Most startups running out of cash

Die pie

Hi there,

This is the most stressful metric I’ve seen in a while.

66% of startup founders have < 12 months cash left.

World wide med

We looked at funding and deal flow to medical device startups operating in the US and internationally, and created a map showcasing the top 3 most well-funded medical device startups in countries with at least 10 private medical device companies.

We’ll also be digging into trends in the space on May 16th. Sign up for the briefing here.

Why the pie chart hate?

We’ve been raging against pie charts for a while.

Sometimes, folks genuinely are confused by why we spend our energy hating on a chart.

Partly cuz we’re nerdy AF.

And partly cuz, except in a few instances, they are terrible.

See below.

Shazam for food?

We dug into Microsoft’s latest granted patent for a wearable system for imposing dietary self-control. The new patent, titled “Wearable food nutrition feedback system,” includes mixed-reality glasses that can monitor sight, sound, location, temperature, and motion.

Speaking of patents

Snap’s infamous Spectacles, wearables as a whole, and augmented reality were all topics of conversation today during the company’s first earnings call since it went public at a $24.8B valuation in March.

We took a look at some of Snap’s related patents and what the company appears to be working on. A recent filing details augmented reality technology that could map onto surroundings and superimpose lifelike moving images such as a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

There is a Wikipedia page for everything

Wow. I am impressed.

Crop up

We look at ag tech financing trends since 2013. Q1’17 saw $216M invested across more than 50 deals, more than triple the number of deals in the prior quarter.

#influencer

If you’ve not seen the Fyre Festival pitch deck, you should (see The Blurb). It is 1 part delusion and 2 parts dumb which makes it worth a read.

My favorite slide from it is this one mainly cuz I love the influencers image.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to hang with this guy? 

After seeing this, I wanted to see if investors were still jumping onto the influencers bandwagon. Here is the funding trend of companies with the word influencer in their description.

In good news, deal and funding activity to #influencer tech is declining. 

The Industry Standard

CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.

CNBC. Christina Farr (@chrissyfarr) writes about Microsoft’s patent for smart glasses that track nutrition uncovered by CB Insights.

Zee Business. A look at the food delivery space with a reference to CB Insights funding and deals data.

Internet of Business. Nicholas Fearn (@nicholasfearn) writes about the IIoT startup space and refers to CB Insights research on the subject.

I love you.

Anand
@asanwal

P.S. Join us on May 18th as we dive into discussion about corporates in blockchain. Sign up here.