Hola, 
 

Over 5 years ago, we asked readers of this newsletter to pick the best startup unicorn to invest in with a March Madness-style bracket.

As you can see below, readers narrowed the field to these 8 unicorns: 

• Domo
• Slack
• Airbnb
• Lyft
• GitHub
• Stripe
• BuzzFeed
• Prosper

Arguably, the rate of return on the above list of quarterfinalists would not be that great compared to other equity portfolios one might have constructed from the beginning list of 64.

And some of the key misses (e.g. Stripe losing to Slack in the last 8) might be chalked up to the phenomenon whereby very hyped and visible companies get more credit than they deserve relative to less-sexy companies exploring “drier” areas, like Stripe with payments (which we dig into here) or MongoDB with databases.

Finally, there are exceptions here, but it turns out a surprising number of successes and failures are explained by the leadership strength/integrity of the founders, or lapses in the same. Several of the flare-outs — including Vice, Zenefits, WeWork, Theranos (yikes), and more — had to do with controversies and scandals. 

But the bracket definitely invites more interpretations, so I'm curious to hear how others would read it — what the crowd chose and what the ticker-tape has shown.

What is payfac? 
 

Stripe may have been undervalued in 2015, but now rumors are abuzz of a new funding round that'll land the fintech a whopping $100B+ valuation.

Read more about how Stripe makes money here.

Tech-enabled everything

With the rise of autonomous vehicles, connected cars, and shared mobility, tech capabilities are more critical for auto players than ever. 

We examine how tech giants are leveraging their strengths to explore opportunities in the auto industry in this client-only brief.

The vegans go mainstream
 

Sustainability-focused food and beverage startups are drawing more dollars and larger deals.

From Geltor's $91M Series B to Impossible Foods' combined $700M raised, clients can read more about where top investors are placing their bets across the space.

1 acquisition per month: Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the tech giant bought a company every 3-4 weeks for the last 6 years, and that most of its acquisitions focused on gaining technology and talent. We map out all of big tech’s $1B+ acquisitions in this infographic. 

$10B: Plant-based milk producer Oatly has filed for an IPO and is reportedly seeking a valuation of around $10B — 5x more than the valuation it was given during its most recent funding round in July. Though plant-based protein is gaining mainstream momentum, other animal-free approaches like protein fermentation could soon shake up the space. Learn more about the future of alternative protein in our latest Game-Changing Tech report. 
 

+8.2%: Retail sales in the US could grow by as much as 8.2% this year, according to the National Retail Federation. The group says that the ongoing rollout of Covid-19 vaccines could fuel the fastest growth the space has seen in years. See how emerging tech is impacting retail — from logistics to e-commerce to the in-store experience — in our latest State Of Retail Tech report. 
 

$6.6B: Joby Aviation — which aims to launch an electric air taxi service by 2024 — is set to go public via a SPAC deal that will value the combined company at $6.6B. See how SPACs work and why they’re gaining popularity in this explainer. 

$270M: AI-supported Wi-Fi company Plume closed a $270M mega-round at a unicorn-qualifying valuation of $1.35B. Clients can see how emerging Wi-Fi tech could help power remote work in this deep dive report on the future of the smart home.

Boston Dynamics' nimble robot dogs have often drawn comparisons to Black Mirror’s killer robots. 

But a group brought that vision to reality via a provocative art installation. In “Spot’s Rampage,” internet collective MSCHF attached a paintball gun to Spot and allowed viewers to remotely control the robot to call to mind a more dystopian future. 

MSCHF’s previous drops have included “Jesus Shoes” (sneakers with holy water in the soles), an astrology-based stock-picking app, and an Amazon Echo ultrasonic jammer.

Have a great rest of the week.

Marcelo