Hi there,

You’re probably familiar with the expression “kill your darlings” — meaning if you’ve written something you really love that just isn’t relevant to your audience, you should cut it. 

But it doesn’t just apply to writing.

The hard truth is, many good ideas should be killed.

Yup.

Here’s a good reminder of the power of ruthless prioritization:

And now, on to the research.

National blockchain association?

Last year, Jesse Schwarz spent a record-setting $208K to buy a non-fungible token (NFT) of a LeBron James dunk on NBA Top Shot — an NFT marketplace launched by Dapper Labs in partnership with the NBA. 

Whether you love NFTs, hate NFTs, or think NFTs are a giant grift, this NFT initiative serves as a great example of how the league is incredibly progressive in its use of and experimentation with technology, especially around fan engagement. 

The NBA has also invested in and partnered with organizations to expand into gaming, player analytics, sports betting, and other areas. 

You can take a deep dive into the NBA’s growth strategy in this research brief.

Hey, you, wanna buy a cloud security solution?

Aqua Security, Lacework, Netskope — if you use or are in the market for a cloud security solution, these names probably sound familiar. 

But which one will work best for you?

We mined Yardstiq software buyer interview transcripts on cloud security to find out. 

​​IPAs disgust me, IPA does not 

I will always take the opportunity to say that IPAs taste like isht. 

But there is a kind of IPA that leaves me feeling happy instead of hoppy: intelligent process automation. 

Emerging and established vendors are now branding — or rebranding — themselves as “intelligent process automation” (IPA) solution providers. Think of IPA solutions as traditional robotic process automation (RPA) solutions that incorporate AI tools to automate:

• Financial workflows

• Healthcare workflows

• Software testing

• And more

We identify 42 of these vendors and highlight the areas they’re targeting in this market map.

Alexa, play “We Are Family”

Amazon is becoming more central to your life at home. 

The tech giant is integrating Alexa, its AI-powered voice assistant, into everything from smart speakers to TVs to microwaves.

But it wants to do more than just let you reheat your coffee with a single voice command. For example, the company is moving into offering robots that can assist with everyday tasks around the home and even provide companionship.

How do we know this? We mined Amazon’s investments, partnerships, and acquisitions to uncover where and how it could show up in the homes of the future. Check out our strategy map here.

An experience to remember

Healthcare payers are seeing their per-member spending for healthcare services rising. 

So they’re looking for ways to contain costs while also enhancing member interaction, health, and wellness. 

We identified 220 companies developing solutions to improve member engagement and health. Find out what they can do in this market map.

The Economic Times. Nikita Rana explores the growing importance of CTOs and mentions CB Insights research. 

The Wall Street Journal. Angus Loten (@angusloten) covers the impact of last year’s funding boom on future forecasts and mentions CB Insights research. 

TechCrunch. Mary Ann Azevedo (@bayareawriter) tackles Pie Insurance’s Series D round and uses CB Insights data.
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I love you.

Anand

@asanwal

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