Category Archives: WEEKLY SPIN

Seeing is believing

While tech giants focus their AI strategy on content generation, AI-generated visual media is on the rise, with a 90% VC funding increase. It seems fitting that we generated our own AI image to accompany this latest edition of the Weekly Spin, given that investment in AI visual media is on the rise. According to the latest PitchBook data, Q1 2024 saw a nearly 90% increase in deal value, climbing to $402.7 million from the previous quarter’s total of $212.7 million. Technology start-ups are focusing their AI visual solutions on enterprise businesses with the likes of Photoroom, an AI photo editor aimed at ecommerce businesses, raising $43 million. Balderton Capital and Y Combinator were investors in the Series B round. AI visual content is fast becoming an important sub-sector of the generative AI space. Early-stage GPs with the vision to pick out the next best start-ups could benefit, as more investment dollars flow in. It feels like the AI content revolution is only just beginning.

Inspired by PitchBook

Billionaire Boys (Buyout) Club

PE firms are tapping in to billionaire family wealth to help get buyout deals over the line, in a sign that family offices are becoming even more important co-investors. Bloomberg data reveals that wealthy families have contributed to nearly $20 billion of listed company takeovers. Family fortunes are proving to be quite the hit show, with blue chip PE groups not immune from the chilling effects of a slower fundraising environment. Family dollars have proved invaluable in getting a number of prominent acquisitions over the line this year, including Germany’s Veissmann family co-investing alongside KKR in the $3 billion purchase of renewable energy firm Encavis AG. These family friendly deals show that buyout fundraising has shifted slightly and become the ‘Billionaire Boys (Buyout) Club’.

Inspired by Yahoo Finance

Golden Opportunity

That old expression ‘Streets paved with gold’ is well known to many but Goldman Sachs Asset Management has put a new spin on it. Why? Their latest direct lending fund – West Street Loan Partners V – has raised more than USD20 billion to support PE-backed global businesses. That’s a significant number and rather than suggesting private credit is overheating, this latest fundraise would seem to suggest the road ahead looks positively golden. Of course, it helps if you’re one of the early pioneers in this space which Goldman are, having launched their first direct lending strategy in 2008. No doubt the private credit team at GSAM will be ‘high fiving’ with this fifth iteration. Apparently, some USD4 billion has already been invested across 37 portfolio companies. Private credit is in sparkling form at the moment, as the USD1.6 trillion AUM market looks set to further grow. Maybe all that glitters really is gold!

Inspired by Private Equity News

City of AI

It might be known as the City of Lights but Paris hopes to illuminate Europe another way; by leading the charge on artificial intelligence and making it the City of AI. President Macron spoke recently at the Elysée Palace ahead of VivaTech, where he said this was a moment of “strategic awakening”. As the global AI revolution intensifies, France is putting its money where its mouth is by launching a new fund to invest exclusively in AI and the quantum ecosystem, as well as supporting a training program to grow France’s AI talent pool. Good news for Europe’s VC community. Indeed, President Macron referred to France and Europe as facing an existential battle, where the ability to create wealth will depend on AI. It is a clear call to arms for Europe’s VC investor community. Will they be up for the challenge ahead? Investing EUR400 million in AI research and talent across nine of France’s universities is likely to help. So here’s a message to end on: if you’re looking for AI talent, call my agent!

Inspired by Euronews

Weave got this

CoreWeave, a fast-growing AI cloud computing firm backed by Nvidia, will be popping the champagne this week, following news that they have secured a record $7.5 billion in debt financing. Blackstone, Carlyle Group, and BlackRock were just some of the investors in what is one of the industry’s biggest private deal deals. It’s a clear illustration of the interest levels in artificial intelligence-focused companies, and private credit as an asset class. New Jersey-based CoreWeave leases out access to Nvidia’s AI chips. CoreWeave plans to use the financing – which means it now has a $19 billion valuation – to double its data center operational footprint from 14 to 28. Core blimey you might be thinking – this whole AI paradigm is really driving demand for infrastructure. That’s a lot of networking power. CoreWeave’s team must be on Cloud Nine!

Inspired by The Wall Street Journal