Hi there, 

Here’s what’s hot or not this week. 

Hot: Generating revenue

This is how quickly internet pioneers grew revenue from year 1 to year 5:

• Facebook — 712x
• Google — 6,663x
• Amazon —3,209x
• Yahoo — 353x
• Netscape — 129x

Are any current startups growing revenue this fast?

See the actual revenue growth numbers for 5 of the internet’s OGs here.

Not: Splashy-cashy M&A for Salesforce

The CRM behemoth disbanded its M&A committee last week. 

So 1 of the biggest acquirers in tech is now out of the acquisition game.

Layer in the FTC's crusade against Google, Facebook, etc. and big deals are not possible by those guys either. 

So with tech acquirers out of the game, private equity increasingly becomes the acquirer of choice while strategics are “risk-off” and the IPO market stays closed.

For Salesforce, this also likely means divesting past M&A given activist hedge funds (Elliott, Starboard, and Third Point) are now clamoring for change.

We break down which M&A transactions are likely to be divested and also dig into what customers are saying about Salesforce’s products.

Hot: The quantum exception
 

Quantum tech bucked the broader venture downturn last year.

And activity hasn’t slowed down — funding and deals are both on pace to surpass 2022’s levels this year.

Top-funded companies in the space include PsiQuantum ($729M in total equity funding), SandboxAQ ($500M), and Xanadu ($231M).

CB Insights clients can discover hundreds of key companies across quantum computing, post-quantum cryptography, and more in our Quantum Tech Expert Collection.

They can also dive into the race to commercialize quantum computing in this market map.

A reliable source of electricity is the backbone of modern society.

But power grid stability and security are increasingly at risk, due to extreme weather events (remember the Texas deep freeze?) and geopolitical tensions.

Microsoft has big plans for healthcare. 

As we highlighted in our Microsoft strategy map, the tech giant wants to position itself as the foundational layer for healthcare IT at hospitals. 

Healthcare cloud computing is a $45B market. Rather than competing with hospitals and providers directly — the way Amazon Care and Amazon Clinic are — Microsoft is aiming for dominance in healthcare cloud tech through partnerships with hospitals and providers.

This includes an expanding partnership with Walmart and the retailer’s healthcare play, which CB Insights analysts dug into in the most recent edition of our Healthcare Insights newsletter.

Sign up to receive our analysts’ biweekly healthcare newsletter directly in your inbox here.

“You only live once,” they say. And that kinda s^cks. 

But what if you could make that one life last forever, and ever? Or, you know, at least last a bit longer?

While full-fledged immortality may be somewhat far-fetched at this point, longevity is not — a number of companies are working to help us live longer, healthier lives. 

Learn more about developments in the space in our Tech Trends 2023 report.

I love you.

Anand

@asanwal

P.S. We’re getting ready to publish our 2023 Retail Tech 100 report. Join us post-launch to learn more about this year’s winners and dive into key technologies changing retail.