Hi there,

Since Covid-19, venture capital has been pumping the breaks on investment. Just in March, we saw a 22% YoY decline in deal activity in the US. 

But the very definition of VC dictates that it is resistant to short-term changes. Ideally, VCs are looking to reap immense returns 10 years from now. 

The fundamentals of the industry haven’t changed, even amid the pandemic. VCs are placing their bets on startups looking to transform consumer or business behavior.

From the VC food chain, to deal sourcing, to the term sheet, we dig deeper into the fundamentals of venture capital in this report. This is an excellent primer on how the VC sausage is made.

A whole new world 

Covid-19 has fundamentally disrupted the way we work, learn, bank, exercise, relax, and much, much more.

From personal surveillance tech, to social online gaming, to virtual fitness, check out 24 industries that will shape the post-virus world in this report.

It’s not me, it’s you

Quibi has unfortunately become a punchline in tech representing overfunded, overhyped products that ultimately don’t live up to their billing.  

There’s nothing wrong with that, tbh. Hype is good and if you can grab obscene amounts of funding, why not? 

But what has been most interesting to me to watch with Quibi is how little ownership the company's taken for the product’s challenges since its launch. Everything bad is blamed on the market or some other exogenous factor. Zero self-awareness or introspection, it seems.

Wonder by wonder

We teamed up with Fast Company to find 50 of the most high-momentum startups that are likely to notch $1B+ valuations. 

See the full list of future unicorns here. 

A new fantastic point of view

People are finding connections in quarantine via gaming and virtual events, leading to skyrocketing user demand. But entertainment is just one of many industries that’s likely to continue to see growth after the pandemic.   

Take a look at which industries are poised to thrive in the post-Covid world here.

Not Beyonce's Lemonade

Insurtech unicorn Lemonade filed its S-1 last week.

We break down the headwinds and tailwinds Lemonade is facing in this client-only post. 

Fortune. Anne Sraders (@AnneSraders) reports on the discussion of PPP loans in yesterday’s CBI Tech Conference panel with Jackie Reses, head of Square Capital.

TechCrunch. Connie Loizos (@Cookie) covers investor Chris Sacca’s talk on investing in the current moment at the CBI Tech Conference.

Fierce Healthcare. Heather Landi (@HeatherLandi) analyzes unicorn startup Proteus Health’s bankruptcy filing and references CB Insights data.

P.S. In our upcoming mobility webinar on June 25, we'll be walking through the startups most likely to thrive post-Covid-19, emerging trends in the mobility space, and the outlook for investment. Sign up here — even if you can't make it, we'll send you all the good stuff after.

I don’t feel so good. For decades, scientists have tried to understand motion sickness in order to eliminate it, especially in risky contexts like space travel.

Hakai

Vials on vials. Manufacturers are racing to prevent a shortage of the special type of glass needed to transport vaccines.

Quartz

Frowns all around. In May, the hedonometer — a system that indicates general happiness based on a sampling of tweets — registered the saddest week on record.

Nature

The money, the cars, the clothes. Tech employees excited about remote work may face sizable pay cuts upon leaving cities.
Protocol

A digital shoulder to cry on. Throughout quarantine, isolated individuals have sought comfort and companionship from AI-enabled chatbots.

New York Times