Hi there, 

This quarter healthcare funding bounced back. With the world still in the throes of this pandemic, investors got to work and invested a record $18B in healthcare cos in Q2’20.

Industry 4.0

Covid-19 has highlighted urgent challenges that manufacturing has long faced.
 

We dig into 5 emerging technologies reshaping manufacturing, from design to prototyping to component assembly, here.

So you wanna partner, eh?

You say "partnership."

To me, this translates to "you got no money."

Seriously, it is surprising how utterly terrible most inbound partnership requests are.

And they keep getting worse.

Has anyone written a guide to striking partnerships to talk about the initial email you send and how to make that compelling? 

Here's why these inbound salvos fail so badly:

1. Folks don't do research on partner's biz, customers, goals

2. The pitches are vague (due to lack of research) so they're effectively outsourcing the thinking to the person they're reaching out to

3. There is no clear appeal to enlightened self-interest (WIIFM)

C'mon folks. Let's do better.

How to be productive amid a pandemic

New Jersey-based SOSV beat a16z and Google Ventures to top the list of most active investors in Q2’20, inking 30 deals. 

Take a look at the VCs that placed the most bets as the pandemic continued to roil the globe.

All that, and a bag of chips
 

Future of Health is raising the bar for virtual events. As always, we’ll offer hard-hitting 1:1 interviews with tech company founders and 1:1 video meetups with healthcare players from around the world. Here are a few other things we’re cooking up: 

• VIP Q&A sessions with CB Insights analysts and keynote speakers

• Shark Tank-style sessions with founders of the hottest digital health companies 

• Pre-event workshops with high engagement and actionable advice

• The chance to propose your own meetup topic and gather attendees for small group convos

• Babysitting (sort of) with entertaining conference content for the kids

Prices go up Friday at midnight. Use the code PriceHike to get $300 off current rates.
 

Oh, and here are a few of the amazing speakers you’ll hear from.

Two roads diverged in a wood

Fintech activity has accelerated in both Korea and Japan in recent years. 

Clients can take a look at how the 2 countries reflect increasingly divergent approaches to fintech here.

TechCrunch. Alex Wilhelm (@alex) breaks down the AI startup funding trends covered in CB Insights’ AI In Numbers Q2’20 story. 

Forbes. Elana Lyn Gross (@ElanaLyn) looks at telehealth startup Ro's latest valuation and references the CB Insights unicorn list.

Healthcare Dive. Ron Shinkman uses the CB Insights State Of Healthcare Q2’20 report to look at healthcare startup funding trends.

P.S. We're looking for a senior retail analyst. Apply here.

S’mores, please. The closest images of the sun ever taken show “campfires,” or very small solar flares, that may explain why the sun’s atmosphere is so hot.

MIT Technology Review 

Scammer alert. A Chinese spy used LinkedIn to find targets under the cover of a fake consultancy firm.

BBC News

Ghost town. Midtown Manhattan is nearly empty of the workers that drove spending in the area, forcing an economic crisis for businesses from hot dog vendors to luxury retailers.

NYT

*Crowd roars*. Audio engineers are piping recorded sounds of fans into MLB games — and you can participate in real time.

NPR

F-commerce. The majority of e-commerce in Bangladesh happens on Facebook, but scams are rampant and new players could disrupt the lively ecosystem.

Rest of World