Hola, 
 

What do a real estate startup, Playboy, and a D2C healthcare co have in common? 
 

They have all gone public via SPAC. 
 

In 2020, we've seen SPACs deployed to take OpenDoor, Hims, and many more companies public, and people like baseball exec Billy Beane have launched SPACs. Even SoftBank's Vision Fund just announced its plan to form one. So what is a SPAC, and why is it so popular now?  
 

A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a “blank check” shell corporation designed to take companies public without the friction and scrutiny of the traditional IPO process.
 

SPACs are hugely popular this year — more than 140 SPACs have launched so far in 2020, with no end in sight, as CB Insights data shows.

Pour one out
 

The pandemic has only accelerated the fall of several retailers. Barclays predicts that there will be 10,000 retail store closures this year alone. 
 

From Lord & Taylor to JCPenney, we take a look at the biggest closures and dig into 110+ retail bankruptcies since 2015 here.

Ain't nobody gonna touch it
 

Contactless payments are top-of-mind for both consumers and execs, with earnings mentions of the term up 8x since last year. 
 

Clients can read our top-line insights about the rise of touchless payments here.

Talk isht, get hit
 

Capital One applied for a patent that helps authenticate mobile payments with voice recognition tech. 
 

We dig into how the patent works and why it matters here.

Some good news, for once

Despite the bleak forecasts amid the pandemic recession, fintech funding rebounded in Q2'20, and more opportunities abound. 
 

Join us for the Future of Fintech (November 16-18) as we look at what’s next for fintech. Here’s what you can expect:

• 5 content streams highlighting banking, payments, lending, wealth management, and insurance 

• 60+ fireside chats from C-level execs from SoFi, Robinhood, and wefox Group

• 25+ presentations from Fintech 250 companies and CB Insights analysts

• 2,500+ executives from major financial institutions, disruptive startups, and VCs

Save $300 with code nodoomhere.

$200M: Payments company Stripe acquired Nigeria-based Paystack, a startup that also provides payments services, for about $200M. Entering new geographies is not the only way that the company is looking to expand. We dig into Stripe’s strategy for reshaping online retail in this report.

$3.2B: Twilio, which offers a business communication platform, said that it would buy customer data company Segment for $3.2B — the company was most recently valued at $1.5B last year. Segment received early-stage backing from several Smart Money VCs. We look at where these top-performing investors see today’s emerging opportunities in this analysis.   

$135M: Plant-based meat startup Livekindly raised a $135M mega-round. The alternative protein space is gaining momentum — a trend accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic upending traditional meat supply chains. We dig into the space and look at major players in this deep dive report on disrupting the meat industry.

+1 fintech unicorn: India-based Razorpay — a CB Insights Fintech 250 company focused on online payments — raised a $100M mega-round at a unicorn-minting valuation of $1B. See all the unicorns in the world on our real-time tracker.

21 months: The We Company is to change its formal name back to WeWork. The announcement comes just 21 months after its initial rebranding. The reversal reflects a recent stronger focus from the company on its core office-sharing business after its failed IPO last year. We explain how WeWork makes money here.

A new species of tardigrade — a microscopic class of animals that tend to only measure about 0.05 inches long — was discovered that can survive high doses of sterilizing UV light over long periods of time.

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are among the hardiest animals in the world and have even survived in the vacuum of space.

Have a great rest of the week.

Marcelo