Hi there, 

Here is this week in charts.

Oh, snap. Snap shares jumped 9.5% this past Monday, rising above the 200-day moving average for the first time since 2021. This increase followed Mark Warner’s appearance on Fox News — where the US Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman stated that he would introduce a bill allowing the US to ban Chinese technology, like ByteDance’s TikTok. In addition to a potential ban by US lawmakers, TikTok must also contend with a wave of tech companies disrupting the creator economy and influencer marketing. Learn more about the companies unbundling TikTok in this report.

Gas? Pass. Over the course of their lifetimes, electric vehicles (EVs) emit about a quarter as much carbon dioxide as gas-powered vehicles. While the mining and manufacturing processes associated with EV battery development are relatively carbon-intensive, a gas-powered vehicle’s direct emissions alone surpass an EV’s lifetime emissions. From EV battery management to charging solutions, learn more about the early-stage companies driving the rollout of emission-saving EVs in this research brief.

Blockchain bucks. Asia bucked the broader blockchain venture funding trend last year. While total quarterly funding to the space fell 37% quarter-over-quarter in Q4’22, Asia-based blockchain companies saw funding increase 25% to reach $1B. Reflecting this exceptional jump, Asia-based blockchain companies accounted for half of Q4’22’s blockchain mega-rounds ($100M+ deals), including a $300M Series C round to Singapore-based Amber Group. Dive into the region’s top deals, top investors, and more in our State of Blockchain 2022 Report.

Kids in America. Mental health is the number-one concern for parents of kids under the age of 18. In a Pew survey, 40% of US parents stated that they are extremely/very worried about their children struggling with anxiety or depression. This trumped other hot-button challenges, like bullying and drug/alcohol abuse. Despite the high level of concern with the state of mental health in the US, funding to startups in the space dropped off by more than half last year — falling from $5.5B in 2021 to $2.6B in 2022. Learn more about the mental health tech funding downturn in this report.

Man’s best friend. There are many names that humans and dogs share, but some are more human than others. The Washington Post compared 61K dog names on Petfinder to baby names in Social Security Administration records (going back to 1880) to find out which shared names are more common among people vs. dogs. While humans lay greater claim to the name Kevin and dogs to the name Max, the human-canine line is far more blurred when it comes to names like Hunter, Bruce, and Bonnie.

Y, oh y. Time belongs on the x-axis. That is all. 

I love you. 

Anand

@asanwal

P.S. So we’ve covered blockchain in 2022, but what’s in store for the space in 2023? Download a recording of our recent briefing to explore trends to watch here.

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