Ask Mario Schlosser, Co-founder & CEO of Oscar ($2.3B valuation), if the Affordable Care Act is collapsing, and you’ll probably get a hearty laugh.
Oscar, which provides affordable healthcare on ACA exchanges, soared past the 250K member mark last year, turned an underwriting profit in Q3’17, and expects revenues to reach $1B this year.
We look forward to hearing more about what’s next at Oscar when Mario joins us onstage at Future of Fintech, June 19-21 in NYC. Get your ticket today. Early pricing ends Jan 31.
Baby unicorns
Our MoneyTree report also takes a look at VC-backed unicorn trends. Last year saw 22 private US-based companies reach a $1B+ valuation — up from just 14 unicorn births in 2016.
Insurance innovation survey
If you work at an insurance carrier or reinsurer and are involved in your company’s innovation strategy, approach, and priorities, take our Insurance Innovation Benchmarking survey.
It takes five minutes, and those who participate will receive a full report with the findings.
There are jokes to be made
But I can’t think of any. So I’ll just leave you with this.
Mind control
A new patent from Microsoft highlights a device that would analyze neurological signals to allow users to open and operate apps with their minds (no pinches or swipes required).
A-ha moments: of mice and aging
Calico Labs is Alphabet’s low-profile company focused on studying the biology of aging. Very little has been shared publicly about its work.
In a fireside chat with The Washington Post’s Elizabeth Dwoskin, Daphne Koller, Chief Computing Officer of Calico, treated the A-ha! audience to an unprecedented look into Calico’s study of the biology of aging (yes, part of it is studying the effects of a restricted-calorie diet on mice).
Read about that chat here, or watch the full session here.
After the discussion, CB Insights clients had a few additional questions for Daphne, so we posed them to her backstage. You can hear her thoughts on AI here.
Shine bright
Despite major shutdowns, some solar companies have managed to survive, with solar startups raising nearly $6.4B in funding since 2013. We rounded up the 10 most well-funded solar startups.
The Industry Standard
CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.
