sorry, NY: Massachusetts wins this one

Healthcare is not like other industries.

Not only is it hyper-regulated, it is also intrinsically about life and death. Silicon Valley founders all say they want to change people’s lives, but in healthcare it goes without saying.

For these and other reasons, more than any other industry healthcare is a world onto itself. Which makes it exceptionally fascinating and complex.

This week we launched our first-ever Global Healthcare Report reviewing the top data & trends at the intersection of healthcare, startups, and tech/innovation.

Some gems from the report, which can be downloaded here:

• Massachusetts has taken over as the #2 US state for digital health deals, ousting New York
• Pennsylvania and North Carolina are among the emerging digital health hubs no one is talking about
• Hemp and CBD startups are increasingly seeing deal flow relative to the larger cannabis industry

As in all our research, this inaugural report uses our data and software to cut through the noise and present forward-looking insights.

With 1,519 deals, North American deal activity pulled firmly ahead of Asia (1,165) in Q2’19.

Deals in Asia have declined by 24% since Q3’18.

Want to know more about VC funding in Q2? Download the latest report from PwC and CB Insights.

Startups in California, New York, and Massachusetts have traditonally accounted for most VC tech investment in the US — but now, VCs are spurring hotbeds of innovation all across the country.

We used CBI data to identify the most active venture capital firm in each US state. Check them all out here.

With stress from hyper-competitive work environments and tech-induced anxiety on the rise, consumers are looking for ways to relax and be more present.

From meditation to CBD products to sleep aids, we mapped out 65+ companies bringing mindfulness to the masses.

Expert Intelligence clients can see them all here.

Marcelo
@ballve

P.S. Healthcare analyst applicants are always full of passion and knowledge. Not surprising, given the above. If you’re interested in joining the best research team in tech/healthcare check out our open jobs here.

P.P.S. Alan Colberg, president & CEO of Assurant, wrote a blog post about his experience at this year’s Future of Insurance. Check it out here.

• • 6: It was a big week for big valuations, with 6 new companies joining the global unicorn club. The new inductees span health (Babylon, $2B), cybersecurity (Cybereason, $1.5B), fintech (Ibotta, $1B) artificial intelligence (SmartNews, $1.1B, and Scale AI, $1B), and auto (Leap Motors, $1B).    

• 685: Subway is the latest fast food chain to jump on the alternative meat trend. Next month, it will introduce the Beyond Meatball Marinara, a sub made with plant-based “meatballs,” in 685 of its North American locations. The deal comes on the heels of similar announcements: Dunkin’ Donuts introduced its own Beyond Breakfast Sandwich just last month, and Burger King is rolling out its Impossible Whopper (a burger made with a plant-based Impossible Foods patty) this week. For more on the future of protein, check out our report, Our Meatless Future: How The $90B Global Meat Market Gets Disrupted.

• • $1.35B: Salesforce is to buy operational intelligence company ClickSoftware for $1.35B. This is Salesforce’s 6th acquisition in 2019, and its second-biggest of the year after buying Tableau for $15.7B. ClickSoftware was taken private in 2015 at a valuation of $438M, around a third of its selling price today.

• $5.5B: Swedish payments company Klarna is now the most valuable fintech startup in Europe. The company earned a valuation of $5.5B following a $460M VC round led by Dragoneer Investment Group. Klarna was previously valued at $3.5B in April of this year. See Klarna alongside other top-funded tech startups in our Startup Continent: Europe map.

• • $425,000 per year: The FDA announced that pharma giant Norvatis submitted manipulated data during the approval process for its gene therapy drug Zolgensma — reportedly the world’s most expensive drug at $425,000 per year for five years. The FDA is currently recommending keeping the treatment for spinal muscular atrophy on the market, saying that the compromised information only affected a “small portion of the product testing data.”

• • $8.5M: Domino’s says that it has stockpiled $8.5M worth of pizza ingredients in case the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The pizza maker says that around a third of its ingredients for the UK market are imported. The company is far from alone in its stockpiling efforts — the British government itself is recommending that medical suppliers hold on to 6 weeks worth of inventory.

• 1 in a million: An Oregon man nearly lost $23,000 in cash after tossing a shoebox of his life savings in the recycling bin. When he realized what he had done, he contacted Recology, a waste collecting service that services 1M+ homes and businesses on the West Coast. Luckily, a Recology employee spotted the shoebox on the sorting line, and the money is being reunited with its owner. For an alternative to shoeboxes, check out our report on the digital banks of the future.

The “parks” are made of patches of sedum, a low-growing succulent. Their goal is to add more urban biodiversity to help address the declining insect population.

Other benefits of the added green space include soaking up water from heavy rain to prevent flooding, and creating a cooling effect during excessive heat.