The top VCs aren't posting much on Twitter. Is MrBeast going public? Starbucks has a new production studio.

Hey there, everybody. Like this newsletter? Share it with a friend! Today we’re talking about how some of the top VCs are staying off social media, the new production studio from Starbucks, and the former Softbank exec hired to run MrBeast’s company.

But first… this week I went to Austin for work and had a beer at Lazarus while I wrote this, I opened up a SEP-IRA, and I started watched the docuseries Ren Faire which, according the NBC, “many critics and viewers online compared the series to Succession.” I loved attending the New York Renaissance Faire last year and watching this made me want to go to the one in Texas (the big leagues).

🤑 RAISES

• Cartwheel, a text-to-animation platform that allows users to easily edit 3D animations, raised a $5.6M seed led by Accel. With just one click, characters, angles, speed, and other aspects can be changed. I cannot wait for stuff like this to hit classrooms; I would have loved it as a kid. (Link)

• Pika, a text-to-video AI platform (...yes, similar to the above) that allows users to make content for free, raised $80M from Spark Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Greycroft. (Link)

• Hoop, a productivity app that uses AI to automatically compile tasks from different sources of communications into an ever-updating to-do list for remote workers, raised a $5M seed led by Index Ventures. Founded by three former Trello leaders, the company wants to introduce team functionalities soon. (Link)

• Whoosh, a maker of golf club operations and hospitality solutions for private and public golf and racquet clubs, raised a $10.3M Series A led by AlleyCorp. Just in time for summer. (Link)

• EvodiaBio, a Danish developer of sustainable aromas for non-alcoholic beer, raised €7M from the Export & Investment Fund of Denmark and The March Group. (Link) 

• Wild Common, an agave spirits maker using traditional methods, raised a $5M Series A led by HIPstr. The company reinvests part of its profits to support rural communities in Mexico. The founder, Andy Barrdon, is a former pro mountain guide and an award-winning photographer and director whose work can be seen in National Geographic. (Link)

• Grayce, a caregiver support startup, raised a $10.4M Series A from BBG Ventures, Correlation Ventures, GingerBread Capital, Alumni Ventures, Visible Ventures, Gaingels, and What If Ventures. (Link)

• Particle, an AI-powered news startup, raised $10.9M led by Lightspeed. Remember: Artifact, the news aggregator built by the Instagram co-founders, was acquired by Yahoo in April. (Link)

🗞️ NEWS

VC

• 🤠 MrBeast Roundup: Jeffrey Housenbold, founder and Managing Partner of the growth stage venture firm Honor Ventures, has been hired by MrBeast Industries, founded by YouTuber MrBeast in 2020, as its new President and COO. Housenbold will oversee the company's operations in digital media, charity work, and consumer products. His background includes being an exec at Softbank and taking Shutterfly public as CEO in 2006… is MrBeast is going public?! Recently, MrBeast regained control of his business from Night Media, became the most subscribed channel on YouTube, and launched new projects such as creating toys with Moose Toys and developing a competition show with Prime Video. (Link) 

• VCs poured $12.4B into AI startups in May alone. Distinguishing AI startups from others may get harder over time, blurring lines in the startup landscape and VC returns. Similarly, I think that calling something a “tech” startup today is a little wishy washy in some cases. I was talking to a founder who recently switched her pitch to being a “tech-enabled” startup. (Link)

• 🤠 Midas Roundup: Here is The Midas List, but don’t forget about the The Midas Brink List for up and comers. According to Milltown Partners, in 2024, investors on the Midas List showed more consistent behavior on social media compared to the previous year. There was a noticeable shift towards less frequent but more measured posting. Daily posts on platform X decreased significantly (from 19% to 8%), while monthly posts doubled (from 13% to 26%). Only 2% of VCs post daily on LinkedIn, but a majority (55%) now post at least monthly. Very few (literally only 3 VCs) on the list find Threads worth posting on. (Link) 

Big Tech 

• A Pew Research Center survey looked at Americans use of social media for news. X is the top platform for news, mainly because many users rely on it for updates. Political views also affect how accurate news seems to readers. “Democratic news consumers on X are more likely than Republicans to say they often encounter inaccurate news and Republican news consumers on Facebook are more likely to say the platform influences news they see.” (Link)

  

• Adam Mosseri pointed out that about half of all Instagram video views happen without sound, underscoring the need to create Reels that viewers can understand even when muted, and stressing that captions should be visible in the feed for better engagement. If you’re trying to grow on the ‘gram this summer, you should listen to his full conversation. (Link)

Startups 

• Yet another anonymous app, FIZZ, wreaked havoc on kids. Any app that is actively marketing itself as an anonymous messaging or posting app should have an age limit. History has repeated itself so many times, it’s actually stupid there isn’t a law against them at this point. Disappointing. Casey Newton wrote about this in The Verge over 10 years ago. (Link)

• BeReal is being acquired by Voodoo, another French company, for €500M ($537.23M). Initially popular in 2022, the app saw a decline in users from 15M to 6M between October 2022 and March 2023. (Link)

• UBC scientists have created oral insulin drops placed under the tongue, designed to replace insulin injections for diabetes management. These drops include insulin and a special peptide to help insulin absorb quickly into the bloodstream. Early tests show promising results, offering a more convenient and effective method for diabetes treatment! I love science! (Link)

Sneakers 

• Tomorrow, design creator Nicole McLaughlin is releasing a second sneaker with Hoka. She is sick and I have no doubt these sneakers will be too. (Link)

• Speaking of Hoka, have you guys seen the Hoka x FP Movement Clifton 9 running shoe? I probably wouldn’t actually run in them, but the blue suede ones are so cute. (Link) 

• Zendaya partnered with On for a multi-year relationship that will see her involved with campaigns and product development. This feels very Challengers aesthetic of her. (Link)

The Big Screen 

• Starbucks is launching Starbucks Studios to create original entertainment that connects people and sparks conversations. They're partnering with Sugar23 to tell inspiring stories with diverse voices and positive messages. My first reaction to this was imagining how much of a competitor this could be to Hallmark Christmas movies. (Link)

• One of my favorite writers, Cat Marnell, wrote about being 18 months sober and her memoir becoming a movie, and I couldn't be more excited. “... A few weeks ago I had breakfast at the Waverly Inn with Maude Apatow and Olivia Rosenbloom, who have optioned MURDER for their new company to try to make it into a film.” I love following people who make art or make me think. Everything else in between feels more like a distraction. Other smart internet ladies I enjoy following: Brynn Wallner. Jamian Juliano Villani. Emma Apple Chozick. Sasha Faith Mutchnik. Naomi Fry (obviously). (Link) 

• The Try Guys and some other creators are starting paid channels on Vimeo using a tool called "Vimeo OTT," which costs $15K…. This tool lets them share exclusive videos and charge monthly fees. It's pricier, so it's mostly used by bigger creators. Success depends on getting 1% to 5% of their free YouTube viewers to subscribe on Vimeo. (Link)

AI 

• Michael Kors and Mastercard are bringing the future of fashion to consumers by launching Shopping Muse, an advanced retail assistant, on Michael Kors' US website. Powered by Dynamic Yield, it offers AI features to shoppers. (Link)

• The Air Force and Space Force launched NIPRGPT, a new AI tool designed to assist with tasks like report summarizing and coding to improve information access across operations. America, baby. (Link)

• Apple introduced Apple Intelligence, its generative AI offering, which also incorporates its long-anticipated partnership with OpenAI. (Link)

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Braun & Brains Story Updates

• The Zyn shortages continue, but there will be more back on more shelves later this year, according to an exec. (Link)

  • Previously in B&B: “Zyn nicotine pouches saw Q1 usage at 131.6M, an 80% Y/Y growth. Huge day for the guys at the intersection of frats and tech.” 

• The 20 best restaurants in the world, ranked. (Link) 

  • Previously in B&B: “Noma is coming to NYC. The world's (previously) best restaurant is coming to the big apple to promote its boujee CPG arm. It includes a book signing, pop up restaurant, collab at the Union Square Greenmarket, and a private event.” (Link) 

• Christina Aguilera's brand Playground is launching Pillow Talk, a new water-based personal lubricant aimed at enhancing libido. They're also introducing a sexual wellness tip hotline, 1-888-PLY-GRND, hosted by Aguilera. (Link)

  • Previously in B&B: “Sexual wellness brand Playground scored $2M in fresh equity funding. The round was led by Palm Tree Crew Holdings, with additional participation from Amboy Street Ventures and Fourward Ventures. Playground added Christina Aguilera as a co-founder last year and experienced 700% growth YoY.” (Link) 

• In Feed Me, Emily wrote about Puck’s Fashion People, mentioning that she's “heard people talk about” starting a roll-up newsletter company, including Feed Me and Casey Lewis’s After School.. And she is pleading the 5th. Not sure what’s up, but let me tell you, I am BULLISH on my newsletter writers. Advertisers should be hopping on – I am glued to my screen when I’m going through my reads and am way more likely to actually purchase or click something if it’s in a newsletter than a TikTok or Instagram. It takes a lot to get into my daily rotation as a newsletter, so I think I have more trust because I already vetted these creators. (Link)

  • This is a section I actually cut from the newsletter that dropped on April 4, 2024 but I think I should still share: “Puck acquired the popular Artelligence Substack; their first acquisition of an existing newsletter. Puck paid for the 32K subscriber email list but can't transfer paid relationships, so they're going to have to market to convert Artelligence's paid subscribers. I wonder how that will go. I predict Substack offering a paid option for acquirers of newsletters on their platform in the future. (Casey Lewis – I feel like your newsletter must have more subscribers than that. I need your thoughts on this, please!)” And, “Feed Me had an ad for Free People. Newsletters are what the cool kids are doing now and if a brand is smart, they’d be looking at which issue they’d want to be featured in. Smaller, niche newsletters are like the new micro influencer, if you will.” 

  
  🧠 BRAIN DUMPS

Thanks for voting last week! I’m planning to do a small coffee thing for Braun & Brains soon when I am in the city for more than a few days at a time. I would like to meet at Irving, but let me know if you recommend a spot that doesn’t get too crowded. I love trying out different cafes. Pause is my OG favorite in the Lower East Side, but Irving is close to a lot of offices.

Thank you Annalise for doing some edits on this issue! I’m sure I forgot to fix some things, but trust me, it could have been way worse.

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] 💌