American actor and musician Jared Leto has participated in an $80 million funding round for Pika, a Palo Alto, California-based video-generating artificial intelligence startup, as venture capital investors continue to pump billions of dollars into AI companies looking to compete with industry giants OpenAI and Google.
The funding round was led by US venture capital firm Spark Capital, Pika said in a statement.
Other investors in the Series B round included venture capital firms Greycroft and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Pica said the company has raised a total of $135 million.
Co-founders Demi Guo and Chenglin Meng dropped out of Stanford's AI PhD program to focus on Pika full-time, and plan to launch the first AI video production software in late 2023.
The program allows users to generate short video clips from written prompts, still images, or other videos.
Bloomberg reports that designers for Leto's rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars have tried out Pica and have incorporated the video into part of the onstage footage they show at concerts.
Leto, who has appeared in films such as Fight Club, Interrupted Girl, Dallas Buyers Club and Suicide SquadAccording to Celebrity Net Worth, a website that tracks the wealth of celebrities, her personal fortune is estimated at $90 million.
Besides his acting career, Leto, 52, is also the frontman and principal songwriter of Thirty Seconds to Mars, a band he formed with his brother Shannon in 1998. They released their debut album, 30 Seconds to MarsThe year 2002.
The band has sold over 15 million albums.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Leto is also the founder of social media management company The Hive, concert ticketing company The One and Only Golden Ticket (which was renamed Adventures in Wonderland in 2013), and live-streaming video service VyRT.
He was also an investor in the website Reddit, private jet airline Surf Air and financial services company Robinhood.
In 2015, Leto purchased a $5 million home in Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon neighborhood. According to its website, the home, located on the former Lookout Mountain Air Force Base, has eight bedrooms and 12 bathrooms.
Queen
US music label Sony Music is in talks to acquire rock band Queen's music catalogue, which includes their hits. bohemian rhapsodyBloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that it could be one of the biggest deals in the space.
Sony is working with other investors on the acquisition, which could total as much as $1 billion.
The talks also include commercialization and other business opportunities, but a deal may not be reached, the people said.
There has been a frenzy of music catalog acquisitions in recent years, attracting billions of dollars in investment from boutique investment funds and private equity firms such as KKR and Blackstone, competing with traditional music companies for deals.
In recent years, artists have been selling their catalogs to investors for increasing amounts.
Songwriting catalogs are seen as attractive investments because they can be used in films, played on the radio and featured in advertising for decades, generating royalties for rights holders.
Earlier this year, Sony bought the rights to half of pop star Michael Jackson's music catalog from the late singer's estate for at least $600 million. Billboard report.
From Celebrity Net Worth
Bob Dylan also sold his recordings to Sony in 2022, and Warner Music acquired David Bowie's songbook for around $250 million in the same year.
Bruce Springsteen's back catalogue was sold to Sony in 2021 for an estimated $500 million.
Queen's back catalogue contains some of their biggest selling hits. Don't stop me now, Another person dies and we will rock you.
Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon and the estate of Freddie Mercury are shareholders in Queen Productions, which had revenue of £40.9 million ($52 million) for the year to September 30, 2022, according to its latest filings.
Universal Music Group earlier this year bought a minority stake in Code Music Partners, which owns more than 60,000 songs, including those written by artists such as The Weeknd, John Legend and Lorde.
However, not all music catalog deals have been successful: In 2022, members of the band Pink Floyd offered to sell their catalog for at least $500 million, but the bid fell through.
Firms that have focused on buying music rights have also struggled. Hipgnosis, founded in London in 2018, bought song catalogs with the goal of turning music into an asset class, but the fund was unable to recoup its investment in music rights and has now been sold to private equity firm Blackstone.
The company owns the song catalogues of Blondie, Kaiser Chiefs and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Shahid Kapoor
Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor and his wife Mira have purchased a sea-front mansion in Mumbai's upscale Worli district for 604 million Indian rupees ($7.2 million), according to Indian media reports.
The apartment is located on the 24th floor of the building and is 6,176 square feet in size, marking the actor's second investment in the high-rise residential tower.
In 2018, the couple had purchased a two-storey apartment on the 42nd and 43rd floors of the same tower for Rs 58.57 crore.
The project, Three Sixty West, is reportedly a mixed-use development featuring two towers, one housing a Ritz-Carlton hotel and the other a luxury residential area managed by Ritz-Carlton.
Kapoor, 43, has a personal fortune of $70 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
He made his Bollywood debut as a back-up dancer in the 1999 film. tarThe film is directed by Subhash Ghai.
He made his acting debut in the 2003 film. Ishq Vishq In other movies Viva, Jab We Met, Kaminy and Kabir Singh.
His monthly salary is reportedly around Rs 3 crore from brand endorsements, films and other business ventures.
The actor is the face of several brands, including athleisure brands Colgate, Dulux Paints, Tommy Hilfiger and Reebok, as well as his own clothing line, Scullt.
Kapoor and his wife have invested an undisclosed amount in Salva, an Indian yoga and wellness startup that is also backed by celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez and Malaika Arora. Economic Times Reported in 2019.
He has 46.8 million followers on Instagram and reportedly charges up to Rs 4 million per post.
Drake
Canadian actor, producer and rapper Drake has purchased a $15 million, 313-acre resort in rural Texas.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, he made his investments through a limited liability company.
“This property is more than just a home; it was once a five-star resort known as The Inn at Dos Brisas,” the website states.
“It was a luxury resort from 2004 to 2022 but closed after struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early 2000s, the mansion was the private estate of a wealthy family, who converted the property into a resort in 2004.”
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the property is home to several tiny homes ranging from 800 square feet to 1,800 square feet, each with amenities like stone fireplaces and plunge pools.
The ranch is located in a quiet rural area between Houston and Austin.
Drake, 37, has a net worth of $250 million. Over the years, the rapper has been the face of several major brands, including Sprite, Burger King, Nike, and Apple.
Drake's Dubai concert – see pictures
When Apple Music launched, Drake signed an exclusive $19 million deal that gave Apple exclusive access to all of Drake's future solo releases.
In 2012, Drake launched his own record label, Ovo Sound, which is distributed by Warner Bros. Records.
He is consistently one of the world's highest-paid entertainers: Celebrity Net Worth estimates that Drake has earned more than $430 million in his career, before taxes and living expenses, since first achieving mainstream success.
He is one of the most successful figures in hip hop and the music industry in general, having worked with some of the biggest stars in the music industry, including Kanye West, Eminem, Jay-Z and Travis Scott.
Drake makes about $1 million per concert and has sold more digital singles than any artist in history: He has sold 163 million digital singles, 40 million more than the runner-up, Rihanna.
In May 2019, Drake shared a video on Instagram showing off his newly purchased Boeing 767 private jet. Air Drake.
Updated: June 10, 2024, 5:00 AM
