Latest news with #VibeCheck
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
Vibe Check: WNBA
ESPN's Elle Duncan, one of the hosts of "Vibe Check" on Disney+, takes a look at the big WNBA headlines going into the weekend. August 2, 2025
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
Vibe Check: Weekend sports
One of the hosts of the new show "Vibe Check" on Disney+ takes a look at sports biggest headlines.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Home decor platform Vaaree raises $4.6 million in round led by PeerCapital
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Home decor platform Varee has raised $4.6 million in a funding round led by Peer Capital , with participation from existing investors, such as Peak XV Partners' startup accelerator programme Surge, and All India Capital. The round also saw participation from investors such as Sattva Ventures and the Asian Paints family company plans to use the fresh capital to expand its AI-powered home décor app, VibeCheck , and expand its fulfilment and brand verification (FABV) network to speed up delivery. It also plans to expand its presence across metro and tier-2 by Garima Luthra , Pranav Arora, and Varun Vohra in 2022, Vaaree operates as a curated marketplace for home and soft furnishings, sourcing directly from export-oriented factories.'We're building for the Indian home with speed, soul, and smarts. This fresh capital will be used in technology, operations, and brand expansion. We are also launching AI-powered styling with VibeCheck, enabling next-day deliveries through our FBV network, and deepening our brand presence across the country in metro and tier-2 cities,' Luthra told online marketplace curates close to 80,000 products across 150 home décor platform previously raised $4 million in seed funding from Surge in November 2023.'We've backed Vaaree from the very first cheque because they're not just building a home brand, they're building the rails for how India will shop for home in the future. As the $15 billion home furnishings and décor category comes online, Vaaree is setting the standard, and we're excited to double down on that vision,' said Ankur Pahwa, partner at PeerCapital We created Vaaree so every style from Bohemian to art deco can be shopped in one trusted place, said the company in a prepared statement.
Time of India
12-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Vaaree raises $4.6 million to scale home décor platform
BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based home décor startup Vaaree has raised $4.6 million in a pre-Series A round led by PeerCapital, with participation from other existing investors Surge (Peak XV's accelerator programme) and All In Capital. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now New investors Sattva Ventures and the Asian Paints family office also participated in the round, as per a statement from the company. Founded in 2022, Vaaree operates a curated marketplace for home and soft furnishings, sourcing directly from export-grade factories and targeting Indian consumers with mid- to premium-priced décor. It had previously raised $4 million in seed funding led by Surge, with PeerCapital, All In Capital and Better Capital participating too, in November 2023. The company plans to use the fresh capital to scale its AI-powered styling tool VibeCheck, expand its Fulfilment & Brand Verification (FBV) network to enable next-day delivery and deepen brand presence across metros and tier-2 cities. Vaaree currently offers more than 80,000 SKUs across home décor, bed and bath, kitchenware, and lighting categories. The company says its factory-to-home model has helped it maintain a return rate below 5%. 'Launching AI-powered styling with VibeCheck, enabling next-day deliveries through our FBV network, and taking our brand deeper into India, this capital helps us go faster,' said Garima Luthra, co-founder at Vaaree. PeerCapital Managing Partner Ankur Pahwa said the startup is 'building the rails for how India will shop for home in the future,' adding that the $15 billion soft furnishings and décor category is coming online rapidly. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now India's broader home and household market is projected to reach $237 billion by 2030, the statement added. Luthra, an alumnus of Panjab University, has previously worked across startups such as Blinkit, Furlenco, Acko and Cred. Her co-founder Pranav Arora, also an alumnus of Punjab University, co-owned and ran Aaywon Lamitubes and Packaging Solutions for over a decade. The third co-founder Varun Vohra, an alumnus of BITS Pilani, is a serial founder who has co-founded, scaled and sold two businesses – Aknamed, which was acquired by API Holdings in 2021 and Genii, acquired by Practo in 2015. Past investors in Vaaree include Cred founder Kunal Shah, Dr. Vaidya's founder Arjun Vaidya, Sugar Cosmetics founder Vineeta Singh, Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh, Acko co-founder Varun Dua and Avaana Capital co-founder Anjali Bansal.
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
ESPN Debuts Women-Led Sports Show ‘Vibe Check' On Disney+
When sports broadcasters Elle Duncan, Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike took the stage May 14 for Disney's Upfronts presentation announcing new programming, it marked a new era for ESPN—one led by women. The trio of ESPN veterans announced they will anchor Vibe Check, a new studio show launching on Disney+ in late June. In a media landscape still dominated by male viewpoints, Vibe Check will bring women's voice to the forefront, showcasing sports analysis and conversations on their terms. 'Sports is the great equalizer,' Mike Foss, ESPN's senior vice president of Sports Studio & Entertainment, said. 'Women play sports. Men play sports. Women are fans of sports. They talk about sports.' Vibe Check's arrival comes at an explosive time for women's sports. ESPN viewers spent 54% more time watching women's sports in 2023, including WNBA, college basketball, gymnastics and volleyball, Duncan said at the Upfronts launch. Vibe Check will offer three episodes a week, ranging from about 30-45 minutes, providing analysis, behind-the-scenes access and informed opinions across all sports. It joins SC+ on the Disney+ platform, which launched March 3 as a daily digital version of SportsCenter. 'There's been a ton of energy around ESPN programming within Disney+,' Foss said. 'In those collaborations with Disney, they wanted more original programming, and specifically sports programming within studio. The idea emanated both from the great traction that SC+ has received, along with our ability to deliver high-quality sports studio programming.' While Duncan, Carter and Ogwumike are the show's primary hosts, Foss Vibe Check will feature many of ESPN other respected female voices, including Hannah Storm, Laura Rutledge and Holly Rowe. Topics for the show will reflect the hosts' connection with and commitment to women's sports, but Foss said Vibe Check will be more broadly focused and curated around its panelists' interests in all sports. 'If there's an opportunity, and seasonally speaking it's relevant to discuss women's volleyball, we're absolutely going to fit that in,' Foss said. 'Right now, the WNBA season just began, so if we were to do a show today, that's going to be basketball heavy. 'It's looking at the sports calendar and being able to measure the events that are resonating with fans.' The decision to anchor the show with women might generate some skepticism, but Foss said the show is rooted in the talent and interests among ESPN's anchors and analysts. 'The thesis behind the show is not rooted in a gimmick,' he said. 'We have people who are passionate about sports, and my belief is that you put those people in positions to showcase their passion and their authenticity.' While the launch of a new talk-format show may be questioned at a time that legacy panels like 'Around the Horn' are being sunsetted, Foss said the interest in sports has never been higher. 'Fandom is at an all time high,' he said. 'The vessels that we create to reflect that need to be a reflection of the time that we're in right now.' ESPN's goal now is to match the level of fandom with offerings that meet consumers where they are and where they are going. That includes a future focused on direct-to-consumer offerings and a commitment to digital on-demand engagement. 'It's being in tune to your audience and understanding what your audience wants,' he said. 'For me, it's creating [shows] with the right inputs and lessons that we've learned along the way but then being very open to what it could become.'
