I bequeath it all to Fluffy
Hi there,
If you read our 2019 Wellness Trends report, you know that pet pampering is all the rage these days.
But some owners are taking it to the next level with pet trust funds.
81% of pet owners say they value their pets as much as their own human children, and 44% have a financial arrangement for their pets in the event of their death.
Some dogs, cats, and even chickens have even inherited million-dollar estates after their owners pass away. Many pet owners have plans for their pets, as the data below illustrates.

XOXO, Jeff
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos released the latest edition of his annual letter to shareholders last week. He discusses how wandering has been a crucial element of Amazon's success.
We break down the key takeaways of Bezos' 2018 letter — and every other annual letter since 1997. Check it all out here.

Get lit
Global consumer spending on cannabis is projected to hit $32B by 2022. Medical marijuana is already legal across most of the US, and 10 states have legalized it for recreational use.
So other industries want to take a hit. From wellness & beauty to banking to advertising, we take a look at 23 industries going all in on the cannabis gold rush.

$1.57 billion. With a B.
That’s how much 8 startup CEOs speaking at the Future of Fintech have raised in the last 4 months.
Clearly, speaking at the Future of Fintech is good for fundraising. (Yes, we know — correlation/causation.)
Earlier this month, Affirm announced it raised $300M in Series F funding, increasing its valuation to $2.9B. We’re looking forward to hearing more from CEO Max Levchin at Future of Fintech 2019 (June 11-13, NYC) to see how the company is going to deploy this monster round.
We'll also hear from:
- CEO & co-founder of Chime ($200M Series D in March, $1.5B valuation)
- Co-founder & president of Airwallex ($100M Series C in March, $1B valuation)
- CEO & co-founder of Credit Karma ($500M from Silver Lake in March, $4B valuation)
- CEO & co-founder of Ellevest ($33M in March)
- CEO of Acorns ($105M Series E in January)
- CEO & co-founder of Plaid ($250M Series C in December, $2.65B valuation)
- CEO & co-founder of Toss ($80M Series D in December, $1.2B valuation)
Save $500 by getting your ticket today with code fundingmania.
Changing lanes
Traffic is clogging up city streets around the world, and it's only expected to get worse. Now startups are emerging to tackle the issue.
From connected infrastructure to V2X tech to parking, we take a look at 40+ companies transforming traffic management. Expert Intelligence clients can see them all here.

On the rise
Southeast Asia is a historically underbanked region, but this might be starting to change. In 2018, funding to fintech startups in the area grew 143% year-over-year, hitting a record $485M over 68 deals.
We take a look at what's driving the growth here.

AI for mail merge
Below is a beautiful mail merge from a PR firm.
I believe they’re actually looking for ChubbyBrain Ventures, btw.

But in reality, we’d be a pretty good VC.
48% of our unicorn picks from 2015 (shortlisted in partnership with The New York Times) went on to actually become unicorns.
See how we did it here.
LPs, feel free to send us money. Thanks.
Take it personally
Personalized nutrition has taken off over the last couple of years, and it's changing the way consumers buy food & beverage products.
From customized vitamins to diets based on the microbiome, we take a look at how new innovations in nutrition are affecting the way consumers think about their health. Clients can read about it here.

The Industry Standard
CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.
Fortune. Jeff John Roberts (@jeffjohnroberts) reports that eToro has launched 8 new stablecoins and quotes CB Insights senior fintech analyst Arieh Levi (@arieh313).
Wall Street Journal. Yuliya Chernova (@ychernova) writes about why small business banking hasn’t gained as much traction with investors as mobile banking and references CB Insights research.
Becker’s Hospital Review. Emily Rappleye (@emrappleye) discusses Theranos’ new patents and cites CB Insights research.
I love you.
Anand
@asanwal
P.S. Like our research? Want to join the CBI team? We're hiring a director of fintech research.
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