CB Insights - e-commerce M&A

Hi there, 

Before we get to our regular programming, I just wanted to share 1 thing.

And that is: IPAs taste like isht.

Totally disgusting.

Just absolutely fantastic marketing by the Beer Industrial Complex for a terrible product.

That’s all.

Now to more important topics.

Oracle of Omaha

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway spent more than $50B on stocks in the first quarter after years of stockpiling its cash.

The company's fundamental strategy has been to identify valuable companies and then acquire increasingly large portions of them. 

The market’s recent volatility has allowed Berkshire to find and invest in what Buffett calls “mispriced businesses.”

At the company’s annual shareholder meeting, the legendary 91-year-old investor offered his thoughts not only on the company’s recent spending spree but also:

• The markets: “It’s a gambling parlor”

• Inflation: “It swindles almost everybody”

• Crypto: “If you told me you own all of the bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for $25, I wouldn’t take it because what would I do with it? I’d have to sell it back to you one way or another.”

Dive into 28 key lessons from Buffett here.  

New kid on the block

Tiger Global went on a blockchain frenzy in 2021. 

The investment firm inked 21 blockchain deals last year after investing in just 1 blockchain company (Coinbase) over the previous 4 years. 

This dovetails with blockchain’s record funding year in 2021, driven by growing consumer and institutional demand for crypto. 

Already in the first two months of 2022, Tiger participated in 8 blockchain deals.

Key focus areas for the investor include fintech applications like crypto wallets and digital asset trading, as well as industry-agnostic infrastructure and developer tools for decentralized apps (dapps), Web3, and more. 

We map out where Tiger Global is making bets on the future of technology here. 

More bang for your buck

Funding to e-commerce startups dipped 15% in Q1’22, reflecting broader venture trends.

Despite the drop, the quarter marked the fifth $10B+ quarter in a row for e-commerce tech and was more than triple the first quarter of 2020.

In Q1’22, money poured into specialized online marketplaces, checkout tech, and B2B procurement platforms.

In our State of E-Commerce Q1’22 Report, clients can find out: 

• Which country saw e-commerce M&A surge by 50%

• The investor that funded the most e-commerce companies

• Which country saw $2 out of every $5 of e-commerce funding

• And more

Download it here.

Gucci gang

Luxury group Kering — behind brands like Gucci and Balenciaga — saw revenue rebound to a record $19.2B in 2021. 

As the French luxury leader looks to the future, it’s inking new partnerships and deals to take on sustainability, the metaverse, and more. 

Knock knock

As more of healthcare takes place virtually, digital front door solutions are grabbing the attention of investors.

What are digital front door solutions?  

They aim to improve virtual patient access, engagement, and care coordination.

And they saw $1.9B of investment in 2021. 

2022 is on track for a bigger year. 

In this client-only brief, we dig into what’s driving the boom, the categories drawing the most investment, and topline implications for the growth of this healthcare IT segment. 

Payments Dive. Caitlin Mullen (@Caitlin_Mullen) digs into the CB Insights State of Payments Q1’22 Report.

TechCrunch. Natasha Mascarenhas (@nmasc_) discusses early-stage valuation fluctuations and mentions CB Insights data. 

Orlando Inno. Alex Soderstrom (@ASoderstrom_OBJ) reports on an Orlando blockchain-focused VC fund and cites CB Insights research.