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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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Changan LCV Unveils New Brand Strategy, Paving the Way for a New Era of Digital Intelligent New Energy Commercial Vehicle Technology

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GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On November 15, Changan LCV held its brand strategy launch event, accelerating its transformation into a digital intelligent new energy commercial vehicle technology brand, aiming to become a world-class vehicle brand.

At the event, Changan LCV unveiled its first native digital intelligent new energy commercial vehicle architecture—K01  which leverages technological advantages such as ” Up-down decoupling, software and hardware separation, creating vehicle-cloud integration,” offering users three new key benefits: “smart technology, ultimate efficiency, and fast service.”

Compared to traditional architectures, the K01 platform shortens the vehicle development cycle by one year, reduces energy costs by 80%, and lowers operational costs. The platform increases vehicle production efficiency by 30%, while the low-floor design and compact layout maximize cargo volume. The “Golden Shield” battery can be fast-charged in 15 minutes to provide a range of over 200 kilometers. Its modular design is flexible and customizable, with a skateboard chassis that can accommodate various vehicle types, including light passenger car, trucks, and pickups. The K01 platform is open to the industry, promoting collaborative development and mutually beneficial opportunities for the entire value chain.

Looking to the future, Changan LCV aims to lead China’s commercial vehicle market and become a global top-five player by 2030, collaborating with users to drive the future for the ” digital intelligent new energy commercial vehicle technology brand.”

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SOURCE Changan LCV

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CGTN: Starting a new era in Asia-Pacific development amid global uncertainty

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BEIJING, Nov. 16, 2024 /CNW/ — Over the decades, the Asia-Pacific region has been a vital driver of global economic growth. In October, the International Monetary Fund predicted the region would contribute approximately 60 percent to global economic growth in 2024.

At the same time, Asia-Pacific cooperation is confronted with challenges such as rising tendencies of geopolitics, unilateralism and protectionism. In this regard, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday called on leaders of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members to shoulder greater responsibilities.

“We must act in solidarity and cooperation to meet the challenges, fully deliver on the Putrajaya Vision 2040, build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, and start a new era in Asia-Pacific development,” said Xi, when attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Peru’s capital Lima.

China’s proposal

To deepen Asia-Pacific cooperation, the Chinese president on Saturday made three proposals.

Firstly, Xi stressed the need to build an open and interconnected paradigm for Asia-Pacific cooperation, calling for staying committed to multilateralism and an open economy.

China has made great efforts towards an open Asia-Pacific economy. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, China is the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies and has actively advanced the building of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, promoted high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement.

Secondly, Xi emphasized the need to make green innovation a catalyst for the Asia-Pacific, saying APEC economies should push forward coordinated digital and green transformation and development to create new momentum and new drivers for Asia-Pacific development.

China is developing new quality productive forces in light of actual conditions and deepening cooperation with interested parties on green innovation. Xi announced on Saturday that China will launch a Global Cross-Border Data Flow Cooperation Initiative.

China has put forward initiatives for cooperation between APEC member economies in green agriculture, sustainable city development, green and low-carbon energy transition, and marine pollution control and prevention.

The Chinese president also urged efforts to uphold a universally beneficial and inclusive vision for Asia-Pacific development. The data unveiled by the Chinese Foreign Ministry showed China contributes 64.2 percent of the region’s economic growth, 37.6 percent of the growth in goods trade, and 44.6 percent of the growth in services trade.

Xi told APEC leaders that China will advance initiatives through the APEC platform on increasing residents’ income and promoting the industrial cluster development of small- and medium-sized enterprises, for the purpose of bringing about universally beneficial and inclusive development of Asia-Pacific economies.

China’s commitments

China will host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in 2026, Xi announced on Saturday, saying China welcomes all parties to continue riding the “express train” of its development and grow together with the Chinese economy.

The Chinese president reiterated China’s commitments to reform and opening up. “Reform and opening up is a historic process in which China and the world achieve development and progress together,” he said.

The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, at its third plenum in July, laid out systematic plans for further deepening reform across the board with more than 300 consequential reform measures being unveiled, pertaining to building a high-standard socialist market economy, advancing high-quality economic development, promoting high-standard opening up, improving the people’s quality of life, and building a beautiful country.

In his written speech at the APEC CEO Summit on Friday, Xi also said China will introduce more policies for voluntary and unilateral opening up, expand its globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas, and open its door even wider to the world.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-11-17/Starting-a-new-era-in-Asia-Pacific-development-amid-global-uncertainty-1yAvmNr7lYc/p.html 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cgtn-starting-a-new-era-in-asia-pacific-development-amid-global-uncertainty-302307697.html

SOURCE CGTN

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CGTN: How does Chancay Port light up Asia-Pacific cooperation?

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BEIJING, Nov. 16, 2024 /CNW/ — From the arrival of the first ship at Chancay Port to its official inauguration, the port has gained global attention in recent days, boosting confidence in the prospects of more open and inclusive Asia-Pacific economic development.

The port, a cooperative project between Peru and China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), will reduce sea shipping time from Peru to China to 23 days, cutting logistics costs by at least 20 percent. It is expected to generate $4.5 billion in annual revenue for Peru and create over 8,000 direct jobs. The port, capable of accommodating ultra-large container ships with a capacity of 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), has a designed annual throughput capacity of 1 million TEUs in the near term and 1.5 million TEUs in the long term, positioning it as a key hub for trade between Latin America and Asia.

Noting that the port connects Chancay and Shanghai, Chinese President Xi Jinping remarked that “what we are witnessing is not only the root and blossom of the BRI in Peru but also the birth of a new gateway that connects land and sea, Asia and Latin America” during his address via video link at the port’s inauguration ceremony.

Peruvian officials: ‘More job opportunities and economic growth’ brought to Peru

Senior Peruvian officials and ordinary citizens have said they are looking forward to benefiting from the first smart and green port in South America.

Prime Minister of Peru Gustavo Adrianzen said that cooperation between China and Peru, including the Chancay Port project and other fields, will bring more job opportunities and economic growth to Peru, improving people’s living standards.

Jose Tam, president of the Chinese-Peruvian Chamber of Commerce, talked about the significance of Peru’s Chancay megaport with CGTN, saying the port will be an “engine” for the local economy.

Juan Carlos Capunay, former executive director of the APEC Secretariat and former Peruvian ambassador to China, also stated that the port will play an important role in deepening bilateral relations and fostering practical cooperation between China and Peru.

Entrepreneur Cielo Augusto from Chancay said he is looking forward to building the first levels of business while noting that industries such as hospitality will also be boosted, as there will be a significant influx of people from abroad.

“The port will save time, increase efficiency and bring new opportunities to Peru,” Karla Santuyomarca, a Peruvian citizen, told CGTN.

Some 78.3 percent of respondents to a CGTN survey of Peruvians said they support their country’s participation in the BRI, which includes Chancay Port. Additionally, 93.6 percent of respondents expressed support for deepening practical cooperation in various fields between China, Peru and other Latin American countries.

Open, interconnected Asia-Pacific cooperation

With its official opening on Thursday, Chancay Port is expected to integrate the entire Latin American region into the dynamic economic framework of the Asia-Pacific, greatly enhancing connectivity within and beyond the continent.

Peruvian Foreign Minister Elmer Schialer Salcedo said, “The Pacific Ocean does not separate us, but it connects us,” adding that Chancay Port will halve the time and costs of connecting South America with Asia.

Carlos Aquino Aquino Rodriguez, professor of Asian economies at San Marcos National University, said the port is crucial to the economic development and connectivity of the Asia-Pacific and can also promote mutual benefits for raw material buyers, suppliers of manufactured goods and investors.

In a CGTN global poll on Asia-Pacific cooperation, 93.7 percent of respondents called on all parties in the region to forge consensus and build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future featuring openness and inclusiveness, innovative growth, connectivity and win-win cooperation.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-11-17/How-does-Chancay-Port-light-up-Asia-Pacific-cooperation–1yAAAYcaP28/p.html

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cgtn-how-does-chancay-port-light-up-asia-pacific-cooperation-302307698.html

SOURCE CGTN

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