Copy
FAMGA and cybersecurity. From coal to clean. Walmart's new wardrobe.

Must love unicorns

Hi there,

For the second year in a row, we’ve made Crain’s Best Places to Work in NYC. Thanks to everyone who voted.

If you’re ambitious, hardworking, smart, and a great teammate — and if you like taking unicorns for walks around the city — we’re hiring.




Riding the high

Legal marijuana has become mainstream, with the industry expected to hit $20B+ by 2025.

Now cannabis products are being incorporated into fields like medicine, banking, agriculture, beauty, and more. We take a look at 18 industries likely to take the first hits





 Make it fashion

Today Walmart announced its plan to acquire plus-sized fashion startup Eloquii for $100M.

Eloquii is one of several emerging D2C brands working to modernize the $21B plus-sized clothing market. We included it in our online fashion brands market map, which clients can see here.




That’s dope

Folks moved on from crypto quickly.

We asked you if you’d invest in crypto or cannabis if you had $10M, and here are the results.



You can check out 18 industries being disrupted by cannabis here and see all of our cannabis research here.


Get security in here

Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Apple (FAMGA) store our financial info and have all kinds of data about where we work and live, and what we buy. 

This puts them in the front lines in the fight against exploiting our personal information.

We take a look at FAMGA's patent application activity to see how they're innovating in data security.




Is this chic?

Nordstrom is catching a lot of heat for selling this pair of Golden Goose sneakers for $530. Critics say the beat-up sneaks glorify poverty, but others calls these “unique, handcrafted shoes” that are worth the price.

What do you think? Are they distasteful? Are they fashion? Is it genius marketing?




Trying something new

Saudi Arabia, the largest exporter of oil in the world, is investing in electric vehicles and renewable energy.

We mapped out where Saudi investors — including the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) — are most focused in the alternative energy space. Check it out here.




Alexa, cover your ears

Scientists at the Ruhr-Universitaet in Bochum, Germany have figured out how to bury inaudible commands in audio files that can take over voice assistants.

The method is called “psychoacoustic hiding,” and hackers could use it to manipulate audio waves from songs, speech, or even birds chirping, to deliver commands that can only be heard by the device. (We discuss audio manipulation in our Future of Information Warfare brief.)

Worst case scenario, this could be used to take over entire smart homes.

Trust no bird.




 A gut feeling

The microbiome is said to hold the key to treating a wide variety of ailments, from digestive distress, to weight loss, to acne, to anxiety and depression. But its potential goes far beyond that.

From agriculture to diagnostics to nutrition, we take a look at 40+ startups using the microbiome to change the way we manage our health. Clients can check them out here.




You know you want to

You need to be at TRANSFORM. You want to be at TRANSFORM. Here's why:

  • Our speaker lineup includes execs from top companies representing a wide range of industries.
  • TRANSFORM is your how-to guide for growth. We’ve cut the fluff to focus on tough challenges faced by strategy, innovation, and corp development professionals.
  • You can schedule 1-to-1 meetings with other senior leaders.
  • You'll hear exclusive new research from our analysts on tech and competitive threats to watch. You must be present at the event to take part.
Use code youconvincedme to get $500 off the price of a single ticket, or save bigger with our reduced group rates.
 




The Industry Standard

CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.

New York Times. Erin Griffith (@eringriffith) writes about the growth of real estate tech and cites CB Insights data.

Fortune. This article reports that SoftBank and others plan to make a huge investment into Bytedance and refers to CB Insights data.

Bloomberg. Lulu Yilun Chen (@luluyilun) and Mark Bergen (@mhbergen) profile Zhang Yiming, creator of Bytedance, and reference CB Insights data.


I love you.

Anand
@asanwal 

P.S. This Thursday, we'll be discussing the rise of robots. Sign up here to join us at the briefing.

The Blurb

A curated mix of articles worth sharing.

Chirp chirp. Scientists have figured out how to take over voice assistants using inaudible commands buried in audio files that can sound like birds.
Fast Company

Cheers to that. Wineries and distilleries around the world are making a wide variety of adjustments to address climate change.
Fortune

This is big. Worldwide spending on billboard advertising is expected to reach $38B despite — or perhaps because of — our digital world.
Recode

At the bus stop. Last year, Boston Public Schools asked MIT grad students to build an algorithm that could change start times at dozens of schools. It turned into a political disaster.
Boston Globe

I don’t know her. Changing your hairstyle or not wearing makeup could throw off facial-recognition tech.
Wall Street Journal

Crypto for crises. Argentina could look to blockchain to help solve its financial crisis.
VentureBeat
Download the CB Insights mobile app today.

     

If you loved this newsletter, send it to a friend.
If you hated it, send it to an enemy.
All the data in this newsletter comes from CB Insights. Join NEA, Cisco & hundreds of other clients and get access to the industry's best private company data.

Sign up for access.
Copyright © 2018 CB Information Services, All rights reserved.
498 7th Ave, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10018