Hi there, 

One of the best videos I've seen in a long time.

Please spend 5:57 listening to this.

The BBC asked kids in 1966 to predict what life would be like in 2000.

And their answers are amazing, articulate, and generally very, very pessimistic and wrong.

A few that jumped out:

• 1:29 — Fear of automation and not enough work and overpopulation. Echoes what we hear today, especially around AI

• 3:18 — We'll be living in domes in the sea or in the Sahara

• 4:09 — Remarkably prescient on industrial farming (best prediction of the whole thing IMO)

• 5:22 — Some optimism emerges from 2 of the kids (then back to pessimism)

I asked my kids to predict what life would be like in 2050 and they pointed to climate change, AI automation, etc.

They were also pessimistic.

But here's the reality. From 1966 to 2000 (per Our World in Data):

• The percentage of people living in extreme poverty globally declined from 46% to 25% (and as of 2018 stands at 10%)

• Life expectancy globally has gone up from 54 to 73

The world is, in fact, getting better.

Us humans are remarkably good at finding solutions, often using technology and entrepreneurship.

It's easy to believe all the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) that people tend to propagate but in 2050 or 2100, the trends and data suggest the world will actually be a better place.

After showing my kids the video, I'm hopeful they'll also start thinking about how it might be better (and hopefully they'll play a hand in making it so) AND be skeptical of all the bad news purveyors.

Anyways, I hope you'll watch the video. And for those with kids, maybe watch with them. It's good.

And in closing, British accents are dope.

It’s all relative

Corporate VC (CVC)-backed fintech deals dropped just 2% year-over-year in 2022. 

CVC-backed digital health and retail tech deals were hit much harder, falling by 34% and 10%, respectively.

Which investors helped keep the fintech deal count afloat? Discover CVC’s top fintech investors in our State of CVC 2022 Report.

I’ll be watching you

Cybercrime is rising while the cybersecurity labor shortage persists.

This has led big tech companies to not only step up their own security measures but also build cybersecurity products and services for others.

Make it make sense

E-commerce enablement vendors are entering the market at a rapid pace.

With these vendors addressing everything from headless commerce to AI-powered search and recommendations, e-commerce tech stacks are becoming more complex.

Hometown heroes

Due to varying regulatory environments, insurance is a largely localized business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

So homegrown insurtech startups are well-positioned to compete and have caught the eyes of investors. 

TechCrunch. Kunal Lunawat (@KunalLunawat) covers generative AI in proptech and cites CB Insights data.

Utility Dive. Stephen Singer (@SteveSinger10) touches on EV battery reuse and cites CB Insights research.

Digiday. Marty Swant (@martyswant) discusses startups focused on generative AI for marketing and mentions CB Insights research.
 

I love you.

Anand

@asanwal

P.S. What’s going on in the world of generative AI? We visualize 7 trends in the space — from top investors to the most well-funded categories — in this report.