With only two more days till the end of 2020, we look back on some of the events and major activities of the third quarter between July to September. Warmer weather helped slow down the coronavirus spread but also led to deadly wildfires throughout the West Coast. 

San Francisco City after Labor Day Fires Credit: Unsplash

• The Black Lives Movement continued to gain momentum, although some protesting turned violent including a crackdown with federal officers in Oregon. But the movement has had long-lasting effects as more employers begin to address diversity issues as employees begin to speak up.
• We bid sad goodbyes to a number of monumental figures such as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former United States Representative John Lewis, Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman, and TV presenter and game show host Regis Philbin. 
• The first and chaotic presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden also took place this quarter.
• Deadly wildfires erupted through California to Washington state for most of this quarter, lighting the skies red and causing substantial damage to properties and 30+ fatalities. 
• Meanwhile, the Beirut port explosion caused by the accidental detonation of improperly stored ammonium nitrate improperly stored kills hundreds and injures thousands. 
• Despite the disruption, sports seasons resumed in ‘bubble tournaments.’
• PrivCo recorded over 1400 funding rounds in this quarter in the U.S. with notable funding rounds raised by Robinhood, Rivian Automotive, Epic Games, Zwift, and Chime Bank
• We also recorded over 750 M&As notably Uber acquiring Postmates, Illumina acquiring Grail, Seven-Eleven purchasing Speedway Super America, Siemens Healthcare of Varian Medical Systems, and NVIDIA of ARM Holdings. 
• There was an IPO rush this quarter especially amongst the companies that had plans to go public earlier. Notable IPOs included Lemonade, BigCommerce, Snowflake, Amwell Health, Unity, Palantir, and Asana.