Here’s what you need to know today in startup and venture news, updated by the Crunchbase News staff throughout the day to keep you in the know.
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US IPO market in Q1 was the busiest in decades
The U.S. IPO market produced its busiest quarter in over two decades, with 100 IPOs raising $39.2 billion, according to a report from Renaissance Capital.
Health care led in terms of deal flow, while the tech sector produced the most proceeds. The quarter produced a number of large IPOs for venture-backed companies, including gaming unicorn Roblox, point-of-sale online lender Affirm, edtech company Coursera, and health insurance provider Oscar.
The quarter also stood out for the high volume of special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, hitting the public markets. There were more SPAC offerings in Q1 of this year than in all of 2020, according to Renaissance.
— Joanna Glasner
Fintech and e-commerce
Paidy banks $120M for BNPL: Japan-based buy now, pay later provider Paidy announced a $120 million Series D round of funding from JS Capital Management, Soros Capital Management, Tybourne Capital Management and Wellington Management. The round brings the company’s equity and debt funding to $585 million since being founded in 2008, of which $337 million is equity, according to the company, which touted that was “one of the largest amounts of funding ever raised by a startup in Japan.” The new funding will go toward expanding transactions with merchants, product development and its new “3-Pay” service that allows customers to split charges into three equal, interest-free, monthly installments.
Affirm’s IPO in January highlighted the rapid growth of the BNPL industry. Some 29 companies in the space have raised $4.8 billion in known venture capital funding since 2016, according to Crunchbase data. BNPL companies, like Affirm and Klarna, accounted for a vast majority of that funding, raising a total of $1.5 billion and $3 billion, respectively.
— Christine Hall
Public offerings
Coinbase sets direct listing date: San Francisco-based cryptocurrency platform Coinbase announced that it plans to carry out its public market debut via direct listing on April 14. Shares will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol COIN.
— Joanna Glasner
New funds
Tiger Global raises $6.7B fund: Venture and growth investor Tiger Global Management has closed on $6.7 billion for its latest fund, according to a securities filing. The filing follows a busy year for the New York-based firm, which is one of the most prolific and deep-pocketed global startup investors.
— Joanna Glasner
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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