fake dog pics 🐕

This appears to be an oddly logical government policy, no?

Fintech funding topped $8.3B in Q2’19, driven by a record quarter of 25 mega-rounds. Funding to VC-backed fintech cos grew 24% over Q1.

Want to know all the juicy fintech details from Q2? Download our latest Global Fintech Report.

Future of Health day 1 agenda

I’m excited to reveal a special sneak peek of the Future of Health (Oct. 2-3, NYC). The first half of day 1 on the main stage will include:

• The Big Reveal — CB Insights’ Digital Health 150

• Former CEO, GE; Venture Partner, NEA; Chairman, Athena Health

• CEO, Connected Care, Philips (NYSE: PHG)

• President, CEO, co-Founder, Proteus Digital Health ($1.3B valuation)

• CEO, Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC)

In the afternoon you’ll hear from:

• CEO, Myovant (NYSE: MYOV)

• Head, Uber Health

• Founder and executive chairman, Livongo (NASDAQ: LVGO)

• CEO and co-founder, Collective Health

• Co-founder and co-CEO, Warby Parker

All ticket prices increase on Aug. 15. Save $500 with code AGENDADAY1.

Rivian is one of the most high-profile early-stage startups in the US. It’s raised billions from big-name investors, and has been called a potential “Tesla killer” by the media.

And it hasn’t sold a single vehicle yet.

With plans to sell its electric SUV in 2020, we take a look at Rivian’s investors, patents, and more to see if the company can live up to the hype. Check it out here.

State of the herd

Seven new fintech unicorns were born in Q2’19, and 2 more have already been born so far in Q3.

This brings the total fintech unicorn population to 48, worth a combined total of $187B.

For more fintech trends from Q2, check out our latest Global Fintech Report.

Club & BLT Insights

Do you agree with this ranking? PB&J should be much higher, IMO.

Less than $100M was invested in VC-backed fintech companies in India in 2013.

Fast forward to today: India has emerged as one of the hottest markets for fintech investment globally.

From payment gateways to lending to insurance, we take a look at 120+ India-based startups innovating in fintech. Clients can see them all here.

Nothin’ but a hound dog

File this under New Hit MTV Show Ideas.

The latest unsavory trend on dating apps is “dogfishing,” where users post pictures of themselves with dogs that aren’t theirs to get matches.

Stay woke.

Forbes. Donna Fuscaldo (@donnabail) reports that mega-rounds fueled much of fintech VC funding in Q2’19 and cites CB Insights’ latest Global Fintech Report.

Financial Times. Miles Kruppa (@mileskruppa) discusses digital challenger banks’ record growth and quotes CB Insights senior fintech analyst Lindsay Davis (@lcdavis1225).

Reuters. Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss writes about Bitfury’s new AI unit and references CB Insights research.

I love you.

Anand
@asanwal

P.S. We’re hiring a business intelligence lead. Check out the full job description here.

P.P.S. Our friends at Intact Ventures are hiring an associate and an analyst, both based in Toronto.

It’s ruff out there. Dating app users are posting pictures of themselves with pets that aren’t theirs to attract matches.

Washington Post

All in good fun. Tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Tesla still hide “easter eggs” in their products to amuse their customers.

New York Times

Remember to forget. Is social media reshaping our identity by constantly reminding us of the past?

The New Yorker

Bug the bounty hunter. Apple is giving security researchers special iPhones so they can help identify bugs and vulnerabilities.

Forbes