View the Pitch Deck that Won this AI firm $5.5M to Move Budgets from Meta to CTV
Fresh off a $5.5 million raise led by NVP Capital with participation from M12, AI startup Upscale is making its case to direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands: streaming TV is the next performance channel. And the firm's AI tools are here to help brands use their existing assets to create and serve ads for streaming.
According to the startup's investor pitch deck, exclusively shared with ADWEEK, Americans now spend 1.4 times more time on streaming apps than on social media, clocking up 3 hours and 9 minutes a day versus 2 hours and 14 minutes.
The firm claims that $30 billion is already flowing into U.S.
READ SOURCE
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
If You Invested Every Social Security Check for 10 Years, How Rich Would You Be?
One common criticism of Social Security is that Americans would be much better off financially if the money they paid into the retirement program through payroll taxes was instead invested into private investment accounts. That same argument can be applied to Social Security checks — seniors would have much more wealth if they invested their checks as soon as they got them. Be Aware: For You: But is this a reasonable request for most people, especially those on a fixed income? To help find the answer here is a closer look at how much you could earn by investing your Social Security checks over a decade. For those seniors who can afford to invest all of their Social Security checks, the potential payoff is considerable. The following table shows how much profit you would have made if you invested every Social Security check over the past 10 years into the S&P 500, from 2015 through the beginning of 2025. The data includes the average Social Security check by year as previously reported by GOBankingRates. It also includes the average annual return of the S&P 500 from 2015 to 2025, as cited by Macrotrends (other sources might reflect different returns). Up Next: A couple things to keep in mind: The figures below are based only on yearly averages, which means they don't include month-to-month fluctuations that happen with the stock market. They also don't include other types of investments — such as crypto or real estate — that would have produced very different returns. Year Avg. monthly SS check Total SS payments for year S&P 500 return Profit/loss for year 2015 $1,341.77 $16,101.24 -0.73% -$117.54 2016 $1,360.13 $16,321.56 +9.54% +1,557.08 2017 $1,404.15 $16,849.80 +19.42% +3,272.23 2018 $1,461.31 $17,535.72 -6.24% -$1,094.23 2019 $1,455.22 $17,462.64 +28.88% +5,043.21 2020 $1,489.30 $17,871.60 +16.26% +2,905.92 2021 $1,517.98 $18,215.76 +26.89% +4,898.22 2022 $1,615.96 $19,391.52 -19.44% -3,769.71 2023 $1,696.35 $20,356.20 +24.23% +4,932.31 2024 $1,909.01 $22,908.12 +23.31% +5,339.88 2025 $1,976 $23,712 +1.96% +$464.76 Total profit/loss +$23,432.33 According to the table above, if you invested all of your monthly Social Security checks in the S&P 500 over the past decade, your nest egg would have grown by over $20,000. That kind of return should bring cheer to financial gurus, like Dave Ramsey, who recommends applying for Social Security retirement benefits as early as possible. For example, you could start collecting benefits at age 62 instead of the full retirement age of 66 or 67 and then immediately invest every monthly payment. There's just one problem with that reasoning. A large percentage of seniors don't have the financial ability to put their Social Security checks into stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, real estate, crypto or other investments. They need the money to pay the bills. For about half of U.S. seniors, Social Security provides at least 50% of their overall retirement income, according to research from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. For about one in four seniors, Social Security provides at least 90% of income. These folks have a hard enough time making ends meet, let alone tossing their Social Security checks into various investments that might or might not pay off. Nonetheless, for retirees who can afford to invest their benefit checks, there's a pretty good chance those investments will pay off and boost your retirement savings over the long haul. More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard 9 Downsizing Tips for the Middle Class To Save on Monthly Expenses 10 Genius Things Warren Buffett Says To Do With Your Money This article originally appeared on If You Invested Every Social Security Check for 10 Years, How Rich Would You Be? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Robert Kiyosaki Warns Hyperinflation Will ‘Wipe Out' Millions
Personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki recently made a bold prediction on X about the state of the American economy. The summary of the prediction is that hyperinflation will be financially devastating to millions of Americans. Another GOBankingRates article discusses hyperinflation, stating that the situation occurs when there's a monthly inflation rate of 50% or more. However, due to the role of the Fed, the American economy has never faced such a situation, even when inflation reached as high as 23% in 1920. Trending Now: For You: Below, we examine Kiyosaki's serious claims and determine their accuracy based on expert insights. 'Hyperinflation is a state of extremely high inflation, typically reaching high double digits or triple digits,' said Marko Bjegovic, macroeconomist and founder of Arkomina Research. Kiyosaki believes everything in the economy will become more expensive, from interest rates for borrowing money to basic necessities. Kiyosaki's reasoning is likely that, with the Fed printing money, in his opinion, this could devalue the American currency and lead to higher inflation. It's safe to say that Kiyosaki believes that inflation will become so exorbitant that the average American consumer will be unable to carry their debt moving forward and will have to declare bankruptcy. Read Next: According to MoneyWise, Kiyosaki isn't a stranger to making bold claims about a possible economic collapse. We reviewed some of these claims in the statement to try to verify their accuracy. Bjegovic said there's nothing to suggest that the U.S. is currently on a path to hyperinflation. 'In that sense, the U.S. has never had hyperinflation since the Fed's inception in 1913,' he added. 'Hyperinflation has been commonly associated with countries experiencing extreme political or economic collapse, such as Weimar Germany (1920s), Zimbabwe (2000s), Venezuela (2010s), and Argentina (2020s).' Since the situation has never occurred in history, it's challenging to expect it to happen this time around. On a similar note, it's worth noting that the current Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 2.3% in April, the lowest level since February 2021. While inflation peaked — as reported by CNBC — at 9.1% in June 2022, it never approached the 50% figure required for a hyperinflationary state. With inflation cooling down, it doesn't appear that it will reach double digits anytime soon. Some of Kiyosaki's predictions for future asset prices are extremely bold. For context, the highest price of gold ever peaked at $3,500.05 per ounce on April 22, 2025, according to Investing News Network. Blake Mclaughlin, gold expert and vice president of exploration at Axcap Ventures, said gold's recent surge indicates underlying instability in the economy and that based on current conditions, its upward trend may continue. 'Having exposure to commodities like precious metals is a reasonable hedge for inflation. Generally, physical assets, where supplies cannot be readily or easily manipulated, provide a safe and honest place to invest,' he added. However, no evidence would suggest that gold can reach the value mentioned by Kiyosaki According to Yahoo Finance, iBitcoin hasn't passed $112,000 as of May 30 and silver is hovering around $33. These numbers are far from the substantial numbers shared by Kiyosaki. For bitcoin to go from $110,000 to one million is an extreme stretch and there's no evidence pointing towards this possibility. Upon further investigation, there aren't any other credible experts declaring that bitcoin can go as high as one million. Research shared on Business Insider showed there's only one crypto options trade that has bitcoin hitting $300,000 by the end of June and there's only one platform predicting that the digital asset will hit $200,000 by the end of the year. 'The auction Mr. Kiyosaki mentioned was held by the Treasury and not by the Fed,' Bjegovic said. It's essential to emphasize that the Fed didn't conduct this auction, as that's a crucial fact stated in the announcement. Reuters pointed out that the auction was poorly received, which led to a stock sell-off, with investors concerned about the national debt. However, the article also shared that the 20-year bonds usually see less demand than other maturities and that it wasn't a disaster. While the demand for the $16 billion sale of 20-year bonds was weak, it's also unfair to say that nobody showed up to the auction on May 21. Bjegovic said it went better than feared due to the circumstances at the time (Moody's downgrade, passage of the 'Big Beautiful Bill Act' and wider fiscal deficits). 'Treasury auctions are functioning well (as evidenced by other auctions that followed, like the two-year note this week) and inflation remains relatively low. The contents of Mr. Kiyosaki's post on X have grossly exaggerated both the current situation and what is likely to happen in the future,' Bjegovic explained. While it's important to be cautious about your investing approach, you also don't want to get caught up in the fear-mongering that can be evident on social media. As always, we recommend that you speak with a qualified financial professional before making any important decisions about your funds. More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard These Cars May Seem Expensive, but They Rarely Need Repairs Warren Buffett: 10 Things Poor People Waste Money On This article originally appeared on Robert Kiyosaki Warns Hyperinflation Will 'Wipe Out' Millions Sign in to access your portfolio
CNBC
2 hours ago
- CNBC
The salary a single person needs to live comfortably in all 50 U.S. states—it's over $120,000 in 2 places
Americans earning a regular salary may have trouble living comfortably in all 50 states. The median annual wage for individuals was just below $62,000 at the end of 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But it takes a salary of at least $80,829 for a single adult to live comfortably in West Virginia, the most affordable state, according to a recent SmartAsset study. SmartAsset defines "comfortable" as earning enough to follow the 50/30/20 budget method, which recommends putting 50% of your income toward essentials like rent and food, 30% toward discretionary spending and 20% toward debt repayment and savings. It used the latest estimates from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage calculator to estimate individuals' cost of necessities in each state. On the other side of the spectrum from West Virginia, residents in Hawaii need to earn a minimum of $124,467 a year to live comfortably, SmartAsset finds. That's the highest of any state and one of two states — along with Massachusetts — where individuals need to earn at least $120,000 a year to afford a comfortable lifestyle. Here's how much money it takes for a single adult to live comfortably in every U.S. state 2025. While the 50/30/20 budget can be an effective tool to manage your money, it can also be difficult to follow if you have high fixed costs. And though data suggests wage growth nationwide is actually outpacing price inflation, many Americans don't feel that way. About 7 in 10 Americans feel stressed about their finances, according to a CNBC/SurveyMonkey online poll conducted in April. Plus, President Donald Trump's tariffs threaten to push prices up even further. Boosting your income by switching jobs or getting a side hustle may be easier said than done, but it can help give you some breathing room in your budget, especially if you've already cut out as much discretionary spending as you can.
