Companies are charging ahead with AI—even though middle managers are not ready for it
Companies are collapsing management layers and prioritizing AI adoption at over 50% of firms, while 75% cite operational efficiency as a goal. However, chief people officers are often excluded from these transformation conversations, potentially limiting organizational change management effectiveness.
Taiwan says it was targeted last month in AI-driven hacking campaign
Taiwan's government agencies faced AI-assisted cyberattacks from overseas in July that targeting multiple government bodies. The Ministry of Digital Affairs confirmed the incidents were successfully contained, though specific details about the attacks' nature or targets were not disclosed.
Leadership now means thinking across industries
Modern organizations face challenges like trust and sustainability that transcend sector boundaries, yet leadership training still emphasizes mastery within single industries. Cross-industry leadership,learning from superyacht builders to rethink universities or applying retail logistics to hospitals,is the skill now required but rarely taught.
AI doesn’t transform organizations; leadership does.
AI can anticipate disruptions and optimize inventory by evaluating thousands of scenarios in seconds, accelerating decisions that previously took weeks. Organizations that outperform will have the strongest leadership and governance to translate AI insights into better business decisions, not necessarily the most advanced AI technology.
Forget the gala, these Silicon Valley schools run their own venture capital funds
Elite Bay Area schools have created venture capital funds using donations from parent-investors at major firms like Sequoia and Lightspeed to invest in early-stage startups. These school-run funds represent a shift in how educational institutions are raising capital and positioning themselves for potential future returns.
Norway wealth fund holds $1.2bn stake in SpaceX
Norway's wealth fund disclosed a 0.05% ownership stake in SpaceX valued at $1.22 billion as of June 30. The world's largest sovereign wealth fund, managing $2.3 trillion in assets, revealed this holding for the first time in an updated list of investments.
Cava’s sales surge as diners swap lettuce for grain bowls and pitas amid food-safety scare
Cava Group reported sales growth even as some customers avoided lettuce orders due to food-safety concerns affecting the restaurant industry. The fast-casual chain continued expanding despite the summer's widespread food-safety issues.
By Year Three, Half of Founders Are No Longer CEO. Here’s How to Be in the Other Half.
Half of founders leave their CEO position by year three because they continue managing the original company rather than adapting to its evolved state. Successful founders shift their calendar priorities, restructure their team, and change decision-making processes before boards force them out.
‘If trust breaks, your business breaks’: How Alphonzo Terrell is building Spill to be a different kind of social platform
Alphonzo Terrell created Spill, a social platform featuring subcommunities like Foodie Spill and Art Spill, an AI moderation tool with 90% success rate, and a community investment round allowing users to become shareholders. The platform crossed into positive cash flow in summer and is on pace to double signups and revenue year over year through partnerships with Netflix, Paramount+, and Gilead.
Terafab could become the largest factory on the planet—or Elon Musk’s biggest failure
Tesla and SpaceX revealed a video rendering of Terafab, a planned advanced chip factory spanning 100 million square feet in Texas near Houston. The facility does not yet exist and is presented as an imminent project designed to produce semiconductors for future computing demand.
Inside the Trump administration’s $2 billion push to build the world’s first useful quantum computer
The Trump administration allocated $2 billion to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2028. The effort aims to create the first industrially useful quantum computer, with the administration's deadline being five years earlier than the Defense Department's 2033 target in the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.
5 things wrong with Wendy’s right now, including 1 big one that’s threatening its entire turnaround effort
Wendy's cut its dividend in half from 14 cents to 7 cents per share while reporting a 7% drop in same-store sales and 12.5% decrease in U.S. restaurant traffic during the second quarter. The company withdrew its full-year financial outlook and identified five operational areas needing improvement to stabilize profits during its turnaround effort.
Employee happiness is climbing back from all-time lows, survey suggests
Employee net promoter scores rose to 40 from January to June, marking the strongest first half of the year since 2023 after four consecutive years of decline. Companies with higher eNPS scores experience 18 fewer employee exits per 100 workers annually compared to those with lower scores.
Some adults use AI for financial advice, but trust is still low, Gallup poll finds
About one in five Americans who sought financial advice in the past year used AI, though only 30 percent of all adults have some or great confidence in AI's financial expertise. The survey found 73 percent of adults relied on internet research for financial guidance, while only 33 percent consulted professional financial advisers despite 80 percent trusting them.
Meta ordered to pay $567 million in New Mexico for teen mental health fund
A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a teen mental health fund after determining the company harmed children's wellbeing. Meta must also modify how its platforms operate for young users.
How Google Is Rewriting Search — and What Entrepreneurs Must Do Before Their Competitors Do
Google rebuilt Search around AI-generated answers and published official guidance for maintaining visibility within them. The company is fundamentally changing how search results appear to users through artificial intelligence integration.
Disney’s partnership with TikTok aims to blur the line between scrolling and streaming
Disney and TikTok announced a deal to bring fan-made TikTok videos to Disney+ through a pilot program launching in a few months, featuring short videos using scenes from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. TikTok users share an average of 6.5 million pieces of movie and TV content daily, with nearly half of viewers watching shows or films after discovering them on the platform.
Why do people actually prefer AI-generated stories to human writing? New study reveals surprising insights
Participants in a Cambridge University study read six short stories and rated AI-generated versions as more engaging and higher-quality than human-written counterparts, despite showing preference when believing stories were human-authored. The study of 1,682 adults involved three human-written stories and three ChatGPT-generated stories with similar topics and styles.
Google’s AI leadership comes apart in a single morning
Demis Hassabis stepped down as CEO of Google DeepMind to become chairman, while chief scientist Jeff Dean departed after 27 years to co-found a startup. Koray Kavukcuoglu, the chief technology officer, assumed responsibility for all AI model development and developer teams reporting to CEO Sundar Pichai.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy made Novo Nordisk Europe’s most valuable company. Finding its next blockbuster drug is proving difficult
Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy has made it Europe's most valuable company, but a clinical trial failure and U.S. competition have created challenges. The company is doubling down on innovation and weight-loss pills to drive future growth.
US refunds $100bn in tariffs struck down by Supreme Court, filing shows
The Trump administration refunded approximately $100 billion in tariffs that were collected before the Supreme Court invalidated those duties. The refund amount of $100 billion was disclosed in a court filing related to the struck-down tariffs.
Dutch Bros Coffee buys dozens of Salad and Go stores that abruptly closed: See a full list of locations in 4 states
Dutch Bros Coffee acquired 51 Salad and Go locations across Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and Oklahoma after the salad chain's bankruptcy filing this week. The purchase followed Salad and Go's collapse due to a cyclosporiasis outbreak and financial strain from over-leveraged expansion in 2021.
E.l.f. Beauty acquired Rhode for $1 billion a year ago. It’s been a great investment so far
E.l.f. Beauty's acquired brand Rhode achieved $160 million in net sales this quarter, up from $212 million for the full year before its acquisition. Rhode became Sephora North America's number one brand by some metrics and sold three products every second upon launching there.
Demis Hassabis steps down as DeepMind CEO, plus more Google leadership changes
Demis Hassabis stepped down as DeepMind CEO to become chair of Google DeepMind and chief scientist at Alphabet, a newly created role. Koray Kavukcuoglu, the former chief technology officer, will become senior vice president of DeepMind while retaining his position as Google's chief AI architect.
Dangote’s $5bn listing signals new era for Africa’s markets
Dangote's five billion dollar listing represents a major infrastructure investment on African capital markets. The refinery asset demonstrates confidence in Africa's industrial capability at an unprecedented scale.
A prestigious university used AI to monitor its entrance exam. It turned into a disaster
An AI proctoring system missed widespread cheating during Mexico's largest university entrance exam, with high scores jumping from 0.9% to 5.5% of test-takers. Nearly 160,000 applicants took the online exam monitored by AI software called Territorium, which watched through webcams while a browser called LockDown restricted computer access.
‘Flat housing market’ forces Zillow layoffs: Real estate company sheds 7% of jobs in second round of cuts this year
Zillow laid off over 500 employees, representing 7% of its workforce, citing a flat housing market and need for cost efficiency. This marks the company's second round of cuts this year, following a 3% workforce reduction in January.