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Jake Paul’s W Raises $14 Million in Seed and Series A Funding Led by Shrug Capital and Anti Fund to Reinvigorate Men’s Personal Care Aisle

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On track to hit north of $50M in its first year, W is already breaking records as the best launch in Walmart’s ‘Emerging Brands’ category

MIAMI, July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — W, the men’s personal care brand from Jake Paul made to smell great and designed to work harder, today announced it has raised a Series A led by Shrug Capital. Valued north of $150 million, W has raised $14 million in funding to-date, inclusive of seed financing and incubation from Anti Fund. Prominent co-investors include Range Group, 305 Ventures, Uphonest Capital, Quiet Capital and Palm Tree Crew, with participation from individuals including Celsius’ CEO John Fieldly, Fanatic’s CEO Michael Rubin, Lil Durk, Nick Kyrgios, Naomi Osaka, and Carter Reum and Paris Hilton.

“It’s incredibly important to me that W fill the void that’s been apparent in the men’s personal care category for decades,” said Jake Paul, Founder of W. “Everything W does is different — from driving record sales in under a month to our forward-thinking approach to creator partnerships. Our funding to date reflects our investors’ confidence in the immense opportunity we have to build a new type of legacy brand in unique and unexpected ways. I invested my own capital into this company along with my partner and Co-Founder Geoffrey Woo because we strongly believe in W’s runway to achieve a massive and successful future.”

Launched last month exclusively at Walmart, W is already breaking records as the retailer’s best launch in its ‘Emerging Brands’ category history, blowing past seven figures in sales and on track to hit north of $50 million in sales by the end of its first year. W will use the capital to support both SKU and retailer expansion as the company continues on its mission to reinvigorate the men’s personal care aisle through its better-for-you products at a great value.

“The industry is riddled with legacy players that are taking antiquated approaches and in turn are losing market and mindshare,” said Moshe Lifschitz, Shrug Capital’s Managing Partner. “When we think about brands that will shape the next generation of household brands, W has all the characteristics. We are extremely excited to partner with Jake, Woodie, and Geoff and look forward to the many wins to come.”

W has also assembled an all-star team of W Co-Owners — a roster of celebrity and influential brand ambassadors who embody the winning spirit in their respective industries. The equity holders announced to-date include MMA champion and ESPN’s 2024 Best UFC Fighter recipient, Sean O’Malley and hip-hop megastar, Rubi Rose, with more Co-owners to be announced soon. The goal of the Co-Owners is to bring together people Paul admires who represent hard work, ambition, and do things differently across their unique domains of expertise.

“We realized the typical direct-to-consumer playbook wasn’t right for us and instead decided to launch retail-first with Walmart, America’s biggest retailer,” said W’s CEO and Co-Founder, Woodie Hillyard. “I’m extremely excited to see that consumers are reacting so positively to W since our launch just last month. We’re looking forward to expanding our consumer touchpoints and breaking records as one of the biggest CPG brands to hit the market.”

For more information, visit www.getw.com and follow @itscalledw on Instagram and TikTok.

About W
W is a men’s personal care brand founded by pro-boxer, entrepreneur and digital creator, Jake Paul, that is made to smell great and designed to work harder. Founded to give men the confidence to win in all pursuits of life, W’s better-for-you products are designed to work hard when you need them most. Offering a range of accessibly priced products for hair, body, and face, W products are vegan, cruelty-free, and formulated without phthalates, parabens, harsh sulfates, or artificial dyes. W’s formulas are infused with vitamins like Magnesium, Biotin, and Vitamin E to nourish hair and skin. The collection is available in three uplifting scents that were developed with mood-boosting fragrances. W can be found nationwide at Walmart and on Walmart.com. For more information, visit www.getw.com.

About Shrug Capital
Shrug Capital invests in culturally relevant companies and has an impressive portfolio in the consumer space including MrBeast’s Feastables and Liquid Death. The firm was founded in 2018 and is led by Niv Dror and Moshe Lifschitz. Shrug manages over $125 million in AUM and invests across a variety of industries. Shrug has unique access to business leaders, founders, executives, and celebrities who regularly co-invest and work with the companies Shrug partners with. Shrug is known to be super connectors, bridging the gap between leaders in tech and entertainment. More at www.shrug.vc.

About Anti Fund
Anti Fund is a venture capital firm founded by Jake Paul and Geoffrey Woo in 2021. Anti Fund believes the best founders are rebels and iconoclasts, and the “anti” ethos resonates with the very best engineers, scientists, and creators. Startups live and die on two levers: capital and attention. While capital is fungible, the ability to command attention is not. Whether a company sells consumer products or is a research lab producing AI & robotic foundational models, they all must compete on the ability to win mindshare and ultimately customers and revenues. Visit www.antifund.vc for more information.

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SOURCE W Labs Inc.

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TELUS Acquires Additional Shares of TELUS Digital

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VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ – TELUS Corporation (“TELUS”) today announced that it has acquired, through a wholly owned subsidiary, an aggregate of 2,593,631 subordinate voting shares (the “Purchased Shares”) in the capital of TELUS International (Cda) Inc. (“TELUS Digital”) by way of market purchases over the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange. As a result of the acquisition of these subordinate voting shares, TELUS has acquired an additional 2.35% interest in the TELUS Digital subordinate voting shares since TELUS’ prior early warning report filed on August 16, 2024. When added to the 4,031,191 subordinate voting shares held prior to the last report, TELUS now holds approximately 5.99% of the outstanding subordinate voting shares.

“We continue to hold confidence in TELUS Digital and its long term profitable growth strategy,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS. “In recognition of the considerable opportunities ahead, we are once again increasing our existing share ownership of the subordinate voting shares in the public market. These purchases are not part of a strategy to privatize the business, but rather, a reflection of our strong belief in the meaningful and sustainable value that TELUS Digital will create for stakeholders in the years to come.”

The purchase of the Purchased Shares is being made pursuant to the normal course purchase exemption set forth in section 4.1 of National Instrument 62-104.

Before giving effect to the purchase subsequent to our August 15th news release, TELUS held an aggregate of 152,004,019 multiple voting shares of TELUS Digital and 4,031,191 subordinate voting shares. These securities represented approximately 92.5% of the outstanding multiple voting shares and 86.9% of the outstanding voting rights attached to all shares of TELUS Digital and approximately 56.8% of the total shares outstanding, reflecting the conversion by Riel B.V. of multiple voting shares into subordinate voting shares. The 2,593,631 Purchased Shares were acquired at an average purchase price of C$4.90, representing a total additional investment, before trading commissions, of C$12,703,197. After giving effect to the market purchases, TELUS holds an aggregate of 152,004,019 multiple voting shares and 6,624,822 subordinate voting shares. The shares held by TELUS now represent approximately 92.5% of the outstanding multiple voting shares, 6.0% of the outstanding subordinate voting shares, 57.7% of the outstanding shares of TELUS Digital and 87.0% of the outstanding voting rights of TELUS Digital. The multiple voting shares of TELUS Digital may be converted into subordinate voting shares on a one-for-one basis at any time.

TELUS purchased the Purchased Shares for investment purposes and may or may not purchase or sell multiple voting shares, subordinate voting shares or other securities of TELUS Digital in the future on the open market or in private transactions, depending on market conditions and other factors. TELUS currently has no other plans or intentions that relate to its investment in TELUS Digital. Depending on market conditions, general economic and industry conditions, TELUS Digital’s business and financial condition and/or other relevant factors, TELUS may at any time develop other plans or intentions in the future relating to one or more of the above items. A copy of the early warning report to be filed by TELUS in connection with the acquisition will be available on TELUS Digital’s profile on SEDAR+ at sedarplus.ca. Alternatively, you may contact TELUS Investor Relations at 1-800-667-4871 in order to obtain a copy of the report.

The headquarters and principal executive offices of TELUS Digital are located at Floor 5, 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 0M3

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a dynamic, world-leading communications technology company with more than $20 billion in annual revenue and over 19 million customer connections spanning wireless, data, IP, voice, television, entertainment, video, and security. Our social purpose is to leverage our global-leading technology and compassion to drive social change and enable remarkable human outcomes. Our longstanding commitment to putting our customers first fuels every aspect of our business, making us a distinct leader in customer service excellence and loyalty. The numerous, sustained accolades TELUS has earned over the years from independent, industry-leading network insight firms showcase the strength and speed of TELUS’ global-leading networks, reinforcing our commitment to provide Canadians with access to superior technology that connects us to the people, resources and information that make our lives better.

Operating in 32 countries around the world, TELUS Digital Experience (TSX and NYSE: TIXT) is a leading digital customer experience innovator that designs, builds, and delivers next-generation solutions, including AI and content moderation, for global and disruptive brands across strategic industry verticals, including tech and games, communications and media, eCommerce and fintech, banking, financial services and insurance, healthcare, and others.

TELUS Health is a global healthcare leader, which provides employee and family primary and preventive healthcare and wellbeing solutions. Our TELUS team, along with our 100,000 health professionals, are leveraging the combination of TELUS’ strong digital and data analytics capabilities with our unsurpassed client service to dramatically improve remedial, preventive and mental health outcomes covering over 75 million lives, and growing, around the world. As the largest provider of digital solutions and digital insights of its kind, TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods enables efficient and sustainable production from seed to store, helping improve the safety and quality of food and other goods in a way that is traceable to end consumers.

Driven by our determination and vision to connect all citizens for good, our deeply meaningful and enduring philosophy to give where we live has inspired TELUS and our team to contribute $1.7 billion, including 2.2 million days of service since 2000. This unprecedented generosity and unparalleled volunteerism have made TELUS the most giving company in the world. Together, let’s make the future friendly.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com, follow us at @TELUSNews on X and @Darren_Entwistle on Instagram.

Investor Relations
Robert Mitchell
(647) 837-1606
ir@telus.com

Ian McMillan
(604) 317-8768
ir@telus.com 

Media Relations
Steve Beisswanger
(514) 865-2787
Steve.Beisswanger@telus.com

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SOURCE TELUS Corporation

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Observo AI, the AI-Powered Telemetry Data Pipeline, Joins the Azure Marketplace

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Observo AI, the AI-powered security and observability telemetry pipeline is now available on Azure Marketplace.

FREMONT, Calif., Sept. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Observo AI, a pioneer in creating security and observability data pipelines powered by Artificial Intelligence, today announced a partnership with Microsoft and the availability of Observo on Azure Marketplace. This will make it easier for Azure customers to quickly adopt Observo to help control costs, manage data sprawl, boost productivity, and identify and resolve critical incidents faster.

There is huge growth in data sent to analytics platforms by security teams. Costs for MS Sentinel are increasing at an untenable pace. Azure customers now have access to Observo AI through Azure Marketplace to optimize this data, route it to Sentinel, and save as much as 50% on SIEM costs.

Customers can now deploy Observo AI at speed while benefiting from Azure’s trusted and secure infrastructure, as well as its global commercial footprint. Availability on the Azure Marketplace will enable seamless purchasing and invoicing, with customers able to use their existing Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) to purchase Observo AI.

“Many of our customers who have moved to Azure are experiencing a huge increase in telemetry data sent to analytics platforms by Security and DevOps teams. Expenditures on tools like Microsoft Sentinel are increasing at an untenable pace,” said Ricky Arora, Co-Founder and COO of Observo AI. “Azure Cloud customers now have access to Observo AI through the Azure Marketplace to optimize this data, route it to Sentinel or any other analytics tool, and save as much as 50% on security costs.”

“Observo AI, available on the Azure Marketplace, offers a solution for Microsoft Azure and Sentinel customers struggling with the relentless growth of security data,” said Jatinder Mann, CEO of Cetark, a cyber security services company specializing in Microsoft Security portfolio. “Observo AI empowers Security teams to optimize costs, speed incident response, and ensure robust security and compliance with a seamless, fast, and easy purchase option through the Azure Marketplace.”

Learn More

For more details on how Azure customers can take advantage of Observo AI’s AI-powered pipelines, read the complete announcement on the Observo AI blog. Visit the Observo AI Website at www.observo.ai Watch the Observo AI explainer video at https://vimeo.com/899662669

About Observo AI

Observo AI was created to help solve the biggest telemetry data problems. Observo helps reduce security costs by 50% or more while resolving incidents more than 40% faster. Our AI-Powered Observability Pipeline helps break-free from static, rules-based pipelines. Observo automates security and observability with a pipeline that constantly learns and improves. Minimize risks, enhance visibility, protect sensitive data, and stay in compliance with Observo AI.

Media Contact

Bryan Turriff, Observo AI, 1 5014129978, bryan@observo.ai, www.observo.ai

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/observo-ai-the-ai-powered-telemetry-data-pipeline-joins-the-azure-marketplace-302260671.html

SOURCE Observo AI

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VXI Global Solutions to grow Morrow, GA location with up to 300 new positions to support new clients

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VXI Global Solutions announced today an expansion of their customer service center at 1000 Southlake Circle, adding over 300 new full-time positions to support multiple new clients.

MORROW, Ga., Sept. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — VXI Global Solutions, a leading provider of customer experience (CX) and business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions, announced today an expansion of their customer service center at 1000 Southlake Circle, adding over 300 new full-time positions to support multiple new clients.

“We have an amazing group of people at VXI,” said Tommy Thompson, Director of Operations for VXI Morrow. “I am delighted to be able to bring meaningful job opportunities to this community. Over 85% of our leaders are promoted internally, so there are real opportunities for career growth.”

The state-of-the-art facility offers full-time positions where high performers can earn $40,000 per year with impressive weekly incentives depending on the client program they support. VXI is looking for applicants with experience in Customer Service, Sales, and Tax Preparation all with start dates throughout October and November 2024.

Local Head of Talent Acquisition, Chelsea Yancoskie, shared, “We are excited to welcome our new clients and offer these on-site positions to the local community, providing opportunities to share in our success. We’re not only looking for customer service professionals but also individuals with significant experience in sales and income tax preparation. Starting wages begin at $17 per hour, with some positions offering up to $19 per hour depending on the candidate’s qualifications.”

VXI provides paid training, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, 401(k) options, paid time off, and one of the industry’s best unlimited employee referral programs. VXI Morrow is located in Southlake Mall, so employees can easily access the Food Court and retail shops just steps away, offering convenience during breaks and before or after shifts. Team members are encouraged to “Stand Out & Fit In” by participating in the Visionaries & Passion4 volunteer programs focused on promoting an inclusive workplace and community support events. Additional perks include discounted cell phone plans, rewards programs, and frequent prize giveaways and free luncheons.

“We have an amazing group of people at VXI,” said Tommy Thompson, Director of Operations for VXI Morrow. “I am delighted to be able to bring meaningful job opportunities to this community. As one of the largest certified minority-owned businesses in the US, VXI was recently recognized as one of Newsweek’s Greatest Places to Work for Diversity and our culture is second to none. Over 85% of our leaders are promoted internally, so there are real opportunities for career growth.”

To learn more and apply, please visit the VXI Careers website or click the link: VXI Morrow apply

About VXI Global Solutions 

VXI Global Solutions is a BPO leader in customer service, customer experience, and digital solutions. Founded in 1998, the company has over 40,000 employees in more than 40 locations in North America, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean. VXI delivers omnichannel and multilingual support, software development, quality assurance, and CX advisory, automation, and process excellence to the world’s most respected brands.

VXI is backed by private equity investor Bain Capital and is one of the fastest growing, privately held business services organizations in the United States and the Philippines, and one of the few U.S.-based customer care organizations in China.

For more information, visit http://www.vxi.com.

Media Contact

VXI Corporate Communications, VXI Global Solutions, (213) 637-1300, comms@vxi.com, https://vxi.com/

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/vxi-global-solutions-to-grow-morrow-ga-location-with-up-to-300-new-positions-to-support-new-clients-302261560.html

SOURCE VXI Global Solutions

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