Whalar Group Secures Strategic Investment From Marc Benioff, Shopify, and Neal H. Moritz to Power the Next Era of the Creator Economy
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Whalar Group, the global Creator company on a mission to liberate the creative voice, announced today that they have secured strategic investment from a group of powerhouse investors: Marc Benioff the visionary founder of Salesforce, Shopify, and Neal H. Moritz the acclaimed Hollywood producer & founder of Original Film.
Neil Waller, Co-CEO & Co-Founder, Whalar Group, said: 'The Creator Economy is now mainstream. What started as mostly part-time influencers has evolved into a professionalized industry. Creators are hiring teams, embracing new technologies and new ways of working to create valuable IP, build thriving communities and develop businesses with diverse revenue streams. This investment validates that we're just scratching the surface of what's possible. We're doubling down on building infrastructure that lets Creators operate like major entertainment companies, but with the agility to rapidly adopt new ways of thinking and creating that give them a distinct competitive advantage. The future isn't just about content, it's about Creators building the next generation of entertainment and media powerhouses."
This investment marks a significant milestone in Whalar Group's journey as the company continues to scale its ecosystem, which is built entirely around Creators. Whalar Group has built a fully integrated ecosystem to support them, spanning brand partnerships, talent management, product incubation, digital operating system, physical campuses, and gaming innovation. Whalar Group's unique ecosystem consists of six companies:
Whalar: the world's leading independent Creator and social agency.
Sixteenth: a leading, global, 360° Creator talent management company.
The Lighthouse: the first-of-its-kind IRL campus for Creators and their teams to Learn, Make, and Belong.
Foam: the operating system for managing digital talent.
Moby Ventures: a venture studio that brings Creators' ideas for brands and products to life.
Umi Games: a gaming studio that connects brands to Creators, building the most immersive experiences within Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft.
The backing from these three investors is an important step in the company's growth, reflecting its long-term vision and the immense potential of the Creator Economy.
Each investor brings a unique, equal contribution to the story of where Whalar Group is going next.
Shopify, through its internal venture team, brings a shared belief in community-led commerce and the rise of Creators as the next generation of entrepreneurs. This investment is a full-circle moment for Whalar Group, which was incorporated shortly after the founders were Build A Business winners of Shopify in 2015.
Harley Finkelstein, Shopify President said: 'Creators are powerhouses of commerce. They've built an entire ecosystem around their communities - an ecosystem that's built on Shopify, and supercharged by Whalar Group. We're arming creators with the tools they need to turn their communities into businesses from day one.'
And with Neal H. Moritz, the founder of Original Film and one of the most prolific producers working in Hollywood today, with more than $12 billion in global box office earnings, he ranks as the fifth highest-grossing producer of all time. The partnership strengthens Whalar Group's deepening bridge into the entertainment world, helping Creators accelerate their opportunities to work with existing IP as well as develop and build value in their IP.
Neal H. Moritz, Founder of Original Film, said: 'Creators today have the power, reach, and originality that used to be reserved for studios and networks. We're excited to partner with Whalar Group on the infrastructure for Creators to help them scale that power into lasting IP.'
This investment round signals the beginning of the next chapter for Whalar Group. With the backing of leaders in tech, commerce, and entertainment, Whalar Group is poised to unlock a new wave of innovation and impact, with more to come.
About Whalar Group:
Whalar Group is a global Creator company on a mission to liberate the creative voice. Our proximity, understanding, and trust of Creators evolved into a first-of-its-kind Creator ecosystem that includes the leading independent Creator and social agency, a 360° Creator talent management company, a first-of-its-kind IRL campus for Creators and teams, an operating system for managing digital talent, a venture studio, and a ground-breaking gaming studio. With a team of 300+ people around the world, we bring brands and businesses into value-driven, Creator-led communities. Whalar Group melds entrepreneurship, technology, and creativity to unlock limitless possibilities. For more information, visit: www.whalargroup.com.
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Engadget
an hour ago
- Engadget
Everything new at Summer Game Fest 2025: Xbox handheld, Resident Evil Requiem and more
It's early June, which means it's time for a ton of video game events! Rising from the ashes of E3, Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest is now the premium gaming event of the year, just inching ahead of… Geoff Keighley's Game Awards in December. Unlike the show it replaced, Summer Game Fest is an egalitarian affair, spotlighting games from AAA developers and small indies across a diverse set of livestreams. SGF 2025 includes 15 individual events running from June 3-9 — you can find the full Summer Game Fest 2025 schedule here — and we're smack dab in the middle of that programming right now. We're covering SGF 2025 with a small team on the ground in LA and a far larger group of writers tuning in remotely to the various livestreams. Expect game previews, interviews and reactions to arrive over the coming days (the show's in-person component runs from Saturday-Monday), and a boatload of new trailers and release date announcements in between. Through it all, we're collating the biggest announcements right here, with links out to more in-depth coverage where we have it, in chronological order. Epic hitched its wagon to SGF this year, aligning its annual developer Unreal Fest conference, which last took place in the fall of 2024, with the consumer event. The conference was held in Orlando, Florida, from June 2-5, with well over a hundred developer sessions focused on Unreal Engine. The highlight was State of Unreal, which was the first event on the official Summer Game Fest schedule. Amid a bunch of very cool tech demos and announcements, we got some meaningful updates on Epic's own Fortnite and CD PROJEKT RED's upcoming The Witcher IV . To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. The Witcher IV was first unveiled at The Game Awards last year, and we've heard very little about it since. 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The Xbox Ally handhelds run Windows 11, but in Microsoft's version of Steam Big Picture mode there'll be fewer background processes and… just a generally lower overhead compared to regular Windows handhelds. Thankfully, Microsoft isn't locking things down, as it'll be able to access other "popular storefronts," which we're taking to mean Steam and Epic. The Xbox Ally will be available closer to the holidays, but price is a huge question mark: The ROG Ally costs significantly more than the Steam Deck and Switch 2. Is Microsoft going to subsidize these things, or are they going to cost $600-$800 like ASUS' own-brand versions? Side note: A quick screw you to Microsoft for using Hollow Knight: Silksong to show off the new handheld. We're all starving out here, and this was not helpful. I guess the news that it'll be playable on day one on the handheld at least narrows down the release date to "between now and whenever this thing comes out." 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Here are the other bits and pieces worth reading about from the Xbox show: Paralives has been in the works for what feels like forever, but you'll be able to play it this year: It enters early access on December 8 . The indie take on The Sims looks charming as all hell in its latest trailer, and I can't wait. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Blippo+ has been a great distraction since it launched with Playdate season 2 , and we found out Sunday that it'll be coming to more platforms soon — in full color, no less ! It'll arrive on PC and Nintendo Switch in fall 2025. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Now you're all caught up. There's just one event on Monday, and it's the Black Voices in Gaming showcase. It starts at noon ET, and we've embedded the steam below for your viewing pleasure. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so.
Yahoo
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SOLVE FSHD and Modalis Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop an Innovative CRISPR-Based Epigenome Editing Treatment for Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy
VANCOUVER, British Columbia & TOKYO & WALTHAM, Mass., June 08, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SOLVE FSHD, a venture philanthropy organization dedicated to accelerating treatments for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), and Modalis Therapeutics Corporation (TSE 4883; "Modalis"), a CRISPR-based epigenome editing therapeutics company focused on rare genetic diseases, today announced a strategic collaboration to develop an innovative therapy for FSHD, a debilitating muscular disorder affecting approximately 1 million individuals worldwide. The novel therapy leverages Modalis's proprietary CRISPR-GNDM® (Guide Nucleotide-Directed Modulation) technology, which can dynamically modulate gene expression without introducing double-strand DNA breaks. SOLVE FSHD will provide strategic funding to support the development of Modalis's MDL-103 program. MDL-103 is an innovative therapeutic solution that continuously suppresses the expression of the DUX4 gene, the toxic disease-causing gene for FSHD, which becomes abnormally activated due to epigenetic changes in the D4Z4 repeat region on chromosome 4. MDL-103 is designed to have durable activity over long periods of time under the control of a strong, muscle-specific promoter, and is delivered to the muscles of patients using a muscle-tropic AAV delivery system. Modalis's CRISPR-GNDM® technology has the potential to transform the treatment of FSHD by epigenetically silencing the expression of DUX4. "SOLVE FSHD is pleased to partner with Modalis and to add them to our diverse portfolio of collaborators that are advancing potential therapies for FSHD," stated Eva Chin, Executive Director of SOLVE FSHD. "SOLVE FSHD identified Modalis as a company committed to finding a cure for this debilitating condition. We were impressed by their unique approach to targeting the epigenetic cause of FSHD, using a platform technology that has shown promise in other neuromuscular diseases. We believe that the support from SOLVE FSHD will allow Modalis to accelerate the advancement of MDL-103 into clinical trials." "We are delighted to be working in partnership with SOLVE FSHD and greatly appreciate the invaluable support for the development of MDL-103," said Haru Morita, CEO of Modalis. "This strategic collaboration is a strong validation of Modalis's CRISPR-GNDM® technology and our MDL-103 program. As a pioneer in this technology, we have demonstrated promising long-term drug efficacy in mouse models, shown durable target engagement and safety in non-human primates, and exhibited excellent biodistribution in neuromuscular disorders. We believe that MDL-103, which incorporates CRISPR-GNDM® technology with a muscle tropic AAV delivery system, has significant potential as a breakthrough treatment for FSHD." About SOLVE FSHD SOLVE FSHD is a venture philanthropic organization established to catalyze innovation and accelerate key research in finding a cure for FSHD. Established by renowned Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist, Chip Wilson, the Wilson family has committed $100 million to kick-start funding into projects that support the organizations' mission to solve FSHD by 2027. The goal of SOLVE FSHD is to find a solution that can slow down or stop muscle degeneration, increase muscle regeneration and strength, and improve the quality of life for those living with FSHD, visit About Modalis Therapeutics Corporation Modalis was founded in 2016 and conducts research and development activities in Massachusetts, USA. Modalis is a pioneering leader in the field of epigenetic medicine. Modalis develops therapeutics for patients suffering from serious genetic disorders such as neuromuscular diseases, CNS diseases, and cardiomyopathies. Modalis's proprietary CRISPR-GNDM® technology is capable of specifically up or down modulating the expression of disease-relevant genes without introducing double-strand DNA breaks. For more information, visit View source version on Contacts SOLVE FSHDAlexandra Grant, House of Wilsonalexandrag@ Modalis Therapeutics CorporationCorporate Planning Departmentmedia@ 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
Business Wire
2 hours ago
- Business Wire
SOLVE FSHD and Modalis Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop an Innovative CRISPR-Based Epigenome Editing Treatment for Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy
VANCOUVER, British Columbia & TOKYO & WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SOLVE FSHD, a venture philanthropy organization dedicated to accelerating treatments for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), and Modalis Therapeutics Corporation (TSE 4883; 'Modalis'), a CRISPR-based epigenome editing therapeutics company focused on rare genetic diseases, today announced a strategic collaboration to develop an innovative therapy for FSHD, a debilitating muscular disorder affecting approximately 1 million individuals worldwide. The novel therapy leverages Modalis's proprietary CRISPR-GNDM ® (Guide Nucleotide-Directed Modulation) technology, which can dynamically modulate gene expression without introducing double-strand DNA breaks. SOLVE FSHD will provide strategic funding to support the development of Modalis's MDL-103 program. MDL-103 is an innovative therapeutic solution that continuously suppresses the expression of the DUX4 gene, the toxic disease-causing gene for FSHD, which becomes abnormally activated due to epigenetic changes in the D4Z4 repeat region on chromosome 4. MDL-103 is designed to have durable activity over long periods of time under the control of a strong, muscle-specific promoter, and is delivered to the muscles of patients using a muscle-tropic AAV delivery system. Modalis's CRISPR-GNDM ® technology has the potential to transform the treatment of FSHD by epigenetically silencing the expression of DUX4. 'SOLVE FSHD is pleased to partner with Modalis and to add them to our diverse portfolio of collaborators that are advancing potential therapies for FSHD,' stated Eva Chin, Executive Director of SOLVE FSHD. 'SOLVE FSHD identified Modalis as a company committed to finding a cure for this debilitating condition. We were impressed by their unique approach to targeting the epigenetic cause of FSHD, using a platform technology that has shown promise in other neuromuscular diseases. We believe that the support from SOLVE FSHD will allow Modalis to accelerate the advancement of MDL-103 into clinical trials.' 'We are delighted to be working in partnership with SOLVE FSHD and greatly appreciate the invaluable support for the development of MDL-103,' said Haru Morita, CEO of Modalis. 'This strategic collaboration is a strong validation of Modalis's CRISPR-GNDM ® technology and our MDL-103 program. As a pioneer in this technology, we have demonstrated promising long-term drug efficacy in mouse models, shown durable target engagement and safety in non-human primates, and exhibited excellent biodistribution in neuromuscular disorders. We believe that MDL-103, which incorporates CRISPR-GNDM ® technology with a muscle tropic AAV delivery system, has significant potential as a breakthrough treatment for FSHD.' About SOLVE FSHD SOLVE FSHD is a venture philanthropic organization established to catalyze innovation and accelerate key research in finding a cure for FSHD. Established by renowned Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist, Chip Wilson, the Wilson family has committed $100 million to kick-start funding into projects that support the organizations' mission to solve FSHD by 2027. The goal of SOLVE FSHD is to find a solution that can slow down or stop muscle degeneration, increase muscle regeneration and strength, and improve the quality of life for those living with FSHD, visit Modalis was founded in 2016 and conducts research and development activities in Massachusetts, USA. Modalis is a pioneering leader in the field of epigenetic medicine. Modalis develops therapeutics for patients suffering from serious genetic disorders such as neuromuscular diseases, CNS diseases, and cardiomyopathies. Modalis's proprietary CRISPR-GNDM ® technology is capable of specifically up or down modulating the expression of disease-relevant genes without introducing double-strand DNA breaks. For more information, visit
