Zyn usage is up 80% Y/Y and Oura Rings are sold at Target. Nothing and Boring and Anxious devices. Fintech and fast shipping raises.

Hey there, everybody. Today we’re talking about….

If you have any feedback on the newsletter; PLEASE let me know by responding to this email! 🙂 This week, I hosted a candle making networking event, a happy hour at Jeans, and met a cow named Carlos… it has been a good week. If you are interested in meeting new people (no cows, sorry) in New York, swing by our industry night for media and tech! Looking forward to seeing you there.

RAISES

Fintech 

• Ramp, a corporate finance management startup that happens to sponsor a lot of events I’ve been to in the past, raised a $150M Series D extension led by Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund. This was at a $7.65B valuation, up from $5.8B after raising $300M in 2023 but down from $8.1B in 2022. 

• Bump, a creator-focused finance management service, raised $3M from investors including Plug and Play and Tristan Walker's Heirloom Ventures. The company aims to provide creators with financing options and business growth tools like a market value tool that helps users negotiate brand deals. 

• Pliant, a Germany-based corporate credit card startup, raised $19M in additional Series A funding led by PayPal Ventures. Pliant's service enables partners to create and offer their own credit card programs, generating additional revenue and improving customer loyalty.

• Pomelo, a startup that lets users in the US send money in the form of credit to people in the Philippines, raised a $35M Series A led by Vy Capital. Back in 2022, their $20M seed round was led by Founders Fund. The company partnered with Mastercard to offer a "send now, pay later" service, providing a faster and fee-free alternative for cross-border money transfers.

• One Pay, a Colombian payments processing startup based on WhatsApp, raised $1.3m from Qupa Ventures. Is this like Apple Pay for WhatsApp? I could see it catching on. 

Logistics 

• Flink, a German ultra-fast delivery company, raised $106M from investors including Rewe Group. Bloomberg reported that they are in potential acquisition talks.

• PipeDream, an underground logistics network, raised a $13M Seed Round co-led by Starship Ventures, Myelin VC, and Cortado Ventures. I have known the founder for a bit via the interwebs and I think this would be so cool! 

These caught my eye  

• Campus, aiming to be an online alternative to traditional community colleges, raised a $23M Series A extension round led by Founders Fund. It was founded by 29-year-old Tade Oyerinde. According to Community College Research Center, only 16% of community college students receive bachelor’s degrees within six years. Campus will give students better access to educators, who are going to be paid more. 

• Bandit Running, a community focused running brand, received funding from Bullish. According to The Atlantic, running a marathon has become a milestone for a growing number of 20-somethings. In 2019, 15% of people who finished the New York City Marathon were in their 20s, less than the 19% who completed in 2023.

NEWS

Big Tech 

• In a new partnership between Snap and Vote.org, Snapchat's over 80M users of voting age in the US will be able to register to vote, sign up for election reminders, and make a plan for Election Day within the app. This builds on Snapchat registering 1.2M voters in 2020! 

• Microsoft's LinkedIn is working on a premium LinkedIn Company Page subscription that will use AI to help write content and provide tools to grow a company's follower base. Just what we need - more Linkedin content written by robots. 

• The streetwear publication Hypebeast is bringing luxury resale to the Amazon marketplace. Big companies taking on the secondhand space has been interesting the past few years; like Anthropology selling second hand Nuuly items. 

• According to Glassdoor data, some interns at major tech companies and consulting firms are earning annual salaries over $100K. Imagine going to Phebe's with that salary! 

Startups 

• Nebula is looking to add sports creators who produce "thoughtful" video content to their service. My eyes have been on Nebula since it started to stream Morning Brew Daily. Nebula is an independent video-on-demand streaming service provider that claims to be “built by creators”, offering content without ads. 

• Mercury, a business banking company currently under federal scrutiny over account practices, is launching a new consumer banking product based on customer demand.  

• The for-profit coding bootcamp BloomTech (fka Lambda School) was fined by a US regulator for deceiving students about costs, making up hiring rates for graduates, and illegal lending through high-fee "income share agreements."

• Pascal is a startup using lab-grown diamonds to offer cheaper diamond jewelry in the $500-$1K range, with a focus on hip-hop fashion trends. The A16Z backed company expects $20-30M in revenue this year. 

Devices 

• Heineken and the retailer Bodega collaborated on a minimalist "Boring Phone" aimed at nostalgic Gen Z and Millennial consumers. I love a good flip phone. 

• Nothing unveiled new $149 and $99 earbuds called the Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a) with improved audio, personalization and battery life, and plans to integrate ChatGPT AI. I have a pair of their earbuds from a while ago and they do not stay in my ear at all and the case feels like a McDonalds happy meal toy, not a higher end tech product. I hope these are better. 

• Neurovalen made a head-mounted device that provides non-invasive electrical brain stimulation that can be used as a noninvasive way to treat anxiety. They just received FDA clearance for its second such therapeutic product. 

Media and Content 

• Marshall Sandman, Managing Partner of Animal Capital, started a new video with content agency Portal A. Marshall posted, “MARSHALL WILL PICK YOU UP is part of Portal A’s Moonshots initiative, investing in independent projects, innovative formats, and emerging talent.” 

• 20VC, a VC firm by podcaster Harry Stebbings, is looking to raise $400M across a flagship fund and an opportunities fund, according to SEC filings. 

• Journalist Mehdi Hasan launched his new media company Zeteo, aiming to build a network of diverse voices across platforms. He has a team of seven and $4M in funding to offer analysis from different perspectives.  It claims to be a space “where independent and unfiltered journalism is making its comeback”. 

• FIFA is close to reaching a deal with Apple that would give them worldwide broadcasting TV rights for a “major new tournament, a monthlong, World Cup-style competition”. 

• Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper and film producer Matt Kaplan got married and it was featured in Vogue. Lots of looks for Mrs.Cooper Kaplan. Their dogs attended too, which was cute. I wonder if she is going to put out a vlog-style podcast about it, since she has been for other parts of her wedding journey.

Milan Design Week 

• The home fitness brand Technogym invited 40 international designers and artists to reimagine and redesign its exercise bench, as captured in a video by Dezeen. We all know that sexier gyms are going to be the cool, new thing. Think Sporty and Rich or The Well, but as gyms. 

• IKEA launched a new collection of gaming furniture and accessories intended to avoid the typical "cyberpunk" aesthetic of gaming gear. My little brother would love this! The green computer chair is so cute. 

Beverages  

• Wine regions in California, Italy and Argentina are starting to offer experiences like mocktail trails, olive oil tours and upscale dining to appeal to sober and sober-curious travelers.

• Cinemark movie theater chain is facing a lawsuit in Texas accusing it of misrepresenting the actual size of its 24 oz drink cups. I wish I was a fly on the wall during this conversation between lawyers. 

Health and wellness 

• An apartment building developed by the wellness company The Well in Florida requires residents to undergo energetic cleansing ceremonies for their home and body, and includes aromatherapy, special showers, LED lighting and more wellness amenities. Is this the future of upscale apartments? 

• Codie Sanchez spoke to Bryan Johnson about his health regimes and why he takes such extreme measures to not die. (I am a producer on this podcast.)

• Target is partnering with Oura to sell its smart ring, which tracks health metrics like sleep and activity, at its retail stores. I have an Oura ring and really like it for tracking sleep and cycle but it sucks for working out and the charger costs $80 if you lose or break it. You can’t really borrow friends either unless they are the same size ring as you. Overall happy with it though. 

• TikTok will ban most weight loss content like supplements, restrictive diets, before/after photos, and mentions of drugs like Ozempic starting next month. Related, I do not want to talk about the TikTok ban. You already know what is going on there. 

•  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.

BRAIN DUMPS

•  The New York Times covered the "Boy Rooms'' series unveiling  the messy living spaces of  young men. The series is created by the production studio Gymnasium, run by Adam Faze. They also created Take Me To Your Spot with Blackbird.xyz, mentioned in this previous issue of Braun & Brains. 

• Rabbit R1 has dropped and people are sharing their thoughts. This device, along with its competitors Humane AI Pin and The Limitless Pendant, were mentioned in this previous issue of Braun & Brains. Let's see which device comes out on top! 

• I went to the NOMA popup in Union Square and although I did not wait in the very long queue for food, I got to see them in action. Read more about the best restaurant that came to New York for a week in this previous issue of Braun & Brains. 

Until next time,
Rachel Braun