Peloton disruptor

ICYMI, we launched our new collaborative work management tool Collections last week.

If your team is responsible for your corporate VC, M&A, or strategy and innovation efforts, Collections is a game-changer.

Learn more about Collections here.

Worst promo ever

This year marks the 27th anniversary of what became known as the worst sales promotion in history.

In 1992, Hoover’s UK branch offered 2 free round-trip flights to the US to any customer who bought a vacuum product worth £100 (about $173). The promo was intended to boost falling sales and keep Hoover ahead of the competition.

What could possibly go wrong?

It effectively bankrupted the company. More in The Blurb.

Big corporations across industries are integrating artificial intelligence into their products. At the same time, there’s an acute shortage of AI talent.

This is fueling a heated race to scoop up AI startups, often while they’re still in the early stages of development.

We dig into the biggest AI acquisition trends, from top acquirers to the most targeted industries, in our interactive race for AI report.

Throwback Tuesday

Perceptronics walked so Peloton could run.

Head in the clouds

Cybersecurity company Cloudflare — which reached unicorn status in 2015 — recently went public at a stock price of $15, higher than the price range that it released the day before its IPO.

We analyze the company’s top stakeholders and how much their shares are worth.

Tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Apple (FAMGA) have been aggressively acquiring AI startups in the last decade.

These acquisitions have led to some prominent features — such as Apple’s Siri and FaceID.

Read more about big tech’s AI moves in our interactive race for AI report.

Want to see our unicorn collection?

The Future of Health (Oct. 2-3, NYC) brings you in-depth interviews with seven healthcare unicorns:

• Babylon Health ($2B valuation)
• Roivant Sciences ($7B)
• Proteus Digital Health ($1.3B)
• GoodRX ($2.8B)
• Gingko Bioworks ($1B)
• Butterfly Network ($1.3B)
• Clover Health ($1.1B)

We’ve also got some great public company C-suite execs on the agenda, including Livongo, Teladoc, Nuan, Myovant, and Humana. See the full agenda here.

Use the code unicorncollection to save $500 on your ticket.

Decentralized exchanges were supposed to be the future of crypto trading, but chatter around the services has plummeted this year.

We take a look at what’s behind the drop here.

CNBC. Kate Rooney (@Kr00ney) reports on big banks investing in fintech startups and cites CB Insights research.

New York Times. Sheila Marikar (@SheilaYM) discusses mattress-maker Casper’s growth strategy and quotes CB Insights intelligence analyst Jake Matthews (@jakeamatt).

Motley Fool. Donna Fuscaldo (@donnabail) writes about CVS Health’s tech aspirations and references CB Insights research.

I love you.

Anand
@asanwal

P.S. We’re hiring an engineering manager (remote). Read all about the role here.

Suck it up. A vacuum company once sought to boost sales by offering free international flights. It did not go well.
The Hustle

Roll up, roll up. Is fancy toilet paper having a moment?
Fast Company

Missed connections. Wi-Fi just turned 20, but things could have gone very differently for the now ubiquitous wireless connectivity standard.
Wired 

Press the home button. The construction industry is estimated to be responsible for almost 40% of the world’s energy use. Could robot-built houses change that?
Quartz

Getting younger with age. New measurements of the universe’s rate of expansion indicate that it may be over 2B years younger than previously thought.
AP