Feb 11, 2020 - Economy & Business

Tech sees increased funding ahead of IPOs

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Data: CB Insights; Chart: Axios Visuals

Tech companies are seeing significantly more funding before they go public.

What's new: Data from CB Insights shows that in the last eight years, the median amount of funding raised has jumped by more than four times to just under $300 million as of early December. That data includes IPOs or direct listings of U.S.-headquartered, VC-backed tech companies on major U.S. exchanges only.

Go deeper: Unprofitable company IPOs were a big zero in 2019

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Dion Rabouin

Fintech investors avoided early-stage companies in 2019

Reproduced from CB Insights; Chart: Axios Visuals

Fintech investment fell in 2019, as the number of deals and the total amount of money invested both declined significantly from 2018's record pace.

The big picture: The biggest decline was in early-stage investing, which saw the lowest number of deals in five years, according to data from CB Insights. Later stage series B+ companies, on the other hand, saw funding rise to five-year highs.

Go deeperFeb 19, 2020 - Economy & Business

Marisa Fernandez

Big Pharma pushing targeted Facebook ads

Facebook users are seeing more targeted ads from pharmaceutical companies — an ethical gray area for patient data and privacy, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: Drug companies don't need to know your medical history to target you for a a drug, and seeing a surprisingly relevant medical ad can feel invasive.

Go deeperMar 4, 2020 - Health

Orion Rummler

Climate activists target Big Tech over fossil fuel work

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Big Tech is making splash with its aggressive carbon reduction goals, but some of its employees and climate activists are criticizing Google, Microsoft and Amazon for nonetheless partnering with fossil fuel companies to use artificial intelligence to find hidden hydrocarbons and bring them to market.

Why it matters: Big oil companies are some of the richest, most resourceful enterprises in the world. They collect multiple terabytes of data daily but don't have the capacity to analyze and efficiently utilize that volume of facts without AI.

Go deeperFeb 14, 2020 - Technology