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☆ See the 9-slide pitch deck that startup Thoughtful AI used to raise $20 million from Drive Capital for its AI agents
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"We just didn't see the ROI except for in healthcare," Thoughtful AI cofounder and CEO Alex Zekoff said. AdvertisementThe Austin, Texas-based startup just grabbed $20 million in Series A funding, led by Drive Capital and including TriplePoint Capital. Thoughtful AI is also announcing its first three AI agents, named CAM, EVA, and PHIL, to process medical claims, check patient insurance coverage, and record payments. Zekoff said Thoughtful AI aims to hit $10 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of the summer. Check out the presentation Thoughtful AI used to raise $20 million from Drive Capital.

Persons: —, Alex Zekoff, it's, PHIL, — it's, Zekoff Organizations: Service, Business, Drive Capital, TriplePoint, Athelas, Big Tech Locations: Austin , Texas, Brazil, Romania

☆ China has a problem with electric cars, and that's bad news for Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewBYD and Tesla both posted anemic first-quarter sales this week, serving up a reminder that demand for electric cars appears to be stalling around the world. China, the world's largest EV market, hasn't been immune to the slowdown. Goldstein said that's a sign he knows Tesla can't win the price war and remain profitable. Bloomberg reported that it recently reduced production to five days a week from 6 ½ days, in a sign of waning demand for its cars in China. AdvertisementIf China joins the US in loving EVs a little less, both Tesla and BYD could be in for a difficult 2024.

Persons: —, Tesla, anemic, hasn't, Seth Goldstein, Morningstar, Elon Musk, Goldstein, that's, BYD Organizations: Service, Car Association, Bloomberg, Business, Tesla, China, Alliance Locations: China, Tesla's, Shanghai

☆ Offering 5-star travel in your employee benefits package could help your company attract talent and boost retention
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-07 | by ( Mariette Williams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A travel benefits package is a company-sponsored plan for employees that can include travel stipends or complimentary flights and hotel stays. With many Americans prioritizing travel, we asked three experts for their advice on how businesses could implement travel perks as part of a company benefits package. "But anything that compensates an employee, including travel benefits, should be taken into consideration when you are trying to attract and retain talent." While a travel benefits package can go far in attracting and retaining talent, it doesn't have to come with a hefty price tag. Though offering travel benefits is a relatively new frontier for companies, the payoff could be a motivated workforce and an attractive way to appeal to top talent.

Persons: —, It's, Barbara Palmer, Jessica Sterling, Heather Rider Hammond, Shea, Palmer, Gravel, Hammond, Foster, Jennifer Kraszewski, Kraszewski Organizations: Service, Recruiting, Broad Perspective, Jessica Sterling Photography, Gravel, Business, Shea Locations: Paycom

☆ Portkey.ai makes it easier to build generative AI apps. Check out the 14-slide deck it used to raise $3 million from Lightspeed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The San Francisco-based startup allows businesses to create generative AI apps quickly. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck used to secure the fresh funding. A startup that enables businesses to build their own generative AI apps has just raised $3 million from Lightspeed. San Francisco-based Portkey.ai — launched in January this year — aims to help companies deploy "very complex applications" on top of generative AI infrastructures, said cofounder and CEO Rohit Agarwal. The startup targets engineering teams in midmarket and enterprise companies, that are adopting generative AI, as well as generative AI startups.

Persons: Portkey.ai, —, Rohit Agarwal, Portkey, Agarwal Organizations: US, Lightspeed, Amazon Web Services Locations: San Francisco, Francisco, midmarket, Portkey

☆ The US Air Force is tinkering with an unusual design for its biggest planes as it prepares for a potential long-range war with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US Air Force sees all those qualities as vital for success in a war in the Pacific region. US Air Force/Air Force AssociationThe design blends the wings and the fuselage, "decreasing aerodynamic drag by at least 30% and providing additional lift," the Air Force said in a release. A US Air Force flight engineer guides an R-11 Refueler next to a C-5M cargo plane at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware in March. A C-130 Hercules lands at Northwest Field, next to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam in February 2010. JetZero has already unveiled a Blended Wing design that the company says will provide a midmarket commercial airliner that's more efficient than the planes it seeks to replace.

Persons: Frank Kendall, Kendall, Air and Space Forces Association . Chaudhary, O'Leary, Tom O'Leary, JetZero, Marco Gomez, Ravi Chaudhary, we've, Tom Jones, Albert Miller, Andrew G, Miller, Jones, Chaudhary, Kathleen Hicks Organizations: Pentagon, US Air Force, Service, Air Force, Air and Space Forces Association ., Air Force Association, The Air Force, Dover Air Force Base, Staff, Northrop Grumman, China's, Air Mobility Command, Northwest Field, Andersen Air Force Base, Refueling, KC, Air Force's, Department Locations: Pacific, Wall, Silicon, China, Delaware, Guam

☆ Constitution Capital Banks $1.1 Billion to Back Midmarket Funds, Co-Investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Laura Kreutzer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Constitution Capital Partners has raised around $1.1 billion across two midmarket investment strategies, one that backs private-equity funds and the other that invests in companies alongside other fund managers, people familiar with the matter said. The Andover, Mass., firm continues to seek some $300 million for a third vehicle, Ironsides Opportunities Fund II, which is focused on opportunistic credit deals, the people said. The strategy targets corporate debt as well as equity instruments, including senior and other loans,...

Organizations: Capital Partners Locations: Andover, Mass

☆ Midmarket Firms Re-Evaluate Regional Bank Risk Following Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Maria Armental | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Midmarket private-equity firms are increasingly moving business to a wider range of banks—especially to those bigger in size—to hedge against the fallout from the demise of Silicon Valley Bank, a major lender to private-market fund managers and their companies. “There’s definitely a flight to quality, to have at least one bank account with kind of a bulge bracket, top-four bank,” said Richard de Silva, the founder and managing partner of private-equity firm Lateral Investment Management in San Mateo, Calif.A...

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Credit Suisse, Amazon, Block, First Republic, FedEx & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Thursday's biggest calls on Wall Street: JPMorgan reiterates Amazon as overweight JPMorgan said growth deceleration concerns are overdone. Stifel upgrades FedEx to buy from hold Stifel said FedEx shares are compelling at current levels. JPMorgan reiterates Credit Suisse as overweight JPMorgan said it's standing by shares of the banking giant. JPMorgan upgrades Motorola Solutions to overweight from neutral JPMorgan called the telecom equipment company "high quality." Bank of America upgrades Takeda Pharmaceuticals to buy from neutral Bank of America said called Takeda a "stable value stock."

☆ Want to beat the market? Go invest in a secondhand Rolex.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Secondhand watch prices fell 8%, compared with the S&P 500's 19% drop and bitcoin's 65% crash. Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet are seen by watch lovers as the "Big Three" luxury makers, with a 70% market share. But prices for preowned timepieces fell slightly for all those brands in the last quarter of 2022, Morgan Stanley said. Secondhand Rolex prices slipped 5% over that three-month period, led by losses from the popular Daytona, GMT Master II, and Submariner models. "As these three brands account for around 70% of the secondary watch market, their price decline continued to weigh on the overall market."

☆ Buy this next-gen cybersecurity stock with nearly 30% upside, Canaccord Genuity says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Cybersecurity stock SentinelOne is poised to rally nearly 30% as companies amp up their investment in automation tools, Canaccord Genuity said. Analyst T. Michael Walkley initiated coverage of the cybersecurity stock with a buy rating and $20 price target, calling SentinelOne a "next-gen leader" within the endpoint security industry. S YTD mountain SentinelOne's year-to-date performance Shares rose about 3% premarket, positioning the stock to build on 8% gains so far this year. Last year, shares tumbled more than 71% as growth and the broader tech industry took a hit in a difficult macro environment. The firm's $20 price target suggests shares stand to gain as much as 27% from Wednesday's close.

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Exxon, Disney, Tesla, Apple, Affirm, Ulta, Alphabet & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Baird downgrades Bunge to neutral from outperform Baird downgraded the agribusiness and food company's after its disappointing earnings report on Wednesday. JPMorgan reiterates Uber as a top pick JPMorgan says it's sticking with the stock after its "strong" earnings report on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs reiterates Exxon as buy Goldman says it's sticking with its buy rating on shares of Exxon. Bank of America reiterates Apple as neutral Bank of America says Apple Services are at risk for further deceleration. Oppenheimer reiterates Ulta as outperform Oppenheimer says the bull case still has legs" for Ulta.

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