Hi there,

Another day, another... retail bankruptcy. 

The term "retailpocalypse" has been thrown around since at least 2017, but retailers — especially malls and department stores — felt the strain even before that.

The pandemic has only deepened the carnage, felling iconic chains like JCPenney, Neiman Marcus, J.Crew, and most recently Lord & Taylor.

We map out 110+ major retail bankruptcies here and cover why they struggled. Hint: it’s not all just because of Amazon. 

Money trees

Healthcare funding shattered records to hit $18B globally last quarter.

We take a look at the healthcare investors who cut the most checks in Q2'20 here.

Casual shopping

Big tech has spent $200B+ on acquisitions since 1995. Great graphic by The Financial Times featuring data from CB Insights.

Good pickings
 

Enterprise IT startup Rippling joined the unicorn club with its $145M Series B today. 

It was one of our picks for 50 future unicorns, made in collaboration with Fast Company. See the rest here.

Ooh she's different
 

Here’s why our fully virtual Future of Health (September 23-25) will be different from other conferences:

• Exclusive data and research: We combine our data with breaking news from our speakers, so you’ll leave feeling up-to-date on the top healthcare trends.
• Networking made easy: We have a dedicated networking app to help you set up unlimited 1:1 video meetings with other senior-level attendees. The Future of Health will have 3,000+ networking meetings.
• Insurgents vs. incumbents: We carefully curate our list of speakers to represent a blend of the top unicorns in the space, the rising stars, and the already established corporations. See the full lineup here.

Save $300 on your Future of Health ticket with code extraspecial. 

Not just for hipsters and vegans
 

From vegan ice cream to pea milk, dairy alternatives are gaining mainstream traction.

Clients can read more about what the shift away from dairy means in this brief.

Financial Times. Richard Henderson (@richhend) covers big tech and cites CB Insights acquisition data.  

Wall Street Journal. Brian Gormley mentions CB Insights research and quotes CB Insights senior healthcare analyst He Wang in covering medical device investment trends.

New York Times. Michael J. de la Merced (@m_delamerced) reports on venture deal trends and references the PwC and CB Insights Q2'20 MoneyTree report. 

P.S. Join our managing healthcare analyst, Ja Lee, on August 13 for an update on global healthcare funding and investments for Q2’20. Sign up here. 

The Blurb
 

Free for all. Renault gave free EVs to an entire French town, aiming to prove the practicality of electric transportation in rural settings. 

Business Insider

Star power. Erica is believed to be Hollywood’s first fully autonomous, artificially intelligent actor — and she’s starring in a $70M sci-fi movie.

New York Times

Out-of-home schooling. In preparation for remote learning this fall, some families are planning to get kids out of the house to learn in new environments, from domes to local parks.

Wall Street Journal

Comic relief needed. Japan’s best-selling manga of the past decade is coming to an end — and publishers are under pressure to find the next hit.

Bloomberg