Future Planet Capital, et al.
- Resonant Link (Burlington, Vt.), wireless charging technology for medical devices and electric automotive fleets:...
Want to read about all of today's funding in one place? The funding roundup is only available to free users on Mondays and Fridays. Upgrade to Inside VC Premium for either $10/month, or $100 billed annually, to receive the full list in every issue! For a limited time, we are offering a 14-day free trial. Click here to sign up! | | | |
Quick Hits - For Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute, the Gartner Magic Quadrant named Adobe a Leader among 17 vendors -—See why here.*
- Chatbot developer Gupshup will acquire cloud communications startup Knowlarity Communications for a reported $100M.
- Ramp, a corporate credit card and spend management platform, raised money from Founders Fund and others at an $8B post-money valuation. The round is reportedly at least $200M.
- Livestream shopping platform Whatnot has acquired Pastel Labs in order to poach its founder, Jeff Chang. Chang previously led Pinterest’s growth team and will now head Whatnot’s.
- GoStudent, an Austrian edtech unicorn, acquired the U.K.-based algorithmic learning content platform Seneca Learning and Spanish tutoring marketplace Tus Media Group. The terms were not disclosed.
- Your money matters. Let's make more of it. Stocks are great, but there are many more options now. That's why we've been reading the Alts newsletter.*
*This is a sponsored post.
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 |  | Inside VC's writer/curator Stephen currently lives in Berlin and is pursuing a Master's degree in philosophy. He otherwise spends his time trying his hand at recipes from India and Southeast Asia, escaping it all at the kickboxing gym, and offending aural sensibilities with his band. |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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