Daily Musings

Evening all

If you are wondering how the job market is doing. Pizza Hut has the answer. At selected locations, they'll deliver your CV—along with your mozzarella-laden cardboard treasure box—to an employer of your choice.

Plus: If you are looking for a new gig, timing could not be better. Amidst the chaos of a take-private deal, the entire board at 23andMe has quit. I’ll try not to get lost in the oregano-and-cheese-filled rabbit hole of estimating how many Pizza Hut deliveries Anne Wojcicki might receive in the coming days—let’s dive into today’s musings instead.

Cheers
Philip

Today’s Stories

Big funding and shameless plug for my friends at DeepDrive. One of my closest friends just raised a EUR 30m Series B. DeepDrive - the Munich based company enabling automakers to manufacture EVs with up to 20% efficiency increases and cost reductions. This is supposed to unlock billions in cost savings for the industry if rolled out at scale. The pipeline already includes 8 / 10 of the largest manufacturers. Round was led by Leitmotif. All existing investors got in on the action: UVC, Bayer Kapital, Continental and BMW i Ventures. As manufacturers save on production, DeepDrive is enabling a quicker roll-out of EVs globally. The board of advisors and directors is deeply experienced and showcases what Felix (CEO, Founder and Friend) emphasises: Working collaboratively with the industry in a partner-based model. Through this close industry partnership, DeepDrive has already been able to confirm its claims: Cost and manufacturing efficiency through its modular EV Drive Technology has been showcased by OEMs and testing facilities. The first series of large-scale projects is planned to hit the market in 2028. Since founding in 2021 the team has raised close to EUR 50m. I remember late 2022, sharing a pint at Fishers with Felix in London and speaking about their Seed. Time moves fast. So do EVs. Already looking forward to the pint I’ll be sharing with him at Oktoberfest

Fresh funding for European mid to late stage. B2B investor Capmont launches a EUR 100m fund Some of you may know the team at Capmont as DI Technology. Since launching in 2016 they’ve gotten EIJR 300m in capital. Focus will be on the EU and US later early stage to Series B rounds. Their sweet spot has been around EUR 2-5m per initial ticket. Some liquidity is reserved to participate in follow-ons.

Axel minus Springer. KKR is splitting up Axel Springer. The highlights:

• Doepfner & Springer Family will take control of the media titles (think news channels: Bild, Politico etc.)

• KKR & CPP will control the profitable classifieds business - websites like Stepstone and Aviva - an IPO is on the menu it seems. H2 2025 is thrown around for Suggested timing

• Total business is earmarked @ a valuation of around USD 15bn. About ¾ of that value is attributed to the classifieds business.

• The PE consortium tool Springer private about five years ago at a tag of about USD 7bn

Eurazeo Growth splits off. Noteus - a new player in the EU venture capital space - looks to raise EUR 600m for its debut fund. That’s the minimum they are looking for. At scale they have mentioned to be looking for up to 2x this. The firm has already invested more than EUR 300m into tech groups. The team split out of the former growth team at Eurazeo

Charts of the Day

You cannot beat the sun. Researchers underestimate rate cuts. And solar power installations. This chart shows beautifully how the six household forecasters in the industry have continuously updated Their estimates for solar power installation throughout the year

Can debt fix this? Q3 2024 growth equity funding is stronger than in 2023 but still subdued overall. Rate cuts may help this as levered funds can finally ramp up their favourite tool again