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Happy Friday! We don’t know about you, but we’re both ready for some R&R after plowing through a wall of entrenched lyrics from the Musk/Twitter lawsuit. We hope you get some this weekend too.
Tesla is holding its second AI day this afternoon. Last year was a hoot, and we also have some predictions for what’s to come today. — Christine and hi
The londonbusinessblog.com Top 3
- under attack: Microsoft has confirmed it is “aware” of some attacks on its Exchange server. carly stays on top of the story, reporting that there is “no immediate fix.”
- Looking at that sweet capital: manish has a first that Uniswap Labs, a decentralized exchange, is seeking more than $100 million in new funding.
- Stream on: YouTube TV offers a new à la carte option that allows subscribers to purchase standalone networks without subscribing to the full channel offering in the basic plan, Lauren reports.
Startups and VC
When insurtech company Metromile went public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) in February last year, it was valued at more than $1 billion. A year and five months later, Lemonade acquired the company for less than $145 million. And yet things are not as bleak as they seem, Anna reports.
This year, 40% of the world’s population will play games, with a total spending of nearly $200 billion. Web3’s suppliers want a share of this gigantic market, Rita reports. She writes that criticism of the first generation of crypto games is well documented, so the question for developers now is what decentralized games should look like.
Let’s do a few more, shall we? Continue, then:
8 investors weigh in on the state of insurtech in Q3 2022
Image Credits: Warsaw (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Some services are so sought after that it can isolate their providers from the vagaries of the market. During an economic downturn, consumers don’t cut corners on pet food or toilet paper. Likewise, everyone needs some form of insurance.
Between 2016 and 2022, insurtech startups received approximately $43 billion in funding, and despite the downturn, most investors have Anna Heim recent respondents are still positive about the sector’s prospects:
- Martha Notaras, General Partner, Brewer Lane Ventures
- David Wechsler, Director, OMERS Ventures
- Stephen Brittain and Rob Lumley, Directors and Co-Founders, Insurtech Gateway
- Florian Graillot, Co-Founder, Astorya.vc
- Clarisse Lam, employee, NewAlpha Asset Management
- Hélène Falchier, partner, Portage Ventures
- Adam Blumencranz, Partner, Distributed Enterprises
“We’re just seeing a reality check happening,” Wechsler said. “Unfortunately, there are many companies that should not have collected so much, or perhaps do not have sustainable business models. These companies will struggle to survive.”
Three more from the TC+ team:
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Big Tech Inc.
SoftBank has made some adjustments to company valuations lately, but the latest adjustment is with its own company. Kate reports that SoftBank’s Vision Fund is reportedly laying off 30% of its staff, even as it considers a third fund.
Here are five more for you:
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