picking the AI elite

Hola,

Today, Intel confirmed it acquired AI chipmaker Habana Labs in a deal worth $2B.

That makes Habana Labs the 8th major acquisition this year among companies we selected for our annual AI 100 list, which features the 100 most promising AI startups across the globe.

Other 2019 acquisitions include Mighty AI, which was acquired by Uber, and Drive.ai, which was acquired by Apple.

We’ve also seen 4 of the AI 100 companies become unicorns valued at $1B+ since then. Check out where all of the AI 100 companies are now.

Stay tuned for the fourth annual AI 100, which will be released early next year. And apply on behalf of your company, one of your portfolio companies, or partners here.

Big moat energy

A business moat is a key competitive advantage that sets a company apart from its competitors.

From Amazon to Uber to Starbucks, companies are building moats based on different types of advantages, such as network effects, data, and repeat engagement within a product ecosystem.

Read about 19 famous examples of business moats in our report here.

Ain’t no laws when you’re drinking Claws

Want to impress guests during your holiday party? We’ve got your back with the latest trendy drinks.

From hard seltzer to cannabis-infused drinks, we mapped out 95+ startups disrupting the holiday drink menu.

There have been 15 China-based fintech cos with exits valued at $1B or more since 2017.

From insurtech co ZhongAn Insurance to online stock trading firm Futu Securities, see all of them here.

Have a great rest of the week.

Marcelo
@ballve

P.S. We’re looking for a marketing operations manager. Check out the role here.

• • $281M: The median amount of funding tech companies raised prior to an IPO increased to $281M in 2019 – an 18% increase from last year. The aggregate valuation of tech IPOs is also increasing, with this year setting a new record of $177B, largely driven by Uber and Lyft going public. See more tech trends and our picks for the top prospects to go public in 2020 in our latest Tech IPO Pipeline report.

• • $2B: Intel bought AI chipmaker Habana Labs for $2B. The processor giant said that it plans to use the startup’s tech to boost its offerings for data center AI. Habana Labs was featured in our 2019 AI 100 list. Check out where the 2019 AI 100 are now here.

  • 141 years: A family in Michigan has a 141-year-old fruitcake that’s been passed down for generations. The cake is said to have been baked in 1878 as part of a festive tradition by the great-great-grandmother of the current owner.

• $635M: Health insurance startup Bright Health, which focuses on offering Medicare Advantage plans, raised $635M — bringing its total disclosed funding to over $1B. The financing round is one of the largest ever to a digital health company. See more healthcare funding trends in our latest Global Healthcare Report.

• $65M: Energy startup General Fusion raised $65M. The company is working on commercializing fusion energy, which proponents say could provide near unlimited amounts of clean energy. We featured fellow fusion energy startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems in our just released 2020 report on 36 game-changing startups. Check it out here.

• 10 cities: AT&T began offering 5G in 10 US cities. The telecom giant joins rivals like Verizon and T-Mobile in betting on the next-gen wireless communication tech, which promises quicker connection speeds and better reliability. Read more about what 5G is in our explainer here.

Air New Zealand is partnering with New Zealand-based company Twiice to trial edible coffee cups in an attempt to reduce waste on flights.

The airline recently started using compostable cups, but its goal is to eventually keep its cups out of landfills completely.

Twiice’s cups are vanilla-flavored and can also be used for desserts.