Latest news with #TimDraper
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Startup Myco wins big at reality show
Listen to article In a major boost to Pakistan's digital economy, homegrown streaming platform Myco has emerged as the top startup in Season 9 of Meet the Drapers, a global reality show hosted by renowned Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper. Competing against over 2,000 startups, Myco secured a combined Rs420 million ($1.5 million) deal, comprising a $500,000 investment and a $1 million SaaS business contract, the highest in the season's history. This marks the first time a Pakistani-origin startup has reached the show's finale. Myco, backed by the diaspora-driven platform PakLaunch, was voted audience favourite and became the only Pakistani startup in the grand finale recorded in California. Founded by Umair Masoom, Myco blends sports, entertainment, and blockchain technology through its "Watch & Earn" ecosystem. With over 20 million users in Pakistan and a growing global footprint, Myco aims to decentralise digital content and empower users to earn from their engagement. Draper, an early investor in Tesla and Coinbase, praised Myco as the "future of streaming." The startup plans to expand aggressively across South Asia, MENA, and North America with support from partners like Aptos Labs. This win positions Pakistan as a rising force in global tech innovation.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Pakistani startup Myco takes highest global win of Rs420mn from Tim Draper's global startup reality show
In a historic leap for Pakistan's digital economy, Myco, the fastest-growing video streaming platform in the country, has made global headlines by winning the grand finale of Meet the Drapers, a global startup reality show in Silicon Valley that featured over 2,000 startups around the World. Myco announced that after the due diligence process that followed the finale, they have now secured an investment and a SaaS business deal of Rs42 crores ($1.5 million) which was the highest for Season 9. This was the first time a Pakistani origin startup reached the finale of Tim's venture reality show 'Meet the Drapers' and came out amongst the winners of season 9, placing Pakistan on the global startup map with renewed confidence and visibility. The outcome was amplified this week as Tim Draper assigned a significant SaaS service contract of $1 million in addition to the investment of $500,000 received recently post due diligence thus making Myco the number one startup from the finale in terms of net outcome achieved. It all stated as an initiative by Paklaunch whereby the founder of PakLaunch 'Aly Fahd' convinced Tim Draper to include an episode on Pakistani startups in October 2024 which was the first time Pakistan was included in the globally famed competition. Two Pakistani startups progressed through the televised competition all the way to the semi final and Myco was the only Pakistani startup invited to the grand finale as the most voted global startup being an audience favorite. The finale was recorded in April 2025 in California after which an extensive due diligence exercise was conducted with Myco finally receiving the investment and the SaaS business deal in July 2025. A vote of confidence from Silicon Valley's boldest visionary Tim Draper, a third-generation venture capitalist, is known for his early bets on companies like Tesla, SpaceX, Skype, Coinbase, and Baidu. He has long advocated for decentralisation, fintech, and blockchain-powered platforms that redefine legacy industries. His investment in Myco and the underlying business deal is a global endorsement of Pakistan's emerging role in the future of digital innovation. 'Myco is one of the top Pakistani startups that PakLaunch has been enabling within our network over the past 3 years. The PakLaunch community is thrilled about this achievement as this proves the quality of Pakistani origin entrepreneurs compared to a global stage and Paklaunch is proud of our contribution towards this success story,' said Aly Fahd, Founder Paklaunch from San Francisco. 'Myco combines powerful storytelling, sports culture, and the economics of Web3. This is the future of streaming,' Draper said during Myco's pitch on the international show 'Meet the Drapers', where Myco made its global debut. 'We want our success at the globally acclaimed startup reality show and the outcome we achieved to inspire hundreds of Pakistani entrepreneurs building incredible products across the globe. I am extremely thankful to PakLaunch for laying the foundation for this achievement and am grateful to the entire team at Draper Associates for making us a part of their eco system' said Umair Masoom, Founder & MD, Myco Holdings. More than cricket: building a global sports & content platform While Myco holds rights to premium cricket events including ICC events, PCB & PSL etc but is also one of the few platforms actively investing in non-cricket sports such as: English Premier League for 3 years MMA & Karate Combat Padel, Squash, Volleyball Local tournaments & university events This inclusive content strategy, combined with a growing and South Asian content catalog, positions Myco as a sports and entertainment ecosystem — not just a streaming app. Explosive growth & future outlook 20M+ users in 18 months in Pakistan $1.5M (PKR 42 crore) investment led by Tim Draper Investments 100M+ monthly video impressions, fueling a powerful monetisation engine Active user base in 100+ countries, including Pakistan, UAE, KSA, Egypt, and North America Backed by Aptos Labs, a leading Layer 1 blockchain, to power Myco's upcoming Web3 wallet and reward token ecosystem Set to launch a decentralised content economy enabling users and creators to earn, own, and interact with content assets in real time Targeting 50M+ users by end of 2025 through aggressive regional expansion and telco/media partnerships With this new capital, Myco is scaling its operations across: North America, MENA and South Asia with a countinued focus in Pakistan Exclusive Watch & Earn reward token ecosystem Deepened content & sports partnerships and athlete sponsorships Fintech partnerships across the markets About PakLaunch Paklaunch is a global platform and community founded in 2020 by Aly Fahd, focused on connecting the Pakistani diaspora with the entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem back home. It aims to foster growth in the Pakistani startup scene by providing resources, training, and networking opportunities. Paklaunch hosts events like the Paklaunch Unconference and offers various programs, including a digital accelerator for women entrepreneurs. Today, it's a thriving entrepreneurial community of 350K+ across 30+ countries and multiple platforms, driving startup funding, investments opportunities, and global networking. About Myco Launched from UAE in 2021 by a Pakistani founder, Myco is more than just a video streaming app — it's a next-generation media-tech platform built at the intersection of content, technology, and financial empowerment. Myco delivers a seamless blend of live sports, live TV, entertainment, and a revolutionary Watch & Earn rewards ecosystem. The platform enables users not just to consume content — but to earn real value from their attention and engagement. What sets Myco apart: One of the first Web3-powered video platforms to scale in emerging markets Over 20 million users in Pakistan in just 18 months A curated mix of premium sports (cricket, MMA, squash, padel) and culturally relevant content A growing footprint across Pakistan, UAE, Egypt, KSA, and North America Creator and athlete-first — supporting underserved communities and local talent An ecosystem powered by smart engagement, where time spent watching translates into rewards, utility, and deeper experiences Following its record-breaking win at Meet the Drapers, Myco is now scaling toward becoming the world's leading Web3 entertainment super app — where content meets commerce, and audiences become active participants.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
@ArAIstotle Joins Virtuals Genesis Launch with FACY as the Truth Layer of Web3 to Rewire the Perverse Incentives of the Attention Economy of Web2
Singapore, Singapore August 01, 2025 --( )-- AI Seer is Changing How People Communicate in Real-Time From the Renaissance, deception detection technologies have been used by masters on servants (politics as dirty hands), and this is the first time it is being decentralized to encourage everyone to speak more truthfully and powerfully through AI. Tim Draper and Draper Associates backed AI Seer because the truth is worth defending. Ever wanted to have that statistic or fact at your fingertips but struggled to recall it? According to Draper Associates, 'AI Seer's mission to help everyone fact-check and detect deception in real-time is more important than ever, and AI Seer isn't just building a new category… It's redefining how humans communicate to make it more exploratory, confirmatory, and transparent.' The Genesis of Trust Backed by Draper Associates, has been recognized by TIME as one of the Best Inventions of 2024. @ArAIstotle delivers industry-leading verification accuracy across posts, podcasts, and videos with best-in-class precision and three times fewer hallucinations than leading competitors. Powered by $FACY, ArAIstotle rewards users who verify the truth and help identify and flag misinformation in everyday content in almost real-time. 'We're bridging two revolutions: AI verification and decentralized ownership. With Virtuals, ArAIstotle becomes community property, where every participant profits from keeping humans and bots factual and honest and it improves with community contributions,' said Dennis Yap, Founder & CEO of AI Seer. ArAIstotle delivers real-time fact-checking for crypto, analyzing tweets, videos, and audio with 92% accuracy. The system delivers 3x greater citation accuracy than leading AI search engines (14% error rate vs. 42-94% for competitors), while processing full video/audio clips, making it the only solution capable of trustworthy multimedia verification at scale. $FACY Token Utility The $FACY token is the native transaction and incentive asset of the ArAIstotle ecosystem, powering a scalable, participatory truth-verification economy. It rewards high-quality user engagement, fuels access to premium truth-seeking AIs, and anchors all platform interactions. Rewarding contributions Unlocking premium verification & reports Enabling governance decisions Sustaining a healthy, decentralized economy Proprietary computer vision modules for behavioral analytics Unlike legacy moderation platforms that rely on unpaid, delayed, or opaque processes, $FACY offers a real-time, on-chain, and incentivized system. Users are rewarded for their contributions, empowered with advanced tools, and trusted to guide the platform's future. Building a scalable, transparent, and participatory truth economy. Roadmap ArAIstotle's development follows a clear, community-focused trajectory: The project launches with Twitter/X integration and $FACY token distribution in August 2025, expands to multi-platform verification by September 2025, and introduces groundbreaking behavioral analysis in 2026. 2027 will mark the full launch of the Behavioral Analysis on X. Aug 2025: $FACY token launches with Twitter/X verification bot, Open waitlist for people to get access to the community. Sep 2025: Multi-modal fact-checking (text/audio/video) goes live, plus staking rewards. 2026: AI-powered behavioral analysis detects lies via micro-expressions (e.g., shoulder shrugs, lip presses) that are known to be possible deception cues. 2027: Full launch of Behavioral Analysis, expand the behavioral signal library, and increase accuracy. Launch Details Date: 8th of August 2025 Platform: Genesis Page Link Telegram: Community Group Link About AI Seer ArAIstotle is a truth-seeking agent leveraging Facticity AI and AI Seer deception cue detection tech, delivering high-precision truth verification with faster processing and 3x fewer hallucinations than competitors. The agent provides superior accuracy and speed in verification across all media platforms, positioning it as a leading solution in truth detection. A reliable and scientific truth or deception cue detector has never been dematerialized, and with nothing to deter them, this has led to a race to the bottom between different statesmen. The startup has recently closed 150k USD in funding from Draper Associates, Andreas Weigend, Ph.D., and Lee Han Shish and previously invented the Multi-Spectral Reality Detector ('MSRD'), the world's first contactless system capable of discerning truthfulness and deceptiveness using a lab-tested blend of physiological and behavioral signals which has made more than 400k USD in revenue through a paid pilot and a MVP sale and is being field-tested by law enforcement, geopolitically aligned with Japan's and recognized by global industry bodies and has been green-laned by Singapore's government. The company was also recently selected by Qualcomm AI Program for Innovators 2025 and was in the Grand Finals of the SuperAI Genesis Startup Competition. Contact Information: AI Seer Pte. Ltd. Dennis Yap +65 83050508 Contact via Email Please contact through LI ( before trying to call. Read the full story here: @ArAIstotle Joins Virtuals Genesis Launch with FACY as the Truth Layer of Web3 to Rewire the Perverse Incentives of the Attention Economy of Web2 Press Release Distributed by
Business Insider
30-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Midl Secures $2.4M Seed Investment from Draper Associates and Draper Dragon to Pioneer Native dApp Infrastructure on Bitcoin
Dover, US, July 30th, 2025, Chainwire Midl, an infrastructure that brings smart contracts to the Bitcoin network, enabling native decentralized applications (dApps) and financial products, has announced the successful close of a $2.4 million seed round. The round was led by Draper Associates, the early-stage venture capital firm founded by Tim Draper and known for backing industry-defining companies like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Ledger. It was also supported by Draper Dragon, a cross-border venture fund focused on innovative blockchain solutions, with notable investments in Kelp DAO and This funding milestone marks another step towards Bitcoin's evolving financial ecosystem, spotlighting the growing institutional interest in BTCFi, a new wave of Bitcoin-native decentralized finance. With Midl, developers can now build and run dApps natively on Bitcoin, unleashing the potential of the network's $2 trillion in liquidity. 'It's rare to be this early to something this big,' said Iva Wisher, Founder of Midl. 'Midl makes Bitcoin programmable in a way that's never been done before. Native Bitcoin token standards finally have a home where they can power real apps and real economies. Across trading, DeFi, gaming, governance, and everything in between.' Unlocking the Power of Bitcoin Unlike solutions that rely on sidechains, bridges, or Layer 2s, Midl introduces a native execution environment for Bitcoin, allowing decentralized applications to run directly on the Bitcoin network. This includes seamless support for Bitcoin-native token standards, making them tradable, functional, and usable across products and services from day one. Midl is currently in its testnet phase, with a mainnet launch expected shortly. Several early DeFi protocols are already live on the testnet, with over 20 additional projects currently in various stages of deployment on the network. Alongside the technical rollout, Midl is launching a series of retail-facing initiatives to help kickstart real usage and liquidity within the Bitcoin ecosystem from day one. These efforts are focused on driving early adoption and seeding liquidity across the Bitcoin ecosystem ahead of mainnet. Led by Veterans of Early-Stage Tech Investing Draper Associates is a venture capital firm founded in 1985 by Tim Draper. Known for its forward-looking investment philosophy, the VC has played a pivotal role in funding some of the most transformative tech companies across multiple industries. Draper Associates has a strong portfolio of crypto and blockchain investments, having backed early leaders such as Coinbase, Ledger, and Robinhood. Draper Dragon is a cross-border venture capital firm focused on early-stage Web3 and technology startups. The firm invests in innovative blockchain projects shaping the future of decentralized finance and digital ecosystems, with notable investments including Kelp DAO and About Midl Midl is an execution environment that brings smart contracts to Bitcoin, opening the door to a new generation of decentralized applications built natively on the world's most secure blockchain - with dedicated developer tooling. With Midl, full-scale dApps can run directly on Bitcoin: everything once possible on Ethereum can now be built on Bitcoin. The protocol improves the developer and user experience by allowing multiple EVM-like interactions within a single Bitcoin transaction, unlocking better scalability and throughput. Contact Co-founder Ivan Vishnevskii
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin bull Tim Draper raises $200 million for new venture fund
One of the world's foremost Bitcoin boosters has drummed up another stash of capital. Tim Draper's investment firm, Draper Associates, has raised $200 million for its eighth fund, according to a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's website, meanwhile, hints at the fund's launch. 'In 2025, Draper Associates celebrated 40-years of pioneering venture capital and spreading entrepreneurship around the world,' read a page about the firm's history. 'With the launch of Draper Associates Fund 8, the team has its eye on the next 40 years.' A spokesperson for Draper Associates declined to comment. In 2022, the venture capitalist raised almost $124 million for his seventh fund, according to a filing with the SEC. Draper Associates, which specializes in crypto investments, has $2 billion in assets under management, per the firm's website. The firm's latest raise comes amid a crypto boom. The total market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies crossed the $4 trillion mark for the first time in history last week as Congress passed legislation that will regulate stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies pegged to underlying assets like the U.S. dollar. And Bitcoin has repeatedly notched all-time highs over the past six months, surging past $120,000 Bitcoin OG Draper, who is 67 years old, hasn't always been synonymous with crypto. In 1985, he got his start as a VC when he borrowed $6 million to invest in tech, according to his website. He soon developed a knack for investing in what would become some of the world's hottest companies. The roster of startups he's backed includes Skype, Baidu, Hotmail, Tesla, SpaceX, Robinhood, and a host of other successful ventures. In 2014, Draper made one of his first public splashes as a Bitcoin believer when he paid $19 million to buy 30,000 of the cryptocurrency seized in the U.S. government's takedown of the notorious black market site Silk Road. The bet, which came at a time when many had written Bitcoin off as a failure, today stands as one of the shrewdest in history. Those coins are now worth around $3.5 billion. In the following years, Draper became one of the more outspoken cheerleaders for the world's largest cryptocurrency. He predicted in 2018 that Bitcoin would reach $250,000 by 2022 and, in 2023, repeated the same prediction for the end of that year. The cryptocurrency's price is still a far cry from that figure but, based on its recent performance, the idea of a Bitcoin being worth a quarter-of-a-million dollars no longer seems absurd. Draper has also invested in a host of other crypto ventures, including the U.S.'s largest crypto exchange Coinbase, the crypto wallet developer Ledger, and the prediction markets platform Polymarket. This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
