Hi there, 

I must’ve used a bad word in yesterday’s newsletter cuz it got hammered by spam filters. It had 3 more request-for-startup ideas, FAMGA’s battle for AI, how to talk to our analysts, and more. Check it out here.

And now for today’s show.

In 2020, we said RIP to retailer after retailer, with our compendium now at 128 major retail bankruptcies. 

On the bright side, retail tech has seen a strong start to 2021, with funding flowing to in-store tech, e-commerce cos, and more. 

And innovation — from the omnichannel retail revolution to AR mirrors — is giving the in-store shopping experience an upgrade. 

What’s next for retail tech? Find out in our upcoming webinar. 

Below, we dive into the creator economy, the Fintech 250, open banking, and more.

#blessed

Move over sharing economy.

The creator economy is here, and it’ll be orders of magnitude larger. It is already changing everything from how brands are built to financial services to media & entertainment.

Today, as you’ll see in our creator economy market map, there is a very diverse array of technologies underpinning the creator economy. TBH, there is no area within tech with as much innovation right now as this area (fintech and digital health come close). 

In other words, watch this space.

We are the champions

Since launching our third annual Fintech 250 in September 2020, 49 companies have become unicorns, bringing the total for the list to 81 — valued in aggregate at $508B.

Check out where the top 250 fintech startups of 2020 are now across exits, funding activity, and notable partnerships here.

Want to be considered for our 2021 list? Apply now (it only takes 3 mins).

Speed walking

Here’s an addition to your “things I didn’t know I needed” list: a phone swing.

This bad boy can get you to 9,500 “steps” in just 1 hour.

Use cases include unlocking Pokemon Go rewards and cheating on corporate step challenges. No walking necessary. 

Open season
 

Open banking — which relies on APIs to transmit bank account data — has grown into a global phenomenon, with the industry seeing record levels of investment and buy-in by major financial institutions. 

From the current state of the market to where banks see opportunity, we dig into the outlook for open banking here.

TechCrunch. Alex Wilhelm (@alex) and Anna Heim (@abracarioca) cover AI startup investment using CB Insights research.

Business Insider. Vicky Ge Huang (@Vlajournaliste) discusses stablecoins with CB Insights senior analyst Alex Kern (@AlexKernA). 

Healthcare Dive. Rebecca Pifer (@RebeccaMPifer) looks at telehealth use and cites CB Insights data.
 

I love you.
 

P.S. Our friends at Ford are hiring a Design Strategy Director. Check out the role here.

Buying the digs. A penthouse in Miami Beach sold for $22.5M in an all-cryptocurrency deal, marking the largest crypto real estate transaction on record. 

Business Insider

Ready-to-Eat. Distributors of M.R.E.s — US military rations — have seen sustained demand from civilians for the meals amid the pandemic.

NYT

Back in business. Amazon is expanding its “returnship” program to bring up to 1,000 people — typically women who’ve stopped working to serve as caretakers — back into the workforce.

Fortune
 

Gold nugget. A chicken nugget that looks like an Among Us crewmate sold for $99,997 on eBay.

The Verge
 

Wires crossed. The state of Ohio is suing Alphabet to have Google declared a public utility, which would block the giant from prioritizing its products in Google Search.

Reuters