Hi there,

It’s official: the mid-life crisis is real. 

Every country has a U-shaped happiness curve, according to former Bank of England economist David Blanchflower. We’re at our happiest in our teens, and our happiness steadily declines until peak misery occurs at 47.2 years old.
 

Apparently, that’s when we realize we won’t be able to achieve all of our aspirations. But then we get over it and begin to just enjoy whatever time we have left.  

Cheers to that.

If you can’t beat ‘em
 

E-scooter startup Bird raised $75M and acquired German rival Circ this week, as the pressure is on for e-scooter startups to gain larger market share and turn a profit.
 

We dig into the micromobility revolution in this 34-page report.

Put your face on the blockchain

What are the benefits of decentralized skincare? This company knows.

(Maybe this type of isht is why blockchain investments slipped in 2019. Go figure.)

Privacy? Don’t know her
 

Facial recognition tech has been stirring up controversy lately, with 40 organizations calling for a ban on the tech on Monday.  

Read about 30+ US-based cos that are already testing facial recognition technology here.  

Please welcome…

The speaker lineup for Future of Fintech (June 14-16, SF) is fresh, with 93% of speakers taking our stage for the very first time.

A few new folks that recently joined the lineup include:

• President, Honey (acquired by PayPal for $4B)

• CEO and co-founder, Divvy (backed by NEA, Pelion Venture Partners, and Insight Venture Partners)

• Head of Seller Business, Square (NYSE: SQ)

Business is boomin’

China-based digital health startups raked in a record $3.6B in 2019.

Expert Intelligence clients can take a closer look at 6 major digital health hubs in China here.  

The classifieds

Some of our friends are hiring. Check out the posts below:

• Analyst, Guardian Strategic Ventures — New York, NY

• Business Design Director, Ford — Palo Alto, CA
• Product Director & UW Lead, The Hartford — Hartford, CT

Financial Times. Patrick McGee (@PatrickMcGee_) and Guy Chazan (@GuyChazan) report on big tech's threat to Germany and cite CB Insights data.

Venture Beat. Khari Johnson (@kharijohnson) covers the debate over facial recognition bans and mentions CB Insights research.

Business Insider. Lydia Ramsey (@lydiaramsey125) shouts out CB Insights data in the weekly healthcare newsletter.

P.S. We're looking for analysts across our tech, healthcare, and CPG pods. Check out our openings here.

Dead positive. Why are millennials in the prime of their lives preparing for their deaths?

Vox

Swipe left. The app behind Tinder’s “panic button” may be sharing data with ad tech companies.

Gizmodo

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. Is there such a thing as ethical AI?

OneZero

Judgment call. Some fear that using AI to diagnose cancer may hurt more than it helps.
The Verge