A Billion For Bumble

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Happy Tuesday, Future Party. If you’re based in LA like we are, you’re probably not sure how to dress for the weather these days. It feels like we’re whiplashing between scorching heat and chilly drizzle. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered — just pack a poncho, sandals, a parka, a swimsuit, and three pairs of socks, because they’re getting wet whether you hit the beach or get caught in an unexpected sprinkle. You might look ridiculous, but hey, at least you’re prepared.

Dating-app startup Bumble is reportedly in talks with Ithaca Holdings to go private.

Why It Matches: Bumble was one of the great behemoths of the dating-app revolution last decade, alongside Tinder and Hinge. But people’s relationship with dating has shifted dramatically, with more people now preferring IRL interactions to find deeper connections, avoid choice fatigue, or simply not get ghosted. Bumble’s go-private deal suggests that markets are moving on as well.

Behind The Deal: Bumble no longer wants its financial relationship status to be public.

Closing Thoughts: Bumble’s billion-dollar deal marks a major decline from the $14 billion valuation it reached when it IPO’ed in February 2021. Over the past five years, the company has struggled to sustain revenue, seen its stock lose 90% of its value, watched Wolfe Herd get fired and then rehired, and even dropped its novel women-chat-first feature.

But maybe there’s a fresh strategy under Ithaca, which was founded by former Meta Chief Revenue Officer John Hegeman and Sequoia Capital partner Ravi Gupta. The firm’s mission is to use frontier tech like AI to reshape businesses. Bumble has already been experimenting with AI to overhaul the app experience, so maybe Ithaca can supercharge those efforts.

Prediction: As a private company, Bumble could totally reinvent its platform to differentiate itself from competitors… and simply use its name as a marketing hook.

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A new study found that Gen Z’s spending habits are full of contradictions.

Why It Hits: Understanding how Gen Z — the generation currently driving culture — spends its money is key for brands planning their marketing campaigns, product launches, and even categories for investment. Gen Z’s penchant for spreading its hard-earned dollars across more baskets than other generations could crown new winners… and spell bad news for brands accustomed to having a foothold.

Behind The Receipts: A new report from Attain and Dentsu reveals some surprising insights into Gen Z’s spending patterns.

Final Tally: So, what is Gen Z spending money on? Per the study, 66% of their daily spending goes toward things like “eating out, entertainment, travel, clothing, electronics, beauty, and rideshares,” per Fast Company. Meanwhile, other generations devote about 58% of their daily spending to those categories… partly because they’re spending a lot more on groceries.

Maybe the study reveals one key demographic difference — Gen Z is naturally the generation least likely to have children right now, meaning fewer mouths to feed. And no children means a lot more discretionary purchasing power.

The Future: Since Gen Z is having kids later in life, its discretionary-spending era could last much longer than that of previous generations. That could have a profound impact on what stays cool over the next decade.

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40.9% of you voted Yes, I think it’s possible in yesterday’s poll: Do you think telepathy is possible?

“I think so, because I could think of one of my siblings coming home, and within minutes, they would be home.”

“Sometimes I’ll think of someone I haven’t heard from in a long time, and then I’ll get a call.”

“While I know there are an awful lot of charlatans and delusional people who make me very skeptical in most cases, I’ve had way too many detailed experiences of my own where I knew things that would have been impossible to know otherwise. These weren’t little things, either, like knowing a phone call was coming. I’m talking about extreme stuff, like major events or very odd occurrences. I can’t control it, but I’ve experienced it way too many times myself.”

“I think our minds are capable of connecting through telepathy. I believe it’s in our nature to suppress this ability in order to keep our thoughts private.”

“Not possible. Those who say they have the ability are good guessers or scammers and liars. If it were a true science, much more would be known.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🎧 With 100 weeks atop the Billboard 200 albums chart, Taylor Swift is closing in on The Beatles’ all-time record.

🎮 Epic Games has reportedly delayed the launch of its Disney collaboration… and is pushing developers to use more AI to finish it.

📷 Getty Images plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of a deal to go private with Koch Equity Development.

🤖 Meta released its first frontier-AI models, Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full.

💻 Amazon is allegedly in talks to buy AI startup Decart, which helps developers switch between AI chips, for $7 billion.

🫠 Anthropic warned that AI models could be just months away from being able to replicate itself. Uh oh.

☕ Starbucks is not buying Chipotle.

👕 Former Dior designer Kim Jones is relaunching his namesake brand as a DTC play.

💰 Darth Vader’s lightsaber from The Empire Strikes Back is headed to auction with a starting bid of $1 million.