Hola,
 

With fintech adoption booming, the biggest tech cos have been making moves to grow their market share in financial services. 

In 2020 alone, 4 tech giants (Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon) backed 32 deals to fintech cos, a 52% increase YoY.
 

In our Big Tech In Fintech report, we dig into the factors driving big tech activity, including: 

• The rise of embedded fintech (APIs, anyone?)

• Growing investor interest (fintech cos raised a record $22.8B in Q1’21)
• The data network effect (user data = tailored financial products)

Going, going, gone

While many companies survived the uncertainty brought on by a global pandemic, others were not so lucky. But Covid-19 wasn't only to blame.

From mismanagement (Katerra) to an FTC shut down (Beam), we uncover the reasons behind 375+ startup failures here.

BitGoooaal

Our friends at Blockdata sat down with the team at BitGo to get under the hood of their $1.2B acquisition by Galaxy Digital. They’ve come a long way since pioneering multi-signature technology for Bitcoin. 

Today, BitGo provides custody services to over 400 clients and powers many major exchanges and companies. 

Read the deep dive here. 

Story time
 

With the pandemic putting a damper on smart city projects, deals to smart cities cos fell 20% in 2020. But funding grew 17%, as mobility cos drew major rounds. 

Clients can read about these smart city funding trends, key deals, exits, and more in this interactive report.

$500M: After filing for bankruptcy last year, luxury department chain Neiman Marcus has committed more than $500M to digital and tech investments over the next 3 years, including acquiring merchandising SaaS platform Stylyze. In Q1’21, funding to e-commerce tech jumped by 73% quarter-over-quarter to $11.7B. Dig into our State Of Retail Tech report for more on funding and sector trends. 

10M people: GPU designer Nvidia acquired DeepMap, which creates HD maps for autonomous driving, to boost Nvidia’s Drive ecosystem. DeepMap’s customers include Bosch, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and SAIC, and its offerings are used by over 10M people daily. DeepMap was selected to our fifth annual AI 100 list of the most promising private AI companies in the world.

$1B+: Creator platform OnlyFans is in talks to raise funding at a valuation of more than $1B. The site is expanding beyond its initial focus on adult entertainment by targeting athletes, musicians, artists, and more. OnlyFans pays out 80% of earnings to creators, while holding onto 20% as fees. We detail how companies like OnlyFans are transforming the self-monetization boom in our creator economy explainer.

53%: Businesses are spending more money on AI. According to an Appen survey of companies with over 100 employees, 53% of respondents are budgeting between $500K and $5M for AI in 2021, up from 34% of companies in 2020. Many have had to train their AI models more frequently to account for significant shifts in how people behave in the wake of Covid-19. We dig into top AI trends for businesses to consider here.

$35B: GM plans to spend $35B on electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous vehicles (AVs) through 2025 — an increase of 30% over its forecast from late 2020 — as it tries to take market share from competitors like Tesla. Our State Of Mobility report explores the latest trends in EV and AV tech, as well as tailwinds and headwinds impacting the mobility sector. Read it here.
 

90.4%: A Covid-19 vaccine from Novavax was shown to be 90.4% effective in a phase 3 clinical trial of nearly 30,000 participants. The company will likely seek emergency authorization from the FDA later this year. However, it’s unclear whether the FDA would grant the emergency authorization, due to the number of existing vaccines on the market, or instead push Novavax to apply for a full license.

A neck-zapping gadget may one day replace coffee as a way to combat all-nighter fatigue. 

Stimulating the vagus nerve, which connects the brain and body, with bursts of electricity can keep people more awake and alert, according to new research.

US Air Force members who participated in the study and received the electric stimulation performed better and felt less fatigued after staying awake for 34 hours.

Have a great rest of the week.

Marcelo

P.S. We're hiring engineers. Check out our open positions here.