Teaching an old dog new tricks

Insurance companies are moving on from paper-based workflows to better respond to customer expectations and reduce expenses. 

From biometrics to digital payments, we highlight 17 technologies P&C insurers can use to digitize and automate operations in this client-only NExTT report.

Return of the SPAC

There have been more SPAC IPOs this year alone than in the past 3 years combined. 

Dig deeper into why SPACs are driving up such investor frenzy in this report.

Control-Alt-DLT 
 

More companies are turning to distributed ledger tech to bring efficiency to capital markets infrastructure. 

In collaboration with Blockdata, we map out the blockchain cos poised to transform the infrastructure that handles $3,000T+ in transactions each year.

Rooting for Root

Root went public this week, notching a $6B valuation. However, it captures just 0.2% of the US auto insurance market. 

A-list agenda
 

If your work involves finance, then you need to be at the Future of Fintech. Highlights from our agenda include:

• 65+ fireside chats with the hottest companies including Lemonade and Galileo, plus 10+ talks addressing financial inclusion featuring Grab and others
• Workshops including the "10 Biggest Mistakes Startup Founders Make"
• 37 Fintech 250 speakers including N26 and Paytm Money, as well as analyst Q&As on topics such as embedded fintech and big tech in financial services
• The reveal of our inaugural Fintech Hall of Fame winners

Get your ticket today because prices go up this Sunday. Save $300 with code Alist.

$34.5B: China-based fintech giant Ant Group is expecting to raise up to $34.5B in a dual IPO on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges next week — a haul that would make it the largest IPO ever. The listing would value Ant at about $313B, more than double its last disclosed valuation of $150B given in 2018. Clients can see  the company’s headwinds and tailwinds in this analysis.
 

100 employees: JPMorgan Chase said that its blockchain-based digital currency, JPM Coin, was used commercially for the first time this week. In a sign that the bank sees growing monetization potential for the tech, it also announced that it had established a dedicated blockchain division staffed with about 100 employees. See the emerging trends reshaping the blockchain space in this report.
 

50%: UK-based telecom giant BT signed a deal with Ericsson to provide equipment to handle about 50% of its expected 5G traffic. The move comes after the UK government ordered companies to stop buying 5G gear from China-based Huawei over national security concerns. See how 5G could impact industries like healthcare, energy, and finance in this report.
 

$170M: Online wholesaler Faire raised a $170M mega-round at a valuation of $2.5B — a 2.5x increase in valuation since its last funding round a year ago. The company uses AI to help predict demand for its products and was included in our latest AI 100. See other promising AI startups making inroads into retail in this market map.

-8%: The world’s carbon emissions stemming from energy generation may have peaked in 2019. According to a report by BloombergNEF, the pandemic-driven drop in economic activity will cause this year’s carbon emissions from energy to fall by 8%, although they will have to fall faster to meet targets on limiting warming. We highlight startups working on emerging low-carbon energy tech in our 2020 Game Changers report.
 

200 murder hornets: The first US-based nest of Asian giant hornets — commonly known as “murder hornets” — was discovered and removed. The nest was estimated to contain up to 200 of the insects. The invasive species poses a threat to US honeybee populations and its sting can be lethal to humans.

Halloween won’t look the same this year, but you can still seek out scary thrills — from the safety of your car.
 

To comply with social distancing measures, some haunted houses are converting into haunted drive-throughs that offer gory zombies and killer clowns, creepy sounds (over your car’s radio), and more. 
 

“Fake blood and guts get smeared and strewn all over your car,” says Emily MacKay, marketing and events director for the Oaks Park Haunted Drive-Thru. “But you get a carwash at the end of the drive. From a value standpoint, you could come just for that.”

Have a great rest of the week.

Marcelo