China’s Drone War in Ukraine
The Russia‑Ukraine war has become a drone‑centric conflict, with low‑cost UAVs driving artillery spotting, surveillance and strike missions. China, while officially neutral, dominates the global commercial drone market and supplies the majority of components used by both sides. Chinese firms such as DJI provide the cheap, replaceable platforms that sustain the high attrition rates on the battlefield. The war serves as a live laboratory for Beijing’s "intelligentized" warfare doctrine, allowing it to refine unmanned‑system tactics without direct involvement.
FDIC Conditionally Approves Ford, GM ILC Charters
The FDIC has conditionally approved industrial loan company (ILC) charters for Ford Credit Bank and GM Financial Bank, allowing the automakers to launch deposit‑insured banks in Utah. Both banks will focus on auto lending, drawing funding from retail savings accounts...
A Buyer’s Guide: Using a Corporate Gifts Catalog to Pick the Perfect Product
The episode explains how e‑commerce and Shopify brands can leverage corporate gifting to humanize digital interactions, using a centralized gifts catalog to streamline selection, budgeting, and bulk ordering. It highlights key criteria—recipient relevance, practicality, brand alignment, quality, and scalability—while warning...
How to Make Your Brand Omnipresent with Digital Ads and Reach 1M B2B Ad Impressions Monthly
The post presents a step‑by‑step B2B omnipresence framework that targets more than one million content impressions per month across an ABM list, outbound outreach, matched‑audience ads, retargeting, thought‑leader placements and paid search. It sets a practical benchmark of ten impressions...
How to Set up Paid Search on Google and Bing for SaaS Companies
The guide recommends structuring SaaS paid‑search around three core buckets—brand, competitor, and industry/product terms—to capture defensive, comparison, and problem‑aware traffic. It advises a tiered brand campaign setup (exact, phrase with negatives, and misspellings) and favors phrase‑match keywords while handling broad...
The Essential Reading Series: Earth Observation
The Essential Reading Series on Earth Observation compiles a curated selection of ten foundational remote‑sensing textbooks, ranging from introductory physics to advanced digital image analysis. Each title delves into core concepts such as sensor fundamentals, spectral interpretation, classification algorithms, and...
How to Set up LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads for SaaS Companies
The post explains how SaaS firms can launch LinkedIn Thought Leader ads—boosted posts from founders or executives—to drive top‑of‑funnel reach, engagement, and brand awareness. Using the Brand Awareness objective and targeting matched audiences, the author reports roughly 4.9 M impressions, 20 k...
Target Adds Former Nike Innovation Chief to Board
Target announced that former Nike chief innovation officer John Hoke will join its board in March, while ex‑HanesBrands CEO Steve Bratspies will come aboard in April. Both will serve on key committees—Hoke on governance, sustainability, compensation and human‑capital, Bratspies on audit,...
A Colossal Asteroid May Have Warped the Moon From the Inside Out
Chinese scientists analyzing basalt samples returned by Chang’e 6 have found an elevated potassium‑41 to potassium‑39 ratio in the South Pole–Aitken Basin. The isotopic anomaly points to massive volatile loss during the basin‑forming impact 4.2‑4.3 billion years ago. This loss likely depleted water...
Boost AI Multiples on Exit for Tampa Operators
Are you an owner/operator looking to 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗜-𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁? Are you in 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮? Are you all of the above? If so, join Thomas Cockriel from Trenam Law and me next week. We're going to be covering the top questions...
Shopify for Artists: A Complete Guide to Selling Art Online
Artists are moving from marketplace‑centric sites like Etsy to Shopify, gaining full control over branding, pricing, and customer data. The Basic plan at $39 per month eliminates commission fees, allowing creators to set true‑value prices and own their storefronts. Integrated...
Automation Flows Boost Email Revenue 30% in 2025
Automations drove 30% of email revenue in 2025. From 2% of sends. But most of the brands we audit still treat flows like a set-it-and-forget-it checkbox. On Feb 3rd, @yojimmykim and I are walking through how we actually structure retention. 8 flows. Real segmentation. A 90-day...
JBL's New Portable Speakers Have 'Stem AI' For Jamming — They Can Remove Any Instrument or Vocal From Songs in...
JBL unveiled the BandBox Solo and BandBox Trio portable speakers, each equipped with on‑device “stem AI” that can isolate or mute individual instrument tracks in real time without an internet connection. The Solo is an 18‑watt Bluetooth speaker with built‑in...
Apple Faces £1.5bn U.K. Class Action over Apple Pay Fees
Apple is confronting a £1.5 billion class‑action lawsuit in the United Kingdom alleging that its Apple Pay mobile‑wallet imposes hidden fees that banks have shifted onto roughly 50 million consumers. The claim, brought by financial campaigner James Daley, accuses Apple of stifling competition...
The Weekly Closeout: Reebok Teams with Karol G and Will January Storms Ice Out Retail Sales?
Reebok announced a multiyear partnership with Grammy‑winning Colombian star Karol G, naming her a global brand ambassador and co‑designer for upcoming Classics‑inspired footwear and apparel. Hasbro bolstered its board with former Nintendo of America president and COO Doug Bowser and...
People, Not Knowledge: Why B2B Execs Need Real Community
I thought we were in the "knowledge" business but I'm learning we're in the "people" business. The number one value prop of joining a professional community like Exit Five is connecting with people in your industry. To have a sounding...
Diet Addresses Liver Dysfunction in Down Syndrome Mouse Model
A study in Cell Reports shows that people with Down syndrome have markedly altered liver metabolism, including consistently higher bile acid levels in the bloodstream. Multi‑omic profiling of more than 400 participants and iPSC‑derived hepatocytes revealed intrinsic metabolic dysfunction and...
Yann LeCun Launches AMI Labs to Build ‘World Model’
Yann LeCun, Meta’s former chief AI scientist, has founded AMI Labs, a Paris‑based startup dedicated to building “world models” that understand physical reality. Unlike large language models, these models will be trained on video and sensor streams to embed common‑sense...
OpenAI API Unit Adds $1 Billion in Annual Recurring Revenue
OpenAI announced its API unit generated over $1 billion in annual recurring revenue in the past month. The API powers third‑party developers such as Perplexity and legal‑tech startup Harvey, cementing its role as core infrastructure. The revenue boost arrives as the...
F2G CEO Outlines Biotech's FDA Resubmission Plans, Funding and Expansion
F2G Biotherapeutics will re‑submit its lead antifungal candidate to the FDA after completing Phase 3 enrollment in June. The company has secured a new financing round to fund the filing and scale production. Expansion plans include a U.S. manufacturing site and...
When Two Years of Academic Work Vanished With a Single Click
Professor Marcel Bucher, a plant‑science faculty member at the University of Cologne, lost two years of research and teaching material after he temporarily disabled ChatGPT’s data‑consent setting. The action triggered an irreversible deletion of all his Plus‑account chats, prompts, and...
Venezuelan Nationals Face Deportation After Multi State ATM Jackpotting Scheme
Two Venezuelan nationals were convicted of a multi‑state ATM jackpotting scheme that hit banks in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Using laptops and custom malware, they opened older ATMs at night, forcing the machines to dispense cash until...
Banks See MSR Strain Despite Strong Top-Line Results
Banks posted record top‑line earnings, yet mortgage‑servicing‑rights (MSR) valuations slipped, eroding mortgage‑banking revenue. US Bank saw an $11 million MSR valuation drop, driving a 27.8% quarterly revenue decline to $130 million. JPMorgan Chase’s net servicing revenue fell $43 million despite a modest MSR...
Cyberattack Targeting Poland’s Energy Grid Used a Wiper
At the end of December, a wiper‑type malware dubbed DynoWiper attempted to compromise Poland’s power generation and distribution systems. European security firm ESET traced the code to the Russian Sandworm group with medium confidence, noting similarities to previous attacks on...
Llms Achieve 206% Improvement with Codified Expert Knowledge for AI Agents
Researchers at Siemens and Eindhoven University unveiled a software‑engineering framework that captures human expert knowledge and embeds it into large language models using a request classifier, Retrieval‑Augmented Generation, and thousands of codified rules. The augmented LLM generated simulation‑data visualisations with...
AI Agents Erase Traditional Brand Loyalty Forever
AI Agents Are Killing Brand Loyalty — And Reshaping How We Shop AI driven personalisation and recommendations are changing consumer habits — the article argues we may be witnessing the end of traditional brand loyalty. Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eKJxW8du #AI...
American Fintech Council (AFC) Warns States Against Harmful, Profit-Driven Database Mandates
The American Fintech Council (AFC) has released a report warning state regulators against expanding mandatory lending registries to cover earned‑wage‑access (EWA) services. The council argues that existing registries, designed for high‑interest short‑term loans, are ill‑suited for EWA and would force...
Light-Controlled Switches Offer Precise Regulation of Ion Channels in Living Cells
Researchers at Leipzig University and TU Dresden have created two light‑responsive molecules, AzPico and AzHC, that act as reversible photoswitches for the TRPC4 and TRPC5 ion channels. The compounds activate the channels under violet light and inhibit them under blue...
Shift Left QA for AI Systems. Catching Model Risk Before Production
Shift‑left QA repositions testing to the earliest stages of AI development, targeting data selection, prompt design, and model behavior before any user interface exists. Traditional software QA, which validates deterministic code after UI creation, misses the probabilistic failures that AI...
This Startup Will Send 1,000 People’s Ashes to Space — Affordably — in 2027
Space Beyond, founded by former Blue Origin engineer Ryan Mitchell, announced its "Ashes to Space" program that will launch up to 1,000 people’s cremated remains on a CubeSat via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare in October 2027. The service costs just $249...
The Math on AI Agents Doesn’t Add Up
The AI community entered 2025 promising a breakthrough year for autonomous agents, yet a recent paper argues that transformer‑based models cannot reliably handle tasks beyond a certain complexity, casting doubt on that vision. Critics cite mathematical proofs of inherent hallucination...
AI CEOs Transformed Davos Into a Tech Conference
The World Economic Forum’s Davos meeting in 2026 was reshaped by AI, with CEOs and tech giants dominating the agenda. Meta and Salesforce turned the promenade into AI‑focused storefronts, pushing topics like trade policy and AI bubbles ahead of climate...
Spot Hidden Risks in Your SaaS P&L
Is there hidden danger lurking in your perfectly formatted Software P&L? Inspired by a comment from my previous P&L post, let's address what could still go wrong with your great-looking P&L. - What about revenue co-mingling that isn't caught by...
Caleres Taps Interim CFO; Details Saks Bankruptcy Impact
Caleres named its chief accounting officer, Daniel Karpel, as interim CFO after Jack Calandra resigned effective Jan. 15 and will leave by Jan. 30. The company launched an external search for a permanent finance chief. Caleres also revised its Q4 guidance, flagging...
Resonant Cavity Transducer Achieves Percent-Level Microwave to Telecom Photon Conversion
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Skyworks have demonstrated a bulk lithium‑niobate resonant transducer that converts microwave photons to telecom‑band optical photons with percent‑level efficiency at room temperature. The device uses an all‑dielectric design, integrating the crystal into a...
Ulta Continues Middle East Expansion with UAE Debut
Ulta Beauty is debuting in the United Arab Emirates with a flagship store at Mall of the Emirates on Jan. 29, marking its first UAE location. The expansion is executed through a franchise partnership with Alshaya Group, which also oversees Ulta’s...
Use AI for Summaries, Not Autopilot Guides
🤖 Let’s talk about good AI content use cases: Although AI-generated content is used in many scenarios, in some cases it doesn’t make sense and can do more harm than good (eg. writing guides on autopilot, without real human experience...
Greenland Guidebook: Answers to Your Questions
Greenland is transitioning from a remote ice‑covered island to a strategic asset, driven by vast rare‑earth deposits, expanding mining projects, and its pivotal role in Arctic defense. The Kvanefjeld and Tanbreez sites host some of the world’s largest neodymium and...
Affirm Seeks Nevada Bank Charter
Affirm Holdings announced it has filed applications with Nevada regulators and the FDIC to launch a Nevada‑chartered industrial loan company, dubbed Affirm Bank. The move aims to give the buy‑now‑pay‑later firm a banking platform to introduce new financial products beyond...
Affirm Seeks Nevada Bank Charter
Affirm Holdings has filed applications with Nevada’s Financial Institutions Division and the FDIC to obtain a state charter for an industrial loan company, dubbed "Affirm Bank." The move aims to expand its buy‑now‑pay‑later (BNPL) offerings and diversify beyond merchant‑only financing....
Autonomous Labs Will Redefine Biotechnology Within Five Years
I used my talk at the JPM conference this year to deep dive on @Ginkgo's future direction - building autonomous labs that replace traditional manually-operated laboratories. Wherever you see a lab bench today you will see one of Ginkgo's autonomous labs...
Swiss Startup Secures €73M ESA Non‑dilutive Funding
.@Swissto12 closed €73M in non-dilutive funding from @esa under the agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) program. https://t.co/QPNzYlSUlk
Corr-Serve Strengthens South Africa’s Cybersecurity Market Through Expanded Seceon Partnership
Corr-Serve has expanded its seven‑year partnership with global cyber‑security firm Seceon, becoming the exclusive distributor for Seceon's AI‑driven Open Threat Management platform across the Southern African Development Community. The deal positions South Africa as the operational hub, delivering real‑time threat...
Quantum Metal Offers Designs and Tutorials for Quantum Devices
Did you know that Quantum Metal includes a repository of quantum device designs, along with tutorials on how they’re built? https://t.co/NZe3PLhXhR
Talk to Your Computer: Clawdbot Realizes NLP Vision
Clawdbot is where I thought computers were headed back when I was prototyping natural language computer control with GPT-4. The models are finally good enough. You can talk to your computer.
AMS 2026 Hyperwall Schedule
NASA will host a Hyperwall storytelling series at the 106th American Meteorological Society meeting Jan. 26‑29, 2026, showcasing Earth‑science missions, space‑weather research, and new data‑access tools. Sessions feature experts discussing satellite‑derived precipitation, solar observations, aerosol monitoring, and the One Health...
Brex Deal Reveals Liquidation Preferences to Many Shareholders
Any VC types want to opine on how this plays out for Brex employees / common shareholders?
CEOs Accelerate Growth Beyond Natural Business Pace
So much of your job as CEO is one way or another getting the company to grow a bit faster than it otherwise naturally would
Verifone Tackles Identity Challenge
Verifone is tackling the biggest friction in omnichannel commerce—consumer identity—by unifying identification, loyalty and payment into a single transaction flow. The company highlights that while digital shoppers can be recognized with cookies and device fingerprints, in‑store shoppers remain anonymous until...
Browser Wars, Continued: Why Everyone Is Building Their Own AI Browser
The browser has evolved from a simple web gateway into the primary enterprise endpoint, handling over 70% of global traffic. Generative AI agents that can act autonomously inside browsers are turning them into intelligent workspaces, prompting incumbents and startups to...