Hi there,

We’ve got a stacked newsletter today — including our FTX investment map and our Challenger Bank Playbook report.

But first, it’s time to “guess that trend” based on mining public company earnings call transcripts. (Answers below.)

#1 Mentions of this word spiked on earnings calls in Q2’20 and have exploded in the last 2 quarters.

#2 Mentions of this buzzword have jumped each Q1 since 2019.

And now, the answers:

• #1 “Recession” has become top of mind for execs.
• #2 Talk of “transformation” kicks off the year.

Oh Samuel

Long story short: FTX filed for bankruptcy and now reportedly owes $8B to 1M creditors.

But where is there value to be found in the aftermath of this isht-show?

We used CB Insights data to:

• Map out every single investment and M&A holding in the FTX universe AND

• Identify the top 10 most valuable holdings for bankruptcy courts and creditors

In the next couple of weeks, we’ll look at how Samuel and FTX laundered their reputation via a series of smart paid sponsorships or partnerships with media companies, sports teams, and blue chip corporations.

Samuel’s grifter playbook is really quite next-level.
 

Challenging tradition

Which continent saw the first cohort of challenger banks (digital banks) break out? 

A. North America

B. Europe

C. Asia
 

The answer is B — and that first group of 6 has raised $6B+ in funding since 2014.

Find out more about how it started, how it’s going, and what’s next for these companies in our challenger bank playbook. 

Throwback Tuesday

Andreessen Horowitz ramped up its crypto, fintech, and consumer investment activity last year.

Take a look back at this report to see how much has changed and what remains the same after a turbulent 2022.

F-R-E-E that spells free

Consumers expect free and fast shipping options.

But rising costs and supply chain setbacks are making it difficult for retailers to deliver — literally.

From route optimization to drone delivery, we identify 218 companies working to help retail leaders meet consumers’ Amazonian expectations in this market map.

Smells like tech innovation

Retail banks are applying for AI patents across a range of banking functions. 

Capital One and Bank of America lead the pack with a combined 800+ patents.

Politico. Ben Leonard, Ruth Reader, Carmen Paun, and Grace Scullion tackle the decline in digital health funding and mention CB Insights research.

Wall Street Journal. Angus Loten (@angusloten) covers the launch of SE Ventures’ new investing fund and quotes CB Insights energy-sector analyst Thomas Hodson.

CNBC. Sheila Chiang discusses IPO activity in Southeast Asia and cites CB Insights research.

I love you.

Anand

@asanwal

P.S. Our new Salesforce integration just went live on the AppExchange. 

Use it to get fresh, accurate data on any company’s funding, investors, customers, and more — right within Salesforce.

Want to enrich your Salesforce with our data? Learn more and sign up here.