Hi there, 

Why is nobody talking about how Clubhouse marginalizes boring, non-charismatic people?  

Anyways, I digress…

I really want to talk about the worst CEO job in tech (see the P.S.), but first, it’s been 54+ weeks since we (CB Insights) left our brand new midtown NYC office for WFH. We’d just moved in in January 2020 (#killertiming).

As this email I sent to our team in March 2020 illustrates, I was a pretty optimistic dumba$$ at the time. 

I’m optimistic some portions of our team will be able to get back together this spring/summer, but who knows?  

As of early March, only 10% of Manhattan’s 1M office workers are in the office, and less than half are expected to be back in person by September 2021, according to a survey by The Partnership for New York City. 

We dove into how the office could look — from the lobby to the conference room — during the reopening process and beyond here. 

NFTubbies

The teletubbies are doing something big with Bitcoin. Thought you should know.

Yup — just another normal day on the internet.

No weak links 

Annual spending on blockchain solutions is expected to reach nearly $16B by 2023.

From banking to e-commerce to art, check out 58 industries that blockchain could transform here.

Getting it while it’s hot

FAMGA acquired a total of 13 artificial intelligence startups in 2020. 

We dig into how big tech is using these acquisitions to enhance existing products and enter new markets in this client-only brief.

This is how it begins

We’re thrilled to share the preliminary agenda for CB Insights Tech Market: Digitizing P&C Insurance (May 13-14). Check it out here.

Save $50 with code agenda before prices go up on Thursday.

Sliding into your DMs like

As e-commerce heats up, brands and retailers are looking to enable more personalized shopping experiences.

We analyze the vendors in the direct message marketing software market in this client-only ESP Vendor Assessment Matrix.

Yahoo Finance. Anjalee Khemlani (@AnjKhem) looks at biotech funding and quotes CB Insights analyst Kedar Karkare (@kedarkarkare). 

STAT. Casey Ross (@caseymross) discusses Google’s healthcare strategy with CB Insights principal analyst Jeffrey Becker (@BeckerJMB).

VentureBeat. Kyle Wiggers (@Kyle_L_Wiggers) covers edge computing startup Zededa’s funding raise and cites CB Insights research.

P.S. Running one of the FAMGA companies comes with immense power, influence, being surrounded with tons of super smart, talented people, and, let’s be honest, cash. But it’s not all roses.

So, poll question for you: Which company has the least fun CEO gig in big tech (FAMGA) right now? (Can define least fun however you like.)
 

Facebook
Amazon
Google
Microsoft
Apple

We’ll share the results next week. Peace out.

The Blurb

Blocked and loaded. NBA Top Shot, a basketball NFT trading platform, saw conversion rates jump 400% when it removed the word “blockchain” from its onboarding materials. 
The Verge 

In with the new. Casual-dining chains like Applebee's and Denny’s have launched “virtual brands” on food-delivery apps to attract new customers.

WSJ 

Subway and chill. The sandwich chain Subway has appeared in at least 17 Korean TV shows, as it makes extensive use of product placement. 

NYT 

Making waves. Cargo ships’ GPS could help detect tsunamis by monitoring small changes in wave elevation.

WIRED