Hola,

Ouch. Deals to VC-backed companies in the US are down 16% YoY in the first quarter of this year, according to data from the PwC/CB Insights Q1'20 MoneyTree report.

While venture capital firms and other investors who bet on startups might argue they’re “open for business,” the data suggests that as the pandemic crested, new term sheets became a rare commodity.

Deals did happen, but they tended to be larger and later-stage VC-backed deals. And clearly some investors sat on the sidelines (especially large institutional investors and asset managers who are more recent players in startup investing).

For more on how the twin crises — pandemic and financial fallout — have affected venture and venture-backed companies, download our PwC/CB Insights Q1’20 MoneyTree report here.

10s, 10s, 10s across the board

Digital health startups raised over $16B across nearly 1,700 deals in 2019.

Check out the top-funded US-based digital health startups here. 

Deals & dollars
 

In Q1’20, VC-backed US startups raised fewer deals than in previous quarters, but funding remained strong due to an uptick in mega-rounds.

PSA: support news orgs

Before the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic, it announced that it was fighting an "infodemic." 

Clients can see how governments, companies, and startups are combating fake news here.

At a time when medical staff are in extreme demand and standard in-person appointments aren’t feasible, healthcare chatbots are relieving some of the pressure on health systems. The AI-enabled tech can help answer patients’ questions, monitor biometrics, and even help diagnose symptoms.

This week, we’re highlighting a platform search that reveals  450+ companies working at the intersection of healthcare and chatbots.

Back in 2016, the much-hyped chatbot trend largely fizzled out when users realized the tech wasn’t particularly effective in general applications. Since then, it’s made a comeback in specific industries where its focus is more narrow. 

Now, in the wake of Covid-19, chatbots are resurgent. Just last week, Google Cloud launched an open-source chatbot resource for companies to add up-to-date coronavirus-related content to their own virtual assistants. 

In addition to healthcare, we covered several other industries benefiting from the tech in our Hot or Not column earlier this month.

Have a great rest of the week.

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