TOGETHER WITH

It's Monday and Disney is getting a lesson on the dark side of AI. Days after bringing an AI-voiced Darth Vader to Fortnite, the company has learned exactly how far players will go to make their favorite Star Wars villain swear.

Today’s News

MONEY MOVES

Whalar just soared to a $400M valuation with a strategic investment

The investment: Whalar Group has landed its biggest capital injection yet thanks to a strategic investment from Salesforce Co-Founder Marc Benioff, ecommerce platform Shopify, and Hollywood producer Neal H. Moritz. The exact size of that investment hasn’t been publicly revealed—but a Whalar spokesperson told Bloomberg that the deal came with an attached valuation of $400 million.

That value is spread across six businesses: Whalar’s eponymous creator agency, its talent management firm Sixteenth (which it acquired last year), IRL space The Lighthouse, operating system Foam, brand-building studio Moby Ventures, and virtual experience builder Umi Games.

The future: The far-reaching nature of Whalar’s operations has allowed it to foster a roster of over 300 creator clients—including Ali Abdaal and Jesus Nalgas—and pay out over $300 million to creators in just under a decade. Now, Whalar’s latest alliances could help it take those creator partnerships to the next level. An alliance with Fast and the Furious producer Moritz gives Whalar an in with Hollywood studios, while Safesforce’s technological capabilities could aid in the company’s mission to develop AI-powered creator tools:

Finally, Whalar’s union with the ecommerce firm that powers thousands of creator storefronts brings it full circle. A press release from Whalar notes that the company was incorporated shortly after its founders won Shopify’s Build A Business competition in 2015. As it moves forward, Whalar is continuing to reap the benefits of that early industry connection.

🔆 PRESENTED BY CREATORS HQ 🔆

With partners like Meta and X, Creators HQ isn’t just for creators

The creator community: Earlier this year, Creators HQ launched as “the ultimate go-to space for pioneers in the content creator economy.” 100 top creators came together to found that community, including Dhar Mann, Yes Theory, Anazala Family, JianHao Tan, and Dose of Society.

The change-makers: Those creators aren’t alone: brands, platforms, and media outlets like Meta, X, and Tubefilter have also partnered with Creators HQ to help shape the future of digital storytelling. Now, it’s your turn.

If you fall into one of the following categories, Creators HQ can connect you with the most forward-thinking influencers and industry leaders in the creator economy:

• Government entities

• Social media platforms

• Creative agencies

• Media experts & professionals

• Managers, video editors, and production experts

• Investors & venture capitals

• Tech companies

• Brands

The possibilities: By joining Creators HQ, you’ll open up a world of opportunities to collaborate with innovative creators, expand your influence, and shape the future of digital storytelling.

Visit the website to learn more:

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• TikTok is launching a new “Meditation in Sleep Hours” feature that will interrupt teens’ feeds with guided meditation prompts if they use the app after 10 PM. (New York Post)
  
  

• Following an investigation from Business Insider, Spotify has reportedly taken down roughly 200 fake podcasts marketing the sale of opioids and other prescription drugs. (Business Insider)
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• In other Spotify news: after backlash from creators, the platform says it will no longer display public play counts on podcasts with fewer than 500,000 plays. (The Verge)
  
  

• Moonvalley—a startup developing AI tools for video creation—has reportedly secured roughly $53 million in new funding (TechCrunch)

AROUND THE WORLD

MrBeast is going global—and testing the limits of his fame

The context: If MrBeast is going to grow his company into a $5 billion business, he’ll need to show that Beast Industries can succeed overseas. But that global expansion is easier said than done.

Even within the U.S., MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) has encountered his fair share of challenges. Just last month, the creator issued an apology after attendees said his MrBeast activation on the Las Vegas Strip failed to live up to its billing—and that isn’t the only “hype roller coaster” tied to MrBeast’s U.S. operations. Although Beast Games was ultimately renewed after becoming a viewership success, the Amazon Prime Video original series triggered numerous complaints from participants during early production. MrBeast Burger’s brick-and-mortar push went in the opposite direction, with early fanfare descending into lawsuits and acrimony.

The global push: Will Beast Industries’ international forays prove less controversial? MrBeast’s recent trip to Mexico—during which he explored Mayan ruins as part of a video promoting his confectionary brand Feastables—is unlikely to reassure skeptics. Although MrBeast claimed to have permission from the local government to visit the sites, Mexico is now “demanding compensation for damages and a public retraction” on the grounds that the YouTuber’s permit reportedly didn’t authorize commercial advertisements.

An upcoming foray into Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, could offer evidence of Beast Industries’ ability to thrive in international markets. Since 2019, the Saudi capital has hosted a cultural showcase called Riyadh Season. This year, MrBeast will participate in the opening ceremony amid the launch of Feastables in Saudi Arabia. The crown jewel of the partnership will be MrBeast Park, a themed experience filled with games, stunt shows, and more.

SHIP OUT

Disney is getting Blippi on board just in time for summer

The collaboration: A YouTube Kids sensation is linking up with Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line. Last week, Blippi’s 24 million YouTube subscribers were treated to a 45-minute special called Blippi’s Magical Walt Disney World Adventure, which followed the titular character and pal Meekah as they explored Disney World. Four shorter YouTube-exclusive episodes will premiere over the coming weeks, with two filmed on the Disney Wish, one filmed in Animal Kingdom, and one filmed at Walt Disney World Resort.

Considering the rising prices of park tickets and the eye-popping cost of rooms on the Wish (the pioneer ship of Disney’s newest cruise line), those adventures are likely designed to get kids pestering their parents for trips to Disney—just in time for summer vacation.

The context: Disney’s decision to team up with Blippi is no big surprise. CoComelon owner Moonbug acquired the YouTube channel for roughly $120 million in 2020, and Candle Media acquired Moonbug for $3 billion a year later. That means Blippi’s IP is currently owned by Candle Media—a company founded by former longtime Disney execs (and current Disney consultants) Kevin Mayer and Thomas Staggs.

Given Mayer and Staggs’ connections to both Blippi and Disney, we’re wondering whether this initial campaign might result in a longer-term partnership between the two. If all goes well, a closer-knit relationship between Disney and Candle Media itself could also introduce the company’s other family content brands into the House of Mouse’s advertising strategy.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

This week on the podcast…

Brandcast 2025: Creator Upload has the inside scoop from YouTube's biggest event of the year. On the latest episode of the show, host Joshua Cohen reports directly from the Brandcast frontline, revealing Lady Gaga's show-stopping performance, game-changing ad updates for creators, and YouTube's bold vision for the future.

Stick around for expert insight on the biggest announcements of the presentation—plus major news on MrBeast, the NFL’s latest YouTube link-up, and industry-shaking acquisitions. It’s all right here on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.