CB Insights - VCs best pandemic purchases?

Hi there, 

Pandemic purchases are turning into a whole niche of their own. People have gone rabid buying yeast starters, Nintendo Switches, etc. 

Now the VCs have caught on and gone wild. 

In Q1’20, investors concentrated their bets on food, gaming, and fitness startups, notching mega-rounds like Impossible Foods’ $500M Series F and mobile game studio Scopely’s $200M Series D.

Meanwhile, fintech broadly saw dollars and deals plunge to their worst levels in 2 years — investors pulled back from payments, which saw funding and deals plummet after a soaring Q4, and insurtech, which saw funding drop to a 5-quarter low.

Ouch.

Where the smart money goes

Which VC firms are consistently finding the next healthcare superstars before they hit it big, and what industries are they betting on?

We map out where the top healthcare VCs have invested in the past 5 years in this heatmap.

VC blue ocean
 

You’ll thank us later for this idea for the next billion-dollar fund idea.

Keep on truckin’

Trucks move 70% of freight in the US — meaning they’re critical to delivering all of your 2 a.m. Amazon Prime purchases on time. 

Covid-19 has only magnified pre-existing problems in the trucking industry. We take a look at how trucking tech is tackling challenges in the retail supply chain here. 

A declining birth rate

Fintech took a hit in Q1’20, as the pandemic swept across the world. 

We dig into how Covid-19 impacted fintech unicorns here.

We’re on a roll

The CB Insights Technology Conference (June 16-18) brings you Fortune 500 leaders, emerging tech CEOs, and world-renowned investors to share how their companies, industries, and strategies are responding to our new reality.

We will cover everything from money and health to shopping and learning to supply chain and security.

Our amazing speaker lineup includes:

• Aaron Levie, CEO, Box (NYSE: BOX)

• Dan Rosensweig, president and CEO, Chegg (NYSE: CHGG)

• Matthew Glotzbach, CEO, Quizlet ($1B valuation)

Register here for the CB Insights Technology Conference.

Business Insider. Blake Dodge (@dodgeblake) and Tyler Sonnemaker (@TylerSonnemaker) discuss some of the best-positioned healthcare startups and reference CB Insights research.

Adweek. Paul Hiebert (@hiebertpaul) covers beauty & personal care funding trends and cites the CB Insights State of Consumer Products Q1’20 report.

CNBC. Saheli Roy Choudhury (@sahelirc) looks at what startups may need to do to weather the pandemic and mentions CB Insights research.

P.S. Prices go up again this Friday for the CB Insights Technology Conference.

P.P.S. We'll be unpacking how fintech is adapting to Covid-19 and what opportunities to watch for in our upcoming webinar on Thursday. Sign up here.

WALL-E IRL. A small English city’s streets are mostly deserted, except for a fleet of delivery robots.

New York Times

Video killed the radio star. Music streaming has soared on video platforms during the lockdown, while audio-only streaming has declined.

Axios

All brand everything. Sending company swag to remote employees could help strengthen company culture.

Quartz

Can’t stop, won’t stop. In March, US remote workers using VPNs averaged an 11-hour work day — 40% longer than before the pandemic. 

Martech Cube