Traded: Venture Capital 🦄

Meet Phoebe Gates (@phoebegates) and Sophia Kianni (@sophiakianni) — co-founders of PHIA (@phiaco) — a platform reinventing how Gen Z discovers, shares, and shops fashion. @thisisbillgates you should be proud 🥹

E.l.f. Beauty acquires Hailey Bieber’s Rhode in $1B deal to scale prestige skincare globally. Just three years after launching Rhode, Hailey Bieber is cashing in—big. E.l.f. Beauty has officially announced its acquisition of the celebrity-founded skincare brand in a deal worth up to $1 billion: $800M in cash and stock at close, with an additional $200M earnout tied to future growth. Founded in 2022, Rhode has rapidly become a force in the DTC beauty world, scaling to $212M in revenue and over $248M in EMV in just under three years. With a fan base of 3M+ across Rhode’s platforms and 54M+ on Bieber’s personal Instagram, the brand’s viral reach has made it one of the most powerful names in Gen Z and millennial skincare. E.l.f. CEO Tarang Amin and Strategic Advisor Michael D. Ratner say the acquisition will accelerate Rhode’s global reach, open up Sephora retail channels, and combine prestige innovation with mass-scale execution. Bieber will stay on as Chief Creative Officer, overseeing product innovation, marketing, and brand strategy. The move follows e.l.f.’s 2023 $355M acquisition of Naturium—and signals the company’s serious push into prestige skincare. With Rhode’s launch in Sephora North America and the U.K. set for later this year, e.l.f. is poised to own both ends of the beauty aisle. ACQUIRER: e.l.f. Beauty TARGET: Rhode AMOUNT: Up to $1B ($800M at close + $200M earnout) FOUNDERS: Hailey Bieber, Michael D. Ratner, Lauren Ratner SECTOR: Beauty / Skincare / Consumer #TradedVC #HaileyBieber #RhodeSkin #ELFBeauty #BeautyM&A #ConsumerBrands #SkincareStartups #CelebrityFounders #DTC #PrestigeBeauty #GenZBeauty #Sephora #VentureCapital #StartupExit #EMV #ProductLedGrowth #TradedBeauty

PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) has agreed to acquire poppi, a fast-growing prebiotic soda brand, for $1.95 billion, with a net purchase price of $1.65 billion after tax benefits. Founded by Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, poppi gained traction after appearing on Shark Tank and receiving backing from CAVU Consumer Partners. CEO Chris Hall currently leads the company. PepsiCo sees the acquisition as part of its strategy to expand in the health-conscious beverage market. The deal includes potential earnout considerations and is subject to regulatory approval. PRICE: $1,950,000,000 INVESTORS: Ellie Goulding, Halsey, Kevin Love, Olivia Munn, Russell Westbrook, The Chainsmokers, 24kGoldn, Kygo, Nicole Scherzinger, Chantel Jeffries, Bryce Hall, Noah Beck, Josh Richards, Griffin Johnson, Blake Gray, Alix Earle, Post Malone, Rohan Oza (Shark Tank), Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, Patrick Finnegan, CAVU Consumer Partners, George Bousis, Kevin Yorn, Plus Capital, Ben Kaplan, Elliot Tebele, Elie Ballas, Charlie Walk HQ: #NewYork #NY #NewYorkCity #NYC #VentureCapital #PepsiCo #poppi #ChrisHall #AllisonEllsworth #StephenEllsworth #TradedVC

AirGarage, a San Francisco-based parking management startup led by CEO Jonathon Barkl, has raised $23 million in Series B funding to expand its operations and development efforts. The round was led by Headline, with participation from Founders Fund and Fourthline Capital Management. AirGarage, which provides software and services for property owners to manage and monetize parking lots and garages, now oversees 300+ facilities across 38 states and is cash flow positive. INVESTORS: Headline, Founders Fund & Fourthline Capital Management ROUND: Series B AMOUNT: $23,000,000 HQ: #SanFrancisco #California #VentureCapital #AirGarage #Headline #FoundersFund #JonathonBarkl #FourthlineCapitalManagement #TradedVC

BREAKING: Jerome Powell May Resign Amid GOP Pressure Over Lavish $2.5B Fed HQ Renovation Real estate heir and FHFA official William Pulte says he’s “encouraged by reports” that Fed Chair Jerome Powell is considering stepping down. The pressure follows criticism of a $2.5B headquarters renovation some have likened to a “Palace of Versailles”—with accusations that Powell misled Congress about the true scope of the project. Trump has publicly demanded Powell resign if found to have withheld key details and is reportedly considering announcing a replacement ahead of the election. GOP lawmakers are also weighing a formal investigation and invoking “for-cause” dismissal. Markets responded quickly, with the S&P 500 slipping on the resignation rumors. Powell maintains that the renovation is necessary and continues to signal a cautious approach to rate policy amid persistent inflation concerns. #TradedVC #JeromePowell #WilliamPulte #FederalReserve #GOP #MarketMoves #TradedFinance #Macroeconomics #FedPolicy #TrumpVsFed #RateWatch

Ego Death Capital, a bitcoin ecosystem venture firm co-founded by Jeff Booth, has closed its second fund at $100 million to back bitcoin layer 3 projects. The new fund will target Series A investments in bitcoin-focused software companies with $1 million to $3 million in revenue, while also allocating a smaller portion for pre-seed and seed-stage deals. The firm’s recent portfolio includes Roxom, Relai, and Breez, with its team featuring Booth, Andi Pitt, Nico Lechuga, Lyn Alden, and Preston Pysh. FUND NAME: Ego Death Capital Fund II AMOUNT: $100,000,000 HQ: #Austin #Texas #VentureCapital #EgoDeathCapital #EgoDeathCapitalFundII #JeffBooth #AndiPitt #NicoLechuga #LynAlden #PrestonPysh #TradedVC

Introducing the $100K Summer Challenge – Series Edition (v3) Twelve interns. Two weeks. One multi-million-dollar house in the Hamptons. Every day, the intern who brings in the fewest users is sent home. This is not your typical internship. It’s a high-stakes, real-time growth competition designed to turn Series into the next breakout social platform. Founded by Yale juniors Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow, Series is a New Haven-based AI-powered social network focused on making curated, meaningful introductions—starting with student entrepreneurs. Backed by $3.1M in pre-seed funding from Parable, Pear VC, DGB.VC, Radicle Impact, 47th Street, Uncommon Projects, and angel investors including Steve Huffman (Reddit CEO) and Edward Tian (GPTZero), Series is building with extreme intensity and full transparency. This summer’s challenge is both an internship and a startup accelerator—designed to reward top performers, eliminate complacency, and build a product in public. HQ: New Haven, Connecticut Funding: $3.1 million pre-seed Investors: Parable, Pear VC, DGB.VC, Radicle Impact, 47th Street, Uncommon Projects, Steve Huffman, Edward Tian #Series #TradedVC #VentureCapital #HamptonSummerChallenge #BuildInPublic #Parable #PearVC #AIstartups #SocialNetwork #YaleStartups #VC #hamptons #ai #SteveHuffman #EdwardTian #StartupInternship #TechMedia

Bilt, founded and led by CEO Ankur Jain, has raised $250 million in new funding at a $10.75 billion valuation to scale its housing and neighborhood commerce platform. Backed by General Catalyst, Left Lane Capital, GID, and United Wholesale Mortgage, Bilt continues to expand its ecosystem that rewards residents for rent, HOA, student housing, and mortgages while connecting them to local merchants and services. INVESTORS: General Catalyst, GID, Left Lane Capital, & United Wholesale Mortgage AMOUNT: $250,000,000 VALUATION: $10,750,000,000 HQ: #NewYork #NY #NewYorkCity #NYC #VentureCapital #Bilt #GeneralCatalyst #GID #LeftLaneCapital #LeftLane #Biltrewards #UnitedWholesaleMortgage #AnkurJain #TradedVC

Acquisition.com, founded by Leila Hormozi and Alex Hormozi, has launched ACQ Ventures, a new venture capital arm designed to partner with visionary tech founders and entrepreneurs by investing in pre-seed to Series A startups in the business services, SaaS, and SMB technology sectors; alongside the founders, President Sharran Srivatsaa and General Partners Zac Choi and Ben Rodman will lead the effort to provide capital, strategic guidance, and the full support of the Acquisition.com platform to help startups scale and succeed. HQ: #Las Vegas #Nevada #VentureCapital #Acquisitioncom #LeilaHormozi #AlexHormozi #ACQVentures #TradedVC

LGND, co-founded by Nathaniel Manning (CEO) and Bruno Sánchez-Andrade Nuño (Chief Scientist), wants to build a “ChatGPT for the Earth” by making geospatial data radically more accessible and actionable through geographic embeddings. The company recently raised a $9 million seed round led by Javelin Venture Partners with participation from AENU, Clocktower Ventures, Coalition Operators, MCJ, Overture, Ridgeline, Space Capital, and notable angels like John Hanke and Karim Atiyeh. LGND’s technology aims to help industries answer complex spatial questions—like tracking fire breaks or planning ideal travel rentals—faster and more efficiently, unlocking a huge slice of the $400 billion geospatial market. INVESTORS: Javelin Venture Partners, AENU, Clocktower Ventures, Coalition Operators, MCJ, Overture, Ridgeline, Space Capital, M1C, John Hanke, Karim Atiyeh & Suzanne DiBianca ROUND: Seed AMOUNT: $9,000,000 HQ: #SanFrancisco #California #VentureCapital #LGND #NathanielManning #ChatGPTfortheEarth #BrunoSánchezAndradeNuño #JavelinVenturePartners #AENU #ClocktowerVentures #CoalitionOperators #MCJ #Overture #Ridgeline #SpaceCapital #JohnHanke #KarimAtiyeh #SuzanneDiBianca #TradedVC

Huspy, a UAE-based proptech founded by Jad Antoun, has raised $59 million in a Series B round led by Balderton Capital to expand its innovative home buying and mortgage platform across the Middle East and Europe. Having grown into one of the UAE’s largest proptechs since 2020, Huspy will use this fresh capital to deepen its presence in Spain, launch in Saudi Arabia, and build on its network-driven model that’s already helped over 25,000 people purchase homes and facilitated more than $7 billion in transactions. INVESTORS: Balderton Capital, Founders Fund, Peak XV Partners, ExBorder Partners, Turmeric Capital, COTU Ventures, BY Ventures, Dara Management & KE Partners ROUND: Series B AMOUNT: $59,000,000 HQ: #Dubai #VentureCapital #Huspy #BaldertonCapital #FoundersFund #PeakXVPartners #ExBorderPartners #TurmericCapital #COTUVentures #BYVentures #DaraManagement #KEPartners #JadAntoun #TradedVC

XPANCEO, co-founded by serial entrepreneur Roman Axelrod and physicist Dr. Valentyn S. Volkov, has raised $250 million at a $1.35 billion valuation, officially becoming a unicorn as it races to launch its groundbreaking multifunctional, AI-powered XR smart contact lenses designed to replace all personal devices and end the era of screens. The funding will help XPANCEO expand its world-class R&D team, finalize development of lenses that integrate AR vision, health monitoring, night vision, and real-time wireless charging, and fast-track commercialization of what Axelrod calls “the ultimate invisible interface” for the next generation of computing. INVESTOR: Opportunity Venture AMOUNT: $250,000,000 VALUATION: $1,350,000,000 HQ: #Dubai #UnitedArabEmirates #VentureCapital #XPANCEO #RomanAxelrod #DrValentynSVolkov #OpportunityVenture #TradedVC