Athird-quarter downturn in venture capital (VC) dollars raised in the United States, particularly in later-stage deals and from nontraditional investors like asset managers, is the first evidence of distress in the VC ecosystem.

The value of VC deals for the first three quarters of 2022 was still historically high at $194.9 billion, according to the Pitchbook-NVCA Venture Monitor, from Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. (See chart.) But last quarter saw a dip to $43 billion invested from $62.3 billion in the second quarter. That’s a nine-quarter low, according to Pitchbook-NVCA. That cemented “a tone of investor hesitancy and increased focus on business fundamentals amid the global economic downturn,” according to the report accompanying the data.

The venture capital industry has a notoriously bad reputation for its lack of inclusivity and diversity.  This not only applies to the venture capitalists themselves, but the founders they fund.

START YOUR SEARCH The venture ecosystem is dealing with a barrier, more well known as a “concrete ceiling.” Oftentimes, social, gender and socioeconomic factors play into this; making it an ongoing challenge for women and underrepresented groups to break through.

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From New York to Paris and London, life sciences companies are being drawn to parts of town often more synonymous with financial services. In London, the Canary Wharf Group and Kadans Science Partner are jointly developing Europe’s largest commercial laboratory building. Life science organization Genomics England will move in later this year, joined by a mix of startups, academics, clinicians and established pharmaceutical companies.

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By this time next decade, you could be reading this story on a phone charged by fusion power, the same energy source that fires the sun.

There's no guarantee that future will arrive on time or at all. Fusion reactions have proved notoriously difficult for humans to sustain, despite some companies trying since the 1990s. But a recent surge in technology improvements and investment has delivered steady progress -- and optimism the environmentally friendly technology is within reach.

Image: The Joint European Torus is a fusion reactor with the doughnut-shaped tokamak design. JET

Eight billion humans are living on planet Earth — a huge milestone officially projected for and being recognized Tuesday by the U.N.

Why it matters: People are living longer, with generally better access to health care, food, clean water and sanitation than in past generations. A smaller share of humans live in extreme poverty.

There are still challenges — ongoing ramifications from the pandemic, a record number of forcibly displaced people and worsening climate change.

Image: https://www.axios.com

An AI-based home screening test to detect oral and throat cancers from saliva samples is now available in the United States with the hope of transforming oral and throat cancer detection.

Based on a technology approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a "breakthrough device," the saliva test can detect early symptoms of oral and throat cancer with more than 90 percent accuracy.

Image: An AI-based home screening test to detect oral and throat cancers from saliva samples is now available in the United States. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)

In 2006, British mathematician and entrepreneur Clive Humby said, “Data is the new oil.” The Economist furthered that comparison between the economy that has risen around data and the oil industry in a 2017 article.

Comparing data to something valuable and coveted all over the world, such as oil, or even gold, helps people understand just how much of a commodity data has become, but it’s also important to remember that data is its own thing and must be approached with a different mindset. Fortunately, there are some changes on the horizon that will make personal data more collaborative and consistent. This will benefit individuals and large corporations alike.

There are two kinds of salespeople: peak performers and poor performers.

Peak-performing salespeople record fantastic sales consistently, but poor-performing salespeople share boring tales of defeat in the marketplace consistently.

Selling is perhaps the single most important activity that any profit-seeking organization engages in. If you’re not selling, then you might go out of business faster than you think. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the bottom line; the numbers have to add up.

Nuclear power is considered a clean energy source because it has zero carbon dioxide emissions; yet, at the same time, it produces massive amounts of hazardous, radioactive waste that pile up as more and more reactors are built around the world.

Experts have proposed different solutions for this issue in order to take better care of the environment and people’s health. With insufficient safe storage space for nuclear waste disposal, the focal point of these ideas is the reutilization of the materials.

Image: A prototype of Arkenlight's carbon-14 diamond betavoltaic battery. (CREDIT: University of Bristol)

By using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), brands can analyze data objectively, improving insights and generating actionable reports that can be used to make data-driven decisions. With AI and ML, these insights are more sophisticated and valuable to brands, allowing them to enhance and improve the customer journey.

With the end of the year looming, companies across all industries will begin scheduling end-of-year performance reviews with their employees. But rather than stick to what was always done, even if it wasn’t very effective, leaders can strive to generate more meaning from these reviews and give their team members more actionable, personal feedback they can take with them into the new year.

Image: https://www.forbes.com/

Most entrepreneurs who start their own venture have a grand vision of what their company will become. That dream drives entrepreneurship and prompts the founders to give up everything and make enormous sacrifices to start their own companies.

However, most companies that start off with a big vision rarely deliver on it. The most outstanding companies in the world are often “accidental companies” that started by simply doing something better than was presently available and often not knowing their own potential. The companies that focused on modest improvements in their customer experience became enormous, and those that tried to deliver on a grand vision fizzled away.

As companies begin to return to an office setting, many founders of remote-based businesses are wondering if they need to follow suit. Remote setups were vital to keeping businesses going during the worst days of the pandemic, but is it incumbent on leaders to get their employees back in person to get to a next stage of growth? Not necessarily so, says Terry Rice, a business development consultant and contributor at Entrepreneur. "Being remote brings all kinds of benefits, from recruiting talent to low overhead," he says. "The key is being open and honest with employees about good and bad news, and keeping people connected on a human level — just because there is no water cooler doesn't mean people shouldn't be talking about fun things like TV shows they're watching."

When recent studies revealed that a yearly flu shot can cut your risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by 40 percent, the news made headlines. Any advances in prevention or management of cognitive decline are deserving of attention, since the condition is so devastating, and has no cure.

How effective is ‘digital agriculture’? What, for example, are the benefits of sending weather forecasts to smallholder farmers’ phones? Does the digital approach improve nutrition or make agriculture more sustainable? Does it help farmers adapt to climate change, a priority for the negotiations taking place this week at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt?

For an invention fresh out of the research lab, the technology transfer office (TTO) is the gatekeeper to the market. You hold the key for that technology to enter the market and generate a benefit for the organisation, the community and the general public.

Despite having such an integral role, many TTOs struggle to demonstrate the value of their function and why solid IP management is so important for their organisation. However, implementing some essential practices may help to change that position.

Founders who raise venture capital tend to focus on optimizing around four things:

Getting to the next round of funding as quickly as possible

Increasing valuation

Maintaining their reality distortion field

Attracting and retaining employees who are motivated by potential future value rather than the current mission

Notice that there isn't anything on that list focused on what it takes to build a great business. Focusing on short-term outcomes and motivations can lead your startup down a dangerous path. Here's how to avoid these pitfalls.

Would students be more engaged in class if Sacagawea was the one teaching them about the Lewis and Clark Expedition? Would they retain more information if Aristotle explained the art of storytelling during their writing seminar? Would an English lecture delivered by Jane Austen, and complete with slides and pop quizzes, play well with Gen-Z?

Image: Aristotle's avatar presents a slideshow about Greece. Prof Jim customers will be able to request avatars for whomever they’d like, be it a long dead celebrity or a specific classroom teacher.COURTESY OF PROF JIM

There are those who describe the current, faster-and-faster-moving marketplace as a fourth industrial revolution. And the best entrepreneurship programs are those that help students appropriately speed up and, when necessary, scale-up their ideas. Students who enroll at these schools will find themselves at the forefront of innovation and development, often with an interdisciplinary focus that acknowledges the interconnectedness of today's economy. And perhaps more importantly, they will also get opportunities to enrich themselves and their communities, adding economic and social value through innovation, team building, and leadership.

The upcoming holiday season is not only an important time for consumers, but for small businesses, it’s a time to showcase their best marketing efforts to help them stand out among their direct competitors.

During this time of the year, the marketplace tends to become increasingly crowded, as every business seeks to get in one last bang before the end of the year. For smaller retailers, this time can either be one of the major opportunities or a loss if their marketing strategies are not properly executed.