CB Insights - Silicon Valley on top

Hi there,
 

Here is this week in charts. 

WFH forever? In 2011, only 13% of job postings on Hacker News mentioned remote work. In 2021, that percentage passed 75%. Even before the pandemic, the proportion of remote jobs on the site was trending upward — but Covid-19 supercharged the trend. Now, a growing crop of startups are working to make remote collaboration more seamless, especially as some employees return to the office.

Flying off the shelves (slowly). Walmart’s US e-commerce sales surged 97% in Q2’20, but that growth has since stalled: the retailer reported only a 6% bump in Q2’21 compared to last year. In comparison, Amazon reported a 22% increase in sales (including subscriptions) in North America for the quarter that ended June 30. Walmart credits the slowdown to the return of in-person shopping, but the rise of e-commerce will continue to put pressure on the retailer to grow its online sales.

Aging gracefully. From 2018 to 2060, the portion of US adults aged 65+ is expected to grow about 81%. As the older adult population grows, senior care and wellness are receiving increasing attention, driving innovation in the consumer health tech space. For example, tools like telehealth platforms and smart devices are helping seniors access more personalized care from their own homes.

Down by the bay, where the venture dollars grow. Silicon Valley captured $23.7B in venture dollars in Q2’21, far surpassing other major US cities. The funding is more than double runner-up New York’s $11.2B and triple Boston’s $7.8B.

Sugar high. Sugar prices have gone through the roof as prolonged drought and other extreme weather has damaged Brazilian sugar cane. India is filling supply gaps, but sweet tooths may need to batten down the batches as production is expected to remain restricted for the next year.

Feast your pies on this. What’s worse than one pie chart? 10 pie charts. In varying shades of orange. And an incomplete legend.

I love you.

Anand

@asanwal

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