Hi there, 

Last week, Amazon announced a $1B venture fund to spur supply chain, logistics, and fulfillment innovation. 

Its first 5 investments have a heavy dose of robotics, as well as a focus on inventory management and wearables to prevent musculoskeletal issues. Clients can see all of the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund’s investments here.

Amazon’s investment moves here underscore a white-hot supply chain & logistics technology market, which continues to garner interest due to sustained disruptions from the pandemic, global unrest, and more. 

In fact, Q1’22 marked the 6th consecutive $8B+ quarter for supply chain & logistics tech funding. 

The quarter also saw the birth of 9 new supply chain-focused unicorns — on pace with 2021 — bucking broader VC trends, where unicorn births were down.

What is the future of supply chain tech? We’ve got the answers.

Clients can dig into:  

• Which supply chain technologies retailers and grocery leaders should prioritize 

• The best vendors in supply chain optimization in grocery and retail

• How FedEx is investing in next-gen shipping tech

• Where fleet & freight optimization is headed (and the vendors leading the way)

That escalated quickly

Elon Musk once rightfully dunked on us on Twitter. 

It was awesome.

Now, he’s buying the bird app, diversifying further the areas he is tackling. 

It’s been interesting to see the reactions to his purchase of Twitter. TBH, I don't get the Elon Musk hate.

He's the best entrepreneur of our generation (perhaps ever).

He’s done more for climate change than virtually anyone else.

SpaceX remarkably now handles two-thirds of NASA's launches, including research payloads. Starlink, a SpaceX product, has the promise of making internet connectivity broadly available around the world.

How many kids (and adults like me) have watched the video (linked in The Blurb below) of the SpaceX rocket landing in the water and thought “holy isht” and been inspired?

I get that his public persona and Tweets can be cringey at times, but I'd argue the world needs more Elon Musks.

Also, the above doesn’t even get at everything Musk is involved in and the industries he’s potentially disrupting. You can dig into all of those here.

aweb3z 

In 2021, the blockchain & crypto category became a cornerstone of a16z’s investment strategy.

The venture firm raised a record $2.2B for its third crypto venture fund in June 2021. And as of January 2022, it’s seeking $4.5B for a set of new crypto funds. 

It’s also gone on a hiring spree, employing a slew of blockchain industry experts. 

Now, the venture firm is launching a crypto research lab to work with its portfolio companies and advance Web3. 

We mined CB Insights data to track a16z’s investments over the past 5 years. Check out our analysis here. 

Get in on the ground floor

Digitizing the factory floor is critical to optimizing production.

Industrial internet of things (IIoT) infrastructure — which enables communication between different technologies, systems, and sensors in a manufacturing facility — is one key layer. 

From IIoT to exoskeletons & bionics, we examine 15 tech markets that manufacturing operation leaders should monitor, vet, and prioritize. 

Download the report here.

Wall Street Journal. Marc Vartabedian (@marcvarta) uses CB Insights data to cover trends in startup valuations. 

TechCrunch. Anna Heim (@abracarioca) uses the CB Insights State of Venture Q1’22 Report to discuss global IPO trends.

Forbes. Rebecca Szkutak (@rebecca_szkutak) reports on Nigeria-based fintech Afriex’s funding round and cites CB Insights data.

SpaceX rocket landing. Elon Musk’s SpaceX makes rocket landing on a drone ship in this video for the first time.

MrBeast on Joe Rogan. This interview is great because MrBeast is just so impressive. He is the biggest player on YouTube, but his humility, his drive, his focus on the long term, and his desire to give back make him unlike almost anyone out there. Remarkable talent and person.

CIA playbook on Analytic Techniques. This is a great guide to decision-making that aims to "help one challenge judgments, identify mental mindsets, stimulate creativity, and manage uncertainty."