Hi there, 

Are challenger banks up for the challenge?

Investors sure think so. 

On Friday, Chime raised $750M from names like Sequoia Capital, SoftBank, and — you guessed it — Tiger Global. 

The company has seen a massive jump in valuation over the last year, from $14.5B to $25B. 

Armed with cash and riding a wave of digital-first momentum, Chime and other challenger banks are aggressively pursuing users and expanding their product offerings — bringing them into even more direct competition with traditional banks. 

Outside of the US, digital-first banks are also having a moment. 

On the same day as Chime, Argentina-based Uala announced it had raised $350M at a unicorn-minting valuation of $2.45B.

Where’s digital banking headed? We dig into the rise of challenger banks, the market opportunity in Latin America, and more in this report. 

Winner takes all

T-Mobile confirmed on Tuesday that hackers stole information from over 40M current or former customers. 

Amid the rise in cyber attacks, we dig into 14 tech categories and 28 high-momentum startups defining cybersecurity now. Read the report here.

Oh where are my unicorns?

The world’s nearly 800 unicorns represent 40+ countries. 

See where the world’s top unicorn investors are located, and where they’ve placed their bets, here.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yep, last quarter’s venture funding was bonkers.

Like Ed, you can also mash up/remix data from our State Of Venture report to create your own analyses and insights — just download the CB Insights Data Book. 

It's full of venture and exit data across every major region, sector, stage, and more.

Please share what you come up with, as we'll be featuring some of the best remixes in upcoming CB Insights newsletters.

Right as rain

The rise of severe weather events has led to high losses for insurers. In 2020, economic losses from natural catastrophes reached $190B, with $81B in insured losses.

In response, insurers like Axa XL and Liberty Mutual are adopting real-time, hyperlocal weather analytics solutions, which can help them better price and respond to changing climate conditions.

We surveyed the players in the space and mapped them using our ESP vendor assessment methodology. They include:

• Athenium Analytics

• Benchmark Labs

• CelsiusPro

• Earth Networks

• Jupiter Intelligence

• OpenWeatherMap

• Previsico

• Tomorrow. io

If you’re selecting a hyperlocal weather analytics vendor or are kicking off an RFP for one, see where they are positioned in our ESP matrix here. 

Future of Fintech sneak peek

We've gotten a lot of requests for the Future of Fintech (Oct. 5-6, NYC + online) agenda these past few weeks.

Here’s a special advance peek at Day 1, which is packed with one-on-one interviews and demos:

• MX ($1.9B valuation) CEO & Founder — How this open banking tech leader is transforming how people interact with their money

• Revolut ($33B valuation) CEO & Co-founder — Where does the most valuable fintech in the UK with $800M in fresh funding go next?

• Public ($1.2B valuation) Co-founder & Co-CEO — Social media meets retail investing: how will Public find the right balance?

• Tech Demos from our Core Platforms and APIs for Banking & Payment companies, including Treasury Prime, Codat, Currencycloud, MXportal, Nium, and Amount

• Fintech 250 “Fresh Faces” Presentations — Be the first to find out who made this year’s Fintech 250 list and enjoy presentations from select new entrants.

Also sprinkled throughout the morning will be an all-female investor panel, dedicated networking time, and exclusive CBI analyst presentations that will just be at the Future of Fintech.
 

It will be impossible to catch it all, so bring the team and divide & conquer.

Save $100 off a single ticket with code team.

TechCrunch. Alex Wilhelm (@alex) covers the rise of late-stage rounds and cites the CB Insights unicorn list.

Adweek. Patrick Kulp (@patrickkulp) discusses the buy now, pay later phenomenon and cites CB Insights data.

CO—. Joan Verdon (@JoanVerdon) looks at startups enabling remote work using CB Insights research.
 

P.S. Join CB Insights analyst Oliver Yu in our live webinar tomorrow (August 19) at 2pm ET on the state of fintech to learn where funding is going and what to watch for next. Sign up here.

P.P.S. Looking to promote tech’s hottest research? Apply for our Director of Public Relations role.

Selling like hotcakes. Amazon has surpassed Walmart in retail sales, according to new estimates. 

NYT

Time to shine. Furniture retailer Ikea will start selling renewable energy to households in Sweden in September.

Reuters

Swipe left. Mastercard will phase out magnetic stripes on its cards in 2024, and by 2033, they’ll be gone altogether.

The Verge

Pi see what you did there. Using a supercomputer, researchers calculated pi to a record 62.8T figures — a calculation that took over 108 days.

The Guardian

War chest. Coinbase has stockpiled $4B in cash as it prepares for tighter regulation and potential crypto risks like cyber attacks or trading declines.

WSJ