Sam Blumenthal

By definition, a virtual influencer is a fictional AI-generated person with realistic characteristics, features and personalities of humans. They behave just like real-life influencers. They speak to the camera, share selfies, feelings and thoughts. The only difference is the content. And, well, the obvious – they’re computer-generated with... See more

“Thrasio’s success comes from the ability to take that marketplace data and do something smart with it where there was no ability to to that before,” said Ari Horowitz, a former Thrasio executive and now co-founder and CEO of New York-based Yardline Capital, a fintech startup providing funds to professional Amazon sellers. “The genius was... See more

Beauty has been a significant vertical for Pinterest as it encourages influencer video content. Pinterest currently has 454 million global monthly active users, according to its second-quarter financial report. Of those, 80 million users search for beauty terms each month. The platform has been specifically targeting beauty brands with its new... See more

Founded by Zhang, an early TikTok investor in 2017, Shop LIT Live received a $6 million seed round led by CRCM Ventures in April 2021. It currently has slightly under 100,000 monthly active users, over 10,000 weekly active users and “thousands” of daily active users, said Zhang. Month-to-month user numbers are growing by 40%, he said. The platform... See more