Hi there,

Here's a new game.

I call it M&A improv.

How it works:

1. I'll propose an acquisition

2. You share why it's a good idea (the proverbial “yes, and…”)

3. You can't say why it's a bad idea (finding holes is easy)

Ready to play?

First M&A improv idea is…. 

LinkedIn acquires Calendly.

Why should LinkedIn do this deal? 

Leave your ideas here on LinkedIn. We’ll feature the best ones — and the names of the folks who submitted them — in a coming newsletter. Get your name in front of 890,000+. LFG!

Great fintech companies (that didn’t make it)

Last week, we revealed the Fintech 250 — 250 companies picked from among a population of 12,000+ fintech companies.

A ton of companies wrote in asking why they weren’t selected.

We can’t respond back to everyone individually.

The reality is that narrowing the list down to 250 from more than 12,000 companies means there are a ton of great fintech companies we just couldn’t pick. We expect and know many of the companies not on the list will achieve great things this coming year.

We encourage all fintech companies to continue to keep our analysts informed of their progress via Analyst Briefings. That way, they could be featured in research we’re doing over the course of the year and land themselves in next year’s Fintech 250.

Out of the woods?

Not even close. 

The global venture funding drop in Q3’22 sent shockwaves through the startup ecosystem.

In fact, more startups failed last quarter than at any point we’ve covered this year.

Learn more about the cradle-to-grave journeys of these startups in this report.

Layoffs at Brex

Last year, Brex was valued at $12.3B. 

Yesterday, the corporate cards & spend management company laid off 11% of its staff.

The decacorn announced in April a pivot to focus on larger enterprises. 

For this Brex customer, the transition may be overdue.

Get access to the full transcript with Yardstiq and compare Brex against its competition (Ramp, Airbase, etc.) with our Vendor Scorecard.

Requests for Technology 

Every week, hundreds of CB Insights customers source technology vendors on our platform.

Here are a few recent RFTs we’ve received:

RFT #1 — A Fortune 500 insurance company is interested in process automation solutions that can help its disputes team simplify compliance and reduce risk. 

RFT #2 — An Asia-based pharmaceutical company is interested in mental health solutions for its customers. It is open to exploring non-pharma approaches.

RFT #3 — A multinational conglomerate is looking to meet with AI technology providers to work together on application performance monitoring (APM) in healthcare.

If you’re building technology that can assist with any of this, submit an Analyst Briefing here.

Grocer deliverance

Ordering groceries for delivery has become super easy and convenient.

So a vast number of consumers are opting to shop from their couch.

For grocers, however, this is a costly phenomenon. Their already-thin margins are shrinking under the weight of fulfillment expenses.

Please eat an apple

Healthcare payers are busy folks. 

A number of factors, like the rising demand for healthcare services, have sent the volume of claims and reimbursements skyrocketing.

To keep up without compromising accuracy, payers are turning to payment integrity solutions. 

From cost & risk analytics to data integration, we cover the 9 technologies that payers should focus on and the companies that are building them.

The Economic Times. The outlet covers VC funding’s 21-month low in India and mentions CB Insights research.

Silicon Valley Business Journal. Cromwell Schubarth (@SVBizCrom) discusses the slowing unicorn birth rate and cites CB Insights research.

TechCrunch. Alex Wilhelm (@alex) reports on the fintech funding drop using CB Insights data.
 

I love you.

Anand

@asanwal

P.S. We’re hosting a metaverse panel discussion on October 18 @ 2pm ET. Join us to share your burning questions and hot takes.