The stories shaping global markets: earnings, mergers, startups, economic policy, and the executives making the decisions that matter. Coverage spans South Africa, the US, the UK, and emerging markets. Summarised daily.
Meta just told some of its former managers to become managers again
Meta is asking some individual contributors in its Applied AI division to return to managerial roles after implementing a flat structure with up to 50 contributors per manager. The division, formed in March with 7,000 employees, previously eliminated management layers during its 2023 efficiency campaign.
Central Eurasia names its 2026 Road to Battlefield winners: Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ
Three startups,Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ,won the Central Eurasia regional final of Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2026. They will compete at the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco this October.
China’s car exports beat last year’s record with four months to go
China exported over 6.2 million passenger cars in the first eight months of 2024, surpassing its entire 2023 export total with four months remaining. Plug-in hybrids drove much of Europe's growth, as these vehicles escape EU tariffs on Chinese cars.
What Scaling a Payments Company Taught Me About the Problems Success Creates
Systems built to support ten thousand customers fail silently when reaching one hundred thousand users. Most teams don't discover the problems until failures are already causing financial losses.
Tencent-backed chipmaker Enflame nearly triples in its Shanghai debut
Shanghai Enflame Technology's shares surged 179% above their IPO price on their first trading day, closing at 410 yuan compared to an offer price of 142.18 yuan. The Tencent-backed AI chipmaker raised approximately 6.12 billion yuan in its initial public offering on Shanghai's Star Market.
LIV Golf’s Stunning Downfall: From Saudi Billions to Bankruptcy
LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy four years after its Saudi-backed launch disrupted professional golf by recruiting top PGA Tour players. The league's seven largest creditors are elite golfers owed up to $7.5 million each.
AI workers who publicly quit ‘help to move the needle’ with safety concerns, experts say
Jacob Coxon, a 27-year-old Anthropic researcher, publicly quit the AI industry citing safety concerns about "self-improving superintelligence." His X post garnered over 105 million views and claimed researchers believe advanced AI could cause existential destruction by decade's end.
AI researcher claims he resigned from Anthropic over threat to the human race. His post is going viral
An AI researcher resigned from Anthropic, claiming both Anthropic and OpenAI are recklessly pursuing self-improving superintelligence that could kill humanity within the decade. His post garnered nearly 79 million views on X, with the researcher stating that AI systems could soon hack anything and acquire real power while people at these companies understand the existential risks involved.
This ‘union-busting’ calculator arms workers with information
A nonprofit watchdog launched a search tool today that provides workers access to data on 800 union-busting consultants and thousands of law firms from government filings, revealing their clients, fees, and campaign track records. The tool addresses a significant information gap, as approximately 75% of employers hire such consultants while 16.5 million unionized workers represent far fewer than the 50 million Americans who desire union membership.
Cognition’s valuation doubled in 15 weeks. So did its revenue, and the multiple barely moved.
Cognition's valuation doubled from $26 billion to $48 billion in 15 weeks while run-rate revenue nearly doubled from $492 million to almost $900 million. Both valuations maintained approximately 53 times run-rate revenue multiple.