Timothy Wandell

“Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company after its share price climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday. The stock ended the trading day at nearly $136, up 3.5%, making it more valuable than Microsoft. It overtook Apple earlier this month. Nvidia makes computer chips needed for artificial intelligence (AI) software, and demand for its products has boosted its sales and profits over the last few years.” Read the full article for more: #Nvidia #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #JensenHuang #GPU #GPUs #IndustrialRevolution #FutureTech #FutureTechnology #Innovation #Future #AIFactories #Tech #Technology #Microchips #Apple #Google #Alphabet #Microsoft #Music #MusicBusiness #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicBiz

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Love this new report from Goldman Sachs on AI spend vs. benefit. It gets at my skeptic side where, though I believe in the transformative power of AI, I think we are on a 10-year journey to seeing that transformation play out. And if you’re in an enterprise like I tend to be, you should drive slow and enjoy the scenery. Basically, don’t kill your budget to get this tech into place quickly. The ROI will need time to play out, so at a minimum, spell that out to your leadership as part of the business case/decision-making process. Link to the report: bit.ly/3SvseDY Also a link to my friend Tom Rice’s recent article on this as well. He gets at the same cautious optimism, really digging into why we should pause before assuming (or implementing) AI into positions of adjudicating law. He says we need to be ready to double down on measuring and rewarding employees on even stronger human qualities needed in the workplace like empathy and judgement, and I couldn't agree more: bit.ly/46ogNnf #LegalOps #LegalAI #GenAI

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Dude Perfect raised $100M for global biz expansion. The deal is getting lots of buzz, but our team’s math signals challenges ahead. Let’s break it down… DEAL DETAILS • $100 - 300M growth capital investment • Led by Highmount Capital • Unclear if 100% invested upfront OR draw down of commitment over time • No previous capital raised USE OF FUNDS • Hire mgmt team to expand biz • More live experiences incl int’l tour, consumer products • Grow content formats, frequency, channels, global localization e.g. animation, TV, movies, streaming • Extend brand beyond 5 founders by building talent network • New HQ in Frisco, TX as prod facility and “family-friendly entertainment destination”: – Retail store, podcasts / gaming / fan UGC spaces, trick shot tower, DP museum, mini golf, restaurants – Original plans for 3-story, 30 acre facility est to cost $100M+, 2 yrs to build COMPANY OVERVIEW: Dude Perfect • Digital-native comedy and sports media brand • Faith-based mission: “We’re about giving back, spreading joy and glorifying Jesus Christ”  • Other YouTube franchises: “Stereotypes,” “Overtime”, “Bucket List”  • Media brand also incl books, mobile games, board games and toys, and merch / retail / food and beverage partnerships • 25 current team members PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS • 60M YouTube Followers, 17B views • Est 2024 revenue: $50M per DP • Est 2023 and 2022 revenue: $25M and $20M per WSJ  • Consumer product partnerships incl Nerf toy line, Columbia Sportswear • Partnered with A Parent Media co to launch a streaming service • ESPN “30 for 30” doc premiering at Dallas Int’l film festival • TV series on CMT in 2016, later aired on Nickelodeon • Alternate broadcasts for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football • 4 live nationwide tours as of 2023 ORIGIN STORY • Founded 2009 by 5 friends at Texas A&M • Cofounders = twins Coby Cotton and Cory Cotton, Tyler Toney, Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert • Started as YT channel featuring trick shot videos INVESTOR OVERVIEW: Highmount Capital • Growth stage and middle mkt PE fund for tech, media, healthcare • Founded in 2023 by jason illian and David Hawkins • 4 team members on website + advisor • 3 team members have faith-based ties per bios • No other investments listed on website other than DP My takeaway... I really like and support the trend of increased investment into YouTubers and digital-native media brands. But as I wrote about in my 2024 State of Creator x Media capital markets reports (will link them below), investment must match market and opportunity size. To ensure good ROI, and to set good precedent for future investment into our space. The DP bet is exciting, but could be overly optimistic based on our prelim math. My colleague Michael Booth's post breaks the math down (link below). More analysis to come in my Friday newsletter. —- I’m the founder of RockWater Industries. We do m&a and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My dm’s are open. #media #agency #creatoreconomy

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*Description: In @Hulu and @Andscape’s new documentary, Making of an Activist, DeRay Mckesson and allies harness the power of data and analytics to fight police brutality after the killing of Michael Brown. *Direct Hulu Watch Link (An active Hulu subscription is required.) https://lnkd.in/gxUzyznv *Promo Discussion Questions: ⁃ Why has police brutality been under reported for so many decades? ⁃ With data as a resource, what next steps do you think can be taken to protect people? ⁃ What are some actions you can take to see change in your local communities?

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