Q1 DACH VC and growth deals surpass previous volume high

Unquote reported on the market in Q3 2019 when it was at all-time peak in volume, with 125 deals completed worth an aggregate value of €3.27bn. However, Q4 2019 continued the market's steady volume increase, which held up under the coronavirus pandemic.

Q1 2021 saw 182 deals completed, outstripping the previous high-point of 160 deals seen in Q4 2020. Deals completed in Q1 2021 generated an aggregate value of almost €3bn; while this value is not a high-point for the market, it does mark a steady value increase that has been continuing since Q2 2020. Larger or pre-IPO rounds became scarce amid the pandemic uncertainty, although early-stage activity in many sectors continued at pace, meaning that deal volume did not decline in Q2 2020.

Some larger rounds also returned in Q1 2021, boosting the average value of deals completed during this period. Grocery delivery startup Gorillas raised a $290m round, which was led by Tencent, DST Global and Coatue Management. Another remarkable investment was in Switzerland-based biotechnology company Atai Life Sciences – its $157m funding round in March is the largest venture capital round raised in Switzerland to date.

Companies that raised capital during the worst of the pandemic also continued to raise rounds in Q1 2021. One notable example was Austria-headquartered cryptocurrency trading platform Bitpanda: the company first received investment from Speedinvest in April 2020 and subsequently raised a $52m round backed by Speedinvest and Valar Ventures in September 2020. The company announced a $170m round in March 2021 to support its continuing growth.

The DACH venture and growth market looks set to continue to be busy, with a number of venture and growth funds currently on the road. These include UVC Partners' third fund, as reported, as well as Cipio's eighth fund, which was launched in Q4 2020 with a €200m target. Berlin-headquartered Target Global is also heading for a final close on Target Global Growth II, which has a target of €400m and a hard-cap of €600m, as reported.

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