CB Insights - edtech ain’t dead

Hi there, 

ICYMI, it's your last chance to apply for the 2021 Digital Health 150, our roundup of the most promising digital health companies in the world.



Companies selected for the DH150 go on to do big things. Since publishing last year's list, the 2020 class has raised over $14B in equity funding. 18 of last year's winners have since exited through M&A or IPO.



Think your company can make the cut? All you need to do is fill out this < 3-min survey to be considered for this year's list.

Now on to today’s research.

Players gonna play

Corporate VC has become a very real player in venture.

Folks still argue it’s “dumb money” or make other facile claims, but the reality is that a lot of startups are benefiting from the capital CVCs are bringing into the ecosystem. 

CVCs are here to stay. 

The record-breaking pace of corporate venture is detailed in our recent mid-year CVC report.

Looks like meat’s back on the menu

The industrial meat industry faces a rising tide of challenges related to business, ethical, and environmental concerns. 

Meanwhile, startups using technology to engineer meat in labs or manufacture it from plant-based products are rising in popularity, securing over $1B in total funding so far this year.

Dig into the meat of the matter in our analysis of the major trends in the growing meatless industry here. 

Intelligent in more ways than one

AI startups reaching unicorn status ($1B+ valuation) for the first time hit a record high of 24 in Q2’21. 

Track AI unicorns, exits, top deals, and more in our free Artificial Intelligence In Numbers Q2’21 report.

Education goes direct to consumer

Edtech is having its moment.

When it was tech companies trying to sell into traditional schools and universities, edtech was often seen as a place where investor money went to die. That’s because the sales cycles of selling into slow-moving and bureaucratic schools and universities were long and protracted.

Today, however, edtech companies are often going direct to consumers, which has made adoption of edtech solutions easier. 

There have also been a series of solid edtech exits including Duolingo and Coursera — both of which went public this year.

And there is also notable M&A activity in the space. Leading the M&A trend has been BYJU’s, which has done 10 deals in the last 12 mos with legit valuations (5 deals over $100M).

And the most active healthcare VC is... 

Amid another record quarter for healthcare investment, OrbiMed Advisors took the top spot on our list of most active healthcare VCs. The firm backed 25 healthcare companies in the second quarter of 2021.

Check out the rest of the group in this infographic.

We’ll see you there
 

Another week = more demo companies announced for this year’s Future of Fintech (Oct. 5-6, NYC + online).
 

New this week are:

• Boss Insights (Automation in Lending & Underwriting)

• TurnKey Lender (Automation in Lending & Underwriting)

• Amount (Core Platforms and APIs for Banking & Payments)

• Marstone (Wealth Management Software)

• Kasisto (Virtual Assistants in Retail Banking & Payments)

• Informed.IQ (Automation in Lending & Underwriting)

These companies have been meticulously selected and their products are worth knowing about. Save yourself hours of research by trusting us.
 

Due to our commitment to safety, spots at our in-person event are almost sold out. All in-person tickets are fully refundable through September 1, so buy now at the lowest price with confidence that you can get your money back should your plans or comfort level change.
 

Register here. Save $50 with code timesaver.

Axios. Kia Kokalitcheva (@imkialikethecar) digs into the CB Insights 2021 Mid-Year Global CVC Report. 

The Economist. The Economist looks at the future of tech in China and cites CB Insights data. 

MedCity News. Anuja Vaidya (@anujav89) reports on telehealth funding using CB Insights data.
 

P.S. Our friends at Highline Beta are hiring a Head of Growth, Venture Studio and Senior Manager, Sales Operations.

Call it a day. Some tech companies are testing a 4-day workweek to attract workers. 

Protocol

Not so dope. Canada had 1.1B grams of cannabis in storage at its peak in October 2020 — oversupply that points to the industry’s woes in the country. 

The Walrus 

Ka-pow. Newsletter platform Substack announced it is branching into comics, signing deals with several comic creators. 

The Verge

Juicy info. For a fee, a Mozambique musician will create “gossip songs,” airing client grievances to his audience on WhatsApp. 

Rest of World

1 star. Some Amazon sellers are reaching out to customers who leave negative reviews to edit or take them down, in violation of Amazon’s policies. 

WSJ