Hi there, 

It appears that senior execs of public companies have all hired the same comms firm.  

We dug into our earnings search engine and the results are truly unprecedented.

First, in times like these, execs are all saying “in times like these.”

More below on exec lexicon.

Playing the long game

Q1’20 saw healthcare funding plunge to its lowest level since Q4’18. 

See which investors continued to cut checks in Q1 amid the Covid-19 crisis here.

Is this normal?

Yes, discussing the “new normal” has become very popular on earnings calls.

The one thing that has taken a hit on earnings calls are mentions of “great quarter, guys,” which fell to a near-decade low.

Sorry guys.

Big news

The lineup keeps on growing for CB Insights Technology Conference (June 16-18). Today's additions include:

• Pat Grady, Partner, Sequoia Capital (investor in Zoom)

• Amish Jani, Partner, FirstMark Capital (first investor, Pinterest)

• Katie Rae, CEO and Managing Partner, The Engine (MIT's fund for "tough tech" startups) 

You won’t believe #6!
 

The "law of sh*tty clickthroughs" specifies that all marketing strategies get worse clickthrough rates over time.

Click to read about why — and about other tech "laws" — here.

What are the youths up to these days?

Is sustainability in consumer goods still a priority amid Covid-19? What does the Fortnite Pandemic Rap Fest mean for the future of gaming?

We'll tackle some of these questions at our retail webinar tomorrow at 1pm EST. Even if you can't make it, sign up and we'll send you all the good stuff after.

Business Insider. Bani Sapra (@bani_sapra) reports on biotech startup Immunai’s stealth launch and cites the CB Insights State Of Healthcare Q1’20 report.

AngelList. CB Insights’ report on 8 laws driving success in tech gets a shoutout in the AngelList weekly newsletter.

VentureBeat. Steve McLaughlin (@gtengineerdean) writes about how universities can bolster startup growth and references PwC and CB Insights' Q1’20 MoneyTree report.

P.S. We're hiring a strategic account manager. Check out the role here.

He'll ruff you up. Singapore authorities have enlisted a roaming robot dog to politely remind park-goers to maintain distance.

Reuters

The rent is too damn high. After working remotely, many tech employees no longer see the value in paying for Silicon Valley real estate.

Bloomberg

Let me day drink in peace. As summer approaches, many Americans are flouting open container laws to bring drinks outside.

BBC

Bro, do you even lift? New fitness gadgets are using AI to provide users with the exact amount of challenge they need to improve.

Wall Street Journal