together with

Gm. Happy Presidents’ Day. When is Short Kings’ day? That’s the day I’m really looking forward to. You can bet I’ll be celebrating with my crew.

TOGETHER WITH MASTERWORKS

A Banksy got everyday investors 32% returns?

Mm-hmm, sure. So, what’s the catch? 

We know it may sound too good to be true. But it’s not only possible, it’s happening—and thousands of investors are smiling all the way to the bank, thanks to the fine-art investing platform Masterworks.

These results aren’t cherry-picking. This is the whole bushel. Masterworks has built a track record of 11 exits, the last 3 realizing +13.9%, +35.0%, and +10.4% net returns* even while financial markets plummeted.

But art? Really? Okay, skeptics, here are the numbers. Contemporary art prices:

• outpaced the S&P 500 by 131% over the last 26 years

• have the lowest correlation to equities of any asset class

• remained stable through the dot-com bubble and ’08 crisis.

Got your attention yet? Homescreen readers can skip the waitlist with this exclusive link.

Let’s check out Friday’s polls:

One reader said “Bing is as unhinged as an episode of C.O.P.S. Google has the most to lose but have a track record of killing great things. My bet is against the house.” Lol, this is the right answer y’all no cap.

Ok today’s poll is a fun one. We’re looking forward to hearing your answers.

FRESH POWDER

Looking at three startups that just raised. Congrats!

WANT TO SPONSOR HOMESCREEN?

If you want to get your company in front of 20,000+ founders, investors, and operators, let us know! 

Contact [email protected] with any questions.

TECH

Let’s Get A Brain Chip

When you hear “Elon Musk”, you probably think of Twitter, Tesla, or SpaceX. With those big boys constantly in the news, it’s easy to forget that he’s also the founder of a company that wants to put a chip into your brain.

That company is Neuralink, and it’s doing some wild things.

BCI Szn

We don’t often think about Neuralink because the idea sounds so freaking crazy. Self-driving cars and futuristic rockets are one thing. Letting a tech bro plant a chip in my noggin is another thing entirely.

But, despite the “wtf” reaction it invokes, there is merit to the idea. For example, brain chips could be particularly helpful for people with paralysis as they allow them to regain some independence through mind control of technology.

And Musk isn’t the only billionaire interested in the burgeoning brain-computer interface (BCI) industry, as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are investors in BCI startup Synchron.

However, what separates Neuralink from its BCI competitors is its scope. While most BCI companies focus on specific medical issues, Neuralink wants to be like a “Fitbit in your skull”. If Neuralink’s visions come to fruition, you’ll be an AI-hybrid human able to stream music directly into your brain.

Sounds great! What could possibly go wrong…

New Chip, New Person

It turns out that brain chips can result in strange and unpredictable cognitive changes.

In some cases, these changes were positive, like a heightened sense of control and autonomy. In other cases, these changes were not as positive, such as a feeling of not recognizing yourself.

Right now, nobody really understands why this happens beyond the fact that there’s a chip in your dome.

However, what is certain is that these cognitive changes will have to be sorted out before the BCI industry can really take off.

I, for one, hope that it gets figured out sooner rather than later. My weird-shaped ears aren’t built for headphones. Streaming music straight to my brain would be so much easier…

SOCIAL MEDIA WARS

Facebook Adds Paid Verification

LOL @ all the shady influencers who paid $1000s for Instagram verification.

Meta is launching paid verification in Australia and New Zealand this week with more countries to follow.

Zuck called the product Meta Verified and it’s a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get direct access to customer support, and get extra impersonation protection.

Basically a copypasta of Twitter’s program just with government IDs being used as verification — which I think is brilliant. Following the outcry over Meta’s obsession with the metaverse, I believe a prioritization of the real world and real people is probably a good idea for the company and its shareholders.

That being said, I’m not sure if this is a good move for Instagram

Will this make Instagram Instagram again?

About 6 months ago, a petition went live for Make Instagram Instagram Again and currently sits at 330,000+ signatures.

Everyone was annoyed Instagram was losing its original feel of the place where you see your friends’ photos. It was turning into some weird mix of TikTok and Amazon and people absolutely hated it.

“Where are all our friends’ photos?” people wondered? Who are these influencers? Why am I getting all these fricking ads?

Will paid verification help Make Instagram Instagram Again? Now that everyone will have a blue check, are we gonna see more of our friends’ photos and not just blue-check celebrity dog pics?

Uhhh no, definitely not.

Instagram depends on its celebrities. While we all love seeing our friends’ baby photos, even more people love seeing motivational videos from The Rock and Kim Kardashian’s latest dress.

So no, nothing is changing except your friend Billy will now have a blue check even though he sits in bed playing Madden ripping Juuls all day.

Welcome to the new Instagram.

QUICK HITS

Seed Round

Stat: 50 and 5: The number of times you can chat with Bing in a day and a session, respectively. Sorry bro, Microsoft doesn’t want you messing with it’s precious AI.

Story we're watching: The SEC has charged Do Kwon, the disgraced founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency Terra Luna, with fraud. However, the case will have wide implications for crypto beyond just Do Kwon. If you’re invested in crypto, this is a story to keep an eye on.

Rabbit hole: An Ode to Weird Niches (Jason Levin)

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

• Scientists just happened to find a new massive runaway Black Hole.

• Meta has given thousands of poor performance reviews, potentially clearing the way for more layoffs.

• Amazon wants employees back in the office by May.

• Apparently, Apple gets a secret slice of Google Chrome’s search earnings.

MONDAY MUSIC

The unofficial anthem for putting in work via Key Glock:

LAYOFFS TRACKER

trueup.io/layoffs

Notable layoffs this week

Impossible Foods: 132 people (19%)

ByteDance: 200 people

Jumia: 900 people (20%)

FOUNDERS CORNER

The best resources we came across this weekend that will help you become a better founder, builder, or investor.

🐦 Need to schedule your tweets and threads? Sign up for TweetHunter. You can even add Twitter ghostwriters like me to your account.

☀️ 10/10 would bookmark again. Check out r/InternetIsBeautiful for the coolest creations on the internet.

🔥 You’ve probably heard of the FIRE movement: Financial Independence Retire Early. You probably haven’t heard of fatFIRE for people who are trying to retire on some fat stacks. Top-tier advice and cool community.

IRL

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*“Net Return" refers to the annualized internal rate of return net of all fees and costs, calculated from the offering closing date to the date the sale is consummated. IRR may not be indicative of Masterworks paintings not yet sold and past performance is not indicative of future results. See important Regulation A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.