Hola,
 

This year will mark the 10-year anniversary of Marc Andreessen’s “Software Is Eating the World” article, a 2011 Wall Street Journal op-ed that launched a million PowerPoint presentations.

Yes, a way to measure the success of any particular brain-worm/meme is to gauge how tired you are of hearing a buzzword or phrase or seeing it in decks, and by this measure Andreessen’s catchphrase is a blockbuster — the Mandalorian of thought leadership.

In all seriousness, 10 years after the famous headline, what’s evident in CB Insights data and research that the world’s appetite for software is insatiable. In fact, it’s more helpful today to think about software as what’s on the menu. Put another way, it’s no longer so much seen as a threat but as a condition for success.

In 2021, the world is eating software, and it’s hungry. Global software spending is a $3.8T+ market. 

Just take a look at our recent turn-of-year research reports marking new funding and deal activity records around tech companies: 

• Tech cos raised a record $130B in 2020, as shown in the PwC x CB Insights MoneyTree report
• Quarterly mega-rounds hit a new high in Q4'20, with 99 $100M+ rounds, also in the above report
• Alternative protein startups saw unprecedented funding
  levels and deal activity with $2.3B across 99 deals, per our State Of Sustainability Tech report

This pace of company formation, funding frothiness, and private-market tech activity are indicators of an ongoing secular shift toward software, cloud, and digital in how the world and businesses operate. Covid-19 is just an accelerant. Bon appetit!

Chatty chatty bot bot 
 

The Covid-19 pandemic has turned a spotlight onto chatbot tech, with many chatbots proving invaluable for handling a surge of consumer inquiries and concerns.

Unbundling UPS 

As the world’s largest package delivery company, UPS has established a strong foothold in shipping and logistics. The company competes most directly with FedEx and USPS in the US. However, Amazon, one of its largest customers, has recently emerged as a competitor.  

Stability? In crypto?

Stablecoins saw a resurgence in interest in the second half of 2020, thanks to recent corporate activity and new Treasury guidance. 

Clients can read more about how stablecoins can provide critical infrastructure for payments, banking, and credit cards here.

Making factories smarter

Advances in AI and machine learning are enhancing the way manufacturers prevent asset failure, block cyber threats, and autonomously calibrate machines.

From improving predictive maintenance to enhancing cybersecurity to enabling remote machine calibration, clients can read more about how AI can make manufacturing safer and more efficient in this brief.

-$5.3B: Visa canceled its $5.3B acquisition of fintech payments firm Plaid, announced a year ago, after push back from US regulators. Some think that the scuppered deal could change how investors assess the exit potential of fintech startups. See where VC money is going in fintech in our 2020 funding trends report.  

+2 unicorns: Database company Cockroach Labs and website builder Webflow became unicorns after they closed mega-rounds at $2B+ valuations. Both companies were featured on our latest 50 Future Unicorns list, made in partnership with Fast Company. See all our picks for the next billion-dollar private companies here. 
 

-10.3%: US greenhouse gas emissions fell by 10.3% in 2020, the biggest annual drop in recent history, according to a study by Rhodium Group. The significant-but-paltry reduction in emissions, attributed mostly to the pandemic, underscores the challenges of reducing emissions across the economy even as activity in the area picks up. Clients can see where companies are focusing their sustainability efforts in the consumer and retail space in this report.   

$450M: Online payments platform Checkout.com raised $450M in fresh funding at a valuation of $15B. The London-based company, now Europe’s top-valued unicorn, was featured in both our Fintech 250 and Retail Tech 100 cohorts of high-momentum companies in these spaces.
 

3 years: Apple is reportedly planning to partner with carmaker Hyundai to manufacture autonomous vehicles in the US, with production beginning in around 3 years. The tech giant is far from the only big company going after the nascent space. See what 40+ corps are doing with autonomous vehicles in this report.  

A Cincinnati man adopted an orphan goose that was found in the road.

The goose, named Lil' Bob, loves to go on long walks and is potty-trained. He's also best friends with Joe Songer's dog, Hant, and the pair watch TV together, "sometimes for hours."

Lil' Bob and Hant also share a love for Arby's sandwiches — “His favorite food is Arby’s. He will eat Arby’s roast beef sandwich with the dog. But no bun, they want the meat,” per Songer.

Have a great rest of the week.

Marcelo