Hi there,

We get 1000s of requests per month from technology companies that want to brief CB Insights’ analysts.

So I’m happy to announce that we’re now conducting technology vendor briefings — and they’re 100% free. 

If you want exposure to the following communities, it’s a no-brainer:

• Enterprise technology buyers

• M&A teams and VC/PE investors

• 640,000+ subscribers on the CBI newsletter

More details below.

Amazon wants to be your bank

Amazon isn’t just coming for retail — it’s attacking the financial services sector as well. Let's take a look at how the tech giant has expanded its finance-related reach in 2020 alone:

• In January, it announced that customers will be allowed to pay for gas at Exxon and Mobil gas stations through Amazon Pay

• It partnered with OTG in March to deploy cashierless tech at select airport stores and is reportedly looking to do the same with Regal Cinemas

• Most recently, it inked major deals with Goldman Sachs and ING to issue SMB loans up to $1M 

That's not all. From its product strategy to market expansion, we break down everything else Amazon has been pursuing in financial services in our 49-page report here.

Vendor briefings: retail and logistics tech 

Our upcoming technology vendor briefings are in 4 areas of the retail and logistics tech space, as detailed below. We will be issuing requests for additional categories in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for announcements in the newsletter.

If you are an executive at a company in one of the technology markets below, please click the relevant link and complete the initial vendor briefing survey by August 10. Our analyst team will reach out for any required clarifications after receiving your submission.

1. Autonomous Last-Mile Delivery 

2. Autonomous Trucking

3. Returns Optimization

4. Digital Freight Forwarding

Note: Surveys must be completed by company executives and not their PR firms, investors, or any third parties. 

The best of...robots

Robotic fulfillment is becoming increasingly crucial for retailers and businesses with distribution and warehousing operations.

We scope out the current robotic fulfillment solution landscape, feature providers and solutions, and assess the measurable benefits of each in our latest report.

Crab mentality

Would you agree with this?

What's up, doc?

Healthcare practitioners often have to make life-or-death decisions. 
 

Having real-time, personalized data can help. We cover how tech like IoT, 5G, and edge computing is helping doctors make more informed decisions here. 

The show must go on 

It's been a busy week adding new speakers to the fully virtual Future of Health (September 23-25). Recent additions include:

• CIO, World Health Organization
• Chief Digital Officer, Novartis (NYSE: NVS; partnering with Microsoft, Amazon, and Tencent to improve drug development)
• Founder, Khosla Ventures (Founder, Sun Microsystems)
• CEO and President, Otsuka North America (OTCMKTS: OTSKY; pharmaceutical company developing novel drugs for neurological conditions)
• CEO and President, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (Representing 1,000+ biotech & life sciences companies)

There are just 2 more days to save $$$ on your ticket. Register here and save $300 with code busyweek.

Axios. Dion Rabouin (@DionRabouin) looks at M&A deals in Q2’20 and references data from PwC and CB Insights' Q2 2020 MoneyTree report.

CNN Business. Sherisse Pham (@Sherisse) digs into Ant Group’s decision to IPO in China and cites CB Insights research.

Nikkei Asian Review. Daisuke Suzuki, Fumie Yaku, and Hiromi Sato report on unicorns that have emerged in recent months using CB Insights data.

P.S. Last day to sign up for our insurtech webinar. See it here.

P.P.S. Our friends over at Barclays are extending the application deadline for their accelerator program to September 27. Check it out here.

Doomscrolling. As screen time has soared during the pandemic, so has binging on bad news — but you can break the habit.

New York Times

Too hot to handle. Planes have a hard time taking off when it’s very hot, so airports in places like Arizona may need to reduce plane capacity or extend runways as temperatures rise.

E&E News

All masked up and nowhere to go. The paparazzi trade has seen a downturn: it's harder to get good photos of celebrities when they’re masked and social distancing.

WSJ

High five. One of the best places to be a mascot is the NBA — performers are well-compensated and given center stage —  but the job is not without its challenges.

FiveThirtyEight

All hail the queen. Nearly 2M people have joined a Facebook group where they pretend to be ants.

Washington Post