
Singapore’s AI ROI Reality: High Spend, Hard Returns
AI hype in Singapore masks modest financial returns. Enterprises spend an average S$18.9 million per AI initiative in 2025, yet only 23% achieve the projected ROI. A PwC global CEO survey shows just 12% of CEOs see both cost cuts and revenue growth from AI, while 56% see no benefit. CIOs are shifting focus to governed, cost‑containment use cases to bridge the gap between ambition and measurable payoff.

Swedish-British Unibloom Teams up with SAP to Turn Climate Data Into Daily Purchasing Decisions
Swedish‑British startup Unibloom has partnered with SAP to launch Unibloom Switch AI within SAP’s enterprise ecosystem. The solution uses AI agents and country‑level emissions, land‑use and cost data to let procurement teams compare suppliers, materials and geographies in minutes, balancing...
How Iniubong Obonguko Built a Global Engineering Career Through Curiosity and Craftsmanship
Iniubong Obonguko grew up in Nigeria coding on a family desktop, then on a mobile phone and handwritten notebooks when power was unreliable. He left a traditional engineering degree at the University of Nigeria to pursue real‑world projects, later completing...

India’s Cybersecurity Cost Equation
India’s enterprises are boosting cybersecurity spend as multi‑cloud, API‑led ecosystems expand, yet Security Operations Centre (SOC) capacity lags behind. The average data‑breach cost has climbed to ₹22 crore (≈US$2.6 million), highlighting the financial stakes. Tool proliferation generates more alerts, but analyst throughput...

Fibe Crosses Rs 1,200 Cr Revenue in FY25; Profit Spikes 13%
Fibe, the former EarlySalary, posted FY25 operating revenue of Rs 1,228 crore, a 49% increase from the prior year, while net profit rose 13% to Rs 114 crore. Interest on loans remained the dominant revenue stream, exceeding Rs 1,000 crore and representing over...

Google Maps Co-Founder Lars Rasmussen and Lefteris Katsiadakis Are Turning Athens Into a Startup Magnet
Google Maps co‑founder Lars Rasmussen and Panathēnea CEO Lefteris Katsiadakis are turning Athens into a Southeast European startup hub. The nonprofit festival attracted investors such as Sequoia, Index Ventures, NVIDIA and OpenAI, and featured over 3,000 attendees from 44 countries...

How to Choose a Password Manager for Your Business
Choosing a password manager is now a strategic security decision, not just a convenience tool. While consumer‑focused apps handle basic storage, enterprise‑grade solutions add centralized provisioning, role‑based access, and detailed audit trails. Decision‑makers must evaluate encryption models, zero‑knowledge architecture, MFA...

Paket Mutfak Raises $3.8M to Grow Multi-Brand Cloud Kitchen Model
Turkish cloud‑kitchen software startup Paket Mutfak announced a $3.8 million financing round, bringing its total capital to $12.3 million. The round was led by existing backers Nokta Yatırım Holding, Ünlü & Co, and Fırat İşbecer, with new investors including Ali Sabancı and...

How Minicult Cracked Cotton-First Kidswear Built For India’s Climate
Minicult, founded in 2018, has positioned itself as India’s leading cotton‑first kidswear brand by offering 100% cotton essentials across 7,500 SKUs. The company leverages an asset‑light manufacturing model, in‑house R&D, and multipack formats to keep prices low while ensuring durability...

CraftifAI Raises $3 Mn To Build AI Tools For Embedded Software Development
CraftifAI announced a $3 million seed round, led by Ankur Capital, to accelerate its AI-driven platform for embedded software development. The startup’s Orbit platform uses multi‑agent generative AI to automate code generation, hardware optimization, and AI/ML deployment for edge, IoT and...

MarTech Interview With Misha Williams, Chief Operating Officer @ GWI
Chief Operating Officer Misha Williams of GWI discusses the launch of Agent Spark, an AI‑powered platform that injects analyst‑grade human insights directly into tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot. He warns marketers that AI outputs must be grounded in representative...

With New Subsidiary, Chams Joins Nigeria’s Growing AI Infrastructure Race
Chams Holding Company Plc announced the formation of a new subsidiary, ChamsCorp Plc, to focus on AI infrastructure, data‑centre design, and digital device manufacturing. The move marks a strategic pivot from its legacy payments and identity services toward the foundational...

Equirus InnovateX Fund Announces Final Close of B2B Tech Fund at Rs 166 Cr
Equirus InnovateX Fund (EIF) announced the final close of its maiden B2B tech fund at Rs 166 crore, a SEBI‑registered Category I AIF targeting seed to pre‑Series A investments. The fund focuses on deep‑tech, SaaS and fintech startups that have a product but are...

New London Tribunal Centre to Open as Backlog Exceeds 66,000 Cases
The UK’s largest dedicated tribunal centre in London will begin hearing cases in March, adding 30 hearing rooms and capacity for up to 60 judges. The move responds to a growing backlog of more than 66,000 tribunal cases across employment,...

Trump’s New Arms Rules Will Hit Southeast Asia
President Trump issued an executive order establishing an “America First” arms export strategy that rewards allies who invest in self‑defense, occupy critical geography, or contribute to U.S. economic security. The rubric pushes the Philippines, Singapore and Cambodia toward priority status...

Blackstone and EQT to Acquire Spanish Waste Business Urbaser for €5.6bn
Blackstone and EQT have agreed to acquire Spain’s waste‑management firm Urbaser for an enterprise value of €5.6 billion. The purchase price reflects an 11‑times multiple of the company’s projected 2025 EBITDA, underscoring strong confidence in the sector’s cash flow generation. The...

AXIS Consulting Shares a Practical Model for Scaling AI, Automation, and CRM Change
AXIS Consulting unveiled a five‑component operating model to help mid‑market and enterprise firms scale AI, automation, and CRM initiatives beyond isolated pilots. The framework aligns use‑case selection, data governance, process‑first design, embedded change management, and continuous measurement to create repeatable,...
How Recruitment Funding Really Works (Beyond the Percentage)
Recruitment agencies often focus on headline funding percentages, but the true cost is driven by how funding behaves under real‑world conditions. Factors such as debt protection activation, margin release timing, invoice aging, credit limits, and ancillary charges shape cash‑flow stability...

CVE-2026-1357: WordPress Plugin RCE Exposes Sites to Full Takeover
A critical remote code execution flaw, CVE‑2026‑1357, has been discovered in the WPvivid Backup & Migration WordPress plugin, affecting over 900,000 active sites. The vulnerability lets unauthenticated attackers upload and run arbitrary PHP files via the plugin’s backup‑receive endpoint, granting...

Entire Financial Sector Steps Firmly Into a New Spring
Vietnam’s finance ministry reported a record $106.6 bn state budget revenue in 2025, surpassing forecasts by 35.5 %. The ministry issued 144 circulars—about a quarter of all national normative documents—while rolling out 28 laws and 86 decrees to support digital transformation, new...

Udtara Ventures Announces Rs 250 Cr Growth Fund
Udtara Ventures has launched a Rs 250 crore Udtara Growth Fund aimed at taking sizable ownership stakes in defence, deep‑tech and frontier engineering firms. The fund will back 8‑10 growth‑stage companies with proven product‑market fit and existing order books, using a blend...

How WickedGüd Grew To ₹13.38 Cr By Making Indulgence “Less Guilty”
Indian urban households are increasingly turning to ready‑to‑cook (RTC) meals as a convenient, healthier alternative to ultra‑processed foods, driving the market toward $11.9 bn by 2033. WickedGüd leveraged this trend by tailoring Korean‑inspired, rice‑bran‑oil‑based products to Indian cooking habits, overcoming early...

How SSO Simplifies Identity Management for Deskless and Frontline Workforces
Frontline and deskless workers comprise roughly 80% of the global labor force, yet traditional identity systems struggle with shared devices, shift changes, and high turnover. Single Sign‑On (SSO) consolidates credentials, cutting password‑reset tickets and speeding up access at shift handovers....
Naturals Eyes 2028 IPO if Reliance Stake Talks Fail
Naturals, one of India’s largest organised salon chains with about 900 outlets, is negotiating a stake sale with Reliance but talks have stalled over control, with Reliance seeking a 51% stake while Naturals wants to retain 49%. The company reported...

Sources: US Healthcare Manufacturer Danaher Is Nearing a Deal to Buy Medtech Company Masimo for ~$10B; Masimo Is in an...
Danaher, a US healthcare conglomerate, is close to finalizing a roughly $10 billion acquisition of Masimo, the maker of pulse‑oximetry and other medical monitoring devices. The deal, still subject to antitrust clearance, would add Masimo’s sensor technology to Danaher’s Life Sciences...
LaunchVic OG Boss Kate Cornick Departs to Become Tech Council CEO
LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick resigned after a decade to become chief executive of the Tech Council of Australia, succeeding Damian Kassabgi. During her tenure, Victoria’s startup ecosystem expanded to 4,400 firms and a $139 billion valuation. The move coincides with...
Industrial AI Shifting as Enterprises Turn Analytics Into Autonomous Action
IFS posted 23% annual recurring revenue growth and a 114% net retention rate for FY 2025, indicating industrial AI is moving from pilot projects to large‑scale operational use. The company’s new IFS Nexus Black and Agent Studio platforms let enterprises...

Deephouse, Lee to Lead IIHS and HLDI Boards
Brian Deephouse, chief actuary at Auto Club Enterprises, was elected chair of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) board for 2026, succeeding Allstate’s Ginger Purgatorio. Dawn Lee, PEMCO Mutual’s chief product and underwriting officer, will continue as chair of...
How To Dominate March Madness With Show-Level Data
Rain the Growth partnered with Spectrum Reach to leverage show‑level metadata for CTV placements during March Madness, delivering the agency’s highest response rate of the quarter. Using Nielsen Gracenote’s TMS IDs, the partnership identified exact game, recap and related content...
Michael Kassan’s 3CV Made $50M in Its First 15 Months in Business
Michael Kassan’s 3C Ventures (3CV) posted $50 million in revenue within its first 15 months, surpassing early targets. About 35% of that income stems from multi‑stage, seven‑figure transformation projects for Fortune 500 clients such as Delta, JPMorgan Chase, AutoNation and Qualcomm. The firm...

REMnux V8 Brings AI Integration to the Linux Malware Analysis Toolkit
REMnux released version 8, rebuilt on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and introduces a new Cast‑based installer that handles fresh deployments, upgrades, and container installs. The highlight is the REMnux MCP server, which implements the Model Context Protocol to connect AI agents with the...

UK Software Firm Pinewood's Stock Fell ~31% on February 16 After Apax Withdrew Its £575M Takeover Offer, Citing "Prevailing Challenging...
Apax Partners pulled its £575 million takeover bid for FTSE 250 software firm Pinewood on February 16, citing challenging market conditions. The withdrawal triggered an immediate 31% drop in Pinewood’s share price, the steepest decline in weeks. Analysts view the move as a...
Exponent Energy Launches EV Financing Arm Exponent One; New Entity Raises $2M From AdvantEdge Founders
Exponent Energy has spun off Exponent One, a fintech and asset‑management platform aimed at financing commercial electric vehicles, and secured $2 million in pre‑seed funding from AdvantEdge Founders. The subsidiary, led by former Ola executive Sandeep Divakaran, will leverage real‑time data...
Employee Upset by "Retaliatory" Communication Wasn't Forced to Quit
The Fair Work Commission ruled that the Transport Accident Commission’s decision to restart a performance‑management process was not retaliatory, finding the employee was not forced to quit. The commission emphasized that the employer’s aim was a “positive and productive” relationship...

Quince Appoints First Head of Brand Strategy and Narrative
Quince hired Dakota Kate Isaacs as its first head of brand strategy and narrative, tasking her with global positioning and storytelling to deepen consumer connections. The San Francisco‑based DTC retailer has doubled sales to over $700 million, yet still battles a dupe‑maker...

Razorpay Becomes India Payments Partner for Replit’s Global AI Platform
Razorpay and Replit have partnered to embed Razorpay’s payments stack into Replit’s AI development platform for Indian users. The integration, currently in beta, lets Indian developers pay for Replit subscriptions in INR using UPI and cards, and enables AI‑built products...

Draft IT Rules 2026: Relief on Meal Vouchers, Higher Tax on Company Cars?
The Indian government’s draft Income‑Tax Rules for 2026 propose raising the tax‑free limit on meal vouchers and subsidised office meals from Rs 50 to Rs 200 per meal, potentially allowing employees to claim up to Rs 1.05 lakh annually as a tax‑free benefit. At...

China AI Startup Moonshot Targets $10 Billion Valuation
Moonshot, the Chinese AI startup behind the Kimi chatbot, is launching a new financing round that targets a $10 billion valuation. The company previously secured $500 million at a $4.3 billion valuation, and its existing backers—Alibaba, Tencent and 5Y Capital—have already committed more...

The Gold Squeeze: Agility, Trust and Craft Keep Small Studios Afloat
Gold prices have surged to just under $5,000 an ounce, squeezing margins for independent jewellery studios. Designers like The Cut Jewellery are leveraging agility, offering lower‑karat options and bespoke services to preserve profitability. Consumers continue to view fine jewellery as...

IRM Group Appoints Richa Ahuja Sharma as Head-HR & Administration
Ahmedabad‑based IRM Group has named Richa Ahuja Sharma as head of HR & administration to steer its expanding non‑pharma portfolio, which spans agriculture, animal health, pharma engineering, facilities management and aviation support. Sharma will oversee human‑resource and administrative functions across...

Paras Health Appoints Balkishan Sharma as CHRO
Paras Health has appointed Balkishan Sharma as chief human resources and business transformation officer, a move that underscores the network’s drive toward operational excellence and growth. Sharma returns after a six‑year stint with the group and brings more than 18...

How Red Teaming Reduces Breach Risk?
Red Teaming, also known as adversary simulation, pits authorized security experts against an organization’s defenses to expose real‑world attack gaps. By mimicking the full cyber kill chain—from OSINT‑driven reconnaissance to covert data exfiltration—teams reveal weaknesses that traditional scans miss. The...

Online Labor Demand Increased in January
The Conference Board‑Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Index rose to 100.4 in January 2026, a modest 0.4 % gain from December’s revised 100.0 reading. The increase follows a 5.6 % decline between November and December and leaves the index 15.4 % lower than a...

Report: America’s $38 Trillion Debt Demands Bipartisan Action
A new report from the Committee for Economic Development warns that the United States’ national debt has surpassed $38 trillion, matching the size of the economy and rising rapidly. The report urges Congress to create a bipartisan fiscal commission to devise...

Beauty Briefing: Why Every Beauty Brand Is Collaborating with a Soda
Beauty brands are increasingly partnering with soda companies, leveraging the drinks' cultural cachet to launch limited‑edition collections and co‑branded experiences. The trend reflects a broader shift toward experiential marketing aimed at younger, social‑media‑savvy consumers. At the same time, Rare Beauty...

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) Improved in January
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index rose to 105.06 in January 2026, up from 104.51 in December, indicating a modest acceleration in payroll growth. Unemployment insurance claims continued to fall and the share of involuntary part‑time workers slipped to 17.6%,...

Europe’s Next War
Europe faces heightened risk of a broader NATO‑Russia confrontation as the Ukraine war drags on. Over the past four years, NATO allies have poured hundreds of billions of dollars in military, economic, and humanitarian aid into Ukraine, while European nations...
The Diversification Mirage Inside Today’s Indexes
Indexes are increasingly dominated by a handful of AI‑focused mega‑cap firms, turning passive funds into de‑facto concentrated bets. Peter Corey of Pave warns that investors often mistake broad ETF holdings for true diversification, while underlying exposure remains clustered around the...
The Dream Palace of the West
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb warns that the West’s last chance to shape a cooperative world order hinges on listening to the global South. He argues that Western sanctions on Russia and confrontational policies toward China alienate billions, eroding the West’s moral...

Edtech Startup Beep Raises $850K in Pre-Series A Round
Edtech startup Beep announced an $850,000 pre‑Series A round, bringing its total funding to $1.5 million. The round was led by Knowhere Ventures, Pacific Global Solutions, and LeadAngels FLV, with participation from angel investors. Beep plans to scale its user base...