Corporate investors saw 53% rise in exits in October

In total dollar terms, October’s exits totalled $4.37bn, marking a 53% rise compared to the $2.83bn from the same period last year.

In October, we tracked 37 corporate-backed startups that we were either acquired or listed on public markets. This figure was up 16% from the 32 we tracked in the same month a year ago.

There was considerable diversity in the largest exits in October. While the top five all came from US and China-based companies, they spanned sectors from biotech and medical devices through beverages to autonomous driving tech. 

● The largest exit in October was in biotech. US pharmaceutical company AbbVie agreed to buy Aliada Therapeutics for $1.4bn. Founded in 2021, Aliada is developing therapeutics designed to treat central nervous system diseases. The company previously raised venture funding from Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Sanofi Ventures, and OrbiMed. The company had raised a total of $53m in venture funding, according to PitchBook.

● US-based dietary supplements and energy drinks maker Ghost Lifestyle agreed an acquisition by beverage producer Keurig Dr Pepper. The latter agreed to pay $960m in exchange for a 60% initial stake with the intention to purchase the remaining 40% by 2028. Ghost Lifestyle’, previously by’s backers included ZX Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of the brewer Anheuser-Busch Inbev. Founded in 2016, Ghost’s flagship beverage, Ghost Energy, has reportedly more than quadrupled sales in the past three years.

● Chinese autonomous driving technology provider Horizon Robotics priced its Hong Kong IPO at the top of the range, securing HK$5.4bn ($696m) in funding. The pricing valued the company at $6.87bn. It had raised nearly $1.95bn in VC funding before going public, according to PitchBook.

Horizon Robotics delivers advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving systems, combining specialised software, algorithms, and hardware to improve safety and driving experience. Founded in 2015, the company counted a number of corporate backers on its cap table, ranging from players in the Chinese automotive sector including Great Wall Motors, Chery Automobile, BYD, Changzhou Xingyu to international ones like SK Hynix, Intel and Will Semiconductor, among other.

● Another large transaction last month also came from the autotech and autonomous driving tech area. Chinese autonomous driving tech developer WeRide went public by raising a reported $441m from a listing on the Nasdaq and a concurrent private placement offering. The IPO valued the company at $4.2bn. Launched in 2017, WeRide offers autonomous driving systems spanning SAE Levels 2 through 4 and holds licenses for autonomous operations in China, the UAE, Singapore and the US. The company counts GAC Motor among its previous backers and had raised $1.44bn in VC funding before its listing, according to PitchBook.

● Incision-free medical device maker Gynesonics was acquired by Hologic for $350m. The company, which counted healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente among its backers, is developing minimally invasive devices for symptomatic uterine fibroids for women’s health. Gynesonics was founded in 2005 and had raised $336m before the acquisition, according to PitchBook.

See exits from previous months:

September 2024

August 2024

July 2024