In the years since the Global Financial Crisis (2007-2008), late-stage venture capital has undergone a raft of dynamic changes due to investment shifts and legislative measures. Nontraditional investors, who are active in multiple segments of the public and private markets, have had a major influence on late-stage VC—as have nontraditional vehicles such as PE funds, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds.
“The average venture growth deal size nearly reached the size of a megadeal ($100M+),” said Kyle Stanford, Lead Venture Capital Research Analyst at PitchBook. “Even considering median deal value, the venture growth figure in 2021 was nearly three times the late-stage figure—a significant jump that highlights the market’s dependency on non-VC capital.”
To address structural shifts and data variance at the top of the venture segment, PitchBook has created a new methodology to track companies and deals in the ultra-late-stage VC dataset: venture growth.
Why is this new VC dataset needed?
PitchBook’s current late-stage methodology, created in 2007 to accommodate a much smaller segment scope, needed an expanded classification for the cohort of deals and companies that now fall within these datapoints.
In 2012, the JOBS Act increased the number of allowed shareholders per company. Over time, this permitted entities to remain private for much longer and boost valuations through nontraditional capital. This influx of activity in late-stage VC enabled nontraditional VC investors to invest in private companies while maintaining traditional risk profiles.
As a result, elevated valuations for companies like SpaceX—roughly $127 billion—have pushed the bounds of the top decile figures and widened dispersion variation in returns between large and small startups. In a similar change last year, pre-money valuations for the top decile, or top 10%, in late-stage venture grew to $1.5 billion, with the bottom late-stage valuation decile at $15 million.
The venture growth methodology will provide an incisive account for companies within this new risk-reward profile in which a narrow margin, less than 5% of Series F investments failed, while the dollar failure rate for Series C and Series D rounds is 10%.
How is venture growth categorized?
PitchBook currently classifies late-stage VC companies as at least five years old or those that have raised a Series C round. The new venture growth stage will tag Series E+ or deals involving companies that are at least seven years old and have raised six VC rounds.
This innovative methodology will enable a more thorough and complete analysis of the venture market as it continues to evolve, integrate into quarterly reports across regions and be incorporated within the VC platform search.
Top 10 venture growth deals by size
Below, we take a look at the top ten venture growth stage deals by size according to data tracked by the PitchBook Platform as of May 25, 2023. Data from the list is often subject to change and spans back to 2006.
1. Didi Global
Deal size: $10.8B
Deal date: August 1, 2019
Headquartered in Beijing, Didi Global develops a mobile ride-hailing application designed to match customers with local drivers in China. In 2019, the company raised $10.8 billion of venture funding from Toyota Motor, Booking Holdings, Syren Capital Advisors, Fisher Capital Investments, and other investors.
2. Didi Global
Deal size: $7.3B
Deal date: June 15, 2016
Post-valuation: $28B
Three years prior, in 2016, Didi Global raised $7.3 billion of venture funding through a combination of debt and equity, putting its pre-money valuation at $23.5 billion with participation from Apple, Alibaba Group, and 17 other participants.
3. Stripe
Deal size: $6.8B
Deal date: May 24, 2023
Post-valuation: $28B
Stripe is a payment processing platform based out of San Francisco, CA that simplifies transaction infrastructure and provides clients with business development tools. In 2023, they raised $6.8 billion in late-stage funding in a deal led by Sixth Street Partners, with participation from 10 other investors, which built on Stripe’s $50 billion.
4. Uber
Deal size: $5.6B
Deal date: May 24, 2016
Post-valuation: $66.6B
Founded in 2009, Uber operates an online platform that offers peer-to-peer ridesharing and food delivery services. The company raised $5.6 billion of Series G venture funding from multiple investors in 2016 at a $61 billion pre-money valuation. The first $2 billion was financed by Tiger Global Management, T. Rowe Price, Caspian VC Partners, L1 Technology, Morgan Stanley, SoftBank Investment Advisers, and Bank of America.
5. VillageMD
Deal size: $5.2B
Deal date: April 1, 2022
Post-valuation: $15.7B
VillageMD is a provider of healthcare management services intended for primary care physicians to maximize success in a changing healthcare environment. The company’s platform gives tools, technology, operations, and staffing support needed to drive the highest quality clinical results across a population. VillageMD raised $5.2 billion of venture funding from Walgreens Boots Alliance this year, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $10.6 billion.
6. WeWork
Deal size: $5B
Deal date: January 8, 2019
Post-valuation: $47B
WeWork is a provider of shared office workspace community spaces designed to facilitate collaboration and engagement between entrepreneurs and startups.
The company raised $5 billion of financing from SoftBank on January 8, 2019, putting its post-money valuations at $47 billion. Other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The financing includes a $1 billion convertible debt portion and a $3 billion warrant agreement.
7. Grab
Deal size: $4.8B
Deal date: October 9, 2019
Post-valuation: $14.9B
Founded in 2012, Grab provides ride-sharing services, food and grocery delivery, and financial services like payments, consumer loans, and enterprise offerings through its mobile platform. The company partners with merchants and riders, in eight Southeast-Asian countries, connecting them with consumers while charging commissions to both sides. Grab raised $4.8 billion of Series H venture funding in a deal led by Toyota Motor in 2019, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $10.1 billion.
8. Ele.me
Deal size: $4B
Deal date: November 7, 2018
Post-valuation: $30B
Ele.me’s platform simplifies meal ordering and delivery in China. Its website and mobile application enable users to search for nearby restaurants and have food delivered to their homes. The company raised $4 billion of venture funding from Alibaba Group, Ant Group and Primavera Capital Group in 2018, putting the company’s valuation at $30 billion.
9. Flipkart
Deal size: $4B
Deal dates: August 10, 2017
Post-valuation: $30B
Flipkart is an e-commerce shopping portal operator intended to offer a wide range of consumer products. The company’s portal provides products across a range of categories, enabling customers to buy products of their choice. In 2017, the company raised an estimated $4 billion of Acquisition Financing venture funding in a deal led by Tencent Holdings, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $9.3 billion.
10. Meituan
Deal size: $4B
Deal dates: October 19, 2017
Post-valuation: $30B
Headquartered in Beijing, Meituan is China’s largest food delivery service. Since their start in 2010, they have grown to add revenue streams like hotel bookings and are actively expanding their business offerings into areas like non-food delivery, online grocery, and logistics. They raised $4 billion in Series F funding in 2017, in a deal led by Tencent that also included participants such as Sequoia Capital China, GIC, and Amino Capital.
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