Key market insights into Software, Digital Services, Fintech, Digital Media and Marketplaces.

SOFTWARE

Jonathan Cantwell, Partner at GP Bullhound, said: “In Q3, ongoing remote work and significant global supply chain issues have cemented some of the SaaS industry trends we identified in previous reports. Out of these ongoing challenges in the global economy, several new trends have emerged, most notably in e-commerce/logistics, virtual recruitment, SaaS expense management, and document/file management. We see SaaS being core to finding efficient solutions to extremely complex problems, and there will be increasing investment into, and consolidation of, software companies in some of these newly prominent sectors of today’s economy.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q3 2021 Global Software Market Perspectives here.

DIGITAL SERVICES

Simon Nicholls and Greg Smith, Partners at GP Bullhound, commented: “The digital services sector continued to evolve in Q3, with digital advertising growth in H1 sparking a rise in investment into specialist adtech players. We look at how the digital audio advertising market is accelerating with podcast advertising expected to be a $1.3bn industry in 2022. Finally, post-pandemic tailwinds continued to positively impact Industry 4.0, which is poised to become a $220bn market by 2026.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q3 2021 Global Digital Services Market Perspectives here.

FINTECH

Claudio Alvarez, Partner at GP Bullhound, said: “The Fintech sector continued to evolve in Q3, with the Buy-Now-Pay-Later market seeing significant M&A and fundraising activity. Africa also sees an uptick in investments, as mobile money accelerates financial inclusion in a region that previously suffered from access to formal financial services. Finally, impact investing continues to move mainstream with technology as the key factor in meeting investors’ ESG expectations.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q3 2021 Global Fintech Market Perspectives here.

DIGITAL MEDIA

Alec Dafferner, Partner at GP Bullhound, commented: “This quarter we have witnessed a slight drop in the gaming sector, as 2020’s lockdown-induced gaming boom slows down and the impact of cookie deprecation and IDFA limitations are felt. With advertising spend on the rise, Adtech transactions almost tripled in comparison to Q3 last year and the IPO market remains open. Finally, we see new promising opportunities for Chinese Edtech, as start-ups turn to overseas markets following the Chinese government’s crackdown on the online and offline tutoring industry.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q3 2021 Global Digital Media Market Perspectives here.

MARKETPLACES

Alessandro Casartelli, Executive Director at GP Bullhound, said: “This quarter we highlight how Live Shopping – a new shopping experience fuelled by influencers and social media – after becoming huge in Asia, is gaining momentum in the West. We also look at the continued migration to online shopping, as smaller online brands selling on Amazon take centre stage. Lastly, we are witnessing how boat rental marketplaces are disrupting the traditional offline market, with a potential to shift ~$26bn in value in the future.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q3 2021 Global Marketplaces Market Perspectives here.

ASIAN TECH INVESTMENTS

Elsa Hu, Executive Director at GP Bullhound, commented: “Asian tech investment activities into Europe and the US have further recovered in Q3, with fundraising deal volume hitting a two-year high and M&A deal volume returning to pre-COVID levels. Blockchain-related assets continued to attract interest, driving Fintech to replace Software to become the most popular tech sector among Asian investors. Furthermore, India reclaimed its most favoured destination for US and European investors in Asia.”

Download GP Bullhound’s Q3 2021 Asia Insights here.

Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact:
SOFTWARE: Jonathan Cantwell, Partner, JONATHAN.CANTWELL@GPBULLHOUND.COM
DIGITAL SERVICES: Simon Nicholls, Partner (Europe), SIMON.NICHOLLS@GPBULLHOUND.COM
DIGITAL SERVICES: Greg Smith, Partner (US), GREG.SMITH@GPBULLHOUND.COM
FINTECH: Claudio Alvarez, Partner, CLAUDIO.ALVAREZ@GPBULLHOUND.COM
DIGITAL MEDIA: Alec Dafferner, Partner, ALEC.DAFFERNER@GPBULLHOUND.COM
MARKETPLACES: Alessandro Casartelli, Executive Director, ALESSANDRO.CASARTELLI@GPBULLHOUND.COM
ASIA: Elsa Hu, Executive Director & Head of Asia, ELSA.HU@GPBULLHOUND.COM

About GP Bullhound
GP Bullhound is a leading technology advisory and investment firm, providing transaction advice and capital to the world’s entrepreneurs and founders. Founded in 1999 in London and Menlo Park, the firm today has 10 offices spanning Europe, the US and Asia. For more information, please visit www.gpbullhound.com.