[author: Jared brenner]

Some interesting links we found across the web this week:

Startup Funding Deals Fall to Lowest Level in Four Years
The Q1 numbers came in this week and they’re not pretty, showing the fewest total venture deals in four years and favoring late-stage companies over riskier, early-stage investments. It’s no secret that venture capital is looking for more conservative ways to invest in the startup market, and that the SEC is increasingly skeptical of unicorn valuations, so early-stage founders should take a few lessons from others’ failures and focus on sustainability just as much as growth.

Drone startups fly high, but regulatory concerns are a drag
That said, one area where investors seem willing to take considerable risk is autonomous hardware, from consumer drones to driverless cars. Drones in particular are already under scrutiny by Federal Aviation Administration regulators, as this piece explains. Watch this space!

FTC Releases New Guidance For Developers of Mobile Health Apps
Elsewhere in the regulatory world, the Federal Trade Commission wants to help healthcare app developers understand how various federal rules apply to their products, given the privacy issues inherent in collecting customers’ personal health information. The new guidance is worth a look even for those not directly part of the healthcare industry but still collecting users’ biometrics—for example, the makers of wearable tech.

Fifty Billion Reasons Why You Should Care About the Encryption Debate in Congress
And speaking of wearables, don’t lose sight of potential Congressional action on encryption and its impact on the ever-expanding market for the Internet of Things. With an estimated 50 billion connected objects in our daily lives by 2020, the safety of these devices should be paramount to founders in the space and consumers alike. (Bonus link: a nice little guide for early-stage IoT founders!)