Latest news with #GenerationNext
Los Angeles Times
05-08-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Cafeteria Raises $3-Million Growth Round to Expand Gen Z Insights
Cafeteria, a consumer insights platform that enables Gen Z and Alpha to earn for direct and private brand insights, announced a $3-million growth round, valuing the company at $22 million. The round adds participation from Marquee Ventures, Listen Ventures and Thayer Investment Partners. With the new capital, it is set to expand AI capabilities and scale data infrastructure to transform unstructured text and voice into actionable insights. 'We are reimagining the relationship between Generation Next and brands by delivering them a platform for work and private insights software for clients. Our text and voice data are compounding, and we are investing in AI capabilities that are truly in-context of the generation,' said Rishi Malhotra, chief executive and co-founder of Cafeteria, in a statement. Since January, the company has more than doubled its userbase and tripled the volume of insights produced. Brands across fashion, beauty and consumer goods are utilizing its teen-to-brand operating system and enterprise software for authentic Gen Next intelligence. Brand partners include category leaders across beauty, retail and consumer goods. Cafeteria previously raised a multimillion-dollar seed round in July 2024, led by Collaborative Fund and Imaginary Ventures, with additional participation from Bertelsmann and music mogul Guy Oseary, that valued the company at $12 million. Information for this article was sourced from Cafeteria.
News.com.au
29-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Can't be happier': Alexandria Perkins claims butterfly bronze at world championships
In swimming terms Alex Perkins is somewhat of a late bloomer. But in public perception, the 25-year-old Gold Coaster is now the next member of Generation Next after she stormed home late to secure a bronze medal in the women's 100m butterfly at the world titles in Singapore. A day after the women's and men's freestyle relay teams shocked the world with a pair of gold medals, it was Perkins who was next to step up and claim an unexpected medal with a third place in the butterfly in 56.33s. US star Gretchen Walsh claimed the gold medal in 54.73s, just missing her own world record, ahead of Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium in second while Olympic champ Torri Huske withdrew from the heats as one of the several US stars who had battled a gastro bug throughout the lead up to these titles. Perkins, a relay heat swimmer silver medallist at the Paris Olympics last year, was fourth at the 50m turn and then came home strongly to secure her first individual international medal. 'I can't be happier with that,' she said. Perkins finished 13th in the 100m butterfly at last year's Olympics, and was happy to have such a strong improvement in 12 months. 'I missed out last year at the Olympics and I'm really proud of myself for coming here and handling my nerves,' Perkins said. 'I was definitely nervous today, but I just kept telling myself I just need to do the best job I can.' BOHL'D OVER The men's 100m breaststroke final was a gold medal result that cut deeper than most. Not a single Australian qualified for the final, while the winner Qin Haiyang of China was being coached by one of our greatest minds. Michael Bohl, mentor to the likes of Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown and Stephanie Rice, shocked Australian swimming last year when he announced he was taking the year off coaching only to sign a lucrative new deal in China a few months later. Now, rather than find our next generation of champions, he's played a major role helping China's superstar breaststroker return to form. Qin struggled in Paris last year after he was named as one of the 23 athletes who tested positive but was cleared of a doping violation ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. But with Bohl in his corner, he stormed home in the final 25m to secure a comfortable victory. AWKWARD AUSSIE ABSENCE If seeing Bohl celebrate a gold medal wasn't hard enough to stomach, there was more pain throughout the second night schedule to highlight the deficiencies in the Australian swimming team. No Australian in the men's 100m breaststroke final. No Australian in the men's 100m backstroke semi-finals. No Australian in the women's 100m breaststroke semi-finals. No Australian in the men's 50m butterfly final. There will be no Australian in the men's 200m freestyle final on Tuesday night after Flynn Southam (1:45.80) finished 10th in the semi-finals. There are some significant gaps in the Dolphins swim team and while it may be too soon to find potential medallists in those races for Los Angeles in 2028, the planning must start now for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. CASUAL KAYLEE Australia's most dominant current swimmer Kaylee McKeown eased her way into the 100m backstroke final, touching second in her semi-final behind fierce US rival Regan Smith in the semi-finals. Smith was fastest in 58.21s, closely followed by McKeown in 58.44s. The pair are expected to battle it out for gold in Tuesday night's final, with McKeown boasting the better finals record having won in Paris last year and the 2023 world titles where she swept all three backstroke gold medals. McKeown admitted she has a far different perspective to racing this year than she did at last year's Olympic Games where she won the 100m-200m double for the second Games in succession. 'I think Paris I really got consumed by the pressure and the nerves, especially the ones I put on myself,' she said. 'This year I'm taking a step back and just enjoying the sport. 'I don't care if I come last, I've just come here for a good time.' YU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT Canada's Summer McIntosh secured her second gold medal of the world titles, winning the 200m medley in 2:06.69, but it was China's 12-year-old Yu Zidi who almost completely stole the show. Yu was already the youngest swimmer to ever qualify for a world titles final, but she almost became the story of the night as she produced a late 50m surge going from seventh to just miss a medal by 0.06s in fourth place. USA's Alex Walsh pushed McIntosh down the third 50m but couldn't hold on in the freestyle leg to touch in second in 2:08.58, followed by Canada's Mary Sophie Harvey in 2:09.15 ahead of Yu in 2:09.21. Incredibly Yu's final 50m freestyle was swum in 30.17s, only 0.01s slower than McIntosh who is the 400m freestyle world record holder.
Courier-Mail
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Courier-Mail
Perkins claims 100m butterfly bronze as Walsh dominates in record time
Don't miss out on the headlines from Swimming. Followed categories will be added to My News. In swimming terms Alex Perkins is somewhat of a late bloomer. But in public perception, the 25-year-old Gold Coaster is now the next member of Generation Next after she stormed home late to secure a bronze medal in the women's 100m butterfly at the world titles in Singapore. A day after the women's and men's freestyle relay teams shocked the world with a pair of gold medals, it was Perkins who was next to step up and claim an unexpected medal with a third place in the butterfly in 56.33s. Gretchen Walsh is congratulated by Alexandria Perkins after winning gold in the Women's 100m Butterfly Final. Picture: Getty Images US star Gretchen Walsh claimed the gold medal in 54.73s, just missing her own world record, ahead of Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium in second while Olympic champ Torri Huske withdrew from the heats as one of the several US stars who had battled a gastro bug throughout the lead up to these titles. Perkins, a relay heat swimmer silver medallist at the Paris Olympics last year, was fourth at the 50m turn and then came home strongly to secure her first individual international medal. 'I can't be happier with that,' she said. Perkins finished 13th in the 100m butterfly at last year's Olympics, and was happy to have such a strong improvement in 12 months. 'I missed out last year at the Olympics and I'm really proud of myself for coming here and handling my nerves,' Perkins said. 'I was definitely nervous today, but I just kept telling myself I just need to do the best job I can.' Gretchen Walsh claimed gold in record time. Picture: Getty Images BOHL'D OVER The men's 100m breaststroke final was a gold medal result that cut deeper than most. Not a single Australian qualified for the final, while the winner Qin Haiyang of China was being coached by one of our greatest minds. Michael Bohl, mentor to the likes of Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown and Stephanie Rice, shocked Australian swimming last year when he announced he was taking the year off coaching only to sign a lucrative new deal in China a few months later. Now, rather than find our next generation of champions, he's played a major role helping China's superstar breaststroker return to form. Qin struggled in Paris last year after he was named as one of the 23 athletes who tested positive but was cleared of a doping violation ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. But with Bohl in his corner, he stormed home in the final 25m to secure a comfortable victory. China's swimmer Haiyang Qin won the men's 100m breaststroke title. Picture: AFP AWKWARD AUSSIE ABSENCE If seeing Bohl celebrate a gold medal wasn't hard enough to stomach, there was more pain throughout the second night schedule to highlight the deficiencies in the Australian swimming team. No Australian in the men's 100m breaststroke final. No Australian in the men's 100m backstroke semi-finals. No Australian in the women's 100m breaststroke semi-finals. No Australian in the men's 50m butterfly final. There will be no Australian in the men's 200m freestyle final on Tuesday night after Flynn Southam (1:45.80) finished 10th in the semi-finals. There are some significant gaps in the Dolphins swim team and while it may be too soon to find potential medallists in those races for Los Angeles in 2028, the planning must start now for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. Flynn Southam failed to make the men's 20m freestyle final. Picture: AFP CASUAL KAYLEE Australia's most dominant current swimmer Kaylee McKeown eased her way into the 100m backstroke final, touching second in her semi-final behind fierce US rival Regan Smith in the semi-finals. Smith was fastest in 58.21s, closely followed by McKeown in 58.44s. The pair are expected to battle it out for gold in Tuesday night's final, with McKeown boasting the better finals record having won in Paris last year and the 2023 world titles where she swept all three backstroke gold medals. McKeown admitted she has a far different perspective to racing this year than she did at last year's Olympic Games where she won the 100m-200m double for the second Games in succession. 'I think Paris I really got consumed by the pressure and the nerves, especially the ones I put on myself,' she said. 'This year I'm taking a step back and just enjoying the sport. 'I don't care if I come last, I've just come here for a good time.' Kaylee McKeown eased her way into the women's 100m backstroke final. Picture: AFP YU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT Canada's Summer McIntosh secured her second gold medal of the world titles, winning the 200m medley in 2:06.69, but it was China's 12-year-old Yu Zidi who almost completely stole the show. Yu was already the youngest swimmer to ever qualify for a world titles final, but she almost became the story of the night as she produced a late 50m surge going from seventh to just miss a medal by 0.06s in fourth place. USA's Alex Walsh pushed McIntosh down the third 50m but couldn't hold on in the freestyle leg to touch in second in 2:08.58, followed by Canada's Mary Sophie Harvey in 2:09.15 ahead of Yu in 2:09.21. Incredibly Yu's final 50m freestyle was swum in 30.17s, only 0.01s slower than McIntosh who is the 400m freestyle world record holder. Originally published as 'Can't be happier': Alexandria Perkins claims butterfly bronze at world championships
