It’s a bot-eat-bot world out there. Yesterday, OpenAI revealed GPT-4o, a chatbot that can simultaneously process text, video, and audio input and converse with users in real time. But if that sounds special, it might not be — Google, Meta, Microsoft, and every other player in Big Tech are preparing their own competitors in the fight over which virtual assistant will replace the search engine. Maybe it’s time for all of us to go outside and get some sun.

In other news… Roaring Kitty breaks his social media silence, audio-only games make some noise, and Zendaya snubs fashion brands that snubbed her.

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• YouTube – “Little Foot Big Foot” - Childish Gambino

• X (Twitter) – Steve Buscemi

• Google – Bradley Cooper in Abbott Elementary 

• Reddit – Mohammad Rasoulof

• TikTok – “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” - Tyler, The Creator

• Spotify – “clear my rain” - Gunna, Leon Bridges

.ECONOMY.

Roaring Kitty returns to potentially pump up stonks

The Future. Roaring Kitty, real name Keith Gill, appears to be back and ready to champion undervalued companies… influencing thousands of retail traders and scaring institutional investment firms. If Gill is really firing up the livestreams again, expect Wall Street to exit some short positions… and ultimately boost the stocks of several beloved but forgotten companies on the brink of bankruptcy.

Back to Bets
It may be the start of another meme-stock revolution.

• Roaring Kitty posted on social media on Sunday and Monday for the first time in almost three years — two posts on X (see here and here) that, while random, announced he’s back.

• Retail traders immediately rallied, sending GameStop’s stock up 118% yesterday before settling at 76% at closing, adding $6 billion to its market value (great news for a company plagued by layoffs and store closures recently).

• Other companies were also up at least double digits, including AMC Entertainment (which was saved from bankruptcy due to retail traders in 2021), Reddit, and cryptos bearing Roaring Kitty’s name.

• As for short sellers, they’re already losing money — GameStop short-sellers lost $1.4 billion yesterday.

Roaring Kitty, whose Reddit posts on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit and YouTube livestreams fueled a David vs. Goliath battle on Wall Street, turned memes and vibes into financial tools, and turned a lot of everyday people on to retail trading, stepped back from the spotlight after a series of Congressional hearings. He also made millions, of course.

Paul Dano, who played Gill in the movie Dumb Money, may need to start preparing for a sequel.

81.2% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Have you been watching your spending more closely lately?

“Yes, but I also just flew to Paris on a whim to see Taylor Swift, so maybe no…”

“I make enough to cover the bills, but food has to go on credit cards, and that is not a sustainable model.”

“I have a master’s degree but work in social services. Most months are paycheck-to-paycheck, and I am trying to get out of credit card debt but just cannot make it happen right now.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT RYSE.

This revolutionary device is the smartest way to automate existing window shades

Imagine waking up in the comfort of your bed with your shades automatically opening to sunlight.

RYSE is a smart-home company that focuses on developing products for automating blinds and shades of all kinds.

CEO and founder Trung Pham started the company years ago due to a relatable pain point: he was tired of having to open his blinds manually.

Trung wanted automated shades but didn’t want to replace the blinds that he already had. So, he went to various retailers searching for a motor to put on his window frame to control the chain or cords. When Trung realized that no such motor existed, he had an aha moment.

With funding from family and friends, Trung assembled a team of engineers to build the first prototype of his retrofit motorization product, SmartShades. He launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to iterate the product, which proved the market demand for automated blinds.

Fast forward to today when RYSE products are available in 127 Best Buy retail stores. They serve all major window coverings from shades to curtains to blinds without the need to replace existing ones.

Affordable with a simple DIY installation, SmartShades are the final missing piece in the smart home. They’re a great addition to resorts and hotel rooms, too.

Spotting a good investment isn’t easy. But with RYSE, it is. They’re on the cusp of making automated blinds a home staple. And you can invest in the company at just $1.50/share.

Exits in the smart-home industry have proved to yield massive returns for early investors. Secure your stake in the thriving smart-home industry today. Invest in RYSE before it becomes a household name.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• Lionsgate Studios, after separating from Starz, will go public on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “LION,” hoping to raising $350 million from the new IPO. [Read More]

• FAST streamer Roku scored a package of MLB games that play on Sundays, taking the rights previously owned by Peacock. [Read More]

• Chef Gordon Ramsay and broadcast network Fox are prepping a new digital food and entertainment brand called Bite. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• NBCUniversal announced that Domino’s sold 38% more pizzas this year after the brand started using its new ad-targeting tool for linear TV and streaming, One Platform Total Audience. [Read More]

• Law Roach, Zendaya’s longtime stylist, revealed that the star has refused to wear Saint Laurent, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, and Dior on a red carpet or at a public appearance after they snubbed her early on in her career. [Read More]

• Temu, despite spending billions, plans to slow its roll in the US after customer growth plateaued and TikTok got put on the chopping block. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• Stack Overflow users are tweaking their posts to keep OpenAI from being able to train its systems on their work after the two companies struck a licensing deal. [Read More]

• Cruise rolled out its autonomous taxis in Phoenix again — six months after grounding all of its cars due to government investigations and pedestrian accidents — but this time with safety drivers. [Read More]

• Alabama passed a law that’ll punish people with three months of jail time and a $500 fine if they’re caught selling or making lab-grown meat. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• Both Kendrick Lamar and Drake have waived copyright protections from their respective diss tracks so that streamers and commentators can make money on reaction videos and livestreams. [Read More]

• Critical Role, the popular Dungeons and Dragons livestreaming group, announced that it’ll start offering paywalled content on a new streaming platform called Beacon. [Read More]

• Sapnap, the Minecraft livestreamer and NRG esports team co-owner, designed his own Cheez-Its. [Read More]

.GAMING.

Audio-only games make gaming more accessible

The Future. For the past decade, audio-only games have rested on the fringes of the gaming industry. But technological advances may have laid the groundwork for a surge in audio-only gaming, which could expand our understanding of what games can be.

Hear ye hear ye
15 years of technological development have put audio-only gaming in a strong position.

• Released in 2010, the iPhone 4 had hardware that allowed developers to create spatial audio, which led to an explosion of audio-only mobile games like the Papa Sangre series.

• The recent development of advanced VR headsets has allowed players to manipulate spatial sound cues by turning their heads, making audio-only games more immersive.

• VR and AR have also made the culture accustomed to games that rely on 3D space rather than a screen, making audio-only games more intuitive to the general public.

Sonic boom
Audio-only games won’t just increase accessibility but also provide another creative reorientation of players’ senses. Without the primary emphasis on graphics that most modern games have, audio-only games can prioritize storytelling and dialogue in a way that resembles live storytelling more than triple-A gaming.

Besides, less screen time wouldn’t hurt anyone.

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT FOCL.

Need way better Zzzs?

What about, like, two hours more a night?

With Focl Deep Sleep gummies, that’s exactly what you’ll get.

In third-party clinical studies, three out of four users fell asleep faster and said Deep Sleep was the best sleep aid they’ve ever used.

Plus, they’re Non-GMO, vegan friendly, and gluten-free. Dreamy.

We just took some… so we need to lay down, but…

Use the code ‘Futureparty’ to score 30% off when you buy two or more.

• Read: Insider’s story about MAPS leader Rick Doblin and why the potential legalization of MDMA therapy has sparked such conflict within the psychedelic therapy community.

• Watch: Timelapse footage of the Northern Lights during Friday’s historic geomagnetic storm, courtesy of Global News (via YouTube).

• Listen: Childish Gambino’s new album, Atavista, which the rapper described as “the finished version” of 3.15.20 — originally released four years ago.

Here we go again.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

Today we get into how the fashion industry is struggling to find buyers and investors, the popularity of March Madness, and how albums are now franchises.