It has been a rough week for Big Tech, so before we get into the specifics of that news, check out this scary but kinda cute research platform called Berkeley Humanoid. The bot is under three feet tall and was designed to conduct research in all kinds of outdoor environments.

A peek into today’s edition:

• Athletes like Jaylen Brown, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Naomi Osaka are all in on wearable tech
• Big tech stocks lose $1T in market cap
• OpenAI leads $60M Series B for Opal

The Big Name Athletes Investing in Wearable Tech

We’ve seen many athlete-turned-tech-investor success stories over the years, but the landscape of how authentic these investments are is changing. The wearable technology industry is expanding, with newer companies like WHOOP, Oura, Therabody, and others are dominating the space.

Amidst an expanded market, several athletes have elevated their investments in the companies behind these technologies. But beyond investing in wearable tech companies and becoming ambassadors, a select groups has also mastered authentically marketing them to the masses.

Jaylen Brown x Hapbee

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has been spotted in multiple settings, including at post-game press conferences and the 2024 NBA Championship parade earlier this spring, sporting a tech-enabled device around his neck.

The neckband was developed by Hapbee, a digital wellness tech company that makes neckbands equipped with ultra-gentle magnetic fields to elevate your mood, boost productivity, or help you sleep better. The company claims its patented application of specific magnetic waves can mimic the effects of caffeine, CBD, nicotine, melatonin, and more without users actually having to consume those products. The device connects to a mobile app where users can choose what blend of vibes they are going for.

Brown recently told Boardroom’s Vinciane Ngomsi in an exclusive interview that he personally uses the product outside of his business relationship with Hapbee. The company announced in March that Brown would join as an ambassador and chief innovation officer after participating in a recent funding round. Instead of making a formal announcement about his relationship with Hapbee, Brown organically started wearing a neckband in public, and it got people talking and wondering what the device was (myself included). This type of organic marketing shows how invested Brown really is in the product.

Other notable investors: NBA veteran José Manuel Calderón Borrallo and Wellness guru – and former Real Housewife of New York – Heather Thomson.

Naomi Osaka x Hyperice

From its inception, it was obvious that Hyperice would have strong backing from athletes since the late Kobe Bryant was a part of the company’s origin story. Hyperice founder Anthony Katz previously told Boardroom that he dreamed up the company after conceptualizing a tech device that could mimic icing a person’s knee. Bryant tested the first prototype, and the rest was history. Since then, Hyperice has released various massage devices. Most recently, the company teamed up with Nike to develop a shoe equipped with heat and dynamic air-compression massage tech and a vest with heating and cooling capabilities.

Hyperice devices began popping up in NBA and NFL training rooms before expanding to other sports. Today, Hyperice develops tech hardware products for recovery, mobility, and improved physical performance.

Naomi Osaka‘s investment in Hyperice was first announced in the fall of 2020, coming off her big U.S. Open win. The professional tennis star participated in the performance tech company’s $48 million Series A round, which valued Hyperice at $700 million in 2020. Since her early investment, Osaka has made it clear that Hyperice is her go-to brand for physical recovery tools.

One thing I noticed in my research on athletes and their investments in wearable tech companies is that there aren’t as many women athletes investing in the growing industry. This could be for a slew of different reasons, which makes Osaka’s investments in Hyperice even more notable. A lot of the early reviews from women on Hyperice’s tech noted that they were eager to try the products because of Osaka’s involvement.

In 2021, the tennis legend told Complex that her favorite product is the Hyperice Vyper 2.0, a three-speed vibrating foam roller. At a time when Osaka was at the height of her career, she also shared her struggles with mental health after withdrawing from the French Open. In 2022 after some time out of the limelight, she stepped into her vulnerability and partnered with Hyperice and Modern Health, a mental health brand, to produce a guided meditation experience. This is just another example of how Osaka authentically works with Hyperice.

Other notable investors: Jayson Tatum, Patrick Mahomes, Christian McCaffrey, Russell Westbrook, and J.J. Watt.

Cristiano Ronaldo x WHOOP

WHOOP, a human performance company that developed a wearable health and fitness coach, announced a global partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo in May that came with an investment from the notable soccer star. Ronaldo had already been using WHOOP products for a few years before joining the company’s investor pool. His investment coincided with WHOOP’s global expansion, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

“I wear WHOOP while training, sleeping, and recovering,” Ronaldo said in a statement. “It’s been one of the most important tools helping me elevate my game and monitor my health.”

WHOOP does interesting activations with its ambassadors to show how involved they actually are with the product. One of the first things they did with Ronaldo was release his heart rate data from the final moments of the Portugal vs. Slovenia matchup on July 1. Portugal won in a penalty shootout, so WHOOP provided performance insights on a high-level athlete that fans probably wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.

Other notable investors: Rich Kleiman and Kevin Durant’s 35V, Patrick Mahomes, Michael Phelps, Eli Manning, and Rory McIlroy.

• U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google violated antitrust laws to maintain a monopoly on online search. Following a historic 10-week trial, the decision took the judge three months to deliver. Ultimately, the ruling will shake up how Google Search users find information on the web and across devices since Google will be forced to change some of its business practices.
• The Big Tech turmoil doesn’t stop there. As the stock market opened for trading on Monday, the Magnificent Seven lost a combined $1 trillion in market capitalization at one point in the day’s trading. The drastic downturn came after disappointing unemployment figures triggered fear of another recession.
• The HarrisWalz.com domain has gone full-on brat—as an ode to Charli XCX’s album of the same name—after Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her vice presidential running mate. However, the Harris campaign isn’t the mastermind behind the clever makeover since Harris’ campaign social presence is also inspired by brat. Trademark lawyer Jeremy Green Eche, who famously buys up politician-named domains, bought the website for $8.99 in 2020 and sold it this week for $15,000 to an anonymous buyer and supporter of the Harris-Walz campaign.
• A group of contestants from MrBeast and Amazon Prime Video‘s Beast Games told the New York Times that they competed under dangerous conditions, including lack of medical care and access to food on the production grounds at Allegiant Stadium Las Vegas. MrBeast’s production team responded, claiming the CrowdStrike cybersecurity debacle, extreme weather, and other unexpected logistical issues were to blame for the unsafe conditions.
• Following in the footsteps of Spotify and Netflix, Disney is raising the prices for stand-alone subscriptions of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ in the U.S. by $1 to $2 beginning in October. Most of Disney’s bundle packages will increase by the same prices as the entertainment giant hopes the price hikes will increase subscribers across the board. On the bright side, Disney+ subscribers will gain access to the ABC News Live streaming channel beginning Sept. 4.
• Gamesquare, a gaming and creator entertainment company backed by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, announced a partnership with the NFL to launch a traveling creator roadshow. The new creator-driven series, “NFL 4 THE FANS LIVE,” will host in-person and livestreamed events throughout the 2024-2025 NFL season.

The Information reported that OpenAI is leading a $60 million Series B funding round for Opal, a tech hardware and webcam maker backed by TikTokers Charli and Dixie D’Amelio. I’m going to bet that Opal will either infuse AI into its hardware products — maybe enabling some sort of AI tech onscreen — or announce a whole new AI product following this funding round.