Alt meat startups. Good news for nerds. Soaring pot stocks and my nightmare blunt rotation.

Hey there, thank you to those who provided feedback last week! Please keep it coming by replying to this newsletter. This week, we are talking about alt meat, LA Chess Club, startups diagnosing Parkinson’s, and a water sommelier’s take on the new canned water brand called Not Beer.

But first… here is what I will be up to in May:

• May 15: I’m co-hosting a Tech Breakfast at Balthazar with Morgan. I would love to see you there; this is a great group!

• May 16: I’m speaking at a panel, hosted by SPAN ventures, about the state of consumer social. 

• May 13-17: I’m interviewing on the red carpet at two Creative Week events. Check out some functions, this is your chance to network.

• May 21: I’m co-hosting another Media and Tech cocktail hour at the Mulberry through our event series REAL. 

🤑 RAISES

Playground, a sexual wellness company cofounded by Christina Aguilera, raised $2M led by Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew Holdings with participation from Amboy Street Ventures and Fourward Ventures. They saw 700% growth Y/Y last year and is launching in Target. (Link)

Beehiiv, the newsletter platform founded by Morning Brew vets that I use, raised $33m. Love to see this! (Link)

Trace, a startup aiming to become the "Canva of AR," raised $2M co-led by Rev1 Ventures and Impellent Ventures. (Link)

Curio, an Audio journalism startup, raised $4.4M for Rio, an “AI news anchor” to help readers find interesting stories and topics. (Link)

Backflip, a platform for acquiring and renovating single-family homes, raised $15M led by FirstMark Capital. (Link) Related: ~40% of US renters are unsure about buying a home due to high prices, worsened by rising inflation. Rent hikes, especially in cities like Dallas, are making things tougher. The number of hesitant renters has jumped by 27% in less than a year. (Link)

X Shore, a Swedish electric boat maker, raised €8.5M. (Link)

Radical, creators of an solar-powered and autonomous aircraft, raised $4.5M in seed funding led by Scout Ventures with participation by Inflection Mercury Fund and YC. (Link)

Stark Future, creators of an off-road electric motorcycle, raised €25M from Big Bets. (Link)

Baxus, a marketplace for collectible spirits, raised $5M in seed funding led by Multicoin Capital with participation by Solana Ventures, Narwhal Ventures, and FJ Labs. (Link)

Shinkei, a company making humane and quality-preserving fish-harvesting tech, raised $6M led by Cantos. (Link)

Edonia, a French developer of alt ground meat, raised €2M led by Asterion Ventures. (Link)

🗞️ NEWS

Big Tech

• Meta’s Threads has seen some rapid growth, with 150M monthly active users. I hear if you use Threads it helps with your reach on Instagram. Follow me on Instagram; I need to start posting more. (Link) 

• Meta loses $200B in market value due to continued losses in metaverse investments… LOL. (Link)

• Google's parent company shares rise 10% due to better-than-expected earnings and first-ever dividend approval. YouTube ad revenue and Google Cloud revenue did better than expected. Revenue reported was  $80.54 billion, up 15% Y/Y. (Link)

• YouTube ad sales reach $8.1B in Q1 2024, up 21% Y/Y. (Link) 

• Snapchat surpasses expectations with 422M daily active users in Q1, leading to a 25% share jump. (Link)

Startups

• Pascal offers lab-grown diamonds at a fraction of the cost, projecting $20-$30 million in revenue. They are also venture backed with $10M in total funding from backers like A16Z. (Link) 

• neuroClues develops AI-powered eye-tracking for diagnosing neurodegenerative conditions, starting with Parkinson's. This is awesome. (Link) 

• ÉCAL's sponge furniture expands when soaked in water. It looks kinda funny. Remember those growing sponge pills that turned into dinosaurs? (Link) 

Stats

• Consumer confidence hits its lowest mark since 2022. (Link) 

• A $100K salary no longer ensures a middle-class lifestyle due to increased costs. (Link) 

• 78% of US adults feel social media companies have too much political power. (Link) 

• 51% support increased regulation of Big Tech. (Link) 

Nerds

•  A warehouse-style space in Santa Monica attracts hundreds of young people for chess, pickleball, book clubs, etc. The LA Times called LA Chess Club the “latest hot spot of LA Singles” but I am 80% sure this is just an after school community center for adults. I dig it. (Link) 

•  Honors golf apparel holds successful trunk shows with a 70% conversion rate. One of their sleeveless shirts is $95, which sounds crazy until I remember how much money I would probably drop at Tracksmith. I wrote about golf in the last issue of Braun & Brains. (Link)

• This is for all my chart freaks. The New York Times' Upshot section turns 10 this week and to celebrate, hey've compiled 100 stories that define the Upshot's essence.  It covers a wide range of topics including politics, policy, and everyday life. (Link)

Media

•  The Financial Times partners with OpenAI for AI model training and ChatGPT summaries.  (Link) 

•   There is so much drama at Paramount due to a media heiress's bid to sell. Can’t wait for this documentary. (Link) 

Fashion and Beauty

•  Goop Beauty releases Summertone Bronzing Gel. This is random, I know, but I need someone to try it and I will not be the one to do it. (Link) 

•  Sephora expands sustainability initiatives with take-back and refillable programs. I had a great experience with the Sephora customer service chat the other day after a perfume exploded in transit; honestly surprised at how good it was. (Link) 

•  Urban Outfitters is expanding its vintage and remade sections to its online store. I wrote about the resell market in the last issue of Braun & Brains. (Link) 

Food and Bev

• The German water sommelier on TikTok totally owned the brand Not Beer. Someone needs some serious PR training, and it’s not the sommelier. (Link) 

• Chamberlain Coffee launches an espresso martini kit with 818 Tequila. I wonder what Emma Chamberlain and Kendall Jenner talk about.  (Link) 

• Almost Studio designs loft for a chocolatier in Brooklyn and I want to move in. (Link) 

• Walmart introduces Better Goods, a plant-based private label food brand. Walmart is also selling The Row… seems like they are trying to appeal to a certain demographic. (Link, Link) 

• Getting a reservation is hard in New York and everyone is talking about it. 

Weed

• Pot stocks surge after DEA considers reclassifying marijuana for medical use. Marijuana has been a Schedule I substance for more than 50 years, the same category as heroin. The administration is planning to reclassify it as a Schedule III substance, like anabolic steroids. (Link) 

• Nightmare blunt rotation: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and others advise DHS on AI deployment. (Link) 

🧠 BRAIN DUMPS

Big stuff is in the works for Braun & Brains! Thanks for being apart of it all. Email me and let me know what you think of this newsletter; I am open to any and all feedback.

Anyway, here is how my week went with some reccomendations:

• Food: On Saturday I went to Lil’ Frankie’s with a group. Great spot for family style dinner.

• Friends: On Monday, I attended a Journalist Club dinner hosted by Phil Rosen. 

• Function: On Tuesday I, co-hosted an industry night for media and tech at the Mulberry.  Great spot for impressing your date.

• First: On Wednesday I took the Amtrak and was finally first in line to get on the train. This is a big deal to me! I am now back home but will be driving up to Penn State soon for my little brothers graduation. Can’t wait to get another t-shirt that I totally need.

Until next time,
Rachel Braun

P.S. I read all my emails! If you have feedback, a question, or just want to say hello, please do so by responding to this newsletter or by emailing [email protected] 💌