Trener Robotics announced a $32 million Series A financing round co‑led by Engine Ventures and IAG Capital Partners, bringing its total capital to over $38 million. The round will fund the scaling of Acteris, the company’s robot‑agnostic AI skills platform that lets operators program industrial robots through natural language instead of code. Acteris already integrates with major robot manufacturers such as ABB, FANUC and Universal Robots and is gaining traction in Europe and the United States. The investment also includes strategic investors Cadence and Nikon’s NFocus Fund, underscoring the importance of AI‑vision and compute in next‑generation factory automation.

Eighteen states now offer tax credits for donations to scholarship‑granting organizations that fund private‑school tuition, mirroring Ohio's program. Ohio’s credit, introduced in 2021, has cost the state over $80 million in lost revenue and reduced tax collections by $21 million in fiscal 2024...
The EPA announced plans to rescind the 2009 endangerment finding that declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health, a cornerstone of U.S. climate regulation. The move, submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, represents the Trump administration’s most...
President Donald Trump recently secured trade agreements with Argentina and India, offering limited tariff reductions to facilitate U.S. exports. Both deals faced immediate domestic backlash: Indian farmer unions called the pact a “total surrender” and French officials described the EU‑U.S....

The article argues that the world is moving beyond bloc politics toward issue‑based cooperation, with Europe seeking strategic autonomy while engaging China on a case‑by‑case basis. Recent high‑level visits to Beijing by European and other leaders underscore this shift. Trade...
Stoke Space Technologies announced an extension to its Series D round, bringing total capital raised to $860 million, up from the $510 million disclosed in October 2025. The infusion will fund activation of Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral and expand production capacity...

Kalshi, a U.S.‑based prediction market, recorded over $1 billion in trading volume on Super Bowl Sunday, a 2,700% year‑over‑year surge. More than $145 million was wagered on Bad Bunny’s opening song and $45 million on his guest performers, despite the platform not running a...

Senator Bernie Sanders will launch a campaign to place a one‑time 5% billionaire tax on California’s November ballot. The measure seeks to raise funds to offset federal healthcare cuts, protecting over 3 million working‑class residents. Supporters must collect roughly 875,000 signatures...
Standard Chartered announced that group CFO Diego De Giorgi is leaving immediately to join Apollo Global Management as a partner and head of EMEA. Peter Burrill, the bank's group head of central finance, will serve as interim CFO while a permanent replacement is...

Washington Senate Ways and Means Committee approved a revised millionaire’s tax bill, preserving a 9.9% levy on earnings above $1 million starting in 2028. The measure is projected to generate roughly $3.5 billion annually from about 30,000 high‑income taxpayers. Amendments include expanding...

The article outlines fifteen core characteristics that distinguish a good speaker, ranging from confidence and clarity to storytelling and a strong conclusion. It emphasizes that effective speaking is a strategic skill for professionals involved in negotiation, leadership, and persuasion, not...

Spotify reported a surge in paid subscribers, adding 9 million to reach 290 million in the last quarter of 2025, driving net profit to €1.17 bn and total revenue to $4.5 bn. The company’s annual Wrapped campaign engaged over 300 million users and generated 630 million social...

Kellogg faculty outline five common workplace conflict scenarios and evidence‑based tactics for leaders. They stress cultural awareness, preventing retaliation, exposing bias, transparent compensation, and leveraging knowledge of former teammates for competitive advantage. Real‑world examples—from a French hotel contract dispute to...

Blue & Co., a top‑60 accounting firm, announced the acquisition of Texas‑based D & Co., adding more than 40 healthcare‑focused employees and six directors to its roster. The deal, effective Feb. 1, expands Blue & Co.’s footprint into Lubbock, Dallas, Fort Worth and Waco,...

Company culture has become a decisive factor in attracting, retaining, and energizing talent. The article outlines four proven strategies—defining mission/vision/values, frequent recognition, robust learning and development, and continuous feedback—to build lasting cultural strength. It emphasizes that talent acquisition teams are...

Minnesota’s paid family and medical leave program launched on Jan. 1 and delivered over $30 million in benefits during its first month, approving 13,700 claims. Early demand was buoyed by a surge of child‑bonding applications, a phenomenon known as the “baby bump.”...

China is directing state‑owned banks to cut U.S. Treasury holdings to roughly $750 billion by 2025, halving its 2010 peak. The reduction removes a major buyer from the market, shifting the financing burden toward Japan, the world’s largest foreign‑reserve holder. Japan’s...

The Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center podcast explores whether a sustained dollar depreciation is emerging. Host Dan McDowell explains how a weaker greenback could reshape U.S. trade balances, investment flows, and national‑security calculations. The discussion highlights potential benefits for exporters alongside higher...

Kochava unveiled Atlas Performance, the first Supply Performance System designed for premium publishers and platforms. The solution integrates with existing ad servers, SSPs, and DSPs, delivering privacy‑safe first‑party data ingestion, AI‑driven optimization, and independent outcomes verification. A leading CTV OEM...

Wonder, the mealtime platform, announced the acquisition of Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, taking full ownership of the iconic NYC brand and its East Village location. Financial terms were undisclosed, but the deal aligns with Wonder’s strategy to absorb beloved restaurant...

TerraGO, a Kenyan startup, has launched an NFC‑based platform that records school transport handovers through wristbands or bag tags and readers at buses and gates. The system creates time‑stamped, location‑specific logs of boarding, arrival and pickup events, providing parents and...

Attabotics, the robotic cube‑storage specialist, is restarting operations after its September 2025 acquisition by LaFayette Systems. The privately held LaFayette group will provide a stable financial base and engineering expertise, allowing Attabotics to retain its Calgary engineering, business, and manufacturing...
Leah, the creator of Leah Agentic OS, has teamed up with PwC UK to embed its enterprise‑grade, domain‑native agentic AI platform into global business services. The partnership combines PwC's industry and functional expertise with Leah's OS to design, deploy, and...
Uranium spot prices surged above $100 per pound in January 2026, the first breach of that level in two years, signaling renewed market vigor. Sprott Asset Management, a major buyer, added 4 million lb to its fund this year, bringing total holdings...

Non‑venture investment in space startups surged to a record $10 billion in 2025, the highest level since the 2021 SPAC boom, driven primarily by traditional IPOs and expanding debt financing. Venture capital also rose to $8.6 billion, up from $7.3 billion the prior...

CFOs are reshaping 2026 budgets to favor growth‑driving functions, technology and artificial intelligence, according to Gartner’s survey of over 300 finance leaders. More than half plan higher spending on sales and IT, with 28% targeting double‑digit growth, while marketing follows...

New CEOs at Walmart (John Furner) and Target (Michael Fiddelke) and Bridgestone West’s chief people officer (Michele Herlein) are launching people‑first campaigns that prioritize frontline listening and direct employee engagement. Furner began with a company‑wide memo and store visits, while...

Letters to the Guardian call for a radical overhaul of the UK high‑street model, arguing that tinkering with business rates, rent levels and planning cannot reverse decline. Authors propose four pillars: reforming business rates, taxing online retailers, forcing reasonable rents,...
Linkup announced a $10 million seed round headed by Gradient, with participation from Elaia, Seedcamp and several angel investors. The San Francisco‑Paris startup offers an API that feeds AI systems with real‑time, verifiable web information, moving beyond static training datasets. Founded by...

LMI has announced a strategic investment in Ara Partners' energy and infrastructure investment platforms. The partnership will allow both firms to co‑invest and share deal flow across their respective mandates. By aligning with Ara Partners, LMI aims to deepen its...

Planview unveiled its Connected Work Graph, an AI‑driven module embedded in the Planview Anvi platform. The solution maps relationships across OKRs, initiatives, teams, and resources, delivering real‑time visualizations of dependencies. By continuously analyzing millions of work connections, it flags bottlenecks...
Startup accelerators boost growth but outcomes vary dramatically, according to a new Strategic Management Journal study of 6,723 firms in 280 programs. The research shows founders' pre‑entry knowledge—education, industry experience, and prior ventures—drives revenue, headcount, and funding gains, with high‑knowledge...

Bretton AI, formerly Greenlite AI, announced a $75 million Series B funding round led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from existing backers and new investor TIAA Ventures. The capital will fuel expansion of its AI‑driven compliance platform, which automates high‑volume...
United States Antimony and Americas Gold have formed a 51-49 joint venture to construct a hydrometallurgical processing plant in Idaho’s Silver Valley. The facility will treat antimony feed from Americas Gold’s Galena complex and could handle additional sources, aiming to...

Tesco UK chief Ashwin Prasad warned that Britain is "sleepwalking" into a joblessness epidemic, with unemployment at a four‑year high of 5.1%. He highlighted that more than 9 million people aged 16‑64 are economically inactive, including 2.9 million young adults, and that...

Private equity firm Permira has completed a majority acquisition of Germany‑based enterprise software provider TeamViewer through a public tender offer, while the company remains listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The deal, finalized in January 2026, gives Permira control to...
Coca‑Cola projects 2026 organic revenue growth of 4%‑5% and comparable earnings per share growth of 7%‑8%, despite a modest decline in overall beverage demand. Quarterly results showed adjusted earnings of 58 cents per share and net sales of $11.82 billion, slightly...
The episode explains ACCA's launch of a four‑part Technology in Finance certificate series, aimed at equipping accountants with practical skills in data analytics, cybersecurity, AI, and organisational transformation. It highlights that 50 % of finance leaders worry about skill gaps as...
Wharton professor Jonah Berger and colleagues examined how hand gestures shape persuasive communication, using an automated video‑analysis system on 200,000 TED Talk segments. They grouped gestures into unrelated, highlighters and illustrators, discovering that illustrators most strongly increase audience understanding and perceived...
December retail sales were flat month‑over‑month, missing the 0.4% gain economists expected after a 0.6% rise in November. Year‑over‑year sales rose 2.4%, trailing the 2.7% inflation rate, indicating real spending erosion. The slowdown was driven by harsh weather, lingering tariff...
The article argues that a crowded competitive landscape does not prove a large or attractive market. It explains that excess venture capital, low barriers to entry, and an oversupply of founders can create a swarm of startups even in modest...
S&P Global Ratings upgraded First Quantum Minerals' credit outlook to positive, citing tangible progress toward restarting the Cobre Panama copper mine. The agency now expects the mine to resume operations in the first half of 2026, with a production ramp‑up later...

Annual venture capital funding for Irish tech SMEs fell 23% in 2025 to €1.1 billion, marking the first decline since 2018. The fourth quarter dropped 46% to €291.4 million, driven by a 71% retreat of international investors. Life‑science firms attracted the most...

Vega Security announced a $120 million Series B round, lifting its valuation to $700 million. The Boston‑based startup aims to overturn the traditional SIEM model by analyzing security data where it already resides—in cloud services, data lakes, and existing storage—using an AI‑native platform....
Supply chain network SPS Commerce launched MAX, an agentic AI suite embedded in its platform, to automate and coordinate retail trading workflows. MAX offers Chat, Monitor, and Connect capabilities that surface risks, guide resolutions, and interact with external systems via...
Lightspeed India has announced its India Ascends 2026 cohort, selecting four deep‑tech startups founded by entrepreneurs under 25. The cohort targets frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, space, robotics, biotechnology, and defense, and is backed by partners Anthropic, Groq, Google...

Oracle announced new capabilities in its Fusion Cloud SCM suite tailored for process manufacturers. The updates introduce AI‑assisted recipe synchronization, dynamic batch sizing, and granular yield modeling to handle blending, mixing, and batch‑based production. Enhanced traceability features include lot‑specific unit‑of‑measure...

Tax advice has moved from a cost‑saving exercise to a core deal‑risk discipline, with large corporates and private‑equity sponsors demanding certainty over clever tax tricks. Advisors now focus on historic tax positions that can surface during acquisitions, IPOs or refinancings,...

Hauler Hero announced a $16 million Series A round led by Frontier Growth, bringing its total venture funding above $27 million. The Boston‑based startup offers an all‑in‑one AI‑powered platform that manages CRM, billing, routing and now three AI agents for vision, chat and...

London board‑game bar Draughts will appear before an employment tribunal on 12–13 February after dismissing kitchen worker Awed, a Sudanese national and UVW union member, the day a strike ballot was announced. The company cited reduced staffing needs, while the...