Seeds | Boundary.AI Closes Series B Round Exceeding 100 Million Yuan
Boundary.AI, a Chinese developer of high‑safety flight control systems for eVTOL aircraft, closed a Series B round exceeding 100 million yuan (about $14 million). The round was led by Xiamen C&D with participation from Zhangke Yaokun, Xingqi Weilai, and existing backers Yida Capital and Highlight Capital, which doubled their stakes. Proceeds will fund airworthiness certification, scale mass‑production capacity, and accelerate R&D on next‑generation airborne equipment. The financing makes Boundary.AI the first Chinese eVTOL flight‑control firm to reach a nine‑figure Series B stage.
BrightonSEO San Diego 2026
BrightonSEO returns to San Diego for its fourth U.S. edition, running September 15‑16, 2026 at the San Diego Convention Center. Organizers anticipate more than 1,500 attendees from the United States and abroad. The two‑day agenda blends expert‑led workshops, keynote talks...
What a Q4 CPG Campaign Taught Us About Influencers’ Real ROI
A leading consumer‑appliance CPG brand partnered with an agency to run a two‑month Q4 influencer campaign that split creators into awareness‑focused storytellers and performance‑driven affiliates. The full‑funnel approach delivered 148% of forecast impressions, over 200 K clicks, and lifted both hero‑SKU...
Standard Life Merger with Aegon UK Is ‘Good News for Bigger GPs’
Standard Life and Aegon UK announced a merger that will create a life‑and‑pensions powerhouse with roughly £480 billion of assets, equivalent to about $610 billion. The combined entity will rank among the largest European pension managers, reflecting a broader wave of consolidation...
Mr. Smith’s Goes To Oxnard, Joining Cumulus
Cumulus Media has hired Bill Smith as Vice President and General Manager of its Oxnard‑Ventura radio cluster. The portfolio includes KRUZ‑FM 103.3, KBBY‑FM 95.1, KHAY‑FM 100.7 and KVYB‑FM 106.3, covering a mix of classic rock, hot adult contemporary, country and...
Activists Target GCO Board to Unlock 10x EBITDA Value
Bradley Radoff and Jumana Capital just filed a combined 13D on $GCO, famous footwear retailer and wholesaler. Activists at almost 8%. Pzena, the well known value shop, is the largest shareholder at 11.5%. Plan is to engage the board on value unlock...
SPACE Framework in the AI Era: Why Developer Productivity Metrics Need a Rethink Right Now
Engineering leaders are seeing AI coding assistants inflate traditional productivity numbers—commit frequency, pull‑request volume, and deployment rates—while teams feel slower and morale drops. The SPACE framework, introduced in 2021, expands measurement to five human‑centric dimensions: Satisfaction, Performance, Activity, Communication, and...
The US VC Database Most Founders Never Build
The VC Corner has launched a searchable database of 2,000 active U.S. venture‑capital firms covering pre‑seed to seed stages across every sector. Each record includes fund name, portfolio, focus, location, social links, investment count, exits and a full description, all...
Cohere CEO Pushes IPO for Broader Public Ownership
"Private citizens need to be able to take a stake in the company." Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez says he doesn't care what valuation his AI lab goes public at, but he does care about taking it through an IPO. "If we stay...
The Agentic Shift in Martech: Three Examples
Legacy enterprises are deploying AI agents like Claude and Codex to replace weeks‑long martech workflows with hour‑scale interactions. By converting plain‑language prompts into infrastructure‑as‑code, self‑service tracking instrumentation, and automated analytics recommendations, these agents democratize tasks traditionally reserved for engineers. The...
Larger €9bn Surplus Forecast Increases Pressure on Coalition for Spending Increases
Ireland’s latest fiscal forecasts show the general government surplus jumping from about €5 billion ($5.5 bn) to over €9 billion ($9.8 bn) for 2024, driven by stronger growth and data‑centre investment. The projection lifts the spending ceiling by €700 million ($763 m) to €118.5 billion ($129 bn) and...
AI Makes Plain Text Pitches Replace Decks
It’s funny - I think we will actually move from pitch decks to text files (or deal memos  will be OK too). Feels like we are going back to what we used in the 90s. But with AI agents,...
Stagflation Dead Ahead! | Chance Finucane
Chief Investment Officer Chance Finucane of Oxbow Advisors warns that the oil price shock from the Iran conflict is igniting a fresh inflation surge that could drag growth into stagflation. He believes markets are already pricing a near‑term de‑escalation, leaving...
Podcast Nation Partners with 7EQUIS to Lead Sales for Bangin’ Out
Podcast Nation has teamed with 7EQUIS to manage sales for "bangin’ out," a fast‑growing long‑form video podcast hosted by YouTube star Kayla Malec (1.9 M subscribers) and TikTok sensation Jacob Sartorius (23.6 M followers). The partnership gives Podcast Nation control over audio...
‘I Thought the Oil Would Be Much Higher’: Trump’s Rosy Iran War Spin Risks Sending Traders the Wrong Message
President Donald Trump told CNBC he was surprised the U.S. economy and oil prices held up during the Iran conflict, saying he expected oil at $200 per barrel but saw it near $90. His upbeat remarks came as cease‑fire talks...
OSC, AMF Québec and AMF France Sign Agreement to Facilitate Cross-Listing of Equity Securities Between Canada and France
On April 16, 2026 the Ontario Securities Commission, AMF Québec and AMF France signed an agreement to streamline cross‑listing of equity securities between Canada and France. The framework creates dedicated support teams, a formal dialogue channel and shared supervisory experience...
AI Is Not a System. It’s a Stakeholder. And Your ERP Transformation Depends on Treating It That Way.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects now routinely promise AI‑driven speed, automation and continuous optimization, often backed by multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar budgets. The article warns that most firms treat AI as a bolt‑on feature rather than a core stakeholder, leading to missed value...
Creators Are Not the Future of Affiliate Marketing, and That’s a Good Thing
The article argues that influencer marketing and affiliate marketing are fundamentally distinct and should not be forced into a single model. Affiliate programs are performance‑first, driven by measurable actions like sales and revenue, while influencer campaigns are fee‑based and measured...
Robustness Ratio Reveals True Competitive Strength
Nick Sleep's "robustness ratio," introduced in his 2005 Nomad Partnership letter, offers a fascinating lens through which to view a company’s competitive strength. The idea is simple yet powerful 💡: The robustness ratio compares the value a company provides to...
When Distribution Friction Becomes Compliance Risk
Distribution friction is emerging as a hidden compliance risk that can stall product launches and expose firms to regulatory scrutiny. The article argues that distribution should be treated as a core governance function, linking product design, sales, and compliance rather...
CPC Ads Favor Sponsors, Leave Newsletter Creators Shortchanged
When will ESPs figure out that this model of CPC for ads in email newsletters puts all the benefit in the sponsor's hands and very little in that of the newsletter creator? I never opt-in because why would I dilute...
From Skeptic to Advocate: AI Powers My Workflow
"Vibe marketing" used to be an insult to our community. And I was publicly trashing it. Six months later, 99% of my work runs through Claude Code: ▪️ Letting AI analyze the job interviews I've conducted, point out my weak spots, and...
The HBR Guide to CEO Transitions
Apple announced that Tim Cook will step down as CEO in September 2026 and transition to executive chairman, while senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus will assume the chief executive role. The change marks the end of Cook’s 15‑year...
U.K. Job Postings Hit 5-Year Low As Employers Turn Cautious
UK employers posted the fewest job vacancies in almost five years, with vacancies slipping to 711,000 in the March quarter. Unemployment unexpectedly fell to 4.9% as a surge in inactive students boosted the inactivity rate. Average weekly earnings growth eased...
HR Tech News From Cangrade, Curately
AI hiring platform Cangrade announced that its Jules Copilot now offers users a choice among three large language models—Anthropic, OpenAI and Google—with Anthropic set as the default to emphasize responsible AI. The move gives HR teams flexibility to select the...
Digital Health Jobs Thrive Beyond London: Regional Clusters Matter
Career opportunity in digital health isn’t confined to London. Hiring clusters exist across Manchester, Cardiff, Cambridge, Bristol and national bodies. Understanding where domains concentrate matters as much as what role you target.
QT Arguments Clash with QE-Driven Inflation Narrative
You see a lot of people try to argue that quantitative tightening didn’t tank markets and reduce inflation because it came out of the RRP. But you can’t argue this if you also argue that QE going into the RRP...
Meta To Track Employee Keystrokes, Mouse Movements To Train AI Models
Meta is rolling out a new internal tool called Model Capability Initiative (MCI) that records U.S. employees' mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes on work‑related apps to train its AI models. The data will also include occasional screen snapshots for contextual...
“Drive Electric, Love Pinas” Campaign Completes An End-to-End Philippine EV Journey
BYD Cars Philippines, ACMobility and the Department of Tourism completed a 22‑day, 3,500‑km cross‑country EV expedition, visiting 102 cities and earning two Guinness World Records for the eMAX 7 and Shark 6 models. The convoy demonstrated that long‑distance electric travel is feasible...
I Extracted 27 Mental Models From One Munger Interview
Charlie Munger’s 2022 Singleton Prize interview was dissected into 27 actionable mental models, each reframed as a practical framework for investors and leaders. The models range from betting on structural edges and questioning conventions to concentrating capital on a few...
Types of Podcasts Aren't Interchangeable Platforms (And This Is Why)
The article argues that podcast types are structural categories—not interchangeable platforms—each with its own expectations for guests. Interview, solo, panel, documentary, and educational formats function as contracts that dictate how a guest should present material. Misaligning with a show’s format...
Bolto Secures $12M to Launch AI‑native All‑in‑one HR Platform
Congrats to @boltohq on their $12M Series A! They're building the first AI-native HR platform that brings full-cycle recruiting, payroll, and HRIS into one place. Companies post a job, Bolto's recruiters compete to fill it, and new hires transfer seamlessly...
Meta Isn’t Laying Off 8,000 People. It’s Converting Them Into GPUs
Meta announced a cut of roughly 8,000 employees, about 10% of its workforce, framing the move as a conversion rather than a traditional layoff. The payroll savings—estimated at $2.26 billion annually—are earmarked for a massive GPU purchase, enough for roughly 70,000...
The Mac Is in Good Hands in Apple’s Post-Cook Era
Apple’s Mac line, once hampered by butterfly keyboards, USB‑C transitions, and underwhelming Intel chips, entered a renaissance with the 2020 shift to Apple Silicon. The new chips delivered dramatic gains in performance, efficiency and battery life, repositioning the Mac as...
Google DeepMind Engineers Are Allowed to Use Claude for Coding While the Rest of Google Is Restricted to Gemini, Causing...
Google DeepMind engineers have been given permission to use Anthropic’s Claude AI for coding, while the broader Google engineering workforce must rely on the company’s own Gemini models. The disparity has sparked internal friction, especially as Google ties AI tool...
Creator Economy Thrives: Artists Earn More, Stay Independent
The @contra team published compelling research that disproves all of the AI doommaxxing being sold to creatives. Artists are making more art, earning more money, and staying independent. I’d argue the Creator Economy is stronger now than it was 5...
Founder Matters More than the Startup Idea
The best early-stage startup investment isn't actually the startup. It's the founder. When Joshua Sirota came through the Launch accelerator after getting rejected by YC, and my team, "I don't know if this startup works. But I know Josh is...
Apple Leadership Shift, QQQ Rivalry, Anonymity Ends
🆓 Tuesday links: $QQQ competition, a change at the top of Apple, and the end of online anonymity. https://t.co/t12pIVjfDx chart: https://t.co/8DcLGR5QBr https://t.co/zEpZohRqAc
Effective CEO Succession Prevents Product Decline
Solid transition strategy to be honest. Far too many CEOs stick around Way past their prime and the product suffers.
Inflation Rose to 3% Ahead of Trump's Tariffs
it actually rose to 3% in Biden's last two months, it had been lowerl, but people began buyingh stuff in advance of Trump's tariffs, pushing prices higher on things like cars and cameras. But this stuff is too complicated for...
Churchill Downs Spends $85M for Preakness IP Rights
Churchill Downs Drops $85 Million to Buy Preakness Stakes IP Rights 🏇 https://t.co/0nWgyU7bqu via @sportico @JustBirny
Follow Dan
This is along the lines of what @DanAwrey has recommended, rather than relying on OCC Trust charters and skinny Fed master accounts. https://t.co/2MP5UWLpHM
Investing in Visionary Builders Redefining Email's Future
Naveen, Steven, and Albert are amazing builders bringing email into the future. Very excited to invest and see what and how they build.
People Analytics Poised to Transform CHRO and Executive Search
#Podcast Is People Analytics Ready to be CHRO & Executive Search? https://t.co/FgFZFuByON #HCM #HRM #HumanResources #HRTech #CHRO #FutureofHR
Hollywood Shames CEO Whether He Wins or Loses
David Geffen, WBD investor and Zaslav ally, says about Hollywood's attitude toward the CEO: “If you win, they shit on you. If you lose, they shit on you. How do you win? The win for David is not the money.”...
NY Attorney General Probes Gemini Since Super Bowl Bet
The New York AG Office's investigation of Gemini dates back to December with the first sports bet made on the Super Bowl. https://t.co/iyXAyw1TSk
Warsh Vows Monetary Policy Independence From Trump
Warsh: I'll make monetary policy decisions independent of any advice or pressure from President Trump Also Warsh:
1990s Boom Stemmed From Tighter Money, Not Looser Rates
Me trying to explain to my nephew's friend that the 90's disinflationary/productivity 'boom' was underpinned in part by 'sounder' money and a 5+% FF funds rate, not the other way around (my nephew went upstairs to grab his shit for bball...
Fed's Shift: From Late Powell to Sock Puppet Warsh
It seems like the Fed is going from “Too Late” Powell to “Sock Puppet” Warsh. Will “Sock Puppet” Stick?
Copper at $6 Signals Economy’s Health Boost
Here comes "The Doctor," touching $6 again. They call it Doctor Copper because the metal's action diagnoses a sick or recovering economy. A nice 55.1 on ISM Manufacturing Production indicates the industrial sector has been taking its Vitamin (C)opper. https://t.co/BGqFYLIPUI