FAMGA and cybersecurity. From coal to clean. Walmart's new wardrobe.
Must love unicorns
Hi there,
For the second year in a row, we’ve made Crain’s Best Places to Work in NYC. Thanks to everyone who voted.
If you’re ambitious, hardworking, smart, and a great teammate — and if you like taking unicorns for walks around the city — we’re hiring.
Riding the high
Legal marijuana has become mainstream, with the industry expected to hit $20B+ by 2025.
Now cannabis products are being incorporated into fields like medicine, banking, agriculture, beauty, and more. We take a look at 18 industries likely to take the first hits.
Make it fashion
Today Walmart announced its plan to acquire plus-sized fashion startup Eloquii for $100M.
Eloquii is one of several emerging D2C brands working to modernize the $21B plus-sized clothing market. We included it in our online fashion brands market map, which clients can see here.
That’s dope
Folks moved on from crypto quickly.
We asked you if you’d invest in crypto or cannabis if you had $10M, and here are the results.
Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Apple (FAMGA) store our financial info and have all kinds of data about where we work and live, and what we buy.
This puts them in the front lines in the fight against exploiting our personal information.
Nordstrom is catching a lot of heat for selling this pair of Golden Goose sneakers for $530. Critics say the beat-up sneaks glorify poverty, but others calls these “unique, handcrafted shoes” that are worth the price.
What do you think? Are they distasteful? Are they fashion? Is it genius marketing?
Trying something new
Saudi Arabia, the largest exporter of oil in the world, is investing in electric vehicles and renewable energy.
We mapped out where Saudi investors — including the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) — are most focused in the alternative energy space. Check it out here.
Alexa, cover your ears
Scientists at the Ruhr-Universitaet in Bochum, Germany have figured out how to bury inaudible commands in audio files that can take over voice assistants.
The method is called “psychoacoustic hiding,” and hackers could use it to manipulate audio waves from songs, speech, or even birds chirping, to deliver commands that can only be heard by the device. (We discuss audio manipulation in our Future of Information Warfare brief.)
Worst case scenario, this could be used to take over entire smart homes.
Trust no bird.
A gut feeling
The microbiome is said to hold the key to treating a wide variety of ailments, from digestive distress, to weight loss, to acne, to anxiety and depression. But its potential goes far beyond that.
From agriculture to diagnostics to nutrition, we take a look at 40+ startups using the microbiome to change the way we manage our health. Clients can check them out here.
You know you want to
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Our speaker lineup includes execs from top companies representing a wide range of industries.
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You can schedule 1-to-1 meetings with other senior leaders.
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The Industry Standard
CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.
A gut feeling
