Layoffs Are Starting 2026, And AI Is Already a Factor
The new year is already bringing a wave of job cuts. Business Insider reports that AI is being named as a direct reason for layoffs at companies like Angi, which is shedding 350 positions.
Category: Startups
Hoa Phat Agriculture Raises $48M in Oversubscribed Vietnam IPO
Hoa Phat Agriculture, a unit of Vietnam’s largest steelmaker, has successfully raised $48 million in its initial public offering. The IPO was oversubscribed, with bids for 35.7 million shares against an offer of 30 million. The company is targeting revenue to exceed 12 trillion dong by 2030.
Cyera’s valuation hits $9 billion in a massive new funding round
Cyera, a data security platform, has secured $400 million in a Series F funding round led by Blackstone. The deal skyrockets the company’s valuation to $9 billion, a massive jump from $3 billion just over a year ago.
Spore.Bio gets Google.org cash, bets big on AI for microbiology
Paris-based Spore.Bio has landed a multi-million-dollar grant from the Google.org AI for Science Fund. The startup is also launching Spore.Labs, a new research division focused on using photonics and AI to revolutionize how we detect microbes.
Anthropic’s $10 Billion Bet: The AI Arms Race Gets Even Crazier
According to an exclusive report, Anthropic is in talks to raise another $10 billion, which would value the Claude-maker at $350 billion. This comes just months after a $13 billion round. The capital war with OpenAI is reaching unimaginable scale.
Alphabet’s Stock Rally Puts It on the Brink of Passing Apple
Alphabet is on the verge of reclaiming the title of the second-largest U.S. company by market value, a spot it hasn’t held since 2018. This comes after its stock surged over 60% in the past year, dramatically outpacing Apple’s sub-10% gain.
Goldman Sachs Warns the AI Profit Party Might Be Half Empty
A sobering note from Goldman Sachs suggests the massive AI spending spree by tech giants is on a collision course with reality. Analysts warn that to justify current investment levels, companies need over $1 trillion in annual profit, but consensus estimates are only for $450 billion.
GameStop CEO’s $3.5 Billion Payday Hinges on a $100 Billion Dream
GameStop has announced a massive, entirely at-risk compensation package for CEO Ryan Cohen. He gets nothing unless he can increase the company’s market value more than tenfold to $100 billion and hit major profit goals.
This startup is turning retail’s return nightmare into a side hustle goldmine
Returns are a financial and ecological disaster for retailers. A startup called rScan is turning that problem into an opportunity for enterprising resellers with a smart barcode-scanning app and data platform.
Musk’s xAI Raises a Staggering $20 Billion for AI Buildout
Elon Musk’s xAI has secured a massive $20 billion in new funding. The capital will supercharge its AI infrastructure buildout and the development of its Grok models.