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$40M: AI robotics startup Covariant raised $40M on Wednesday. The company was included in this year’s CB Insights AI 100, a list of the most promising AI startups in the world. See all the winners — and the industries that they could transform — in this market map. 

14.7%: Over 20M jobs were lost in the US in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, bringing the country’s unemployment rate to 14.7%, the worst level since the Great Depression. The harsh economic conditions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are fundamentally reshaping industries, with big retailers J. Crew and Neiman Marcus both declaring bankruptcy this week. We compiled our research on how the pandemic is affecting various sectors — including finance, healthcare, and retail — on this regularly updated Covid-19 resource page.  
 

400,000+ people: Researchers discovered a microbe that stops mosquitoes from spreading malaria, a disease that kills over 400,000 people per year. The research, published in Nature, points to the potential power of microbiome-based interventions to reshape disease management. The microbiome is just 1 emerging trend set to transform healthcare. We discuss others like telehealth and regenerative medicine in our latest State Of Healthcare report.  

$400M: Alphabet subsidiary SIP raised $400M. The company is looking to invest in tech that could change urban infrastructure, with 1 of its stated focuses being the circular economy. We discuss how big businesses are looking to use tech from AI to blockchain to build more efficient, sustainable supply chains in our 2020 Tech Trends To Watch report.
 

150 startups: AI healthcare company Owkin raised $25M. The New York-based startup was featured on our most recent AI 100 and Digital Health 150 lists. See all 150 digital health winners in this market map. Startups can apply for this year’s list until May 29.

1.69M shares: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly qualified for a substantial payout after meeting conditions set out in his compensation package agreed in 2018. The electric carmaker’s market value this week reached a 6-month average of $100B — one of the conditions for allowing Musk to buy 1.69M shares at a massive discount. Were he to buy the shares and then sell immediately, he would reportedly net around $700M. We look at Tesla’s position in the electric vehicle market, as well as its competitors, in our report on the race for the electric car. 
 

3,236 satellites: Amazon is reportedly looking to acquire some of the assets of satellite internet startup OneWeb, which recently filed for bankruptcy. Amazon’s interest is likely tied to its Project Kuiper initiative to put 3,236 satellites in orbit. Amazon has spent billions on buying companies to help it move into new industries. From PillPack to WholeFoods, we look at the e-commerce giant’s biggest acquisitions in this infographic.   

12 acres: Sidewalk Labs announced that it was abandoning its 12-acre smart city project in Toronto, citing economic uncertainty and fears over the financial viability of the development. The company signaled that it would double down on initiatives like tech-enabled materials for affordable housing, all-electric neighborhoods, and spinning out urban-focused companies like CB Insights AI 100 winner Replica.
 

1,000 light years: Astronomers said that they found a black hole that’s only 1,000 light years away, the closest yet discovered. Though each light year represents a sizable distance of almost 5.9T miles, the newly-discovered black hole is a close neighbor by cosmic standards — our Milky Way galaxy alone is about 100,000 light years across.

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P.S. We’ll be covering how Covid-19 has hit healthcare funding in our upcoming webinar on Thursday, May 14. Register here.

Fast-sounding startup names — such as Zoom, Zoomd, Zoomi, Zumi, Zoomy, Zoomies, Zoomin, Zoomvy, Zoomly, and Zoomph — seem to be all the rage these days.

There have been at least 120 startups whose names include something that sounds like “zoom,” according to the New York Times, and they’ve raised $1.8B thus far. 

But why “zoom” of all words? For one founder, it was a simple decision: "'zoom' sounded aspirational, and if he added “forth” to it, the domain was available for $13.”