Gm. Are we in a VC pullback? Is FAANG no more? Do we have a recession coming our way?

Who knows!

It's Friday. Life is short. Go enjoy yourself.

FRESH POWDER

Looking at three funds that recently topped up their coffers.

METAVERSE

Yuga's metaverse drops tomorrow

Tomorrow, one of the most hyped metaverse projects since the glory days of Club Penguin goes live. Yuga Labs—the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club—is unveiling its new metaverse called, Otherside.

Welcome to Otherside

While details on the project are still sparse, tomorrow is widely expected to bring a virtual land sale where approved users can vie for "Otherdeeds," deeds for land in the metaverse. Originally slated to be a Dutch auction, the Otherside team changed the plan late last night to instead sell Otherdeeds for a flat price of 305 ApeCoin to make them more accessible.

• ApeCoin has been ripping in anticipation of the sale: It first jumped over 25% when rumors of Otherside’s existence were leaked back in March and hasn’t slowed down since. It’s now the 28th largest cryptocurrency in the world and the largest metaverse token in existence, blowing past Decentraland’s MANA and the Sandbox’s SAND.

Tomorrow's mint also showcases why Yuga Labs has been so dedicated to stacking elements of its ecosystem—users will only be allowed to mint Otherside land plots with ApeCoin.

Is this the metaverse we’ve been promised?

There have been plenty of failed attempts to bring NFT characters to life in a shared metaverse, most notably the Pixelmon launch that went horribly wrong due to hauntingly disfigured characters in early March. But in a teaser trailer posted by Yuga Labs, characters from other mega NFT-projects like Nouns and World of Women can be spotted hinting that Otherside may have the ability to bring NFTs out of your wallet and into a virtual world.

Bottom line: Tomorrow’s mint will require individuals to fill out personal details through a Know Your Customer (KYC) verification process, a relatively uncommon practice in the privacy-focused crypto world. The presence of KYC has pissed off a lot of crypto purists, but could hint at a larger play for Yuga Labs in the form of a self-contained NFT platform within Otherside.

SHOPPING

Just try it on

Snap is rolling out a way to turn your selfies into self-checkouts. Yesterday, at its developer conference, the social media giant announced an expanded version of its AR try-on feature that lets users “wear” different clothes and accessories.

• Appearing as a new tab within Snapchat, Dress Up allows you to browse different clothes and glasses to try on. Everything can be bought within a couple of clicks without leaving the app.

• As Instagram, TikTok, and others experiment with virtual storefronts and easy in-app purchases, Snap’s AR try-on experience is a dark horse to grab a hefty chunk of the online shopping pie.

Zoom out: Given Apple’s recent privacy changes that make it harder to track ad performance as well as the overall shakiness of the ad market, the timely rollout of Dress Up could help reduce its reliance on ad dollars.

+While you're here: Snap also rolled out a $230 flying mini-drone called Pixy that can help you take selfies and videos.

QUICK HITS

Seed Round

Stat: US GDP fell 1.4% in Q1, the first time the economy shrank since early in the pandemic and a sign that pandemic-era trends are back in style—sourdough boom part two anyone? The first post-pandemic shrinkage is likely due to tightening supply chains, the war in Ukraine, and a growing trade deficit.

Catch up quick: Twitter revealed it has been accidentally overcounting its mDAUs (monetizable daily active users) by as many as 1.9 million over the past three years. The error arose from counting multiple accounts run by the same person as unique and separate users. (More here)

Rabbit hole: You don't need a fucking blockchain (Chris de la Iglesia)

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

• Twitter reported growth in revenue and users in Q1 ahead of Elon’s takeover

• Peacock had a great first quarter, netting 4 million paying subscribers for a 40% increase over Q4 of last year.

• Activision Blizzard shareholders voted to approve Microsoft’s acquisition of the gaming giant for $68.7 billion.

• The FTC is taking a close look at Elon’s acquisition of Twitter because he failed to disclose his initial stake in the company.

• Balaji shared some ideas about how Elon could fight back.

GUESSTIMATE

Peacock made a splash last quarter, but where does it stand amongst the biggest names in streaming? We’ll give you the services: can you rank them according to their number of subscribers?

• Peacock

• Hulu

• Disney+

• Netflix

• Apple TV+

• Prime Video

FUNDRAISING FRIDAY

Tech stars has an awesome new fund. Love the idea of replacing the friends and family round.

FOUNDERS CORNER

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

😬 Tips on how to get the most out of awkward networking events.

📒 What is a product strategy and how do you create one?

🧵 A thread of startups with the best ~aesthetics~ and branding.

📈 How to make your startup inevitable.

GUESSTIMATE ANSWER

1. Netflix (221.6 million subscribers)

2. Prime Video (200 million)

3. Disney+ (130 million)

4. Hulu (45.3 million)

5. Peacock (28 million)

6. Apple TV+ (25 million)