Celebrity Cellphones

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Happy Wednesday, Future Party. With the Oklahoma City Thunder triumphing over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals, it’s now as good a time as any to make a request for next season: let’s add these interactive LED floors to games. As if playing professional basketball wasn’t hard enough, the league can throw some curveballs like “the floor is lava” or make it look like players are running over an endless abyss. That won’t make things at all chaotic… right?

Suddenly, everyone from celebrities to the President of the United States is minting their own cell service to reach top fans.

Why It Rings: Although wireless service is a crowded market led by some juggernaut companies, it hasn’t stopped brands and celebrities from giving a branded network a go. That’s mainly because it’s relatively cheap to do — it just involves buying extra capacity from the top mobile carriers and slapping your name on it.

Behind the Signal: The hottest branding moment of the year might be becoming a mobile virtual network operator.

Last Call: Despite the buzzy names, most mobile virtual network operators fail, so these are risky ventures. Jonathan Chaplin, a managing partner at the equity research firm New Street Research, suggests the best way to make these new ones stand out in the marketplace is to have them offer something the big carriers can’t.

In other words, they’ll need something other than good service.

Prediction: In the near future, the most successful celebrity-backed networks may be those that don’t just leverage fame but also offer fans unprecedented access to the celebrities themselves — blurring the line between audience and inner circle.

What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join 1,000,000+ early adopters reading The Rundown AI — the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.

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Polymarket, the biggest prediction market in the world, is launching a $200 million fundraise to make everything something you can bet on, from UFC fights to Federal Reserve rate decisions.

The Big Gamble: While gambling has historically been reserved for casinos and sports, platforms like Polymarket, Kalshi, Robinhood, and others are, for better or worse, making it easier and more democratized for anyone to set a wager on any matchup or event. That’s already having a profound effect on society, politics, and entertainment.

Behind the Funding: Polymarket, which gained notoriety for giving Donald Trump an almost 100% chance of winning the US election hours before the official results were announced, is eyeing unicorn status.

Final Wager: Ironically, Americans can’t use Polymarket — the platform was banned from hosting any US-based users after a 2022 settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission when it was charged with running an illegal derivatives market, per Axios. So, if Polymarket wants to return to the US, it’ll need to register with the agency. Considering the current administration’s looser regulatory stance, it’s only a matter of time.

Prediction: The job market is so precarious right now that a record number of Americans may be drawn to the get-rich-quick possibilities of betting platforms… which could drive up the valuations of Polymarket (and all of its competitors) even more.

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89.5% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Do you enjoy “clean” comedy?

“The world could use a good washing out!”

“When I was younger, I thought being ‘dirty’ and edgy made things cool. As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that it’s a lot more difficult (and impressive) to be genuinely funny without relying on cheap gags or shock factor.”

“It depends on the jokes, just like comedy that isn’t ‘clean,’ which I also enjoy. We need more to laugh at these days.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🍿 Elio’s below-expectations opening at the box office is an unfortunate vibe shift for original animation.

🎤 BTS is back from conscripted military service… but K-pop is in a much different place after their nearly three-year hiatus.

📺 Paramount+ with Showtime is now… Paramount+ Premium. Amazing.

🧬 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki is buying the company out of bankruptcy after her non-profit offered $305 million to outbid Regeneron.

📖 A federal judge ruled that Anthropic is in the clear for training its AI system on books it legally purchased… but not on those it illegally downloaded.

🤖 Google has developed an offline AI model that can run natively on humanoid robots.

🛒 Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are all competing with Amazon’s Prime Day next month.

💄 Glossier CEO Kyle Leahy is stepping down from the role but will stay on the board to help find a successor.

🧴 Unilever is acquiring soap startup Dr. Squatch, cementing the company’s viral-marketing success.