As global populations skyrocket, demand for food has followed in tandem. Vertical agriculture is one of many responses to what could become a resource crisis.

The Femtech industry provides a wide range of solutions that improve healthcare for women across a number of female-specific conditions, something that has not historically been prioritized. Some of these focuses include: maternal and menstrual health, fertility, contraception, and number of general health conditions that affect women disproportionately. Additionally, overall females are half the population and have a longer life expectancy compared to males, so Femtech is an industry that will always have a need and demand especially as our society becomes more technologically focused.

The explosive growth of artificial intelligence may soon revolutionize the medical diagnostics industry. As algorithms improve and more people are living to the age where the risk of cancer and chronic illnesses rise, detecting diseases quickly and accurately has become a key focus of innovation and investment. As a result, the AI diagnostics market, valued at $576.3 million in 2021, is projected to grow to $5.5 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 26.3%.

Over the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic has seemingly altered every aspect of our daily lives, including the quality of our sleep. With the pandemic came a “rising prevalence of sleep disorders, including insomnia, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, and parasomnias, around the world” (Business Wire). Sitting at home all day with a lack of natural light, fresh air, social interaction, and exercise disrupted our circadian rhythms, leaving 50 to 70 million Americans suffering from sleep problems.

Drug discovery involves manipulating genes, molecules, and cells to then affect the human body or other biological systems in a desirable manner. To understand the role of artificial intelligence, AI, in genomics-based science, it must be thought of as code: in which genes can be manipulated analogous to lines of code to build a program. Therefore, just like AI can be used to find patterns in code, it can be used to find patterns in genes.

Here are some key takeaways from the Goldman Sachs Growth Equity panel!

Some CVP updates!

SoFi, short for Social Finance, is the new fintech unicorn on the block. Valued at $4.8 billion, the personal finance company is looking to capitalize on millennials’ and Gen Z’s growing demand for financial services. The company has raised $2.3 billion in funding and is currently in talks with a number of special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) who want to take the company public next year, hoping to take advantage of both the growth in consumer demand and the bullish stock market. But with the plethora of fintech companies offering easy access to financial products and services, why should young people pay attention to SoFI?

For decades, video games have been a staple in the entertainment industry. From early consoles like the Atari 2600 and the NES to modern-day ones like the Xbox Series X and Playstation 5, video games are an integral component of millions of peoples’ childhoods.

In 2017, the global renewable energy market was estimated to be $928.0 billion and is projected to grow to $1512.3 billion by 2025, posting a 6.1% CAGR in the 2020–2025 period. North America is a prominent leader in sustainable energy initiatives and innovation, with the United States being a key player in the global market.

The growth of the fashion industry is expected to slow down in the coming year. In order it to keep up, it must adapt by focusing and acting on two key ideas: 1) digitizing data analytics and focusing on e-commerce to allow for personalized experiences and 2) finding innovative ways to adopt sustainable sourcing and manufacturing practices in line with current consumer demands.

Angela Strange’s prophetic announcement that “fintech is eating the world” in the beginning of 2020, was borne not only out of observation, but also out of a deep social concern. The Andreessen Horowitz general partner describes a bifurcated banking system divided along socio-economic lines — one for the rich and one for the poor. We will be looking at two startups that are aiming to bridge this divide, trying to build a world where being poor is not expensive.

The plant-based meat industry has taken the world by storm. With the rise of vegetarianism and veganism for both climate and health reasons, society is looking towards meat substitutes to fulfil their dietary needs. Overall, the industry was valued at USD 12.1 billion in 2019 and is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 15% from 2019, to reach a value of USD 27.9 billion by 2025.

The high failure rate of clinical trials is a significant bottleneck in drug development, which lies at the foundation of the pharmaceutical industry. Despite increased investments in drug discovery, fewer new drugs reach the market with each passing year. The re-emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is a solution to this previously unaddressable problem and can dramatically increase drug development success, recovering up to $800M–$1.4B USD.

Launched in 2016, K Health was the first startup to employ artificial intelligence in consumer health at the level of primary care.

The global pandemic has put many things to the test, but the one key thing Covid-19 has made us question is our collective notion of control. After all, why should we have thought otherwise?

Venture capitalists have recently been reckoning with a serious lack of diversity. Not only is the venture capital industry homogeneous, but the startups they fund also fail to reflect the U.S.’s diverse population. Meet Harlem Capital, a woman- and minority-focused VC firm.

With the current inefficiencies and frustration caused by the banking systems, fintech is widely believed to be the game changer to disrupt the whole financial world. In 2015, over 23 billion dollars were spent on fintech-related projects globally, which is over 185% of the investment in 2014 and almost 490% of that just two-year earlier – in 2013.

It’s no secret that the financial industry has historically been male-dominated, and the venture capital and startup world is no exception. However, this trend is beginning to change, as firms now seek to invest in diverse startup teams. 

Our interview with Tony Peccatiello, who is the Principle at Social Starts - a $60M+ venture capital partnership that invests in the moment-of-inception and Series A financing rounds of companies focusing on social and mobile technologies. Tony shared with us what is like to be a venture capitalist and his advice for undergraduate students who are interested in the field!