Monthly analysis: February 2022

According to GCV Analytics, in February, the number of corporate-backed deals from around the world stood at 490, up 55% from the 316 rounds from the same month last year. Investment value stood at $20.9bn in total estimated capital – nearly double the $12.01bn of February 2021. The US came first in the number of corporate-backed deals, hosting 206 rounds, while Japan was second with 45 and China third with 23. The leading corporate investors by number of deals were telecoms and internet conglomerate SoftBank, diversified internet conglomerate Alphabet as well as cloud technology and enterprise software provider Salesforce. In terms of involvement in the largest deals, Softbank, Alphabet and financial services firm Fidelity were on the top of the list. GCV Analytics reported 49 corporate-backed funding initiatives, including VC funds, new venturing units, incubators, accelerators and other. This figure was 36% higher than the one from February 2021, which had registered 36 such initiatives. The estimated capital stood at $4.95bn, nearly 64% more than the $3.02bn from the same month last year. Deals Emerging businesses from the IT, financial, health and services sectors led in raising the largest number of rounds in second month of 2022. The most active corporate venturers came from the financial, IT, media and telecoms sectors, as shown on the heatmap. US-based logistics services platform developer Flexport raised $935m in a series E round featuring SoftBank and e-commerce software provider Shopify at a valuation of $8bn post-money. Andreessen Horowitz and MSD Partners co-led the round with additional backing from DST Global, Founders Fund, private investor Kevin Kwok and undisclosed others, while SoftBank invested through its Vision Fund 1. Founded in 2013, Flexport operates a cloud-based logistics system allowing customers to book shipments by air, sea, land or rail globally, offering end-to-end cargo insurance, real-time tracking and all-inclusive billing. It claims the platform was responsible for moving almost $19bn in merchandise across 112 countries in 2021, as its revenue more than doubled. Internet group Tencent co-led a $497m series B round for Italy-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) service Scalapay at a valuation of over $1bn. The round was co-led by Willoughby Capital and included Tiger Global Management, Moore Capital, Deimos Capital, Gangwal and Fasanara Capital. It took the company’s total funding to over $700m. Founded in 2019, Scalapay provides a payment service that lets shoppers stagger their payments across multiple instalments at no interest. The product is already used by retailers such as Moschino, Decathlon, Nike, Samsonite and…

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