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MoneyTree report. Brain tech. Top solar startups.

101 pages of VC data

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VC trends 

CB Insights and PricewaterhouseCoopers' 2017 MoneyTree report highlights the latest trends and data on venture capital. 

2017 was the second year to see dollar funding top $70B, though VC-backed deals declined for the third consecutive year. 

Check out the full 101-page report here



 

Oscar is not grouchy

Ask Mario Schlosser, Co-founder & CEO of Oscar ($2.3B valuation), if the Affordable Care Act is collapsing, and you’ll probably get a hearty laugh.

Oscar, which provides affordable healthcare on ACA exchanges, soared past the 250K member mark last year, turned an underwriting profit in Q3'17, and expects revenues to reach $1B this year.

We look forward to hearing more about what’s next at Oscar when Mario joins us onstage at Future of Fintech, June 19-21 in NYC. Get your ticket today. Early pricing ends Jan 31.



Baby unicorns

Our MoneyTree report also takes a look at VC-backed unicorn trends. Last year saw 22 private US-based companies reach a $1B+ valuation — up from just 14 unicorn births in 2016. 




Insurance innovation survey

If you work at an insurance carrier or reinsurer and are involved in your company's innovation strategy, approach, and priorities, take our Insurance Innovation Benchmarking survey.

It takes five minutes, and those who participate will receive a full report with the findings.




There are jokes to be made

But I can't think of any. So I'll just leave you with this.




Mind control

A new patent from Microsoft highlights a device that would analyze neurological signals to allow users to open and operate apps with their minds (no pinches or swipes required). 


 

A-ha moments: of mice and aging

Calico Labs is Alphabet’s low-profile company focused on studying the biology of aging. Very little has been shared publicly about its work.

In a fireside chat with The Washington Post’s Elizabeth Dwoskin, Daphne Koller, Chief Computing Officer of Calico, treated the A-ha! audience to an unprecedented look into Calico’s study of the biology of aging (yes, part of it is studying the effects of a restricted-calorie diet on mice).

Read about that chat here, or watch the full session here.

 

After the discussion, CB Insights clients had a few additional questions for Daphne, so we posed them to her backstage. You can hear her thoughts on AI here.


Shine bright

Despite major shutdowns, some solar companies have managed to survive, with solar startups raising nearly $6.4B in funding since 2013. We rounded up the 10 most well-funded solar startups




The Industry Standard

CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.

Bangor Daily News. Lori Valigra (@lvaligra) reports on record venture capital investment in Maine and cites PwC and CB Insights’ MoneyTree Report

The Denver Post. Tamara Chuang (@gadgetress) breaks down the $1B year for Colorado venture investments, referencing the PwC and CB Insights MoneyTree Report.

The San Diego Union-Tribune. Mike Freeman (@techdiego) also uses the PwC and CB Insights MoneyTree Report to explore how San Diego startups fared with 2017 venture capital funding.


I love you.

Anand
@asanwal

 
P.S. At CES? Check out these top startups to watch for at the conference. 

The Blurb

A curated mix of articles worth sharing.

Binge watching. Hulu recently announced that it hit 17 million subscribers last year (up from 12M in May 2016) and saw $1B in annual ad revenue. 
TechCrunch

Dorm room operation. Karen Hao (@_KarenHao) on the college students who spend their spare time mining cryptocurrency. 
Quartz

Route planning. The Hyperloop booking app is already here. 
FastCo Design

Valuable life experience. Rebecca Greenfield (@rzgreenfield) on how the unpaid internship is making a comeback. 
Bloomberg

Hardware is hard. Following a 2-hour blackout, the power is back on at CES, the largest consumer electronics show in the world.
CNET
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