CB Insights - warm & fuzzy fanmail

Hi there, 

Next week, we’ll share more startup ideas. In case you missed the 2 startup idea emails, they are here and here. LMK what you think.

Show me the money
 

As the largest generational cohort in America, millennials command $1.4T in annual spending. But they're averse to traditional financial institutions, and financial security has never been more top of mind for so many people.

From Robinhood to Mint, here’s how 18 personal finance cos are capitalizing on these trends to build, convert, and monetize their audience. 

Shopping spree

Blockbuster M&A deals continued to make headlines amid the pandemic, with Q4’20 setting a quarterly record of over 2,000 tech M&A deals. 

We visualize the top 10 M&A deals of 2020 by valuation in this graphic.

A ringing endorsement for CBI

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So the question for you is, Do you like total BS?

If you answered yes, sign up for the CB Insights newsletter and join 692,000+ others who get free BS from us regularly.

BTW, if you really, really like BS, we are also hiring.

Not to bring up Quibi again, but… 
 

Pouring tons of cash into a startup doesn’t mean it’ll succeed.

Read more about 208 of the most expensive startup flameouts in history here.

A blessing 

2020 minted 37 new retail unicorns. Here’s what we learned:

• Wellness feedback & connected feedback are trendy, 
• E-commerce convenience reigns, and
• Hyper-targeted enablement solutions are emerging

Take a look at the full graphic here.

RPA is hot

UiPath’s recent Series F round brings its total disclosed funding to just under $2B — more than double its nearest rival. 

Here are the top-line bullets you need to know. 

Business Insider. Patricia Kelly Yeo (@patkyeo) discusses the consumer genomics market with CB Insights intelligence analyst Kedar Karkare (@kedarkarkare) and cites CBI research. 

Emerging Tech Brew. Hayden Field (@haydenfield) quotes CB Insights senior intelligence analyst Marissa Schlueter (@mschlueter13) in covering trends in wearable tech.

International Business Times. Katharina Buchholz (@KatBuchholz) looks at the highest-valued startups in the world and references CB Insights data.
 

P.S. ICYMI, we announced our newest event yesterday. Check out more deets here: CB Insights Tech Market: Digitizing P&C Insurance. 

The Blurb
 

New font-ier. Some people are fighting to preserve the Urdu script — which doesn’t yet have a complete typeface — for a digital future. 

Rest of World

Feeding the hungry. With the help of nonprofits, some restaurants are adding meal donations to their business models. 

NYT 

Visual schema. On Aesthetics Wiki, you can find detailed breakdowns of internet subcultures — from steampunk to cottagecore — and where you might fit in. 

The Atlantic 

Vaccine flyby. Drones will help deliver Covid-19 vaccines in Nigeria’s Kaduna state. 

CNBC

Fridge-worthy. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma exchange drawings with each other for fun. 

CNN