Hi there, 

Here’s your periodic reminder that saying “it's like working at a startup in a big co" is a ridiculous thing to say.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, the nerds at CB Insights are doing a bunch of research on startup mafias, i.e., Uber mafia, Airbnb mafia, etc.
 
We'll be looking at startups founded by Xooglers vs. by Facebook alums.
 
What other alumni networks would you want to see analyzed? Any stats particularly of interest?

From sea to shining sea

Collectively, the most well-funded startups in each US state have raised $40B.

See the top-funded startups across the US in this map.

Innovation stations 

Corporations are turning to in-house innovation labs to stay relevant in the face of disruption. 

Here’s a list of 90+ corporate innovation labs — spanning finance, healthcare, and more — and the projects they’re working on.

That’s a big number

The global unicorn club just hit 800+ members. Less than a year ago, we marked the 500th unicorn. 

1,000, here we come? Startups & venture just keep on rolling.

See them all — including the world’s 30+ decacorns ($10B+ cos) — on our real-time updated unicorn list.

All the speakers
 

Summer’s almost gone, so it’s time to get serious about your 2021/22 goals.
 

Invest in yourself (and have a little fun while you're at it!) and reserve your ticket to Future of Fintech (Oct. 5-6, NYC + online).
 

If you buy before Sept. 1, it's completely risk-free (you can get a full refund if you need to cancel for any reason) AND you'll save money. Prices go up one week from tomorrow.
 

Here are all the new speakers (see the agenda here):

• Founder, CEO and Chairman, Galaxy Digital (former Goldman Sachs Partner)

• Head of CBDC, R3 (blockchain for FS and central banks)

• Global Head of Buyer, Seller, Core & Platform Products, Visa (NYSE:V)

• Partner, Bain Capital Ventures

• Co-founder and CEO, BitGo (infrastructure for digital adoption)

• SVP and Director of Strategic Investment Initiatives, Truist Ventures

Join us today for your chance to learn, network, and grow. Save $100 with code allthespeakers.

TikTok + Shopify

TikTok has expanded its partnership with Shopify to add in-app shopping — a first for the video app. Participating Shopify merchants will be able to sell products in a new shopping tab on their profiles as well as link to products in their TikTok posts.

We mined Shopify’s partnerships and earnings calls to determine its 3 biggest strategic priorities. One of them was a strategic theme of “embedded discovery,” which this TikTok relationship is further proof of. See what these partnerships mean for Shopify’s strategy here.

Thing one and thing two

The role of internet of things (IoT) tech in risk management continues to grow, and policyholders expect insurers to keep up.

Insurers like AIG and MunichRe are already adopting P&C IoT solutions to increase their prediction power and loss avoidance.

We surveyed the players in the space and mapped them using our ESP vendor assessment methodology. They include:

• Augury

• Foghorn

• Guardhat

• Kinetic

• Pillar Technologies

• Samsara

• Smartvid. io

• Triax Technologies

• Uptake

If you’re selecting a P&C IoT vendor or are kicking off an RFP for one, see where they are positioned in our ESP matrix here. 

Fierce Healthcare. Heather Landi (@HeatherLandi) reports on Google’s plans to unwind its health division and quotes CB Insights principal analyst Jeffrey Becker (@BeckerJMB).

Wall Street Journal. The Pro VC newsletter reports on blockchain startup funding and references CB Insights data.

Axios. Kendall Baker (@TheKendallBaker) covers Fanatics’ funding raise and cites CB Insights unicorn data.
 

P.S. Are you a fintech nerd?  

We’re hiring a Senior Analyst, Fintech and an Intelligence Analyst, Fintech. Open to remote. If you want to influence how thousands of enterprises, investors, and acquirers think about the evolution of financial services, check the roles out.

Respect the hustle. As businesses and offices reopen, many workers stand to lose their side gigs to their commutes.

Fast Company

A link to the past. A sealed copy of The Legend of Zelda donated to Goodwill sold for $411K on the nonprofit thrift store’s site. 

CNET

Big rigs. Trucking companies are increasingly recruiting women to get behind the wheel as the industry faces a shortage of drivers. 

Bloomberg

Fresh paint. Kmart has shed 2,000+ stores since its peak — real estate that’s now being repurposed into flea markets, churches, and even funeral homes.

NYT 

Call me maybe. After spinning out its Messenger app in 2011, Facebook is now testing adding voice and video calls to its main Facebook app. 

The Verge