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Zehra Naqvi is obsessed. Growing up in Hong Kong, she was entranced by online platforms like Tumblr and Twitter, where she learned all about American culture. By the time Naqvi was 15 years old, she was running multiple “stan” Twitter accounts for One Direction, amounting to nearly 230,000 followers. Now, ten years later, that fascination is fueling her new venture, Lore.
Launched in January by the 2025 30 Under 30 VC alum, Lore is an AI-powered search engine for “the obsessed and the nosy,” said Naqvi. Its algorithm will pull data from niche corners of the internet—everything from fan theories, current news, or history about the topic—to mimic the human effort of hunting for and aggregating dozens of sources. It will then allow users to search for content and share—after learning their interests—a feed of information and insights on their preferred topics.
“Information is diluted and fragmented today,” Naqvi said of the frustration that pushed her to start. “When I watch a new TV show or am obsessed with a new book, I’ll have to go through a whole Reddit thread, parse through everyone’s opinions, then I go on TikTok and maybe find a couple of videos that resonate. But I will never get information about [it] again because there’s no platform that will give me that.”
Currently in beta, Lore will first be available as a website later this year, and eventually an app. But despite it not yet being available to users, Naqvi has already raised $500,000 for the startup from Village Global. Investor Max Kilberg said it was the founder-market fit that sold him on Naqvi’s next move.
“We really like to index on the exceptional founders who start the types of companies in which they have a clear advantage over every other exceptional person with a similar idea,” he said, noting Naqvi’s experience both as an avid online-community participant as well as a consumer investor (they met when Naqvi was still a full-time VC).
There’s no doubt that the AI-element of Lore was an equally enticing promise. The AI market size is growing rapidly. As of 2023, the global market was worth a whopping $184 billion, and that’s projected to reach nearly $830 billion by 2030, according to Statista. Plus, there were 163 U.S.-based AI unicorns last year.
“[Something] that I think the entire industry agrees with is that there will be the next generation of consumer companies being built with AI,” said Kilberg. “The risk delta in engaging with founders and backing founders pre-product versus post-product has been reducing in recent years, especially with the fact that there’s all of these automation tools and you can use Cursor to build an MVP in two days.”
Yet amid a bullish landscape for AI, the consumer sector has had a difficult past couple of years.
“There’s been this nearly decade-long cycle of consumer struggling, where it hasn’t really been clear who the winners are in the space,” Naqvi said.
In 2023, consumer product startups only raised around $130 million, down 97% from the $5 billion in 2021, according to Crunchbase News. And in 2024, just 6% of funding from the 100 most active VC firms went toward consumer companies. Still, Naqvi says now is the right time to start.
“I’ve had this idea for so long, but the tech just was not there. Everything’s kind of changed in the last year and a half,” said Naqvi. “AI has made things that I didn’t even think would ever be possible, possible.”
See you next week,
Alex and Zoya
How Issa Rae Is Future-Proofing Her Career In Hollywood By Building An Empire
Under 30 alum Issa Rae can seemingly do it all. Other than being the producer behind shows like Insecure, Rae is also an author, actress and founder of more than one startup. In the latest ForbesLife cover story, read about Rae’s career—and which title she prefers most.
On Our Radar
-Get a crack at this: The cost of eggs has increased so severely that chains like Waffle House—known for their breakfast combos—are now adding a surcharge for each egg ordered. Eggs now cost $4 per dozen or more, nearly double of what was average pricing. It comes in part from high inflation, and then a shortage caused by the bird flu epidemic. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says prices could see an additional 20% increase this year. (The Atlantic)
-A group of investors, led by Elon Musk, put up an unsolicited $97.4 billion offer to take control of OpenAI. CEO Sam Altman’s response? “No thank you, but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” he wrote on X. It’s a big offer to turn down, given that OpenAI is currently controlled by a nonprofit and Altman has been grappling with the pressure of determining how to—fairly—transition it into a for-profit business. (The Wall Street Journal)
-Speaking of Musk, the billionaire’s net worth dropped an astounding $42.8 billion as of February 11 (to $378.8 billion). Tesla shares closed at their lowest price since November, dropping 6.3% to $328.50 on Tuesday. Musk, the largest shareholder, is obviously the most affected. But he remains the wealthiest person on the planet, just ahead of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. (Forbes)
One Minute With Daisy Maskell
We’re bringing you the scoop on a new Under 30 community member. Up this week: Daisy Maskell, who made the 2024 Under 30 Europe Media & Marketing list for her work as a radio show host, creative director and content creator.
The following has been slightly edited for length and clarity.
For those who haven’t met you yet, Daisy, can you briefly describe who you are and what you do? I’m a journalist, producer and documentary maker. I work on films that investigate hidden worlds and spotlight unreported stories in immersive ways; from being drugged as part of a film on spiking, to going undercover to ‘sell my virginity’ in an investigation into online virginity auctions.
With a career that encompasses so many different disciplines, what do you spend the majority of your time on each day? Every day is different, and when we are in production, certain projects can change by the hour, so I’ve become seasoned at being able to shift focus and juggle. For documentaries, I’m always trying to test the boundaries on what is possible and see how close to the fire we can get. Today, I had to reschedule my day last minute to troubleshoot a “legally challenged” sequence we are wanting to capture. I’ll always challenge a “no” in business; I can graciously accept defeat once I’ve exhausted all the avenues of possibility.
What’s a day in your life like? I’m up early, breakfast before anything. I’m a big habit stacker and I took things to a new level last year when I bought a walking pad. I’ll get 10,000 steps in with a red light mask on, powering through my morning calls. When I’m not shooting, my afternoons are spent developing new ideas and pitching to commissioners.
Is there anything you can’t live without? My loop headphones. I suffer from chronic insomnia so I’m usually running on little sleep. Wearing them allows me to keep my focus and when things are hectic, they prevent me from feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated.
What are three words you’d use to describe yourself? Open, Agile, Intuitive
What are three words you’d use to describe your generation? Collaborative, Passionate, Transformative
How has social media come into play with your career? In countless aspects. For me, it’s a key source of inspiration. I also use it for casting contributors and as a way of connecting with audiences. It’s amazing to be able to utilize social media as a tool for live feedback in production too.
What’s your advice for other young creatives today hoping to break into the industry? Is there a first step they should take? Figure out what it is that you want to add to the conversation and then utilize the tools you have available to you to showcase what you can do. Everyone has something unique to bring, your first job is identifying what that is and selling it. It’s also important to note that everyone’s journey is unique. Know your industry and the people in it, but don’t let other people’s wins blind you from your own. Glance at who is around you but keep focus and be mindful to not let other people’s success throw you off your own path.
Are there any creatives you’re really inspired by or look up? I love that Sydney Sweeney consistently subverts expectations—particularly as she has been producing more projects. I’m excited to see what’s next for her as a multi-hyphenate!
Anything big on the horizon for 2025? What can we expect from Daisy Maskell this year? It really feels as though 2025 is what we’ve been gearing up to and all of the groundwork we’ve laid over the years is now enabling us to push into a new exciting adventure (which I’m excited to share more on soon!). We are currently working on a film that has been in development for a while. It’s somewhat different territory for me but a project that I think will give an insight into my “bigger picture.”