Highlights of the Week (11/20/2020)

As we count the days till Thanksgiving, let’s look back at the busy week of IPO speculations, a fast-food holiday, a successful space launch, and unfortunately a record-breaking number of coronavirus cases again. 

• Did you grab a burger on Monday? If you didn’t know, it was fast-food day and most businesses were passing out free burgers. Read about our list of private fast-food companies including the recent headline-grabber of Dunkin’ Donuts’ parent company. 
• If there’s one thing we know is confirmed from the election, it is that cannabis companies came out as a solid winner. Although the industry is dominated a lot of big public players, this list of private American companies are also helping take the edge off. 
• While our Thanksgiving dinners are asked to be smaller this year and we cannot even begin to fathom how to finish off the turkey, we are assured by a steady rise of fitness-at-home companies that is sure to help us back into shape... in 2021?
• As if everything wasn’t bad enough with 2020, a number of natural disasters have driven up homeowners insurance even more. It is becoming even more imperative to shop smart and cost-effectively for insurance and these companies are making big strides in doing so. 

Weekly Funding Highlights

Software and Internet Services dominated the funding space this week with $1.5BN+ funding poured in. 
The top-funded companies in the past 7 days included: 

• DataRobot at $300MM, PingCAP at $270MM, Klaviyo for $200MM, D3 Bio for $200MM and Heyday for $175MM