Travel tech giants. Hacking your brain. India's IT giants.
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We crossed 340,000 on the CB Insights newsletter this past weekend.
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Exit only
We analyzed exit activity in the travel tech sector since 2013 and mapped out a timeline of notable M&A deals over the past year. The top exit in 2017 YTD was Expedia-backed Despegar‘s IPO in Q3’17, which valued the company at $1.8B.
A-ha! A Middle East Unicorn
Valued at $1.2B, Dubai-based Careem is a rare Middle East tech unicorn. Backed by Daimler, Didi Chuxing, Wamda, and Saudi Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holdings, the company is scaling fast:
in 80 cities
has 250,000 drivers
serving 10 million users
And the company is recruiting 100,000 female drivers in Saudi Arabia.
A handy dataviz of the political leanings of each NFL team’s fans.
Hacking your brain
Tech companies and researchers are working to bring Elon Musk’s “neural lace” vision to reality by merging natural brain function with artificial intelligence.
In our analysis, we examined current research on brain-machine interfaces, the next hurdles to achieving AI-augmented brains, and existing and potential applications for this mind-altering technology, from gaming and education training to behavior modification.
In an industry where folks incessantly self-promote and talk their book or hold out venture as a panacea for entrepreneurs, the economy, society, and more, I’ve found Eric Paley of Founder Collective to offer viewpoints which are balanced, critical, and thoughtful.
Check out Toxic VC and the marginal dollar problem in The Blurb.
The Industry Standard
CB Insights data is the most trusted by those in the industry and the media. A few recent hits.
