Hola, 
 

We’re getting ready for our virtual holiday events tonight, so let’s get right to the research.

But first, if you like the idea of beer & cheese tastings with smart, creative people, we’re hiring.

Here’s one of our research team reindeer getting ready for the soirée:

Davids vs. Goliath
 

Tech companies are chipping away at the traditional bank’s market share.

From commission-free trading to alternative credit risk analysis, see how 50+ companies are unbundling Bank of America across 8 core revenue streams here.

Where dreams come true
 

At its investor presentation today, Disney is expected to discuss its streaming plans, including an expansion of the Star Wars series, which it snapped up after buying Lucasfilm in 2012.

See how companies like Disney have built competitive moats using intellectual property and other resources here.

Birds of a feather

Consumer-focused fintech companies are increasingly tapping insurtechs to offer bundled services. 

Using CB Insights’ Business Relationships data, we look at where the largest fintech startups are partnering with insurtech companies — and what this indicates about their strategies — here.

$10B: Uber is set to transfer its autonomous vehicle unit to self-driving car startup Aurora, alongside making a $400M investment in the company at a valuation of $10B — a 4x increase in valuation since Aurora last raised in mid-2019. Autonomous vehicle tech was just one of Uber’s big bets. See all the ways the ride-hailing giant wants to make money in this report.

48 attorneys general: The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 US attorneys general launched antitrust investigations into Facebook, with the FTC calling for the company to be broken up. Big tech is drawing increasing attention from authorities amid allegations that potential rivals have been acquired to limit competition. See some of big tech’s biggest acquisitions over the last 2 decades in this infographic.
 

7.8 miles: SpaceX tested its Starship rocket — which the company plans to use to take humans to Mars within the decade — sending it to a height of 7.8 miles. Though the rocket exploded upon landing, the company, founded by Elon Musk, said that the test generated valuable data for future iterations. Space is only one of many industries that Elon Musk wants to disrupt. See how he is taking on auto, telecommunications, healthcare, and more in this report.

+138%: C3.ai began trading on the New York Stock Exchange with a share price 138% above its IPO pricing. The enterprise-focused AI company was included in our latest AI 100 cohort. See all of our picks for the most promising AI startups here.
 

$45M: Cambridge Quantum Computing raised $45M from investors including IBM and Honeywell, among others. The startup offers a platform to help businesses apply quantum computing to applications like artificial intelligence, finance, chemistry, and more. Clients can see more quantum computing startups in this market map.

29,032 feet: Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, was measured to be almost 29,032 feet high in a joint survey by teams from China and Nepal — which previously disputed the mountain’s height. The new measurements indicate that the mountain is a few feet higher than previously thought.

Do good fences make good neighbors? 

A new study suggests that fencing can have significant and unintended ecological consequences. By defining where animal populations can travel, fences tend to rewrite the rules of ecosystems. Even after being removed, a fence can live on as an invisible barrier for species.

Since ancient times, humans have built fences of all varieties, from land boundaries to border walls. If stretched end to end, the world’s fences could span the distance between the Earth and the Sun multiple times.

Have a great rest of the week.

Marcelo