CB Insights - Tiger & a16z go early

Hi there, 

Been saying it for a while but good to see others seeing the benefits.

Early birds

Some of venture’s most active investors are switching up their strategies.

They’re not just pulling back — they’re also changing their investment mix to hedge their bets.

Tiger Global, the top investor in Q2’22, is hitting the brakes on growth- and late-stage investments as it ramps up its early-stage activity.

Just under 50% of its deals went to seed/Series A companies in Q2’22. By comparison a year ago, in Q2’21, only 8% of its deals were early-stage rounds. 

Meanwhile, a16z — which kept financing activity relatively steady quarter-over-quarter — has also upped its early-stage dealmaking. 

The majority (68%) of its deals in Q2’22 went to early-stage companies, primarily in the blockchain space.

We previously dug into Tiger Global’s private-market investments over the last 5 years here and a16z’s here.

We are living in a material world

The way we shop is evolving — and big tech is seizing new opportunities in this changing retail environment.

Over the last 5 years, Meta, Amazon, and Google have made over 80 investments & acquisitions combined in retail tech.

Since 2020, nearly a quarter of their activity has focused on metaverse tech.

We look at big tech’s investments, partnerships, and product development to determine their priorities in retail here.

Sinking ships

Money is no guarantee of success.  

We mined the CB Insights database for the top-funded startups that ultimately failed or had an undesirable exit (like an asset sale). 

Here are 230 of the priciest startup failures to date.

Open mic

Here are 4 digital health companies that recently provided us with Analyst Briefings. 

Customers can also click “Connect here” below if they want to speak directly to these companies.

• MIT spinout Iterative Scopes, which uses AI to analyze gastrointestinal images and videos, counts Pfizer among its partners. Connect here.

• Virtual cardiac rehab provider Moving Analytics works with insurers like Kaiser Permanente and Highmark Health. Connect here.

• Carbon Health offers on-demand care delivery via a hybrid in-person/virtual model. The company is featured as a Leader in our Provider Search & Scheduling ESP. Connect here.

• UAE-based Altibbi is a virtual primary care provider that serves the Arab region. Connect here.

Want to get your startup in front of customers, investors, acquirers, and 880K newsletter subscribers? Request a 100% free Analyst Briefing here.

All right, all right, all right

How do you deliver the right drug to the right patient at the right time? 

Enter precision medicine.

From genomic profiling to molecular diagnostics, we map out 160 precision medicine companies helping personalize care.

See how they’re shaking up how pharma & healthcare leaders approach drug delivery in this market map report.

Fortune. Kevin Kelleher covers the state of digital retail in the Term Sheet newsletter.

Bloomberg. Bei Hu (@BeiHu1) reports on how Asia unicorns’ valuations are faring and cites CB Insights unicorn data. 

Politico. Kate Davidson (@KateDavidson) and Sam Sutton (@samjsutton) mention the CB Insights State of Blockchain Q2’22 Report in the Morning Money newsletter.