tech’s most fake people

He’s phony, she’s fake

Hi there,

What do these people all have in common?

None of them exist.

They were all created by ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com, which uses an AI algorithm known as a general adversarial network (GAN) to generate photos, aka deepfakes.

We wrote about deepfakes in our Future of Information Warfare post, which you can read here.

And now, some data.

What could possibly go wrong?

As AI becomes more ingrained in our daily lives, its potential for destruction is becoming more obvious.

Pedestrians have been killed by autonomous vehicles. Algorithms have recommended unsafe treatments for cancer patients. And some experts believe this is just the tip of the iceberg.

From Stephen Hawking to Fei-Fei Li to Satya Nadella, we’ve compiled the thoughts — and warnings — from 52 experts about how AI could affect the future of humanity.

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Higher and higher

Corporate venture capital funding and deals hit all-time highs in 2018, with $53B invested across 2,740 deals. That’s a 47% increase in dollars over 2017 and a 32% increase in deals.

We cover this and more in our latest Global CVC Report. Download it here.

A profit sounds nice

OakNorth ($2.8B valuation) is a UK-based digital bank specializing in online loans to SMEs with plans to move into other financial services.

The company is the first challenger bank in the UK to see profitability.

CEO and co-founder Rishi Khosla will be joining us at Future of Fintech (June 11-13, 2019).

We’re excited to hear him discuss:

• OakNorth’s latest round from SoftBank

• The company’s next round of new offerings, including savings accounts

• Strategies for entering markets such as the US and China

Register today and save $500 with code profit before prices go up next Friday.

 Something to talk about

Rewards programs are a popular way banks are working to retain millennial consumers in the digital age. Mentions of “rewards,” “loyalty,” and “promotion” have trended up on bank earnings calls in recent years.

Expert Intelligence clients can see what else banks are chatting about here.

Place your bets

Last year, VC-backed fintech companies raised over $39B across 1,707 deals. This was driven largely by 52 mega-rounds, which added up to a whopping $25B.

Want to know which players made the most bets? We answer that question (and more) here.

Drink up

Japanese snack company Koike-ya has solved our greatest modern dilemma: how to eat potato chips without getting your phone greasy. One Hand Chips are pre-smashed so you can basically drink them.

Steve Jobs who?

 Shut up and drive

Electric vehicles currently make up a small fraction of global automotive sales, but that’s expected to change as vehicle design improves and governments adopt more aggressive incentive programs.

Startups want to capitalize on the shift. From battery technology to sharing platforms to bikes and scooters, we’ve identified 60+ companies driving innovation in electric vehicles. Clients can see them all here.

The Industry Standard

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

Fortune. Polina Marinova (@polina_marinova) reports that corporate investment funds set new records in 2018 and references CB Insights’ latest CVC report.

New York Times. This article highlights that corporate VCs invested a record-breaking $53B in 2018 and cites CB Insights’ new CVC report.

CNN. Julia Horowitz (@juliakhorowitz) writes about JPMorgan’s new cryptocurrency and refers to CB Insights research.

I love you.

Anand
@asanwal 

P.S. This Thursday, we’ll be discussing AI trends to watch in 2019. Register for the briefing here.