Venture Investing in the Age of the Coronavirus

Supply Chain — 75% of U.S. companies have experienced supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 outbreak, including mask and ventilator producers — China manufactures roughly half of the world’s masks. Countless examples of U.S. dependence on China for essential materials presents an opportunity and an economic imperative to diversify supply cha... See more

Hospital workers — Massive surge in need for hospital workers from doctors to nurses and administrative staff on frontlines.

Remote Work — Many offices and schools are experiencing complete WFH settings for the first time and need to establish infrastructure and collaborative tools to operate remotely. For those working from home, be grateful for this option, and think about ways to support many workers and small business owners who do not have this luxury and, in many c... See more

3. Overloaded Infrastructure

Remote Education — Parents are becoming schoolteachers and are looking for ways to engage and enrich student education at home.

Warehousing & Fulfillment — Amazon’s major fulfillment operation (known as FBA — Fulfilled by Amazon) recently ended for most e-commerce products besides medical and essential household items due to system stresses from COVID-19. Brands will need alternative solutions to satiate demand levels from consumers, especially amidst a spike in e-commerce ... See more

Web Infrastructure — A different type of critical infrastructure, web infrastructure, is also increasingly important. For example, how can we ensure the right people are on the Zoom call and security hasn’t been compromised? In the past weeks, we’ve seen the rise of “ZoomBombs” or disruptive screensharing in Zoom video chats, and the U.S. Cybersecu... See more

Telehealth Support — Greater need for telehealth operations to provide advice, diagnoses, and ways to provide care outside of a doctor’s office.

Healthcare materials — Shortages of N95 masks, ventilators, and protective gear for health workers.

2. Craving for Communication + Community