Labs
Tiny food-social video app claiming a $12.5B valuation with almost no users.
On the record
Checkpoint: Planned 2026 launch of the $1B Labs Investor Fund and any outside-led priced round or Yuhmmy 2.0 usage data
The call
A 3-to-7 person team holds a self-announced $12.5B valuation for an app with almost no independent user traction or outside institutional backing.
Labs is a small team that built Yuhmmy, an app where people share and discover food videos through AI recommendations, valued at $12.5 billion by its founders and their investors but not tested in the real market. The app is vulnerable because TikTok and Instagram already do the exact same thing at massive scale, they have better AI systems to recommend content, and they own billions of users Labs would need to reach. The one thing that could prove Labs has real value would be if a major independent investor puts real money into the company at any price in the next year, or if Yuhmmy's actual user numbers (currently just 43 ratings on the App Store) suddenly spike without paid advertising.
Why
01
AI pressure: TikTok and Instagram Reels AI recommendation feeds. TikTok and Instagram already run the AI personalization Yuhmmy pitches, with no unique data or model behind Labs' version. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Meta and TikTok. Meta and TikTok already dominate food and social video with billions of users, leaving Yuhmmy a niche app with 43 App Store ratings. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. No patent, distribution deal, or user base was found; the only protection is that almost no one is watching this company closely yet.
What would change this call
An unaffiliated institutional VC leads a priced round in Labs within 12 months. Would show outside investors independently validate the $12.5B valuation claim.
Labs' planned $1B Investor Fund attracts outside LPs by end of 2026. Would show real institutional capital backs Labs beyond founder-affiliated entities.
Third-party trackers like Sensor Tower report Yuhmmy 2.0 download/DAU figures. Would show whether Yuhmmy has actual user traction beyond its 43 App Store ratings.
Labs' planned $1B Investor Fund attracts outside LPs by end of 2026. Would show real institutional capital backs Labs beyond founder-affiliated entities.
Third-party trackers like Sensor Tower report Yuhmmy 2.0 download/DAU figures. Would show whether Yuhmmy has actual user traction beyond its 43 App Store ratings.
Key numbers
- $35M raised at claimed $12.5B valuation
- $22.5M raised at claimed $10B valuation
- Yuhmmy App has 43 App Store ratings
Named risks
- $12.5B valuation set by a single undisclosed-terms convertible note with no arm's-length institutional lead.
- Multiple listed investors (M&D Ventures, Madu Partners, Family of Firms, DFD VC) are founder-controlled entities.
- Team of only 3 to 7 people supporting claimed $12.5B enterprise-scale valuation.
- Flagship Yuhmmy app has near-zero verified traction, 43 App Store ratings as of January 2025.
- Planned $1B Labs Investor Fund I and $100M Test Tube Fund I depend on attracting outside LPs in 2026.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | losing to | Short-form food video and recommendation features already at scale vs Yuhmmy's 43 ratings, Jan 2025 |
| losing to | Meta's food-content creators and personalization dominate as Yuhmmy 2.0 launches, Sep 2025 | |
| Yelp | contesting | Category overlap in food discovery, though no direct third-party comparison found |
Questions people ask
- Is Labs (Yuhmmy) really worth $12.5 billion?
- Labs claims a $12.5B valuation from a $35M convertible note announced in September 2025, solely led by JetDebt Finance with undisclosed terms. Prior investors include M&D Ventures and Madu Partners, entities founded by CEO Durand Davis himself, so no arm's-length institutional lead has priced this valuation as of July 2026.
- Is Labs profitable in 2026?
- No profitability figures have been disclosed. The company raised a $22.5M Series Seed in April 2025 and a $35M convertible note in September 2025 to fund operations, and lists a team of only 3 to 7 people, with no public revenue statements beyond company press releases.
- Could AI replace Labs' Yuhmmy app?
- Yuhmmy's core features, short-form food video, AI recommendation, and social chat, duplicate functions TikTok, Instagram, and Meta already ship at scale for free. As of the Yuhmmy App 2.0 launch in September 2025, no proprietary data, benchmark, or frontier-lab partnership distinguishes it from those incumbents.
- Who is Labs' biggest competitor?
- No independent analyst source names a direct competitor to Yuhmmy. By product category, TikTok, Instagram, and Yelp already offer equivalent food-social and video-recommendation features at far greater scale, and Yuhmmy had only 43 App Store ratings as of January 22, 2025.
- Who owns Labs Companies?
- Labs is founder-controlled by CEO Duránd F. Davis Jr. (aka DJ DE-VO) and co-founder/President Maya Elz Davis. Several listed investors, including M&D Ventures, Madu Partners, Family of Firms, and DFD VC, are entities founded or controlled by Davis himself, per a 2025 profile.
- How much funding has Labs raised?
- CB Insights lists total funding of $67.5M as of November 27, 2025, combining an April 2025 $22.5M Series Seed at a $10B valuation and a September 2025 $35M convertible note at a claimed $12.5B valuation led by JetDebt Finance.
Timeline
- 2025-11-27CB Insights lists Labs total funding at $67.5M and HQ at Beverly Hills, CA
- 2025-09-10Labs announces $100M Test Tube Fund I and $1B Labs Investor Fund I for 2026 debut
- 2025-09-08Labs press release discloses $35M Series Seed II EDGE Note at $12.5B valuation, JetDebt Finance
- 2025-09-08Labs press release discloses April 2025 $22.5M Series Seed at $10B post-money valuation
- 2025-09Yuhmmy App 2.0 launches with rollout targeted first at USC and UCLA students
- 2025-04Series Seed of $22.5M closes at $10B post-money valuation
- 2025-01-22Yuhmmy App shows only 43 App Store ratings
- 2025LavLabs Inc. renamed Labs Companies, Inc.
Revision history
29 July 2026
First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Labs Companies, Inc. Company Profile: Financials, Valuation, and Growth (2024-03-14)
- Products, Competitors, Financials, Employees, Headquarters Locations (2025-11-27)
- Labs CEO, Founder, Key Executive Team, Board of Directors & Employees
- Labs Raises $22.5 Million Series Seed Funding at a $10 Billion Valuation (2025-09-08)
- Labs Raises $35 Million Series Seed II at a $12.5 Billion Valuation (2025-09-08)
- Duránd Davis
- Labs Stock Price, Funding, Valuation, Revenue & Financial Statements (2025-08-21)
- $20M Est. ARR, $12.5B Valuation (2025-11-09)
- Management and Employees List
- Yuhmmy App (2025-01-22)
- Labs Raises $22.5 Million Series Seed Funding (2025-09-08)
- Labs Prepares Its Labs Investor Group... for a 2026 Debut (2025-09-10)