CB Insights - the IPO that died

Hi there,

Wow! Yesterday, I asked you all to hit me up with the best seed/Series A-stage companies you know, and the responses poured in. 

We’re at 200+ startups and counting.  

I’m gonna spend some time over the holidays sorting through them, and I’ll share them in the next couple of weeks. Some pretty amazing companies in the group.

So I’m going to push my luck and try this again. Today’s question is: 
 

What’s going to be the biggest technology trend of 2021?

Try to keep your prediction to tweet length or less, please.  

Euro trip
 

Europe-based startups have drawn a record $28.2B in equity funding this year as the tech boom expands to cities like Stockholm, Barcelona, and Amsterdam.

We mapped out the most well-funded VC-backed tech startup in each European country here.

So close...yet so far

I was a paper millionaire when the first startup I ever worked at, Kozmo, filed for its IPO. It was like DoorDash or Postmates 1.0.

The excerpt from the S-1 below shows we were just early ;).

Still one of the best jobs I ever had for the amount I learned, the people I met, the fun I had, and for helping me learn my capacity for work and how to grind.

One big happy family

For years, primary care providers have faced growing challenges related to access, physician burnout, and practice costs. Covid-19 has further exacerbated these issues.

Now, a host of startups are transforming the primary care experience. Learn about how the family doctor is being unbundled here.

Nothing but the hits
 

In 2020, CB Insights put out a wealth of research across retail, in-store tech, shopper engagement, D2C brands, and more.

R&D-efense
 

Artificial intelligence is poised to improve processes and accelerate drug development across the $1T+ pharma industry.

Investing in AI is becoming a competitive necessity for pharmaceutical companies. Clients can read up on where pharma players are placing bets in healthcare AI here.

E pluribus bitcoin
 

Earlier this week, the price of bitcoin hit $24.3K to reach an all-time high — but unlike in 2017-2018, media hype doesn't appear to be a driving factor.

Look at how institutional interest is driving the surge in this client-only brief.

TechCrunch. Jonathan Shieber (@jshieber) reports on lending company Creditas’ recent raise and references CB Insights research.

Reuters. Sophie Yu and Brenda Goh (@brendagoh_) discuss the boom in men’s skincare in China and cite CB Insights funding data.   

Bloomberg. Sohee Kim (@soheefication) covers secondhand marketplace Karrot’s upcoming raise and cites CB Insights’ unicorn list.

P.S. We're hiring across a number of teams. Check out our open positions here.

The Blurb

Mr. Steal Your Book. A phishing scheme is targeting the publishing industry, stealing unpublished manuscripts with no clear endgame. 

NYT

Instagram pan. Some D2C cookware startups have taken off amid the pandemic as consumers cook more at home. 

Vox 

The Thinker. A Stanford professor wants to better prepare students to think critically about the tech industry’s “intellectual bedrock” before they join it. 

Protocol 

Dark data. The black market for data is booming in India amid lax privacy laws and high demand.

Rest of World

Powerhouse of the cell. Scientists are trying to figure out how mistletoe — whose mitochondria don’t generate fuel like those of any other multicellular organisms — can survive.

Quanta Magazine