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☆ AI startups should brace for a wave of down rounds, investors say. Here's how it might play out.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewDown rounds and flat rounds for VC-backed startups have hit an all-time high this year since 2014. And AI startups, which have been the darlings of the tech ecosystem since late 2022, aren't exempt from the trend. The deal was seen by some investors as an omen for a wider phenomenon in the AI ecosystem — an impending wave of flat rounds and down rounds. "Investors went crazy for AI startups with zero revenue, at higher valuations, which will be an issue," said Umesh Padval, managing director at Thomvest Ventures. Down rounds are on the riseIn 2022, 90.2% of AI startups in the US raised up rounds, while 6.5% raised down rounds, according to PitchBook data.

Persons: —, we've, Andreas Riegler, Umesh Padval, Padval, Francesco Ricciuti Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Business, Big Tech, APEX Ventures, Jasper, Google, Thomvest Ventures, Runa Locations: London

☆ I lost my sight as a child. Makeup gave me back my sense of self
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Freya Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Today, makeup is part of everyday life, part of how we see ourselves and how others see us. As I grew up and my vision became more impaired, my relationship with makeup, and myself, started to crumble. Smoky eyes ‘til I dieI used to avoid eye makeup because precision was never my strong suit. Embrace your faceMy relationship with makeup has taught me many things, but the most important lesson is that it’s okay to embrace your face. Though my sister and I no longer live together, we still bond over our shared love of makeup.

Persons: kohl, JIA, Freya Rogers, —, Charlotte Tilbury’s, I’ve Organizations: CNN, kohl Locations: Egypt

☆ Ikea's fleet of 250 autonomous drones takes stock of warehouse inventory without any human intervention
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( John Kell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Three years ago, a drone took flight at an Ikea warehouse in Switzerland for the first time. They're more self-sufficient, too: For every 10 minutes that a Verity drone is in flight, it charges for 20 minutes. Ikea's investments in Verity's drone technology fit into its broader strategy to explore and test newer supply-chain technologies. Jönsson added that deploying drones has allowed employees to have more time for analyzing inventory data. Before using warehouse drones, workers would check thousands of pallets repeatedly in order to manage inventory.

Persons: Verity, —, Raffaello D'Andrea, — there's, Uber, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Domino's, there's, DroneUp, D'Andrea, Verity hasn't, it's, Moller, Erik Jönsson, they're, haven't, Jönsson Organizations: Ikea, Chain Management, Service, Amazon, Walmart, Companies, McKinsey & Company, McKinsey, Ikea's, Ingka, Maersk, Samsung Group, Ingka Investments, Nvidia, Federal Aviation Administration, Investors, Kiva Systems, Amazon Robotics, Qualcomm Ventures, A.P, Moller Holding, Exor Ventures Locations: Switzerland, Swiss, Dutch, —, Zealand, Arizona , Florida, Utah, Dallas

☆ AI voice-cloning scams could target millions of people, Starling Bank warns
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —“Millions” of people could fall victim to scams using artificial intelligence to clone their voices, a UK bank has warned. Starling Bank, an online-only lender, said fraudsters are capable of using AI to replicate a person’s voice from just three seconds of audio found in, for example, a video the person has posted online. These types of scams have the potential to “catch millions out,” Starling Bank said in a press release Wednesday. “People regularly post content online which has recordings of their voice, without ever imagining it’s making them more vulnerable to fraudsters,” Lisa Grahame, chief information security officer at Starling Bank, said in the press release. As AI becomes increasingly adept at mimicking human voices, concerns are mounting about its potential to harm people by, for example, helping criminals access their bank accounts, and spread misinformation.

Persons: London CNN —, Scammers, ” Lisa Grahame, OpenAI Organizations: London CNN, Starling Bank, ”, Bank, Research Locations: Starling

☆ Tech M&A has been thwarted by regulators, but dealmakers skeptical that election will change much
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Amazon abandoned its $1.7 billion purchase of iRobot in January after the FTC and European regulators raised concerns. Since peaking at $1.5 trillion in 2021, tech transaction volume has plummeted, dropping to $544 billion last year, according to Dealogic. Before the company announced its $27 billion purchase of data analytics software company Splunk last September, he said he viewed the risk as absolutely worth taking. Alphabet's last big deal was its $5.4 billion purchase of cybersecurity company Mandiant in 2022. Microsoft closed its massive $75 billion purchase of Activision in October, but it took 20 months and a protracted fight with U.S. and European regulators.

Persons: Lina Khan, Jonathan Kanter, Khan, Joe Biden, Drew Angerer, Biden, Permira, Thoma, Sen, JD Vance, Donald Trump's, Barry Diller, Reid Hoffman, Kamala Harris, Andrew Luh, Gunderson Dettmer, Figma, Dana Rao, Rao, We've, they've, Juniper, Salesforce, Antonio Neri, Pau Barrena, Neri, Sergio Letelier, hasn't, Letelier, Marc Benioff, It's Benioff's, Slack, Benioff, Derek Idemoto, who's, Idemoto, that's, Splunk, HPE's Letelier, it's, Harris, Trump Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Justice, Brookings Institution, U.S, Senate, Getty, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Federal Trade Commission, iRobot, FTC, BlackRock, Thoma Bravo, KKR, Republican, CNBC, Democratic, Trump, Big Tech, Justice Department, DOJ, Apple, Meta, Adobe, European Commission, UK Competition, Markets Authority, Justice Department's Antitrust, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Mobile World Congress, MWC, AFP, Juniper, Markets, DOJ's Antitrust, European Union, EU, Software, Cisco, Activision, Foreign Investment, Regulators, Bloomberg, Tech Locations: Washington, Europe, Barcelona, Pau, Salesforce, United States

☆ The history of the US Secret Service
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The agency was commissioned within the Treasury Department, and the Secret Service was entirely focused on counterfeit money, a major problem of the day. Threatening presidents was not made a crime until 1917, the same year Congress approved Secret Service protection for the immediate family of a president. The Secret Service remained a part of the Treasury Department until 2003, when a massive government reorganization after the 9/11 terror attacks moved the Secret Service to the Department of Homeland Security. But the Secret Service is still tasked with fighting financial crimes. The entire Secret Service employs nearly 8,000 people for its protective and investigative missions, and it secures thousands of events each year.

Persons: Abraham Lincoln, Allan Pinkerton, Lincoln, Erik Larson, Pinkerton, Union Gen, George McClellan, McClellan, Lafayette Baker, John Frederick Parker, Parker, John Wilkes Booth, Baker, Booth, Grover Cleveland, — James Garfield, William McKinley, Leon Czolgosz, Theodore Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Robert F, Kennedy, Trump’s reemergence, Trump, CNN’s Stephen Collinson, Kamala Harris, walling, Ryan Wesley Routh, Sen, JD Vance, Trump’s, Ron DeSantis, Kimberly Cheatle Organizations: CNN, Union, of Congress, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Magazine, Ford’s Theatre, United States Secret Service, Service, Treasury Department, Congress, White, California Democratic, Department of Homeland Security, Trump, Republican, Secret Service, Republican Gov Locations: Baltimore, Lincoln, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, New York City, Pennsylvania, West Palm Beach , Florida, Alexandria, Virginia

☆ Only 32% of young people say they have more than 5 close friends: It's the No. 1 reason they're unhappy, therapist says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-15 | by ( Aditi Shrikant | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In this year's World Happiness Report, which ranks 143 countries across measures of life satisfaction, the United States came in at No. This is the first time in the report's 20-year history the U.S. has not ranked in the top 20. 10 for happiness, those younger than 30 ranked 62nd. Experts say a wide range of factors could be affecting today's youth including social media use, climate change, and lack of class fluidity. Perel believes young Americans' emphasis on being their most authentic selves comes at the expense of forming connections.

Persons: Esther Perel, Perel Organizations: Centers for Disease Locations: United States

☆ Want to cash in on India's growth? Veteran investor names 5 'well-run' companies to buy right now
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-10 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | In Amala-Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Interest in India has been rising steadily among investors, thanks to its growing economy , strong stock market performance and burgeoning population . Amid some talk of an Indian stock market bubble , however, Pramod Gubbi, co-founder of Marcellus Investment Managers, revealed how he is playing the market. So, our job is to evaluate whether the management teams are hungry enough to identify changes that are happening and adapt to them," he told CNBC Pro last week. Women-led themes One theme that Gubbi is interested in is how India's growing numbers of working women are spending their money. Other stocks Other Indian companies Gubbi likes include Divi's Laboratories and HDFC Bank .

Persons: Pramod Gubbi, Marcellus, Gubbi, Maggi, Nescafe Organizations: Marcellus Investment, Management, CNBC Pro, Bombay Stock Exchange, Tata Group, Brands, Nestle, —, Paints, Divi's Laboratories, HDFC Bank, Novartis, GSK, Merck Locations: India, U.S, China

☆ OpenAI gives artists access to unreleased tools like Sora for New York gallery exhibit
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-06 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

OpenAI announced Friday a New York City art gallery collaboration that gives artists access to unreleased artificial intelligence tools. Some of Hill's artists echoed the sentiment about not being left behind, regarding access to AI tools or representation within them. For the Strada exhibit, that same work is suspended in the gallery, and Hackett used Sora to animate the still canvas scenes. "And as a black artist, it's not a given that our forms of media will show up in these models. She told CNBC she was already adept at Photoshop and other retouching software, and that's how she thinks of AI tools like Sora.

Persons: OpenAI, Strada, Paul Hill, Hill, Minne, ChatGPT, Sora, Regina Gloriana, Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, George R.R, Martin, Jodi Picoult, Strada's Hill, I've, Curry Hackett, Hackett, it's, Sophia Wilson, Wilson, " Wilson, — Organizations: New, CNBC, Stability Locations: New York City, Nuova, Nigeria, California, Kyoto, Japan, Brooklyn, New York

Slowing rate of change in earnings growth There are two important trends to follow in earnings. In the case of Nvidia, earnings are continuing to increase, but the rate of change is decelerating. This earnings report will likely be the final time in this stretch that Nvidia will see triple-digit earnings growth. But the impact has been shrinking – just as the overall Mag 7 impact has been diminishing with second quarter earnings growth broadening out. Last season (Q1), Nvidia was responsible for a little more than one-third of the S & P 500's 8% earnings growth.

Persons: ChatGPT, It's, Wall, Jensen, Josh Brown, Christopher Rolland, I've, you've, Lori Calvasina, it's, Matt Bryson, Nvdia's, Huang, Stifel, Blackwell, Mark Lipacis, NVDA, Hopper, Angelo Zino, Dan Ives, Ives, Brown Organizations: Nvidia, Jensen Huang's, Ritholtz Wealth Management, CNBC, RBC Capital Markets, Microsoft, Meta, Analysts, Nvdia's Blackwell, Blackwell Locations: Susquehanna, Wedbush

☆ On Ukraine’s Independence Day, Zelensky Celebrates Push Into Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-24 | by ( Andrew E. Kramer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

President Volodymyr Zelensky, always adept at messaging, used his latest Independence Day speech on Saturday to drive home the idea that Ukraine is taking the fight to Russia, even as his troops struggle along the front line at home. He said the video of the speech was filmed near the site where his troops began a cross-border offensive into Russian territory nearly three weeks ago that caught Moscow by surprise. It was prerecorded from what he described as a location along the Psel River, an area frequently targeted by Russian artillery. “Whoever wished misery upon our land shall find it in their own home,” Mr. Zelensky said of the incursion, which has pushed into the Kursk region of southwestern Russia. He called his military’s operation — which has come after two and a half years of Russia’s all-out, and brutal, invasion of Ukraine — a “boomerang for evil.”

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Moscow, ” Mr, Zelensky, ” Organizations: Russian Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kursk

☆ Disney has a price problem. It has ambitious plans to fix that
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-16 | by ( Natasha Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“With 2025 also being the opening of Universal’s Epic Universe, there will likely also be negative impacts on Walt Disney World attendance. Still, the price of Disney tickets today compared to past years prices out some families. The grievance from the fan community is that this used to be free at Disney parks. Transportation from the Orlando airport to Disney World property also used to be included for Disney hotel guests, but that service has been discontinued. Munsil said the Disney parks are “expensive, yes, but there’s nothing else on Earth like them.”

Persons: CNN —, Raymond James, Hugh Johnston, Josh D’Amaro, ” D’Amaro, D’Amaro, ”, “, Gary Hershorn, Tom Bricker, ” Bricker, Bricker, Don Munsil, Munsil, Mindy Marzec, ” Munsil, Victoria Wade, ” Wade, Wade Organizations: CNN, CNN — Disney, Disney, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Pixar, Corbis, “, Walt Disney, Walt Disney World, “ Star, Busch, Transportation, Food, Disney Food, Magic, Universal Studios, Magic Kingdom Locations: Orlando, Anaheim , California, Wakanda, California, Florida

☆ Lack of purpose may predict cognitive decline, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Well-being and cognitive declineMore research is needed due to the lack of diversity in this study, which also includes the fact that participants were volunteers from communities with higher levels of education, the study authors said. It’s possible that poor well-being may lead to cognitive impairment and vice versa. On one hand, greater well-being may lower risk for cognitive impairment and dementia by mitigating the effects of Alzheimer’s disease processes on cognition, the authors said. Positive well-being has been associated with lower levels of inflammatory cytokines and lower cardiovascular risk, which can reduce risk of cognitive impairments. Compared with participants who remained cognitively intact, those who developed cognitive impairment were more likely to be older and have lower body mass index (BMI) and lower psychological well-being.

Persons: ”, Angelina Sutin, Sutin wasn’t, White —, “, Glen R, Finney, Finney wasn’t, ” Sutin, ” Finney, Sutin, — Organizations: CNN, Neurology Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Florida State University College of Medicine, Alzheimer’s Association Locations: Illinois, Pennsylvania

☆ Opinion | Nate Silver on How Kamala Harris Changed the Odds
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Ezra Klein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +81 min

You know, Hillary Clinton, who was, I think, kind of a terrible candidate, won the popular vote by two points. So I don’t think they gave her a very good hand to play. It doesn’t matter who you are, it matters that you’re right and you’re able to prove it or bet on it in some way. What wasn’t in the Harris model that should have been?” “Yeah, maybe you really can meme your way to victory. And there’s something in it that I don’t think she can explain how she does it, but it makes her a fascinating leader.

Persons: Nate Silver, ”, ESPN’s Nate Silver, Silver, He’s, “ Savage, ” “, he’s, Ezra, Harris, we’ve, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump’s, There’s, Hillary Clinton, she’s, She’s, Gavin Newsom, It’s, Biden, I’m, you’re, Joe Biden, Democratic Party Harris, Liz, —, “, Donald Trump, that’s, George W, Bush, Donald Trump wasn’t, it’s, Michael Jackson, Woody Allen, ’, Chick, don’t, George Floyd, ‘ COVID, COVID, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Michael Moritz, Elon, Mark Cuban, Thiel, Max Chafkin, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Marc Andreessen, Ted Cruz, Sam Bankman, Tom Brady, SBF, Carrick Flynn, Oregon’s, I’m Carrick Flynn, Tara MacAulay, vouched, Bill Clinton, Tyler Cowen, they’ve, Jane, JD Vance, Peter Thiel’s, Vance, Trump, Steve Bannon, Don Trump, Jr, Tucker Carlson, Tim Walz, Josh Shapiro, Tell, you’ve, Shapiro, Walz, I’ve, Iglesias, Obama, Susan Collins, Joe Manchin —, Jon Tester, ” “ Sherrod Brown, I’d, Dana White, Hulk Hogan, Joe Biden’s, — let’s, Mike Donilon, Kennedy, ” “ Tim Alberta, Georgia —, Brian Kemp, Blake Masters, Rick Scott, ” “ Trump, Doug Burgum, Black, didn’t, — Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Michael Jordan, everyone’s, Nancy Pelosi’s, Nancy Pelosi, Joe ’, we’re, I’ll, John Coates, Richard Rhodes, Natasha Schüll, Natasha Organizations: Oracle, Trump, Democratic Party, Facebook, Twitter, The New York Times, ’ Harvard University, Democratic White House, Republican White House, Democratic, Silver, George, Vegas, Poker, extroversion, Elon, Sequoia Capital, McLaren, Paypal, Republican, New, PAC, Alameda, Las, Ohio Senate, underperform, White, UFC, RNC, Biden, Biden ., National Association of Black Journalists, Deutsche Bank, Manhattan Project, Design Locations: Nate, Russian, Russia, ’, Elon, Florida, predestiny, Bahamas, Sam, Africa, New York, Oregon, Las Vegas, Petersburg, United States, Ohio, Trump, Minnesota, ” “ Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Gaza, Chicago, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada , Arizona, Biden . Georgia, Carolina, Arizona, Ukraine, LA, It’s, Vegas

☆ 'These are not normal;' A new type of dealmaking for AI startups is rattling Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Ben Bergman | Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Google unnerved Silicon Valley last week when it agreed to pay $2.5 billion to license Character.AI's technology, hire its two superstar cofounders and 20 percent of employees. The deal came after AI developers Adept and Inflection both effectively sold themselves to Amazon and Microsoft, respectively, in recent months. It was only last year Character.AI raised $150 million in venture funding, which valued the company at $850 million. Its appeal as a chatbot that uses AI to make virtual characters that interact with users seems decidedly niche. Related storiesMost of the founders and investors Business Insider spoke to for this story say Google has little interest in Character.AI's actual product.

Persons: cofounders, Brent Queener, Kyle Sanford, Character.AI, Iris Sun, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas, Jack Selby, Peter Thiel's, Steve Brotman, Shazeer, De Freitas, PitchBook's Sanford, they're, Roy Bahat, Arvind Jain, Cameron Lester, Lester Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Bonfire Ventures, Business, Apple, Big Tech, AZ, Biden Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, Alpha Partners, FTC, DOJ, New York Times, Google, Madrona Venture, Bloomberg Beta, Jefferies

☆ Opinion | Nancy Pelosi: ‘It Didn’t Sound Like Joe Biden to Me’
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Ezra Klein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +55 min

And they know you’re going to act so they won’t mess with you. Put it in somebody else’s mouth because it was AI mean, it didn’t sound like Joe Biden to me. I think you’re I think you’re underselling this a little bit. And if they don’t, I’m going to keep my promise and send them 100 powdered wigs because they’re just living in a different era. All these other politicians, these career politicians didn’t know how to make a good deal.

Persons: Nancy Pelosi, Harris, Tim Walz, Al Gore, They’re, he’s, Joe Biden, Obama, Walz, Donald Trump, it’s, Trump, Said, JD Vance, Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Ro Khanna, Scott Wiener, haven’t, Liam McCarthy, Willie Brown, George Moscone, Leo, Dianne Feinstein, It’s, Kamala, she’s, let’s, Suzan, You’ll, That’s, you’ll, I’m, that’s, We’re, I’ve, He’s, what’s, Bob Dole, George Bush, Svetlana, they’re, Scott Brown, Ted Kennedy’s, Ted Kennedy, Scott Brown’s, We’ve, you’re, Bill, Harry, Harry Reid, Pelosi, John Boehner, you’ve, Weaver, that’s O.K, Kevin McCarthy, kaka, Bernie Sanders, Sanders, Ted Cruz, Let’s, Barney Frank, Bill I, Steny Hoyer, don’t, You’re, John Dingell, Roe, Ira, Biden, McCarthy, o’clock, Wade, Kathy Manning of, Kathy Manning, didn’t, America’s, Republicans can’t, You’ve, Mary Barra, Steph Curry, Elton John Bono, Bill Gates, ain’t, Abraham, Little, Hillary, Norman Lear, Umberto, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s, I’ll, Darwin, Lincoln Organizations: Democratic Party, Democratic, Republican, Veterans Affairs, Trump, Republicans, Democrat, San, Cal Stanford, University of San, Morning, NATO, Affordable, Senate, White House, California Democratic Party, Technology Committee, North, Global, Abraham Accords, Rogue, Republican Party Locations: America, Minnesota, San Francisco, University of San Francisco, United States, It’s, Belarus, Massachusetts, California, Iraq, Idaho, Italian, Kathy Manning of North Carolina, China, Sudan, Michigan, Arizona, David, South, Baltimore

☆ Sequoia invests in Reflection AI, a startup founded by Google DeepMind alum, at $100 million valuation, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-07 | by ( Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewReflection AI, a startup building AI agents, has raised new funding at a $100 million valuation, Business Insider has learned. AI agents promise to execute difficult tasks, like booking an appointment or updating Salesforce. Laskin conducted AI research at the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research Lab and most recently worked at Google DeepMind, the company's AI research lab. AdvertisementReflection isn't the only startup building AI agents. In June, Amazon hired away the cofounders of AI agent startup Adept, which raised more than $400 million in funding, and licensed its technology, reported GeekWire.

Persons: —, cofounders, Misha Laskin, Ioannis Antonoglou, DeepMind, Laskin, Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's, Antonoglou, Ioannis Organizations: Service, Sequoia Capital, Sequoia, Business, Berkeley Artificial Intelligence, Google, Amazon Locations: DeepMind

☆ Nvidia is on an acquisition spree even as regulatory scrutiny heats up and AI M&A cools
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

According to public announcements, the firm has made four acquisition deals so far in 2024, exactly even with Nvidia's 2020 deal total. Nvidia declined to discuss its acquisition strategy for this report, citing a quiet period before it announces earnings on August 28. In May, Nvidia agreed to acquire Deci AI, another Israeli startup that makes tools for developers to build AI models, for $300 million. In July Nvidia competitor AMD announced an agreement to acquire Silo AI, a Finnish AI startup, for $655 million. And this quiet trickle of deals in various forms is unlikely to stop since the market for AI talent is so tight.

Persons: —, Nader Khalil, Colette Kress, Kress, it's, OpenAI, Paul Baier, GAI, Baier, Umesh Pavdal, Thomvest Organizations: Service, Nvidia, Microsoft, Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Business, ARM, Softbank, Politico, Shoreline, LinkedIn, Citi Global, DOJ, FTC, Amazon, AMD, Silo Locations: Israeli, California, San Francisco, Finnish

☆ Premium economy is having a moment
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some airlines have revamped their premium economy services in recent months, with passengers increasingly tempted by the prospect of upgrading to more luxurious seating without blowing their budget. Delta plans to roll out a premium economy service to transcontinental flights in September, while Singapore Airlines announced its updated premium economy class in March with a 200-item food menu. 'The sweet spot between cost and luxury'Delta plans to roll out a premium economy service to transcontinental flights in September. AdvertisementCounterpoint director and aircraft interiors expert Rob Semple told BI that the key to convincing passengers to upgrade was to make premium economy "visibly better" than economy class to increase the sense of FOMO — while still maintaining a luxury gap between premium economy and the more expensive business class. Advertisement"We all know that economy class sucks on pretty much every airline.

Persons: —, United, Collin Heller, Bauer, Griffin, Rob Semple, Semple, Henry Harteveldt Organizations: Service, Singapore Airlines, Business, Alaska Airlines, Wall Street, Counterpoint Market Intelligence, AaronP, Getty, Airlines

☆ It’s Shark Season. How Worried Should You Be?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Erik Vance | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

California has very few shark attacks — just two recorded in 2023, fewer than New York and the Carolinas. The eastern coast from Virginia to New York doesn’t see many shark attacks, despite having many popular beach towns. Long Island in New York is, roughly speaking, the northern border of the bull and tiger shark ranges. Tiger Shark A 3D illustration of a Tiger Shark. Kentucky managed to rack up 12 shark attacks in 2006 after the aquarium in Newport opened a shark petting exhibit.

Persons: Meg ”, “, —, You've, Read, Long, Louis, Napoleon, manhandling You've, snorkelers, snorkelers ’, Bob, you’re Organizations: Florida Museum, New York Times, America . California Carolinas, Georgia Florida Gulf, Alaska You've, Daytona, Bull Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Sharks, Nurse Sharks Locations: United States, Hawaii, Washington State, America . California, Georgia Florida, Georgia Florida Gulf Coast Hawaii, States New, Pacific Northwest, Alaska, California, New York, Carolinas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, Cape, Volusia County, Gulf, Coast of Texas , Louisiana , Mississippi, Alabama, Texas . Galveston , Texas, Maui, States, Virginia, New England, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Maine, Northwest, Oregon, Washington, Mississippi, of Mexico, Kentucky, Newport, St, Fla

☆ One of MrBeast's oldest friends quit his operation in a scandal. It could hurt him too.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewOne of MrBeast's oldest friends quit working with him after allegations were made about her messaging a child. YouTube superstar MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has been adept at dodging criticism and controversy in his career. AdvertisementTyson has been accused by several YouTubers of messaging a young fan when he was 13 and Tyson was 20. BI asked Donaldson and Tyson for further comment but did not receive a response. Donaldson posted a statement on the night of July 24, saying he was "disgusted and opposed" to Tyson's behavior and had hired a third-party investigator.

Persons: —, MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, Ava Tyson, Tyson, Donaldson, Adrox, Prism42, Ava, I've, Don Arnold, Colleen Ballinger, Miranda, Katya Varbanova, Donaldson hasn't, hasn't, Varbanova Organizations: Service, Business, BI, Getty

☆ Openness in AI is necessary to promote fair and competitive markets, said FTC's Lina Khan
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Sri Muppidi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"These conditions have allowed, in some instances, the biggest technology companies to get a layup in the AI space," Khan said. In particular, Khan called for AI models' weights to be publicly available. In the age of AI, Khan said both consumers and enterprises are uncertain of their data's protections when using foundation models. "We only focus on deals that have problems…it's a narrow set of deals that satisfy a narrow set of criteria." In March, Microsoft paid $650 million in a licensing deal to Inflection AI, an emerging OpenAI rival, to use its AI models and hire most of its employees.

Persons: —, Lina Khan, Khan, We've, you've, Jonathan Kanter, Kevin Dietsch, Kanter, execs Organizations: Service, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Big Tech, Microsoft, Google, Business, Meta, Antitrust, Department of Justice, DOJ, Apple, Tech, New York VC, YC, Amazon Locations: OpenAI, America

☆ From Zyn to vapes: Big Tobacco pushes further toward cigarette alternatives. Here’s who could come out on top
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-21 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

If you haven't been paying attention to tobacco companies, you might not recognize the new landscape. The alternatives also include heated tobacco and nicotine vapor products, although with the latter, tobacco companies face big competition from vaping companies and the proliferation of illicit vapes. PM 1Y mountain Philip Morris' one-year performance Countries around the globe have been working for years to reduce tobacco use. There is no way back," Philip Morris Chief Financial Officer Emmanuel Babeau said at a Deutsche Bank conference in June. Most of that came from companies in China, with tobacco companies only taking about 15% share, the bank said.

Persons: Philip Morris, —, Brett Cooper, I'm, Philip, Emmanuel Babeau, Owen Bennett, Cooper, Altria, vapes —, Faham Baig, Dan Ahrens, Ahrens, Edge's Cooper, Jefferies, Bennett, Murray Garnick Organizations: Philip Morris International, Reynolds American, British, Tobacco, Big Tobacco, World Health, Philip Morris, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies, Philip Morris USA, Centers for Disease Control, Drug Administration, U.S, Supreme, FDA, UBS, WHO, Brands, BAT Locations: Colorado, China, rey, Japan, Iquos, U.S, Kentucky, Marlboro, U.S ., London, RRPs

That person, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, was one of several people urging Trump in the final moments to select Ohio Sen. JD Vance. Only moments earlier, Trump had shared the information with Vance himself, according to multiple people familiar with the call. Trump spent the final 24 hours waffling over his pick, multiple sources told CNN, leaving even those in his inner circle guessing about his ultimate choice. Several Republican donors argued for Youngkin as Trump’s pick in recent days as it became clear that Rubio and Burgum may not make the cut. “I can’t stomach Trump,” Vance said in an interview with NPR at the time.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Elon Musk, Trump, Ohio Sen, JD Vance, Vance, ’ ” Vance, “, ’, Vance wasn’t, Vance’s, David Sacks, Monday’s, ” Vance, Doug Burgum, Florida Sen, Marco Rubio, Rubio, South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, Glenn Youngkin, Mike Pence, Pence, he’d, Burgum, Donald Trump Jr, Steve Bannon, Trump’s MAGA, Tucker Carlson, Rupert Murdoch, Sean Hannity, Bannon, Carlson, president’s MAGA, Usha Chilukuri Vance –, –, Sacks, Steve Witkoff, Alabama Sen, Tommy Tuberville, Jim Banks, waffled, Trump Jr, I’ve, “ America’s Hitler, ”, CNN’s Dana Bash, ” Vance’s, Mike DeWine, wouldn’t, ” CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Kit Maher Organizations: CNN, Ohio, Vocal, Republican National Convention, Fox News, GOP, Trump, Trump’s, North Dakota Gov, Burgum, Virginia Gov, Indiana, Youngkin, Fox News Corp, onetime Fox News, Trump Jr, Indiana Rep, Mar, Ohio Republican, Democrats, NPR, Ohio’s Republican, Yale Locations: Milwaukee, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Butler , Pennsylvania, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio, Cincinnati, Alabama, North Dakota

☆ Why Guardians picked Travis Bazzana at No. 1 in MLB Draft
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-14 | by ( The Athletic Staff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Follow live updates from the 2024 MLB Draft. By Melissa Lockard, Keith Law and Zack MeiselAfter months of speculation, the Cleveland Guardians selected Oregon State slugger Travis Bazzana with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. The Guardians entered the 2024 MLB Draft Lottery with the ninth-best chance of winning the No. The MLB Draft began Sunday at 7 p.m.

Persons: Melissa Lockard, Keith Law, Zack Meisel, Travis Bazzana, Bazzana, Keith Law’s, Charlie Condon, Chase Burns, —, Terry Francona, Stephen Vogt, — Keith Law, Andrés Giménez, Steven Kwan, — Zack Meisel, Jordan Prather Organizations: Cleveland Guardians, Oregon State, Cleveland baseball, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Wake, Oregon State Baseball, Australian Baseball League, West Coast League, Beavers, Cleveland, American League Central, The Guardians, Guardians, MLB, Oakland, American League Locations: Georgia, Cleveland, Australia, USA

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