Forget vanity metrics. New data from Brex, based on actual spending from 35,000+ companies, shows which AI startups are winning real budgets. The results highlight a massive shift toward developer tools and hint at the next wave of practical AI.
A new report from SHRM reveals a stark CEO agenda. Artificial intelligence adoption is now their number one goal, even above revenue growth. Yet, economic uncertainty and rising labor costs are creating major pressure for more job cuts and restructuring next year.
Alexander Vasylenko works a 9-to-9 schedule, training AI after his day job as a steel company analyst. He’s seen models go from needing hand-holding to performing complex cash flow analysis in just two years. He believes mastering this shift is the key to surviving the coming wave of AI in finance.
Spencer Penn, a 33-year-old founder who worked at Tesla and Waymo, breaks down the leadership extremes he experienced. He details Elon Musk’s intense, product-obsessed approach and contrasts it with the more decentralized, creative model at Google’s Waymo.
Rick Grinnell of Glasswing Ventures has built a 24-year career investing in security and infrastructure startups. His influence extends from boardrooms to MIT and Harvard, shaping Boston’s tech future.
Coinbase is launching a “stablecoin-as-a-service” platform, letting companies mint their own tokens. In a separate move, it’s also helping Klarna raise capital via USDC. It’s a major infrastructure play.
The Pacific Northwest tech scene saw a flurry of executive moves this week. A Nintex CEO is out, a Workday thought leader is in, and a SurveyMonkey gets a new CFO from the Seattle area.
Enry’s Island SpA is betting big on gaming, both as an investment sector and as an educational tool. The firm is launching “Enry’s Island AdVentures,” a video game to teach startup building, via a Kickstarter in Q1 2026.
OpenAI’s valuation is on a rocket ship. After hitting $300 billion in August, it’s now reportedly targeting a $750 billion valuation in its next funding round, with Amazon and Disney making massive bets.
While everyone debated AGI, Salient built AI to collect car loans. Its focus on a painful, manual process has led to explosive growth, zero customer churn, and a half-billion dollar valuation. They’re proving that boring AI can be wildly profitable.
