News for T2

Alibaba-backed Moonshot releases its second AI update in four months as China’s AI race heats up

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 15:38:09 +0000

The Chinese AI startup on Thursday released its newest "Kimi K2 Thinking" artificial intelligence model.

EY staff are using AI to tell them how AI is going to change their jobs

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:35:11 +0000

EY's internal AI tool is guiding staff on how their jobs are going to change because of AI.

Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

AI is reshaping work, but it's hard to know exactly how.
EY has provided staff with an AI tool to help them target the skills they'll need in the future.
The tool, AI Now 2.0, acts as a "thought partner" to suggest how AI will change their job roles.

Do you know what your job will look like a year from now? How about in three, or even five?

EY, one of the top four global accounting and consulting firms, is using AI to help its employees answer those questions.

The Big Four firm has developed a training program, known as AI Now 2.0, that acts as a "thought partner" to help its employees foresee how their roles will evolve as a result of AI, Simon Brown, global learning and development leader at EY, told Business Insider in an interview.

Staff answer a series of questions about their job, day-to-day responsibilities, and overall deliverables, then upload the answers to EYQ, the firm's internal Chat GPT-like tool.

EYQ then generates an analysis of how their current role might change because of the impact of AI, and helps them identify the skills, knowledge, and abilities they might need in the future.

The tool isn't trying to predict with certainty what an accounting or consulting role will be in five years' time, said Brown.

"It's hard to predict where many of these roles will be in the future, so we are not relying on AI to do that," he said.

Instead, it's aimed at helping EY staffers identify how they can better use AI in their current jobs and engage with what to expect from their future path at EY and what skills they'll need to succeed in that, said Brown.

EY launched AI Now 2.0 in January this year. Brown said that using the programme is voluntary, but around half of EY's 406,000 global employees have engaged with it, and all new recruits take the training as part of their onboarding process.

Developing an enterprise-wide training that could also be personal to each individual has been key, said Brown. "It helps to show and bring to life in a totally relevant way where AI might be able to help them," he said.

Upskilling the workforce

AI is already taking on everyday tasks that employees once handled, reshaping the skills employers prize most, and making workforce transformation a priority for HR departments.

Upskilling the workforce for AI is even more of a business imperative for consulting leaders — who act as advisors to the world's leading companies and must demonstrate to their clients that their own teams successfully embody the AI expertise they promote.

"We all know that 40% of our current skills will be different skills in five years. The technical skills you need to upskill, but you need to have the mentality, to be able to do that," Imgard Naudin ten Cate, global leader of talent acquisition at EY, told Business Insider.

"We'll definitely see so much more skills and skills erosion. So making sure that you can make that transition is so important," she said.

Fellow Big Four firm PwC has designed a program to train employees in managing risks and leadership in the AI era. The program of resources includes "appealing online content, in-person training, hackathons, and game show-style competitions."

At KPMG, Niale Cleobury, global AI workforce lead, told Business Insider the firm has tackled the workforce transformation challenge by developing an AI tool that breaks down roles by tasks, thinks about AI use cases, and looks at capacity savings.

"We can put in every role in the whole organisation and within a couple of minutes we can get all of that insight in terms of skill differences," Cleobury said.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at pthompson@businessinsider.com or Signal at Polly_Thompson.89. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

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The case for, and against, Elon Musk's $1 trillion pay package

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:18:14 +0000

Tingshu Wang/File Photo/Reuters

A portion of this post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.
You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

How much is Elon Musk worth?

That question is at the core of the debate over the Tesla CEO's proposed pay package. This afternoon, the company will reveal the results of the shareholder vote on the compensation plan, which could be worth up to $1 trillion.

The stakes are high, and not just because we're talking about a salary that would dwarf most countries' GDPs. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm warned voting against it could risk Musk leaving the company entirely.

As of this morning, prediction markets have the pay package getting approved as the heavy favorite. But there have been some vocal opponents, including the world's largest sovereign wealth fund.

So who is for and against the comp package, and what are some of their arguments? Let's break it down.

For the pay package

Key supporters: Cathie Wood, Wedbush Securities, Charles Schwab

Musk has gotten Tesla investors this far: No CEO and company are more intertwined than Musk and Tesla. Love him or hate him, Musk comes with a legion of fans who have heavily supported Tesla. Over the past five years, shares are up more than 215%. That's far better than the S&P 500 and roughly equal or better than most of its Big Tech peers.

Tesla is in the middle of a big shift: Losing someone of Musk's stature is never easy, but it'd be particularly tricky as Tesla pivots from its EV roots to go all-in on AI. It's a big switch into an intensely competitive field, and having to navigate it with a new CEO at the helm isn't something shareholders will likely be interested in.

It's $1 trillion, with a catch: As big as $1 trillion is, the package is contingent on a series of goals, including raising Tesla's market cap to $8.5 trillion. If Tesla's valuation were to increase that much over the next decade — it's currently worth roughly $1.43 trillion — some feel that's a fair reward for the work Musk would need to do to get there.

Against the pay package

Key supporters: New York State Retirement Fund, American Federation of Teachers, CalPERS

Hitching your wagon to Elon isn't always smooth: You have to take the good with the bad when it comes to Musk, and recently, the bad has been really bad. Musk's breakup with President Donald Trump proved to be a real low point for Tesla and its share price. And Musk is unlikely to change his shoot-from-the-hip approach.

A distracted Musk: One of the biggest gripes against Musk is that he's too busy. His other endeavors — SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink, and The Boring Company — suck up a lot of his time. And the ties between the companies, or his "Muskonomy," isn't going anywhere as he calls on Tesla to invest in xAI.

Too much control: A key piece of the package is Musk's voting stake potentially rising to nearly 29% (he's currently at about 13%). Musk has been adamant about the need for this as Tesla enters its new era, but some are uncomfortable with someone so powerful getting even more control over the company.

Dan DeFrancesco, deputy executive editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York.

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I tried a $25 Amazon version of the popular $80 Skims dress, and they look nearly identical

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:15:56 +0000

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

The SKIMS Lounge Stretch-Jersey Nightdress in Onyx (left) with the Amazon AnotherChill Lounge Slip Dress (right).

Mollie Davies/Insider

A few years ago, there was a dress credited with skyrocketing Skims to mass popularity (well, okay, maybe the fact that the company was founded by Kim Kardashian helped). The $80 Soft Lounge Long Slip Dress went viral for its flattering shape and easy silhouette — "Skims dress" trended on TikTok for years, with one of the top-liked videos gaining over 5.8 million likes.

I've never been that big a fan of the Kardashians' brands. In truth, I generally tend to be skeptical toward celebrity-headed brands. But, with thousands of people on the waitlist at the time and consistently sold-out drops, I wanted to know what I was missing out on.

Luckily, I managed to get my hands on the viral dress a few years ago when a department store had a restock. But then, I started to notice TikTok videos crop up where users had found similar styles for a fraction of the price, and given that it's my job to write about style trends, I knew I had to compare them.

So, I tried the $24.99 Amazon version that I kept seeing people link to, and I put it to the test against the real deal to see if the cheaper alternative lived up to its claims.

Trying on the SKIMS dress

Trying on the viral SKIMS dress.

Mollie Davies/Insider

When I pulled it out of its packaging, I was stunned. It looked absolutely tiny, and I thought that there was no way it would fit me. But, the super soft ribbed fabric is extremely stretchy, and it fits almost like a giant sock. Hugging my body, but not restricting it, the fabric felt like a naked dress.

I loved how it was easy to layer up to take it from casual to fancy. Something I was initially concerned about was whether it would be too fancy for everyday wear, but when paired with more casual pieces, it was easy to style accordingly. And although not see-through, it's worth wearing seamless underwear, because the dress is extremely figure-hugging.

At 5'8", I quite often find dresses difficult to be long enough, but this skims the floor perfectly.

I didn't want to admit it, but I may just be a Skims convert after this.

Trying on the Amazon dress

Trying on the Amazon AnotherChill Lounge Slip Dress.

Mollie Davies/Insider

The affordable alternative on Amazon costs just $24.99. There are over 6,000 reviews for the dress, with 73% at 5 stars.

The dress arrived in much less luxurious packaging than the Skims dress, tightly packed in a plastic bag, and not carefully folded up in tissue paper. But I sort of expected that for the price I paid.

On first glance, the dress was also very thin in size, and was pretty similar to the Skims dress, but didn't feel as high-quality on first touch. The straight neckline and slight mermaid tail bottom were both practically identical. But the spaghetti straps weren't adjustable, as they were on the Skims dress.

I was pretty excited to wear the dress, as I'd never found a dress that was as universally flattering as the Skims dress. And if it could be found for a fraction of the price — even better. I pulled the dress on, and instantly felt a similar hugging experience that I did with the Skims dress. But, it was clear that it wasn't quite as supportive as the original.

During the first wear, I noticed that the Amazon dress was more see-through, and didn't offer the same sort of comfort and security as the Skims one. Their silhouettes are indistinguishable, but the Amazon one felt slightly thinner and less stretchy. So, it's clear where the quality falls a little behind, which is to be expected with the price.

Differences in sizing, colors, and materials

The Skims slip dress (right) is emblazoned with the logo and has a ribbed texture, while the Amazon alternative (left) is more non-descript jersey material.

Mollie Davies/Insider

Skims: Nine size options from XXS to 4XL, with six colorways. Made from 91% Modal fabric and 9% elastane. Material has a ribbed finish.

AnotherChill Amazon: Size options range only from XXS to XL, and color options vary by size. Made from 95% polyester and 5% Spandex. Material is flat with no ribbing.

The bottom line: Skims wins for quality, but the Amazon dupe is a solid alternative

Although both dresses are flattering and very versatile in terms of wearability, the superior quality of the Skims viral dress makes it worth every extra penny, in my opinion. But for those looking to spend less, the Amazon alternative will give you the same overall aesthetic with a few trade-offs in material feel and quality.

Read the original article on Business Insider

I'm an American who visited Iceland's only Costco location. I was shocked by how similar it was to US stores.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:11:33 +0000

I visited Costco in Garðabær, Iceland, about 6 miles south of Reykjavík.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

I visited Iceland's only Costco store, which is in Garðabær, about 6 miles south of Reykjavík.
It looked exactly the same as US Costco stores I've been to, aside from Icelandic signs.
The food court offered fewer items and prices were slightly higher than in the US.

A $60 annual Costco membership is valid at all 904 warehouse locations worldwide, including Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and the UK.

So, armed with my membership card while on a trip to Iceland in 2023, I visited the country's only Costco store.

Like the US, Iceland — one of the most expensive countries in the world — is experiencing rising costs of living, so bulk buying at places like Costco is a popular option for locals and visitors.

During my visit to its Costco in Garðabær, I found items that I've never seen at US locations, but I was mostly surprised to find how similar it was to American stores.

Here's what my shopping experience was like.

Iceland's first and only Costco store opened in 2017.

Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The store is located in Garðabær, about 6 miles south of Reykjavík.

When I walked inside, I felt transported right back to my local New York City Costco store. The layout was exactly the same.

Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The first section near the entrance sold pieces of technology like tablets and laptops, just like my local New York Costco. I could also spot the grocery section and aisle of household items further into the store, exactly where I'm used to finding them. With its familiar layout and identical design, I wouldn't have known I was in Iceland.

The only indication that I was in Iceland was the Icelandic signs for different sections of the store.

The pharmacy at Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

I was able to guess that "apótek" meant "pharmacy" based on the protein powder and vitamins in the aisles, as well what looked like a counter to pick up prescriptions.

The food court, located near the checkout counters, was smaller than those I've seen at Costco stores on the East Coast, but it sold many of the same items.

Costco in Garðabær, Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The food court didn't have smoothies, salads, or churros — items I'm used to seeing at US stores — but it did sell pizza, gelato, burgers, chicken bakes, coffee, and hot dogs.

The food-court prices in Iceland were a bit higher than in the US.

Costco in Garðabær, Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

In 2023, pizza cost 600 ISK, or $4.44, per slice and 2,200 ISK, or $16.27, for a whole take-home pie. Hot dogs, a popular street food in Iceland, cost 299 ISK, or $2.20.

In the US, a slice of pizza at Costco costs $1.99 while a whole pie is $9.95, and hot dogs cost $1.50.

The main difference I noticed was the addition of an orange-flavored Icelandic soda called Egils Appelsin on the soda fountains.

A soda fountain at Costco in Iceland featured an orange-flavored Icelandic soda called Egils Appelsin.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Produced by Iceland's Skallagrímsson Brewery since 1955, Egils Appelsin is often served at festive occasions and holidays like Christmas. It's a beverage unique to Iceland, one that I've never seen at my Costco stores on the East Coast of the US.

Warm clothes like sweaters, which are still necessary during Iceland's summer months, were on full display when I visited in June.

Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

During the summer, Fahrenheit temperatures in Iceland usually hover around the 50s, according to Icelandic travel agency Guide to Iceland.

The grocery section featured Costco's Kirkland-brand products and the same baked goods sold in stores worldwide, though the prices were a bit steeper.

Muffins at Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

I recognized the same muffins, croissants, and cookies that I've eaten dozens of times.

Two packages of muffins cost 1,999 ISK, or about $15.12, during my 2024 visit. In the US, they cost $8.99.

I loved seeing whimsical cakes with "Happy birthday" written in Icelandic.

A Costco birthday cake in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

This dinosaur cake cost 2,499 ISK, or about $18.70.

Costco samples appeared to be a standard practice, as well.

Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The Icelandic Costco was giving out samples of Greek yogurt and small bites of vegan pizza.

I did spot some unique Icelandic items, like these Vikingr dried fish fillets, called hardfiskur.

Dried fish fillets at Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The dried and flattened fish fillets, usually made with cod, haddock, or wolffish, have been a staple of the Icelandic diet for centuries, according to Atlas Obscura.

I was also surprised to find numerous British products for sale.

Marmite at Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Iceland's Costco is operated by Costco UK — and it's only a quick three-hour flight from London — so it made sense that it stocked British favorites like Marmite, Cadbury chocolate, and Victoria sandwiches.

The toilet paper cost slightly less at the Costco in Iceland than in the US.

Toilet paper at Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

In Iceland, 40 rolls of Kirkland toilet paper cost 4,099 ISK, or about $31.04, which comes out to about 78 cents per roll. In the US, a package of 30 rolls cost $23.99, or about 80 cents per roll, in 2023.

Aisles of sporting equipment featured kayaks, bicycles, and scooters.

Kayaks for sale at Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

The Icelandic Costco also sold tents and camping gear, a popular way to see Iceland in the summer despite the chilly temperatures.

Like in the US, the store's optical section sold glasses and offered eye exams.

The optical section at Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

"Sjóntæki" directly translates to "optical device," while "sjónmæling" means "optical measurement."

I found that Costco in Iceland was mostly identical to Costco stores I've visited in the US, aside from some higher prices and a few unique local items.

Outside Costco in Iceland.

Talia Lakritz/Business Insider

Having visited touristy spots like the Blue Lagoon and the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, I enjoyed getting a glimpse of everyday life in Iceland as I explored the aisles.

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I've been to 25 countries. Picking a favorite feels impossible, but there are 3 I'd gladly return to again and again.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:03:01 +0000

Egypt is one of the countries I want to visit again.

Hannah Kennedy

Over the past seven years, I've visited 25 countries across six continents.
Although it's hard to pick a favorite, Ireland holds a special place in my heart.
I loved visiting Egypt and Germany, and I still have many things I'd like to see in both countries.

I'd be lying if I said I always had a desire to travel.

As a shy, introverted kid, I never had big dreams of adventures in faraway places. In fact, I didn't even own a passport until my family relocated from the US to Ireland for my dad's job when I was 16.

Now, things couldn't be more different. Living abroad opened my eyes to the world, and I was bitten by the travel bug.

At 23 years old, I've been lucky enough to have visited 25 countries across six continents, and my desire to travel has only grown.

People often ask which country is my favorite, but honestly, it feels like an impossible question to answer. Each place I've visited has been vastly different and offered unique experiences.

That being said, there are a few countries I'll never say no to revisiting. From endless history to diverse landscapes, these three countries are places I'll go back to without a second thought.

Ireland will always hold a special place in my heart

Ireland is one of my favorite places to visit.

Hannah Kennedy

Although I may be biased, I think Ireland is a magical place to visit. From the friendly people to the breathtaking landscapes, it's a country I always want to come back to. Even after living there and returning almost a dozen times since, there's still so much more I want to see.

In addition to cultural hubs like Dublin and Cork, which have everything from great museums and distilleries to delicious food, I've loved visiting some of the country's smaller towns. In my opinion, they're the best way to get a taste of true Irish culture.

I always recommend snagging a reservation at one of the top-rated restaurants in Kinsale, taking a boat tour in Dingle, or exploring a castle in Adare.

There's so much to see and do in Egypt

I've been to Egypt twice and have barely scratched the surface of all there is to do.

Hannah Kennedy

I've visited Egypt twice now, and it's one of the most culturally rich places I've ever been. I've always found the people to be incredibly welcoming, and I've barely scratched the surface of everything there is to see.

Plus, I love enjoying koshari, a traditional street food made with rice, noodles, lentils, chickpeas, and a tasty tomato garlic sauce. This dish alone is enough for me to want to return again and again.

On my first trip, I assumed I would cover everything in a week. I centered most of my trip around the Cairo area, seeing the pyramids, visiting museums, and roaming through street markets.

I also checked out the Faiyum Oasis, where I sandboarded on the dunes and relaxed by desert lakes. Then, I explored the historic city of Alexandria, situated in Northern Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea.

Although this was a great introduction to Egypt, I quickly realized I would need many more return trips to cover everything I wanted to see.

Germany is a great country to visit any time of year

I loved visiting Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.

Hannah Kennedy

With an efficient public transportation system and a wide range of things to do, Germany truly has something for everyone.

I've now visited the country several times, but first went in 2018 when my family went to a Christmas market in Stuttgart. The atmosphere was enchanting, and the food was nothing short of delicious.

On another trip, I visited a friend who lived in Berlin and I fell in love with the city. Over the course of five days, I took in the art, history, and shopping scene. Berlin also gets major bonus points from me, because I was able to find a lot of great vegetarian food options.

Another thing I loved doing in Germany was driving through the countryside in a convertible to visit Neuschwanstein Castle.

The rolling green hills, cows with bells dangling from their necks, and castle in the distance felt like something out of a movie. It was a simple day, but it's probably one of my favorite travel experiences.

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Snap rockets 20% higher on $400 million deal with Perplexity AI

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:02:59 +0000

A view of an ad for Snapchat outside Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images

Snap stock surged 20% on Thursday on news of a major AI deal.
The social media app revealed a $400 million deal with Perplexity AI.
Under the agreement, the AI startup will integrate features into Snapchat's platform.

The move: Snap stock surged 20% in premarket trading on Thursday. The Snapchat parent has struggled in 2025, with shares down 32% year-to-date through Wednesday's close.

Why: Alongside its release of third-quarter earnings, Snap announced on Wednesday evening that it has inked a $400 million deal with AI startup Perplexity AI. Under the agreement, Perplexity will pay Snap to integrate some of its AI features into the Snapchat user interface, starting in early 2026.

"Our goal is to make AI more personal, social, and fun — woven into the fabric of your friendships, Snaps, and conversations," Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap said. "This partnership reflects our shared vision for the power of AI to enhance discovery and connection on Snapchat, and we look forward to collaborating with more innovative partners in the future."

What it means: Snapchat has struggled to keep pace with its larger social media competitors in recent years, falling behind as platforms like Instagram and TikTok have grown and adapted to an AI-powered internet.

With the latest announcement, the platform has launched itself squarely into the AI zeitgeist with its lucrative new deal with Perplexity.

Perplexity's features could draw users back to the platform, providing Snap stock with some much-needed momentum.

"Perplexity's mission is to support the world's curiosity," said Aravind Srinivas, CEO, Perplexity. "Millions of people connect and discover the world through Snapchat. By bringing Perplexity to Snapchat, we're able to serve that curiosity directly where it occurs.

Read the original article on Business Insider

AI fatigue detected: 4 recent developments show the stock market's driving engine is at a crossroads

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:17:20 +0000

ANGELA WEISS / AFP

This post originally appeared in the First Trade newsletter.
You can sign up for Business Insider's daily markets newsletter here.

Good morning and welcome to First Trade. The Supreme Court is skeptical about President Trump's tariffs. It's still early innings, but watch this space for what this means about the future of the market.

Rundown

Worried about extended valuations? Wells Fargo lays out its playbook for investors who want to play defense against a possible tech sell-off.
Bitcoin's bear-market battle. It rebounded on Wednesday, but is still perilously close to a 20% drawdown. Here's what crypto pros say is next.
What if AI takes a while to pay off? The former head of AI at Uber says this is a major risk for the stocks being propped up by high expectations.

But first, traders are getting tired.

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Shelby Tauber/Reuters

Market musings

AI exhaustion is real

The old saying goes that something happening once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern.

Given developments in the AI space in recent days, it looks like we have a full-fledged pattern of skepticism. It's created an inflection point of sorts for a trade that seemed unstoppable as recently as last Tuesday, the last time the S&P 500 closed at record highs. Yes, stocks are coming off a strong day, but it feels like something has shifted under the surface.

While three makes a pattern, I'll do you one better. Detailed below are four examples of AI exhaustion, in reverse chronological order, dating back one week:

1. Michael Burry comes out of hibernation to short some giants

If Burry is emerging from the woodwork, you know something is afoot. The legendary "Big Short" investor dusted off his X account this week to compare the AI boom to the dot-com bubble. He also disclosed short wagers against market darlings Nvidia and Palantir.

While Burry has made a series of bearish bets in recent years that haven't come to fruition, he certainly knows his way around an unsustainable bubble, and his views are an important contribution to the broader groundswell.

2. Sky-high valuations suddenly matter

When Wall Street CEOs gathered at an investment summit in Hong Kong this week, few expected the high-profile guests to take a two-by-four to bullish stock portfolios. But that's exactly what Morgan Stanley's Ted Pick and Goldman Sachs' David Solomon did.

They warned of a 10-20% drawdown in equities, characterizing it as a necessary and normal consolidation. In a different environment, the comments might've passed without incident. But with investors starting to question AI valuations, it confirmed some latent worries.

On this same subject…

3. Palantir sells off big after crushing every conceivable earnings metric

A record quarter? Meh. An increased profit forecast? Yawn. All anyone seemed to care about after Palantir's third-quarter earnings was how absurd the company's valuation was, with the stock up 174% year to date. The actual results rendered were irrelevant, offering a clear sign of exhaustion, and a desire from investors to regroup and reassess.

4. Meta's AI-spending pledge sends its stock tanking

Loyal readers of First Trade will recognize this as a familiar trope that's been mentioned a handful of times already. Well, it really is that big of a deal.

You know the story by now: Meta — already spending tens of billions on AI — said it plans to spend even more in 2026. That might've excited investors a few months ago, but this time around the forecast landed with a thud, and the stock tumbled. The message from investors was clear: we want tangible results, not an opaque money pit.

Not convinced? Allow me to offer a visual aid that's specific to OpenAI's role in the fervor.

On the move

The headline takeaway from this chart is how much Oracle's stock has come back down after a 36% single-day spike on Sept. 10, which was driven by giant new AI-cloud deals and the future revenue they could bring.

That day, Oracle announced almost half a trillion dollars in new cloud contracts. A big chunk of that was from an OpenAI deal to develop data-center capacity. OpenAI essentially played kingmaker, as it has so much lately.

Since then, OpenAI has unveiled a string of other giant AI infrastructure agreements. With doubts creeping in about OpenAI's ability to pay for all this, investors are discounting these deals. Hence the drop in Oracle shares.

BI market mix

What if Trump's tariffs are deemed illegal? It's not that far out of the question, with a majority of Supreme Court justices questioning the emergency measures used to implement them. If they were to be challenged, it would be rocket fuel for stocks.
Meet a couple who retired early. BI's Kathleen Elkins spoke to them about the "four-year sprint" that secured their financial goals, even though they'd originally planned for it to take a decade.
Bitcoin is battling against a bear market. Pros interviewed by BI expressed optimism around a recovery, and explained why they think the formerly red-hot crypto can regain its footing.

MVP of the week

Sam Hodde/Getty Images

This recurring section will highlight individuals who have dominated the week in markets.

This week's First Trade MVP is Miriam Adelson, the widow of Sheldon Adelson, founder and chairman of the casino company Las Vegas Sands, of which she and her family own a half-stake.

This week's entry would be more aptly titled "MVP of the past two weeks," because LVS has been on a 24% tear over that period, since earnings after the closing bell on Oct. 22. That includes a 5% increase this week.

LVS beat revenue forecasts, and saw especially strong growth at its Marina Bay Sands resort, which contributed to a 56% year-over-year sales increase for Singapore operations.

The move has lifted Adelson's net worth to $39.9 billion, making her (and her family) the 45th-richest person in the world, according to Forbes data.

And did I mention that she's the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks? No word on how she feels about trading Luka Dončić for pennies.

Pro tip

Markets Insider

Business Insider's Will Edwards highlights investing recommendations pegged to the biggest trends in markets.

One of the biggest questions in the market right now is how effective AI will be in raising profit margins.

Tech firms are dumping tens of billions of dollars a year into building out infrastructure to support the technology, helping to propel US economic growth and stock-market gains. But will it ever pay off?

For one company, the answer is already yes. And its stock is already seeing the benefits in a big way.

Shares of CH Robinson (CHRW), a freight logistics firm, are up 49% year-to-date. After the company's third-quarter earnings report last week, the stock jumped about 20% in a single day.

The stock is moving so dramatically because the company has begun using generative AI, said Travis Prentice, the founder of the Informed Momentum Company.

AI is able to provide price quotes, book appointments, respond to emails, and process orders for the firm, allowing its shipments per person per day to have increased by 40% since 2022. Meanwhile, CH Robinson has reduced its employee base by more than 10%, boosting margins amid a 12% decline in expenses.

"Not the most sexy business in the world, but when everyone talks about AI and there's no ROI with AI, this is a massive exception to the rules," Prentice told BI. "It's driving productivity gains of like 40-50%."

"That's a story that no one's really talking about — AI is actually improving business operations," he continued. "They're one of the outliers, but I'm sure there's gonna be a lot to follow when they see the gains that they're having."

— Will Edwards

Joe Ciolli, executive editor and anchor, in Chicago. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. William Edwards, senior reporter, in New York. Steve Russolillo, chief news editor, in New York. Huileng Tan, senior reporter, in Singapore.

Read the original article on Business Insider

I commute to work by plane. People are shocked when they learn how affordable and efficient it really is for me.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:15:01 +0000

caption

Christine Ma-Kellams

When people hear that I commute to work by plane, they often assume I have lots of money.
Thanks to credit-card points, though, I often travel at virtually no cost.
I've also developed best practices for saving money, like booking flights during seasonal sales.

As a college professor who lives in Los Angeles but teaches in San Jose, I fly to work on a weekly basis.

I used to live in the San Jose area before the COVID-19 pandemic, but when my workplace went remote, I moved about 350 miles away to Los Angeles.

When remote work ended in 2021, I decided to stay in Los Angeles — largely because my husband and kids preferred Southern California and its proximity to our extended family. So, I had two options: drive over 10 hours a day in California's notorious traffic, or take a short flight there and back.

I chose the latter, and now, I've been flying to work for nearly four years.

There are a few strategies I follow for a smooth commute

caption lax

Robert Way/Shutterstock

Flying from Los Angeles to San Jose usually takes just over an hour, and the entire journey from my front door to my office rarely takes more than three.

Usually, I'll fly out of Los Angeles International Airport, which is just 15 minutes from my house. Once I arrive, I take a bus from San Jose International Airport to the light rail station, which is just a 20-minute ride to campus.

Although this does take longer than an Uber ride, it's also a fraction of the price, so the trade-off is well worth it. As a bonus, bus and rail rides are the perfect time to catch up on work emails.

To minimize the risk of flight delays, I always try to book the first flight out and never the last one back. In my experience, this has helped me get where I'm going on time, because earlier flights are rarely dependent on another plane's tightly timed arrival.

This rule also helps ensure I don't get stuck in San Jose overnight if my return flight is canceled — a fate I've managed to avoid to date.

My commute is cheaper than people think, thanks to a few go-to rules

caption tk

Christine Ma-Kellams

Ticket prices to and from airports can vary greatly, so being flexible about location saves me both time and money. On occasion, I'll fly out of Long Beach — which is about 15 miles from my house — if I find a cheaper flight.

Booking all my flights for the semester at once during seasonal airline sales helps, too.

My biggest hack, though, is using an airline credit card. I normally wouldn't use any card with an annual fee, but I made an exception for the Southwest Rapid Rewards one — and it remains one of the best decisions I've made for my commute.

I primarily fly through Southwest, and the $99 annual fee is a no-brainer considering how many round-trip flights I've taken for virtually no cost by using points I've accrued.

I typically spend between $5 and $60 a flight, thanks to credit-card points and strategic planning.

To save even more money, I also try to avoid purchasing food and drinks at the airport.

Instead, I bring my own flight-friendly food. My favorite hack is to pack instant oatmeal or ramen and ask for hot water on the plane. Voila: an instant breakfast or lunch.

My commute isn't the easiest, but it works for me

caption

Christine Ma-Kellams

When people find out that I commute by plane instead of by car, they usually assume that I'm exceedingly rich (or my employer pays for my miles) and that I basically live at the airport.

The truth is, this kind of commute is far more affordable and efficient than some people might think — and I genuinely love the journey.

My commute not only gives me the chance to live in my favorite city while working in another, but it also keeps the rest of my family happy and close to what they love.

Besides, sitting in an airplane seat with snacks in one hand and my laptop in front of me beats driving in traffic any day of the week.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Airlines have been ordered to cancel thousands of flights due to the government shutdown. Here's what they're telling passengers.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 12:26:10 +0000

Passengers lining up at New York's LaGuardia Airport last Friday.

Zhang Fengguo/Xinhua via Getty Images

10% of flights at 40 major airports are being cut from Friday amid the government shutdown.
Many airlines are working out the details of how their schedules will be affected.
United Airlines said long-haul international flights and those between its hubs would be OK.

Your next flight might be canceled as the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to cut flights at major airports due to the government shutdown.

Starting Friday, 10% of flights at 40 airports will be cut in response to air traffic control staffing shortages.

As of early Thursday morning, most airlines said they were still evaluating how their schedules would be affected.

With short notice and complex networks, it's not a simple task for airlines to cut flights. Carriers need to figure out how to minimize knock-on effects from planes and crews being left out of place.

If you have a flight booked from Friday onward, you should check with the airline about its status. Any cancellations or changes should be communicated to you.

In a LinkedIn post, Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said: "If your flight is canceled, your chances of being stranded are high, so I would simply have a backup ticket on another airline."

"I'm sorry this is happening," he added. "Just giving everyone practical travel advice."

Frontier said it expects most of its flights will operate as planned, but will communicate with impacted customers "where changes to flight schedules are necessary."

It's also letting customers booked to travel during this period change or cancel their flights.

United Airlines has so far provided the greatest detail on its plans to deal with the cuts.

In a memo to staff, CEO Scott Kirby said long-haul international flights and those between its seven US hubs would not be affected.

"That's important to maintain the integrity of our network, give impacted customers as many options as possible to resume their trip, and sustain our crew pairing systems," he said.

Instead, cancellations are likely to affect regional flights and domestic ones that don't go between two hubs.

United's US hubs are Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

The airline is also offering refunds to anyone booked to travel during the period of traffic reductions.

Meanwhile, other carriers have yet to say how the cuts will affect them.

American Airlines said it was "awaiting additional information from the FAA to determine which flights will be impacted."

It added that it expects the "vast majority" of customers to be unaffected, but will "proactively reach out" to those who are.

Southwest Airlines said it "is evaluating how the planned FAA flight reductions will affect our schedule and will communicate directly with customers as soon as possible."

Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Spirit Airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside US working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Inside Shein's Paris store opening: Huge lines, protests — and prices that surprised shoppers

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:49:51 +0000

Dozens of people lined up for the store's opening.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein opened its first physical store in the world in Paris on Wednesday.
Protesters and shoppers faced off outside the French capital's iconic BHV department store.
It comes as the French government announced it would suspend Shein's online site.

Fast-fashion giant Shein's arrival in Paris this week was a tale of two cities — one welcoming, one outraged.

On Wednesday, the Chinese company opened its first physical location in the French capital's iconic BHV department store, drawing huge lines of eager bargain hunters, as well as long lines of protesters and a hefty police presence.

The divisive nature of the occasion was hard to ignore as I stepped out of the metro station onto the Rue de Rivoli.

Cries of "shame" and anti-Shein placards filled the air to my right-hand side, while seemingly unperturbed shoppers snaked out of sight to my left.

Shein has faced ongoing criticism over labor and environmental practices — but outrage spiked ahead of its Paris store opening when childlike sex dolls were spotted for sale on its website.

Just hours after the new store opened its doors, the French government said it would suspend Shein's site after prosecutors said they were investigating the issue.

In a statement shared with Business Insider, Shein said: "We are committed to working with the French authorities to address any concerns swiftly as we have always done and we are seeking dialogue with the authorities and government bodies on this issue."

I visited the store and spoke with both shoppers and protesters about Shein and its new home in the world's fashion capital.

The new shop is located in the famous BHV department store in central Paris.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Shoppers and protesters faced off across the Rue de Rivoli.

I made my way through the crowds, dodging police and fellow journalists — including a TV crew who were on the receiving end of a rather colorful send-off when they tried to get a close-up shot of some shoppers — before heading indoors.

Police kept a watchful eye on proceedings.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Some protesters chanted and hurled insults at those lining up.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider.

In the run-up to Shein's opening, several independent brands pulled their products from BHV to avoid being associated with the fast-fashion retailer.

Dozens of people had turned up for the opening.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Some said they had braved the line simply out of curiosity.

"I just came here because there was a kind of strike in front of the shop," one visitor, Owen, told me inside the store. "I never knew Shein before."

The store is on the 6th floor of the BHV.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Signs at the entrance to the shop gave visitors a sense of Shein's goals for the space.

"You are here, in Shein's first physical store. Right in the heart of Paris," it reads.

"Our mission: to bring meaning back to retail. Here, you can see, touch, try, feel."

Coffee and mocktails were on offer for weary shoppers and swarming journalists.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Inside, I found all the usual trappings of a 2025 store opening. A DJ, a bar (although sadly the strongest drink on offer was a mocktail), and a sea of phones and cameras.

People seemed to be in high spirits as they combed through the racks and rails for the best deals.

A steady flow of customers kept the sales staff busy.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Shoppers prowled the aisles looking for deals.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

One shopper, Thierry, told me he thought Shein offered a "very good deal for people with low salaries."

On the protesters outside, he added that he believed many were "hypocrites."

"The majority of people who complain are the first ones online, buying on Temu, on eBay, on Shein, on AliExpress," he said. "They go home, the first thing they do is go online to buy things cheaper, so it's hypocritical."

A wide variety of clothing was on offer.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

The black coat pictured above cost 54.99 euros, or about $63. Elsewhere, I spied a fleece for 20.99 euros, which is around $24.

This coat would have set you back 96.49 euros, or about $111.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Another shopper, Philippe, said prices seemed a bit steeper than those he'd seen online.

First-time Shein shopper Owen said he was "disappointed" in the quality of the products in the store.

"I thought it would be more cleverly designed. It's just a usual shop, no surprising stuff," he added.

The store was packed by the time I left.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Outside, protesters lined the street opposite.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

One of the people joining the protest was Pierre from Friends of the Earth, a grassroots environmental organisation.

"We are opposing the model of fast fashion that is detrimental to human rights and to the environment," he told me, adding that Shein was "one of the most iconic brands of fast fashion."

Shein has faced widespread criticism for the environmental impact of its ultra-fast, low-cost fashion model, which critics say fuels the climate crisis and a throwaway culture.

Many held anti-Shein placards.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Shein's arrival in the French capital has been a source of contention for some time.

Nathan Rennolds!Business Insider

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said in a post on LinkedIn in October that the city "condemns the arrival of Shein, a symbol of fast fashion, at BHV Marais."

"This choice goes against Paris's ecological and social ambitions, which support responsible and sustainable local commerce," she added.

Shein has faced repeated questions over its labor record.

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider.

Another attendee, Merdan, said he was there to protest the store opening over Shein's labor practices.

Shein has faced allegations from campaign groups that its supply chains have been linked to cases of forced labor.

The company has said that it enforces "stringent requirements" on its suppliers "to comply with health and safety, labour and social welfare, and environmental standards, as well as applicable laws and regulations."

One placard read: "For sustainable style versus disposable fashion."

Nathan Rennolds/Business Insider

Read the original article on Business Insider

I'm an empty nester. As a single parent, the shift feels lonely.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:11:01 +0000

The author is a single parent and, for the first time, now an empty nester.

Courtesy of Kelly Magyrics

I became an empty nester this fall when my younger kid went to college.
As a single parent, it hit me hard; I have more time to myself than my married, empty-nest friends.
I've realized that as my kids start new chapters, I'd like to start my own, as well.

When my 18-year-old son started college this fall, I became an empty nester. I have a few friends with kids the same age, and have been half-jokingly bemoaning with them how quiet our houses have become.

But while my married friends are focused on the reality of figuring out life as a couple without kids at home, including taking up new hobbies together and posting photos of the travels they're now embarking on together thanks to their newfound extra time, as a single parent, the shift feels different, and lonelier.

Splitting custody made the divorce feel easier, at first

My ex-husband and I divorced five years ago, but we've remained close friends and committed co-parents, sharing custody of our now 21-year-old and their younger brother. When we split, I wasn't interested in keeping the house we shared, as I was the spouse who initiated the divorce, and my work involves a fair amount of travel. Instead, I rented a three-bedroom apartment in a complex directly across the street from my old neighborhood, believing that was the easiest and most seamless way to maintain our 50/50 custody arrangement.

The author has been divorced and sharing custody of her two kids for five years.

Courtesy of Kelly Magyrics

Last year, however, my older kid decided that going back and forth each week had become a hassle, especially with two guinea pigs and the books and supplies needed for their graphic design program. They wanted to stay with their dad full-time, and since they were an adult and their dad was OK with it, I reluctantly agreed.

I felt their absence all the time, but I was grateful their brother was still staying with me every other week. He and I quickly established our own rituals: taking turns playing songs on Spotify during dinner, watching episodes of "The Good Place" or "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" afterwards, going on walks or doing yoga. When class and work schedules allowed, both kids would join me for dinner.

When my younger son went to college, everything changed

But everything changed in August, and after my ex and I drove to our son's college together to move him in, we returned home to our separate residences. (We're both in serious relationships, though mine is long-distance.) Now, my three-bedroom abode suddenly seems cavernous, and I'm navigating the silence of a home that once felt full.

I can literally see my old neighborhood from my patio, and I've come to believe that in some ways I'm still floating in between my old life and my new one. With both kids having flown the nest, and a life filled with an amazing relationship, travel, friends, and satisfying work, it's time for a change.

Now that her kids are starting to branch out on their own, the author is starting a new chapter, as well.

Courtesy of Kelly Magyrics

I've recently started prepping for a downsized move, systematically using the Marie Kondo method to purge my space, donating, tossing or recycling clothing, books, papers, kitchen and bathroom items, and momentos. My kids have also cleaned out their former rooms at my place, tossing or taking items to the house where they grew up.

My new place will be 20 minutes away — but it might as well be an hour. I'll no longer be easily able to swing by my old house and grab my older kid for an afternoon walk or invite them over for spontaneous dessert. That's going to take some adjustment.

I'm also a little worried that they'll view my new location as "too far" to pop over. I'm encouraging both of my kids to come over for dinner, movie nights, and sleepovers in the spare bedroom, which they seem excited about. And while it might sound weird, after nearly 25 years in the same neighborhood, it's going to feel odd to frequent grocery stores and restaurants in a new town.

But as my kids start their next chapters, I need to make a cleaner, more definitive break from my old life, rather than merely dabble in a new one like I've done for five years. It might not be easy. Or maybe it'll be easier than I'm imagining.

Just as families come in all sorts of configurations, empty nesters don't always take the form of married parents conflicted between missing their adult children yet giddily excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for them as a couple. The impact of this huge life change on single parents and their individual midlife transitions is often overlooked. Yet the emotions hit just as hard. But I've learned that while there might not be anyone else at home to help shoulder the burden, and living a new reality without my kids close at hand can be lonely, I'm not alone.

Read the original article on Business Insider

I'm a CEO pivoting my business abroad because of tariffs. I'm treating the US like hot lava.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:55:01 +0000

Abbey Phaneuf, marketing director at Loftie, and founder and CEO Matthew Hassett have worked to pivot the company to focus on sales outside the US.

Courtesy Loftie

Matthew Hassett shifted the focus of his company, Loftie, to international sales because of tariffs.
Loftie's sales outside the US have grown from about 3% to nearly 50% in a few months, he told Business Insider.
The company manufactures in China and is now treating the US market like "hot lava," Hassett said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Matthew Hassett, founder and CEO of Loftie. The company makes its products, including a digital clock and lamp designed to promote sound sleep, in China. As a result of Trump's tariffs, selling inside the US has become more expensive for Loftie. To boost its business, the company is shifting its focus to an international market. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Until mid-August, I was very stressed. It then became clear that our plan to pivot from the US to more international sales was working really well. We're now almost 50% international sales through our website over about three months — up from about 3%.

It really is as simple as Econ 101. You can either adjust supply or demand. Supply is constrained by unpredictable government policy in the US, and it's still not settled at the peak season, with the holidays coming up.

For now, it doesn't make sense to move our manufacturing, especially knowing that we have the best price and quality, which is a rare combination, because we produce in China.

We did a pilot run in Thailand. But it costs 20% more because they've got to move a lot of the components from other parts of Asia to Thailand. The labor costs are also higher. Why would you move from China?

Rather than try to worry about irrational US policy, we just focused on selling the product that people want worldwide, worldwide. We're really lucky to have a product that works in other places.

I've decided to treat the US like hot lava — something that you don't want to touch unless you really have to.

Going abroad

I'd always put off selling abroad because I'd heard in a business school class to start with the US market, because it's the biggest, and "Don't waste your time trying to extend your operations." I think that's outdated advice with a lot of the technology and logistics available in 2025. I wish we'd done it sooner; it's just so much more stable.

The marketing costs are also lower, so it allows us to offer the same policies that we have in the US — free shipping and a one-year warranty.

It's also been such a relief, and it allows me to have time for actually thinking about productive, exciting new chapters for the company and not just survival.

This international sales strategy is what has allowed me to keep our team. We only have US-based employees. We have consultants in other places, but just a handful.

I think we have a lot more room to grow, because we have mostly been doing English-language ads. The UK and Canada have been the most successful, accordingly. But we're working on creating native ads in many languages. It's been a really good gamble, and it's just provided a lot of relief and stability.

Signs of success

It took about two months to see that this plan was working. We still had the US sales. But the summer was terrible just because, at one point, in the US, we had tariffs of 175% to 180% on our products. So we couldn't move any new goods.

Luckily, we had some inventory left in the US that we had paid the duties on before the tariffs escalated. That provided some buffer time to try out this expansion.

I hope that international sales can mean a doubling of our revenue globally, and that eventually there is stability in the US, and we can sell more here again — but I have no idea. I'm just taking it day by day, because that's how volatile it is.

All summer, I was writing about this, and how it's existential to our company. That was really bad for my mental health.

Ultimately, there was nothing I could do to control it. The thing that's a huge relief to me is that we haven't had to lay anyone off, especially when you see all the layoffs with AI at companies. We have no plans to lay off anyone, whether it's for tariffs or AI.

We're very small, but to me, the biggest accomplishment is that I was able to keep everyone through this tremendous uncertainty. I'm very proud of myself as a CEO for getting us through the most rocky time in our seven-year history.

Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, told Business Insider via email:

President Trump has been clear: if you make your product in America, you don't have to worry about tariffs. Industry leaders ranging from TSMC to Apple to Stellantis have already responded with trillions in historic investment commitments to make and hire in America.

Read the original article on Business Insider

One chart shows that investors are skeptical of OpenAI delivering on its $1 trillion of deals

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:40:02 +0000

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Shelby Tauber/Reuters

This post originally appeared in the First Trade newsletter.
You can sign up for Business Insider's daily markets newsletter here.

Read the original article on Business Insider

I saved aggressively from age 34 to achieve FIRE. Here's why I stopped despite living the dream of quitting my job to travel.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:40:01 +0000

Charlie Brown quit the FIRE movement earlier this year over a moral dilemma.

Courtesy of Charlie Brown

Six years ago, all Charlie Brown could think about was aggressive investing to try to hit FIRE.
But then came a moral dilemma that led to abandon the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement.
Brown no longer puts money into investment funds and works as a freelance writer.

It started in early 2019 when I heard a news segment on the radio that people were retiring in their 30s through a movement called FIRE: Financial Independence, Retire Early.

The premise seemed simple: Live frugally and invest aggressively until you can live off your savings and the interest for the rest of your life.

I was immediately intrigued. Six years earlier, my husband and I had opened a wine store and bar in the UK, where we're from, and were exhausted from the long hours. Not working unless I wanted to was appealing.

In July 2019, at age 34, I started investing aggressively, and for 15 months, it was practically all I thought about. At the time, my husband and I already had around £233,000 from previous savings and the equity in our house, which we planned to sell one day, along with our business, to travel full-time.

I had no idea that just a few years later, I'd find myself in a moral dilemma over my investments, which would see me quit FIRE.

FIRE helped me quit my business and leave the UK

Traveling full-time always felt like a pipe dream, but seeing how much money we already had in assets encouraged me to jump into investing. Unlike many FIRE advocates, I wasn't aiming to save a specific amount; I just wanted to see how much I could accumulate, and poured every spare penny into index funds. Income from our hospitality business wasn't consistent, but we kept our monthly outgoings low so we could invest as much as possible.

In the summer of 2020, we accepted an offer to buy our business, which allowed us to inject even more cash into our index funds. Around the same time, we sold our house and most of our belongings.

That October, only 15 months after discovering FIRE and just weeks after completing our business sale, we said goodbye to the UK for a life of travel. Though we didn't feel like we had enough saved to stop working forever, we both wanted to take a break and figure out our future as we went.

Brown and her husband left the UK in October 2020.

Courtesy of Charlie Brown

I felt freer than ever, but it wasn't long before I had doubts about my investment strategy

I knew I didn't want to be financially independent so I could sit on a beach all day, but to find time to live a meaningful life. Within a week of leaving the UK, I decided to try freelance writing. I had wanted to rid myself of the stress of running a hospitality business, and writing enabled me to earn money and do meaningful work without burning out.

We started out living for five months in the small Spanish wine-making city of Logroño. Being in the wine trade, we were excited to be surrounded by wineries, and despite the COVID-era restrictions, we loved our new life there. Once the borders opened up, we spent the next 2.5 years visiting various European countries, including Georgia, Italy, and Portugal, the latter being where we eventually settled in August 2023.

During these travels, my attitude toward FIRE began to change. Initially, I wasn't overly concerned with which companies I invested in; I just wanted bigger and bigger returns. But as time went on, I felt uncomfortable about where my money was going.

I'd heard about ethical investing, and began asking myself if the companies I'd invested in were contributing to a world I'd want to inhabit. Increasingly, the answer was no.

For the next couple of years, I slowly moved as many investments as I could into environmental, social, and governance funds, which exclude ethically questionable industries like tobacco or weapons.

But I still didn't agree with the ethics of some of the companies in these funds, for instance, because of how they treated staff or the actions of their CEOs. I felt guilty about profiting off them, but I wasn't sure what to do.

I've abandoned the FIRE movement for a different dream

It wasn't until June 2025, when I wrote on Medium about the ethical implications of personal investment strategies, that I realized I could do more to practice what I preached.

Now, I've stopped moving money into investment funds, and I'm looking into different ways to approach my finances, including a potential investment in a new business that my husband and I can run together. It's scary because it means spending my savings and depleting my safety net, but I want to feel comfortable with where I invest my money.

Now, instead of retiring early, I envision a future of writing and making wine with my husband in Portugal. Although my income as a writer can fluctuate, I'm glad I can write about important issues and do something I truly care about.

For me, the FIRE movement was a double-edged sword. I wouldn't be where I am today in my career and life without it, but I'd no longer recommend it as an investment strategy.

In my experience, chasing early retirement meant prioritizing growth and profits over pretty much anything else, from where your money is invested to fully enjoying your life.

Besides, it's much more fun to work than to retire when you have a meaningful job.

Do you have a story to share about trying to reach FIRE? Contact the editor, Charissa Cheong, at ccheong@businessinsider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider

I'm a Gen X job seeker who's afraid my gray hair is turning employers away — but I refuse to dye it

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:37:01 +0000

Elizabeth Davis said she considered borrowing a friend's wig.

Elizabeth Davis

Elizabeth Davis has sent over 500 applications since being laid off more than a year ago.
Davis, 59, said she is concerned about ageism in the interview process because of her gray hair.
She views her age as an advantage and doesn't want to change her identity to get a job.

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Elizabeth Davis, a 59-year-old based outside D.C., who previously worked in communications. Her identity and application count have been verified by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

Just over a year ago, I was laid off from Broadcom. I did internal communications and employee engagement, and it was a total dream job.

I started looking for a role in October 2024, and I've come close a number of times. But most of the jobs have either been less than half of my previous salary, or the company decided to go with someone else.

The first interview always goes great. They say something like, "You're exactly what we're looking for," and then it's crickets.

I have submitted upwards of 500 applications to a range of jobs since starting my job hunt. I'm looking at manager positions, all the way down to roles that require five years of experience.

It's always great when I get a phone call from a recruiter, but when it's on a video, they can see I have gray hair — and I realize that may be hindering me. I think there's a perception that if you're older, you are technology-ignorant, and in this market you can't be. They forget that if you want to learn something you can.

Based on my husband's recent experience looking for a job, I knew it would be a tough road — and I soon realized that my gray hair might be perceived negatively.

A recruiter recently said to me, "Have you thought about coloring your hair?"

I tried to laugh it off, and I said, "Yes, I have thought about it."

I don't want to change my identity to get a job

I understand that it's a tight market, especially now with the government shutdown and so much uncertainty — but I wish that people would suspend their own biases.

I live in an Orthodox Jewish community, and I have toyed with borrowing a friend's wig. I could also just color my hair for this job search.

Davis trying on her friend's wig.

Elizabeth Davis

I normally keep my hair super short. That, and bright colored glasses, is sort of my trademark look. I run the risk of having to choose between being my authentic self and compromising my integrity.

I look at my age as a competitive advantage. I've earned this gray hair. I was just reading an article in "Scientific American" about how older workers have the cognitive ability to cut through the noise. We have more life experience, so we can see what's urgent and distinguish between a real crisis and a manufactured crisis.

I don't think anyone has the answers

I feel like in this environment, there's no one answer. There's nothing to say that even if I made my hair brown again, it would get me in the door.

I've had three different professional job coaches look at my résumé and give input — and each one gave me totally different counsel.

If you look at my résumé, I've eliminated positions prior to when I joined Boeing in June of 2000, but that's already 25 years of experience right there.

One job coach told me I can take all the dates off and keep the most current position. I don't know how I could get by with that. My résumé would be missing any narrative of how I launched into a role that clearly would have taken years to get to.

Another job coach said, "why don't you chop the years of Boeing in half?" I left Boeing in 2016. I feel like if I only included half the years I worked there, it would come up if they did a reference check.

I've taken all the dates of my education off, and I'm happy to try leaving dates out completely. I've also considered restructuring it entirely to be a list of former employers, focusing solely on accomplishments.

But at the end of the day, it's not really about coloring my hair. It's that I'm proud of my gray hair. As I'm getting older, I refuse to just say, 'I'm done.' There's still a lot of life left and a lot that can be contributed.

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Tired of doomscrolling? It's time to start using an 'analog bag.'

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:34:01 +0000

Analog bags are all the rage on TikTok.

Getty Images; Rebecca Zisser/BI

TikTokers are packing "analog bags" as a way to curb doomscrolling.
Their bags are packed with portable activities like books, crossword puzzles, and watercolors.
People who participate in the trend say it's part of a wider effort to use tech more intentionally.

Sierra Campbell has four key necessities she won't leave home without: her phone, her keys, her wallet, and a small tote bag.

The first three she uses only for practicalities, like paying for things and looking up directions. The bag is the source of all her entertainment: Loaded with portable activities like crossword puzzles, knitting needles, and watercolor paints, it's a deliberately screen-free way for Campbell to spend her in-between moments.

The 31-year-old has dubbed this her "analog bag," and considers it a key weapon in her constant battle against doomscrolling and brain rot.

"I firmly believe you cannot live a full life while unknowingly addicted to your phone," Campbell told me. "You might be missing really wonderful opportunities to have a fun and deep life. The analog piece is such a cornerstone of that."

When Campbell introduced the analog bag concept to her TikTok followers in August, she said the video's views and likes spiked well beyond her norm.

"It struck a nerve," she said.

In the two months since, a flock of young women have followed her example, with many showing off their own versions of Campbell's whimsical packing list: Disposable camera? Check. Needlepoint set? Check. Puzzle book? Check.

Emily Karst, Sierra Campbell, and Hannah Hofstetter show off their "analog bags" on TikTok.

@joyfulnoiseteaching/siececampbell/hannahpaige__/TikTok

It may seem counterintuitive for a trend that celebrates screen-free life to resonate on TikTok, a platform that feeds on the exact habit these bags are fighting against. But all the women I spoke to for this piece said the appeal of the analog bag isn't anti-technology or anti-social media. Rather, it's part of a wider effort to use modern tools with care and intention — especially during the in-between moments of life, like when you're taking the train to work or waiting for a friend at a restaurant.

Too often, these analog bag carriers say, we squander this time by ceding our attention to the algorithm.

"My parents would always say, 'Count the cost,' and they were never talking about money," Campbell said. "The cost for the convenience of our phones has gotten too high."

Analog bags are all about habit stacking

Emily Karst, a 32-year-old school principal in Ohio, saw Campbell's video and instantly felt inspired. She, too, believes the key to using technology is moderation, and was looking for small ways to make that middle ground more attainable.

"What can I do to make it just as easy to pick up something that isn't my phone?" she said. "Sometimes it's because I want to check the time or I need to look at my directions or whatever. But more often, it's because there's been some sort of break in the action, and I've conditioned myself. I'm so uncomfortable being bored that I'm just going to instantly get that dopamine hit and watch a couple of TikToks real quick."

"Instead, if there's something else that we can grab," she continued, "it allows us to make a better decision."

Two people on their phones while sitting together at a bar.

Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto

Since she began carrying her own analog bag, which she loaded with a watercolor kit, "memory collecting" book, and needlepoint set, Karst sa the number of times she picks up her phone every day has plummeted.

"I've been so serious about this, mostly because I was alarming myself," Karst said. "I don't want to live my whole adult life losing my ability to engage with good art and long books and novels and movies because I'm ruining my attention."

Campbell cites "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg as a major inspiration for the concept of an analog bag. The popular self-help book, published in 2012, argues that replacing one habit with another is more effective than quitting cold turkey.

As someone with a self-described "addictive personality," Campbell brings her analog bag everywhere because it ensures that phone alternatives are always within reach; the bag's contents offer easy substitutes when she feels that instinctive itch to pick up her phone, like a cigarette smoker who's trying to cut back might reach instead for a stick of gum.

Digital content is designed to be addictive, so Campbell's precautions are carefully considered. She packs a physical planner in her analog bag so she doesn't feel tempted to scroll if she needs to check her calendar. She even carries a Polaroid camera so she can interrogate whether she really needs a photo of something, or if it's just going to be snapped and then lost in the cloud, never to be seen again.

"If it's you versus your phone, the phone's going to win," Campbell said. "Willpower alone won't work."

Phone usage has become instinctive and detrimental to our health

"Brain rot" was Oxford Dictionary's word of the year in 2024.

Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images

Plenty of tech insiders and researchers have echoed Campbell's observations. The psychological concept of "technostress" has been in the public lexicon since at least 2018. Tim Kendall, a former executive at Facebook and Pinterest, told Yahoo Finance in 2020 that phone overuse is a stealthy phenomenon, describing it as a serious health issue.

"Most people think they spend two hours a day on their phone," Kendall said. "When we look at the data, it's four and a half. So there's a disconnect between reality and your awareness."

Indeed, recent studies have found that heavy consumption of short-form media is bad for your brain — it's linked to anxiety, depression, and shorter attention spans — and that even AI models can deteriorate when exposed to low-quality internet junk.

Still, the internet has become embedded in our daily routines and work lives. Being totally offline is a lofty and, for many, unappealing goal. Instead, those who carry analog bags or romanticize their #AnalogLife on TikTok simply strive to be mindful about their screen time — actively choosing when and why to engage with their devices, rather than scrolling mindlessly.

"We reach for our phones without really thinking first," Hannah Hofstetter, a 23-year-old healthcare worker based in Alabama, told me. "A lot of times, it's because we're thinking we want to rest. We want it to give our brains a moment to rest. Well, that is the opposite of what's happening."

When Hofstetter first saw an analog bag on her feed, she said she was struck with sudden clarity. Why had she even picked up her phone in the first place? Why had she opened the TikTok app? She couldn't remember the answers.

Now, when she's out with friends and she feels a lull in the conversation, Hofstetter doesn't reach for her phone — she reaches for her handy analog bag and pulls out a stack of Tarot cards.

"My first reaction was kind of an 'aha' moment," Hofstetter said. "Like, wow, I'm not using my free will like I could be."

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Figma CEO says Charli XCX's 'Brat' album cover is an example of why AI won't replace humans anytime soon

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:31:01 +0000

Figma CEO Dylan Field says AI would never have come up with the viral design for Charli XCX's album, "Brat."

Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch; Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Figma CEO Dylan Field said AI is "so far away" from replacing human designers.
Field used the cover of Charli XCX's album, "Brat," as an example.
"What ASI designer would create Brat summer?" Field asked.

Brat summer is over and done with, but the viral bright green album cover continues to be relevant — just ask Figma CEO Dylan Field.

During the "Uncapped with Jack Altman" podcast published on Wednesday, Field said the album is an example of why AI won't replace human designers anytime soon.

"I think we are so far away from AI replacing designers, and if you actually look at the designs generated, I think it's very easy to tell that," Field said. "But even if the design generation from an aesthetic standpoint gets better, it's not considering the entire system."

Field told Altman, the brother of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, that the technology doesn't take into account certain things, such as cultural context or constraints.

"You're not thinking about the emotional qualities you're trying to create and the brand, and how that gets pulled in," Field said.

Field used the simple viral cover of Charli XCX's album "Brat" as an example of a design artificial superintelligence likely wouldn't suggest. The bright green album cover is bare except for the word "brat" styled in a slightly distorted Arial font.

Brat - this summer. 15 songs. 41:23 minutes long. on repeat. https://t.co/JHsLbjO049 pic.twitter.com/cLh1vInL9Z
— Charli (@charli_xcx) February 28, 2024

"What ASI designer would create Brat summer?" Field said. "The ability to go think of all the possibilities in the world and end up on that album cover. You put me in a room for 100 years, I don't think I would have come up with that."

Charli XCX released "Brat" to critical and commercial acclaim in June 2024, sparking what became known as Brat summer. The 15-track album cover became a pop culture phenomenon, influencing trends in fashion and politics. "Brat" won several awards, including two Grammy Awards.

The advancements in AI and automation have sparked debate about whether the technology will create more jobs for humans or replace them. For his part, Field has said AI isn't coming for humans' jobs.

"There's a need for designers to lead the charge, and AI will only get you so far," Field told the "Rapid Response" podcast in October. "But the drudgery, how do we remove that from the design process? How do we give more access to more people?"

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This logistics stock is already juicing profits with AI, way ahead of schedule

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:30:01 +0000

Business Wire/AP

Investors are still waiting to see if AI spending will significantly improve productivity.
CH Robinson is one company already seeing the benefits of AI, with productivity up 40% since 2022.

One of the biggest questions in the market right now is how effective AI will be in raising profit margins.

Tech firms are dumping billions of dollars a year into building out infrastructure to support the technology, helping to propel US economic growth and stock-market gains. But will it ever pay off?

For one company, the answer is already yes. And its stock is already seeing the benefits in a big way.

Shares of CH Robinson (CHRW), a freight logistics firm, are up 49% year-to-date. After the company's Q3 earnings report last week, the stock jumped about 20% in a single day.

The stock is moving so dramatically because the company has begun using generative AI, said Travis Prentice, the founder of the Informed Momentum Company.

Here's a chart showing the firm's productivity and profit margin gains over the last few years.

The Informed Momentum Company

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From Palantir to AT&T, CEOs are demanding employee loyalty on DEI, AI, and remote work

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:27:01 +0000

Getty Images

Don't see eye-to-eye with your CEO? That's fine, you can go.
Leaders in recent months have taken a hard-line stance on AI, remote work, and so-called "woke-ism."
They have more power to demand what they want right now — but the pendulum is always swinging.

Bend the knee, or go work somewhere else.

That's the message a growing number of company leaders are preaching, now that a leaner workforce is in and DEI is out.

Palantir is "the first company to be completely anti-woke," chief executive Alex Karp said on an earnings call this week. AT&T's John Stankey warned employees this summer that an "'employment deal' rooted in loyalty" is dead. Also this summer from GitHub's Thomas Dohmke: "Either you have to embrace the Al, or you get out of your career."

The rhetoric represents a stark shift in tone from a few years ago, when CEOs such as Jamie Dimon and David Solomon voiced support for diversity in the wake of the #MeToo movement and George Floyd's death. At the time, employees could job-hop like jackrabbits, and bosses had to play nice.

Now, white-collar layoffs are on the rise, workers are job-hugging, and CEOs are investing in AI tools to automate work.

"It's all about control," said Jeff LeBlanc, a management lecturer at Bentley University. "People in leadership positions are feeling like they finally have the upper hand again."

There's strength in numbers. As CEOs see their peers let it rip, seemingly without consequences, they're emboldened to do the same, said Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

"Follow-the-leader happens in part because people who have been holding back from saying what they want feel more empowered once they are not the first to say it," he said. "Expect more get-tough talk in the next few weeks."

Get on board or quit

Leaders are generally free to mold their workforces however they believe is best for their companies, and their employees can either play ball or move on, said Jennifer Deal, a senior research scientist at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.

"Most organizations are not democracies," she said, adding, "If you don't like it, you need to go somewhere else."

This isn't just Big Tech going hardcore, pushing workers to do more with less, even if that means longer hours and fewer perks. Leaders are also demanding that employees align with their views on matters such as remote work, AI usage, and even politics.

President Donald Trump cancelled DEI initiatives at federal agencies shortly after taking office in January and lambasting "woke-ism." In the months since, the same blunt language has been appearing in bosses' rhetoric.

On the earnings call, Karp noted that Palantir's software powers ICE and boasted that the company supports the Trump administration's stance on Israel. Palantir is "fighting for the right side of what should work in this country — meritocracy, lethal technology," Karp said. "I don't know why this is all controversial, but many people find that controversial."

In his letter to shareholders published the same day, Karp penned a screed against multiculturalism, calling for a "rejection of a vacant and neutered and hollow pluralism."

AT&T's Stankey didn't touch on politics, but in a memo to managers, he made clear he would no longer tolerate remote work or prioritize tenure as a reason for advancement.

"We have consciously shifted away from some of these elements and towards a more market-based culture," he wrote.

Some CEOs are also drawing a hard line on AI policies. In an employee memo last spring, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke said AI usage is now "a baseline expectation" for all employees of the e-commerce company. "Before asking for more Headcount and resources, teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI," Lütke wrote.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong went even further. In August, he mandated AI onboarding for engineers at the cryptocurrency exchange and fired some who didn't comply.

Not everyone is feeling empowered. Some CEOs are staying tight-lipped because their values don't align with those of the Trump administration — or because they're afraid of drawing critical attention.

"They're afraid of getting flagged or on a list that would imply they shouldn't be engaged by the government," Marin Richardson, CEO of Disrupt PR, previously told Business Insider. "It's just such a polarizing climate."

Times have changed

Some of the CEOs now openly embracing Trumpian views once struck a different tone, presenting themselves as politically neutral or even progressive.

Palantir's Karp, for instance, backed former Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign last year. Still, he describes himself as "left of center," as he said in an interview on CNBC on Tuesday.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who has championed liberal causes in Silicon Valley such as public education, recently called on Trump to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco to address crime in the city. He later walked back his comments and apologized for them.

And just days before Trump started his second White House term in January, Mark Zuckerberg changed Meta's content-moderation policies to more closely reflect the priorities of the incoming administration. Four years earlier, at the end of Trump's first term, Zuckerberg blocked Trump from Facebook indefinitely, stating in a post on the social media site that "Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden."

Even Jensen Huang, who in over 30 years of running Nvidia has remained largely apolitical and didn't endorse a candidate during the 2024 election, thanked the audience at a company conference on Monday for "making America great again."

A few years from now, CEOs championing their hardline values may face backlash, said Wayne Cascio, a management professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School.

"Right now, they're in a good position because lots of companies are laying off workers," he said. But the job market is bound to heat up again someday.

"The pendulum will swing back as it always does," said Cascio, adding that many workers whose values don't align with what leaders are trumpeting today will be looking for the exits when they can tomorrow.

At that point, some of those leaders may suddenly sound more accommodating once again, but it'll be hard to turn back the clock.

"These words will be available for people to see in the future," Cascio said. "There is no eraser with the internet."

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I've learned that stress-free travel with kids means breaking some rules

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:25:01 +0000

Some parents try to follow a bunch of rules when they travel with their kids, but the author thinks it's better to break them.

Courtesy of Jamie Davis Smith

There is a lot of travel advice out there geared towards parents. Early on, I followed some of it.
After years of traveling all over the world, I've learned to ignore most of that advice.
Breaking accepted rules, like always getting an early start, have made our travels more enriching.

When I first started traveling with my kids, I pored over travel forums, soaking up every bit of advice I could find about making travel with kids easier.

Initially, I implemented many of the agreed-upon unwritten rules to make travel with children easier. Some worked, most didn't. I've now taken my children to 24 countries and road-tripped across the United States with them. Eventually, I decided to throw the rulebook out the window.

These are the rules of family travel I regularly break and what I do instead.

When we travel, we change hotels frequently

When it comes to traveling with kids, conventional wisdom says you should have a home base and take day trips from there. I can see how this approach can help kids adjust more easily by giving them a familiar place to return to each night. It also means less packing and unpacking.

However, moving around makes my trips better. By changing hotels, my family covers more ground. For example, on a trip through Europe, we changed locations every few nights. This allowed us to see far more of the continent, moving from Rome in Western Europe to Warsaw in the east. Our trip would have been much more limited if we had stayed in Rome the entire time, even if we had taken several day trips.

Additionally, on a recent trip to Japan, I took a tour that ended in Kyoto. Instead of staying in Kyoto, my family moved to a hotel in nearby Osaka. Although Osaka is only about an hour away from Kyoto by train, my family saved several hours in commuting time by moving, allowing us to explore more of the city without being beholden to train schedules.

I don't wake up early to beat the crowds

Many travelers swear by waking up early to beat the crowds, especially with kids. However, sleeping in and staying out late works better for my family. I love not having to rely on an alarm clock while on vacation. Plus, knowing we don't have to wake up early means there's less pressure to cut the day's activities short to get back to the hotel to sleep.

The author said her family doesn't wake up early to beat the crowds in popular tourist spots.

Jamie Davis Smith

When we travel to warm-weather destinations, staying out late often makes it easier to avoid the heat. Magic also happens at night. My kids love visiting amusement parks when we travel. While massive numbers of families prefer to "rope drop" and rush into amusement parks the moment they open, my family relishes having parks nearly to ourselves in the hour or so before closing, usually with fireworks going off nearby.

We've also gotten to experience more only-at-night events, such as the fantastic carnival-like atmosphere that takes over the ancient medina in Marrakesh every evening, or seeing the galaxy appear overhead in the night sky over the desert in Wadi Rum.

I take my kids to places with complicated histories

Other parents tell me they would never take their children to places with difficult, complex histories. They think these places, which are often memorial sites, are too much for children to handle. While I understand their viewpoint, I want to get my kids out of their comfort zones when we travel. I believe allowing them to experience places dedicated to the victims of war and other atrocities, where these events took place, will make them more understanding, compassionate adults. I prepare my children by reading age-appropriate books and talking to them about where we are going in advance.

In Poland, my children visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, which stands on the site of a former concentration camp. In Japan, we visited Hiroshima, where my children witnessed firsthand the devastation and destruction of nuclear war. They learned about the suffering of the children of Hiroshima and how to make origami cranes that symbolize peace. In Birmingham, Alabama, I took my son to several sites related to the civil rights struggle.

Although these dark periods of history can be difficult for children and adults to process, I think this is the best way to teach them tolerance. When my children eventually study these events in school, I hope their understanding of how they happened and how to avoid similar atrocities will be more acute because of our travels.

The author and her children at the Dora Observatory in South Korea.

Courtesy of Jamie Davis Smith

I don't stick to kid-friendly trips

The internet is full of suggestions for "kid-friendly" trips. While these have their place, I don't believe anywhere is off-limits for kids. Children live in some of the most remote corners of the world, so there is no reason kids shouldn't be able to visit them, too. For example, so many people told me not to bring my kids to India because my kids would get violently ill (they didn't) or Jordan because it was too dangerous (it wasn't).

Everything in life involves some risk. Of course, I wouldn't take my children to an active war zone. However, almost every other risk can be managed with reasonable precautions, such as getting travel vaccines and being willing to change course if violence breaks out. Although my family enjoys trips to the beach and Disney World, I'm glad my children are having varied experiences.

I travel light

It's hard for a parent to scroll for more than a few minutes without coming across suggestions for "must-have" travel gear for children. On a few trips, I toted gear that promised to help my kids sleep better on planes, used specially made suitcases my children could ride on, and bought new shoes that claimed they would keep my children going all day.

I quickly discovered that almost no special products are necessary and I prefer to pack light. A small travel blanket helps my son feel more secure when we are away from home, so I usually toss that into his bag, but otherwise, we make do with what we have.

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2 partners at Goldman reveal how AI has impacted what they look for in job candidates

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:21:01 +0000

Asahi Pompey said that many of the fundamental skills she looks for are the same.

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

The partners said that strong relationship-building skills and a focus on details are key.
One partner said that though AI is transforming work, the key skills she seeks remain the same.
CEO David Solomon has said the bank will need to hire more "high-value" people with AI.

If you want to land a job at Goldman Sachs, consider honing your people skills.

Two partners at the bank told Business Insider how AI adoption is changing — or, in some cases, not changing — what they look for in applicants. As the cohead of Global Private Wealth Management and One Goldman Sachs, which is undergoing an AI-driven overhaul, Meena Lakdawala-Flynn said people skills are especially important.

"Strong judgment, strong interpersonal skills, creativity, curiosity, and of course a strong work ethic," she said when asked what she looks for in potential hires.

Wealth management is, she said, about relationship building, and using AI tools effectively could free up more time to spend with clients.

"Those interpersonal skills are really important, because the more that you're able to connect with your client and gain trust, the more that they open up to you," Lakdawala-Flynn said. Her team often uses tools like the "GS AI Assistant," the bank's interactive AI sidekick, and a language translator, among others.

Asahi Pompey, global head of the Office of Corporate Engagement and chair of the Urban Investment Group, has been at Goldman for nearly 20 years and is herself a "big AI user." Yet she doesn't think the core skills that differentiate top applicants and employees have changed much, even as the technology transforms the workplace.

"The fundamentals are still the same," Pompey said. "You want someone who lives in the details, who really understands the aspects of the work that they're doing. You're going to want somebody who's going to be very responsive, because we move in a fast-paced way. Has a high level of accuracy."

Knowing how to correctly prompt an AI chatbot and question its output are also key skills, she said.

Goldman has spent around $6 billion on technology this year, and CEO David Solomon has said the bank's AI tools will "scale and transform our engineering abilities." Junior employees are among the bank's "AI natives," Marco Argenti, Goldman's chief information officer, said last month.

Though a recent internal memo about the AI updates to OneGS outlined "limited" job cuts at the firm, Solomon has said that the technology means Goldman will need to raise headcount and hire "high-value" employees.

Work at Goldman Sachs or have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at atecotzky@insider.com or Signal at alicetecotzky.05. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

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The maker of the Roomba is running out of cash and options. After its failed Amazon deal, iRobot could face bankruptcy.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:18:01 +0000

iRobot, the maker of Roomba, is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The future of the 35-year-old company behind the Roomba is uncertain.
iRobot has warned that it is running out of options and cash.
The company said it may be forced to fold or seek bankruptcy protection.

Roomba once reigned supreme in the world of robotic vacuums, conquering both dirty living room floors with its advanced tech and the marketplace it helped create.

But iRobot, the maker of the iconic self-cleaning disc-shaped vacuum, is now finding itself left in the dust as it teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. The Massachusetts-headquartered company, a pioneer in the robotics industry, has warned that it's running out of options — and cash.

iRobot has grappled with mounting financial strain in recent years, and the collapse of Amazon's planned $1.4 billion acquisition of the Roomba maker in early 2024 has only exacerbated the company's troubles.

After months of trying to find a new buyer, iRobot said in a regulatory filing last month that its last remaining potential acquirer pulled out "following a lengthy period of exclusive negotiations."

The possible iRobot buyer offered a price per share that was "significantly lower than the trading price" of its stock over recent months, the company said in the October 22 Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The debt-burdened iRobot warned in the filing that if it can't find fresh funding soon, it "may be forced to significantly curtail or cease operations and would likely seek bankruptcy protection."

iRobot has sold more than 50 million Roomba models.

amazon

An iRobot spokesperson told Business Insider that, consistent with its policy, it does not comment "on matters of this nature beyond our public disclosures."

With the holiday season approaching, the spokesperson said the company remains "focused on executing our strategy and delivering for our valued customers, partners, and consumers."

iRobot first publicly warned investors that there was "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue "as a going concern" in a March earnings report.

That same month, the company rolled out a new fleet of Roomba vacuums and mops, which CEO Gary Cohen said was aimed at "better positioning iRobot as the leader in the category that we created."

"There can be no assurance that the new product launches will be successful due to potential factors, including, but not limited to consumer demand, competition, macroeconomic conditions, and tariff policies," the company said at the time.

iRobot's current financial position marks a stunning fall for a company that introduced the world to the Roomba vacuum more than two decades ago and has sold over 50 million models globally since.

Founded by MIT roboticists

Before there was Optimus, Tesla's humanoid robot, there was iRobot.

iRobot was founded in 1990 by three roboticists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Colin Angle, Helen Greiner, and Rodney Brooks — who had a "vision of making practical robots a reality," the company says on its website.

Before iRobot had its consumer breakthrough with the launch of the Roomba vacuum in 2002, the company focused on designing robots for space-related research and military use.

iRobot used to make robots for military use.

Scott Nelson/Getty Images

In 1998, iRobot won a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA, to build a tactical mobile robot. This led to the development of iRobot's PackBot, which was later used in search operations at Manhattan's Ground Zero following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

iRobot boasts on its website that its robots have "revealed mysteries of the Great Pyramid of Giza, found harmful subsea oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and saved thousands of lives in areas of conflict and crisis around the globe."

When iRobot went public in November 2005 at an initial share price of $24, it was already known for its innovative robot vacuums.

By 2013, iRobot had sold over 10 million home cleaning robots, vastly outnumbering the more than 5,000 defense and security robots it had delivered to military and civil defense forces worldwide the year before.

An iRobot PackBot in action.

MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images/MediaNews Group via Getty Images

The company sold its defense and security business to the private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners in 2016 for up to $45 million.

Over the past decade, iRobot's annual revenue peaked in 2021 at $1.56 billion, but sales have been falling ever since.

iRobot — which today slings models ranging in price from $269.99 to as high as $1,299.99 — may have set the standard for home robot vacuums, but competition has surged from Chinese rivals like Dreame, Roborock, and Ecovacs, and other brands like Shark and Samsung.

In an August SEC filing, iRobot acknowledged that it has, in recent years, "seen increased competition with new product offerings in the robotic floorcare segment and have conceded some market share."

The failed Amazon-iRobot deal

Amazon agreed to buy iRobot in 2022 for $61 per share in an all-cash transaction, but the deal fell apart two years later with the companies saying there was "no path to regulatory approval in the European Union."

The failed deal was a major blow to iRobot. The same day the companies announced that the proposed merger was off, iRobot said it would lay off 350 employees, or about 31% of its workforce. Angle, iRobot's cofounder and longtime CEO, also stepped down as part of the restructuring.

As the cash-strapped iRobot awaited the completion of the Amazon deal that never came, it took out a $200 million loan from the private equity firm Carlyle Group in July 2023.

iRobot's future is on shaky ground.

MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images/MediaNews Group via Getty Images

iRobot said in last month's regulatory filing that it had further extended its loan waiver period to December 1 as its financial outlook darkens.

"We are currently in discussions with the Lenders to provide the additional capital we require to fund our ongoing business operations," iRobot wrote, adding that it may be forced to file for bankruptcy protection if the lenders "do not provide this necessary funding and we are unable to find other sources of capital in the near term."

The iRobot spokesperson told Business Insider, "As disclosed in our Form 8-K filed with the SEC, we have reached an agreement with our primary lender to extend our covenant waiver under our loan agreement through December 1, 2025, in order to continue our active and ongoing review of strategic alternatives, including, but not limited to, exploring a potential sale or strategic transaction and refinancing our debt."

Meanwhile, iRobot's shares — priced at $2.70 as of Wednesday's market close — have plunged about 65% year-to-date.

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A couple expected to hit financial independence in a decade, but it was a '4-year sprint' to early retirement. Here's how they invest their money.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:15:01 +0000

The FI Couple, Ali and Josh Lupo.

Courtesy of Ali and Josh Lupo

Ali and Josh Lupo paid off six figures of student loan debt before achieving financial independence.
The couple invests in dividend ETFs and real estate, which generate consistent income.
They also earn passive income through private money lending.

When Business Insider spoke with Ali and Josh Lupo in 2021, the couple was chipping away at their six-figure student loan debt by house hacking and living frugally. Their plan was to quit their day jobs by the time they were 40.

They hit their goal a lot sooner than expected.

In 2025, Josh, 35, and Ali, 34, are debt-free, have scaled to 14 cash-flowing rental units, and consider themselves financially independent. They both left their 9-to-5 jobs and now spend their days raising their two-year-old daughter and growing their financial independence coaching business, The FI Couple.

"I thought it would have been a seven-to 10-year journey to get here, but it's been about a four-year sprint," Josh told Business Insider.

The Lupos, who live and invest in properties in upstate New York, explain how they've invested their money to generate enough passive income to sustain their lifestyle.

Dividend ETFs pay them quarterly

"We actively invest in the stock market through low-cost ETFs, and so every quarter we get dividend payments from the different ETFs that we own," said Josh.

A dividend ETF invests in a collection of dividend-paying stocks, and investors can receive distributions in the form of dividends monthly, quarterly, or at some other interval.

Especially as their lives have become busier with a toddler and their growing real estate portfolio, the Lupos appreciate the set-and-forget nature of investing in ETFs.

"It's truly very passive," he said. "We literally just put money in, and I don't have to check it ever."

Ali and Josh Lupo, founders of The FI Couple.

Courtesy of Ali and Josh Lupo

Private money lending earns them double-digit returns

In 2025, the couple started lending money to other real estate investors and charging interest on the loan. This is known as private money lending.

"Historically, we'd always been on the receiving end. We were the borrowers of private money, and so we understood conceptually how it worked," said Josh. "We couldn't have imagined being in a place where we had $200,000 of capital that we could invest in deals."

They started with a smaller deal, lending an investor $15,000. Their second deal was a $100,000 loan, they said.

"There are some industry standards: In the private money lending world, 10 to 12% interest is very common. That's the baseline," he explained. The lender primarily determines the terms of the loan, and these terms vary from one private lender to another. "Sometimes, if it's a six-month loan, you'll get 12%. If it's a three-month loan, you might charge 15% because it's so much shorter and you want to make sure that you get a good return on your investment."

The key to generating passive income this way is vetting both the borrower and the deal they're pursuing.

"As long as you do it properly with a vetted borrower with a good track record, it's literally 30 minutes of work one time, and then we'll get our money back in six months, plus interest," said Josh. "It takes us 30 minutes driving to the bank, wiring the funds, and then the investor that is borrowing the money sends us updates, and that's the extent of it."

14 long-term units bring in monthly rental income

The Lupos, who got their foot in the real estate door by purchasing and "house hacking" a duplex, manage 14 long-term rental units in upstate New York.

They plan to eventually add more rentals, but, for now, they're focusing on optimizing their current portfolio.

"In our experience, it takes five to seven years for a property to get to that point where it's really generating a lot," said Josh. "Because a lot of times when you're buying a property, maybe the rents are below market, maybe the property needs some work, there are onboarding costs — but give it five years and that thing is now a well-oiled machine."

Most of their real estate has been purchased in the last three years, "so instead of aggressively continuing to try to buy more, I know we have thousands upon thousands of dollars a month of untapped income, but it's going to take time. We have to continue to upgrade the properties, fix the properties, increase the rent, and so on and so forth."

They're also planning on paying off some of their mortgages early, which could "unlock another $25,000 to $30,000 a year in cash flow, just from not having mortgages," he added.

Their real estate investment strategy is generally a buy-and-hold approach. However, they did sell one property in their portfolio in 2025 and profited generously.

"The $150,000 duplex that we bought in 2020, we recently just sold for $270,000 — and the property that we bought in 2018 for $158,000, if we sold it, we probably get close to $300,000," said Josh. "Not every property we own has doubled in value, but many of them are 40 to 50% more valuable than they were when we first purchased them."

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A 2020 email from Peter Thiel on why young people may turn on capitalism is circulating after Zohran Mamdani's win

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:13:01 +0000

Billionaire Peter Thiel once said it was important to understand why more millennials embrace socialism than the country as a whole.

Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union

Peter Thiel once offered a simple theory for why millennials are more supportive of socialism.
In 2020, Thiel said student debt and the cost of housing were to blame.
His once-private email is being shared once again after Zohran Mamdani's victory.

Peter Thiel's theory for why some millennials have embraced socialism is receiving renewed attention following New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's victory.

"When 70% of Millennials say they are pro-socialist, we need to do better than simply dismiss them by saying that they are stupid or entitled or brainwashed; we should try and understand why," Thiel wrote in a January 2020 email to top Facebook leaders, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya posted a screenshot of the exchange as business and tech leaders began to digest Mamdani's stunning rise as a self-described democratic socialist to lead the nation's largest city.

"Tl;dr too much student debt and lack of affordable housing keeps young people with negative capital for too long," Palihapitiya wrote on X. "And without a stake in the capitalist system, they will turn against it."

Here is Peter Thiel’s email to Zuck and Andreessen in Jan-2020 predicting socialism.

Tl;dr too much student debt and lack of affordable housing keeps young people with negative capital for too long. And without a stake in the capitalist system, they will turn against it. pic.twitter.com/BOKgwJ2cV0
— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) November 5, 2025

Thiel said that young Americans had grown fed up with a system that many may have felt had left them behind.

"from the perspective of a broken generational compact, there seems to be a pretty straightforward answer to me, namely, that when one has too much student debt or if housing is too unaffordable, then one will have negative capital for a long time and/or find it very hard to start accumulating capital in the form of real estate; and if one has no stake in the capitalist system, then one may well turn against it," Thiel wrote.

Often described as a libertarian, Thiel wrote that he "would be the last person to advocate for socialism," but it was important to understand why a large percentage of young Americans felt disconnected. Thiel spoke in support of President Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Thiel distanced himself from politics after the 2022 midterms, but has recently resumed supporting Republican causes.

At the time of his message, Thiel was encouraging Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to think more about how to deploy his capital as "the spokesman for the Millennial generation." Thiel said the social media network needed to make sure it stayed "attuned" to the rising generation.

The internal messages came to light amid an onslaught of lawsuits related to Meta's treatment of young users' mental health. Thirty-three states sued Meta in federal court while others, including Tennessee and the District of Columbia, filed suit in state court. Business Insider verified the authenticity of Thiel's message, which was posted by the newsletter Internal Tech Emails.

A spokesperson for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Young voters continue to warm to socialism

More recent polling shows that a wide swath of younger Americans continue to hold positive views of socialism, even as the nation as a whole does not. An August Gallup poll found that 49% adults 18 to 34 had a positive view of socialism, 10 percentage points higher than adults overall.

It's not a straight line. It's hard to reconcile Thiel's thesis with President Donald Trump's significant improvement among young voters in 2024 compared to his two previous runs. Trump has routinely used the socialist label as a cudgel against his opponents, a trend he continued with Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he also called a "Marxist" and a communist. (Harris was neither of those things.)

The AP Voter Poll, which is based on a survey of more than 17,000 voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California, and New York City, found most voters under 30 supported Democrats.

Mamdani built a massive advantage with young voters, the survey found. He outperformed Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by 60 percentage points among voters ages 18 to 19 and by 38 points among voters ages 30 to 44.

Addressing his supporters Tuesday night, Mamdani quoted Eugene V. Debs, a 1900s American socialist leader who once ran for president while in prison.

"I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this," Mamdani said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

I felt pure happiness when I was laid off from Microsoft after 14 years. It was the green light I needed to start my own business.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:05:01 +0000

Tatiana Teppoeva.

Courtesy of Tatiana Teppoeva

Tatiana Teppoeva launched her own company after being laid off from Microsoft in January.
Her son's entrepreneurial success inspired her to pursue her long-held business dreams.
Now she's in control of her own schedule and enjoys the freedom that comes with being an entrepreneur.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tatiana Teppoeva, a 49-year-old entrepreneur in Redmond, Washington. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I'm an entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in economics and two master's degrees, and I'm currently pursuing an MBA. I'm also a US patent holder in predictive AI, a certified personality profiler, and certified in nonverbal communication, voice, and speech analysis.

At the start of my career, I worked at Boeing as a business analyst, where I led global customer satisfaction initiatives and internal employee engagement analytics.

In May 2011, I joined Microsoft as a senior research manager. From 2015 to 2025, I transitioned into a senior data and applied scientist role, where I developed and patented an AI model for predicting hardware failures.

When I was laid off from Microsoft after 14 years, I started a company, One Nonverbal Ecosystem, rather than seeking a new corporate job. Now I teach executives how to command the room and project the presence they want.

I got an email from Microsoft in January telling me I had been laid off

My first reaction was disbelief and pure happiness. I picked up the phone and called a friend to share the news.

For more than a year, I had been thinking about leaving to start my own company, but it was not an easy decision after a 17-year stable career at Boeing and Microsoft.

I even had a resignation letter saved in my drafts, waiting for the right moment. When the layoff happened, I felt it was a green light, and I was grateful.

Microsoft provided me with clarity and a financial cushion with severance and medical coverage, which allowed me to start building my business without the immediate pressure of financial concerns.

One of the biggest inspirations for me to start my own company was my son, who's a successful businessman

I watched him start from nothing and build something impressive as a business owner in the construction space. He wasn't interested in college, and I didn't know how it would turn out, but I told him it was the perfect time to experiment. If it worked, wonderful. If not, he would still gain valuable experience. I've always believed we either win or we learn; there are no failures.

Watching his journey encouraged me to take the same leap. I had wanted to start my own business since I was 30, but life circumstances made me put that dream on hold.

But now, my kids are older, and I have my degrees and experience. I know I could always return to employment if I want to.

In Big Tech, I learned that fear, not ambition, became the dominant driver behind performance

One time while at Microsoft, we were in the middle of a high-stakes incident review, the kind where everyone is under pressure because millions of users could be affected.

On the surface, the team looked motivated and fully engaged, but when we talked privately afterward, many colleagues admitted they were working out of fear of being blamed if something went wrong.

That moment showed me how often performance in corporate settings is powered by fear rather than real drive. Fear can create short bursts of results, but it's not sustainable in the long run. I learned that people do their best work when they feel trust and clarity, not when they're trying to avoid punishment.

This is exactly how I envision entrepreneurship: being busy on my own terms

I officially launched my business in spring 2025. Some days I work 16 hours and I love it, and other days I might work zero. I decide when and what I do. I really enjoy learning new things, and this is a completely new world for me.

At times, it feels overwhelming because I have 100 ideas competing in my head, so I have to work on focusing.

I've been published in the media, spoken on podcasts, created my first online course, trained small business teams, and worked with high-level individuals — all things I had never done before. Recently, I hired my first employee part-time.

I wish I had known earlier that isolation is not the challenge I expected

For me, it's actually the opposite. I'm part of many communities and groups, so I often have to step back to focus on my top priorities.

The real difference from corporate life is that now, even when I feel overwhelmed, it's because of my own choices — and that feels like freedom.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Everyone's asking if AI will pay off. This company has proof it does.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:00:03 +0000

TS Imagine COO Thomas Bodneski

TS Imagine

Fintech company TS Imagine used AI to save the equivalent of 8.5 full-time employees' work.
74% of enterprises see a positive return on investment from AI adoption, Wharton study found.
TS Imagine built AI tools to enhance efficiency in customer service, email management, and more.

Tech giants are spending trillions of dollars on AI infrastructure. How the heck will all this be paid for?

The answer depends on whether users, and especially corporate customers, get value from AI tools and services. And, if that happens, will they pay enough to cover this spending spree and leave some left over as profit?

This is the big question that looms over the entire market and economy right now. It's unnerving to wonder whether there'll be any real return on investment from this new technology.

I don't have the answers. However, I recently met an executive who does.

Thomas Bodenski serves as the COO of TS Imagine, which sells software that helps investment firms, banks, and brokers trade, manage portfolios, and monitor risk. He has been in the corporate AI trenches since 2023, using this nascent technology to make TS Imagine more efficient, fast-moving, and ultimately more profitable.

Bodenski's conclusion so far: The AI spending spree is well worth it, and the ROI he's seen proves it.

"It's super beneficial," he told me in an interview this week. "There's no way I can go back now. It's been too successful."

This is backed up by a recent Wharton study, which found that 74% of enterprises are already generating positive ROI from AI projects.

"This is a pretty big deal, achieving positive ROI is happening faster than I would have expected," wrote Ethan Mollick, an associate professor of management at Wharton who studies the effects of AI on work, entrepreneurship, and education.

Enter TAIA

TS Imagine's experience, using data-wrangling AI technology such as Snowflake Intelligence, shows how persistent effort can yield real ROI.

Bodenski's main evidence is TAIA, an AI agent that handles various aspects of customer service and data analysis for TS Imagine.

He shared three specific TAIA examples that he says have eliminated the equivalent of 8.5 full-time employees. TS Imagine employs about 34 data analysts in its data and global client service departments, so that's significant "person power" gain, Bodenski said.

Customer service

Customer service is already a major area of impact for generative AI in the workplace, and it's one of the first places where TS Imagine realized benefits.

The firm is constantly bombarded with questions, requests, and rants from demanding, fast-paced clients, including hedge funds, bankers, and traders. It traditionally hired employees to read, classify, and assign these customer-service tickets manually—a stressful task.

Now, TAIA does this automatically, selecting which human professionals are available and best suited to handle each customer request, while adding relevant material to help resolve the issues.

This new AI process takes about one minute per ticket, while the old, manual approach took about 10 minutes. This eliminated the equivalent of three full-time employees, in terms of the time, effort, and other resources required, Bodenski said.

100,000 emails

TS Imagine receives a deluge of emails from numerous vendors who supply and update financial data on a regular basis. It gets roughly 100,000 of these messages every year. Some are incredibly important, while others are irrelevant.

The firm previously tapped financially savvy staff in Hong Kong, London, New York, and Montreal to review every email and either discard it or assign it to the relevant colleagues.

Now, TAIA reads all these emails and automatically classifies and assigns them. TS Imagine gets the same, or better, results from this new AI process at 3% of the cost of the previous manual approach, Bodenski said. Part of those savings comes from the elimination of 2.5 full-time employees, in terms of time and effort, he added.

Corporate actions

TS Imagine helps investors and traders track and understand corporate actions, including stock splits, dividends, and mergers and acquisitions.

The firm often gets updates on corporate actions from exchanges that send the information via PDFs. TS Imagine employees traditionally reviewed this unstructured data and integrated it carefully with customer portfolios.

This stressful and detailed work must get done before trading opens the following day. If an employee gets the math wrong on a stock split, a hedge fund's investment could swing wildly and inaccurately.

Now, TAIA automatically converts these PDFs into structured data that can be used to update client portfolios and positions more quickly and more accurately, Bodenski said.

"The manual errors have gone," he added.

This AI automation has saved the equivalent of three full-time employees. TS Imagine still has three other human employees working on this task because it's so important and complex, although Bodenski is pursuing more AI automation here.

Was it worth all the work?

Through these three specific AI deployments, TS Imagine saved the equivalent of 8.5 full-time employees in terms of effort, time, and other resources required.

Rather than cutting staff, TS Imagine has reassigned employees to more valuable tasks, such as data quality, testing, and client and vendor relationships, Bodenski said.

The firm invested thousands of hours in developing this AI technology. So, was it worth it, in terms of ROI?

"100%," Bodenski told me. "These large language models are truly revolutionary. They're not solving things on their own — you have to implement and operationalize the technology properly and make it work for you. But I would not go back. Not possible."

Sign up for BI's Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com.

Read the original article on Business Insider

'Boomerslop' has taken over Meta AI's Vibes feed

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:00:02 +0000

Meta Vibes lets you create AI videos. So far, users seem to be creating a lot of "Boomer" slop.

CFOTO/CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Meta AI's Vibes feed has a lot of political content — specifically, lots of videos featuring Donald Trump.
These are mostly jokey, like ones with Trump dancing or being arrested. It's very boomer-coded.
I'm calling it boomerslop.

It's been a little over a month since Meta launched Vibes, the all-AI video feed inside its stand-alone Meta AI app. I regret to inform you that it seems to be full of what I'm calling boomerslop.

And in particular, it's full of politically charged boomerslop about President Donald Trump.

First, let me explain boomerslop: It's AI slop that's particularly appealing to a Facebook-loving boomer. I say this with love and affection for baby boomers. Time comes for us all, and every generation gets roasted for its digital foibles.

Boomerslop isn't even necessarily made by boomers. (Meta told me that boomers aren't the majority of Meta AI users.) But, let's say, this stuff is spiritually boomerish — it appeals to a boomer sensibility.

What makes this stuff boomerslop isn't just that it might be fooling older people into thinking it's real. I'd argue that OpenAI's Sora or other AI tools are much better at making highly realistic AI videos that could actually fool people (Meta's own head AI scientist, Yann LeCun, recently seemed to fall for an AI video of police interacting with ICE).

It's that this is the kind of video that boomers enjoy — specifically, jokey memes of Donald Trump. Whether the videos are pro-Trump or anti-Trump depends on the audience.

Meta didn't quite buy my vibe about Vibes.

"The vast majority of Vibes content viewed is focused on lifestyle and entertainment topics like sci-fi, fashion, motivational themes, and pets," Faith Eischen, a Meta spokesperson, told Business Insider. "In other words, while Business Insider may find this interesting, this content is not representative of the Vibes vibe."

Donald Trump — the AI version — dances in an example of the "boomerslop" spreading across Meta AI's Vibes feed.

Screengrab

Indeed, I do find it interesting! And I don't disagree that it's not all Trump, Obama, and Biden videos. But there were enough to make it noticeable — especially compared to how the feed looked when it first launched.

Vibes has echoes of old Facebook

Let's recall the mid-to-late aughts, when Facebook was known as "the place where uncles yell at each other online." The news feed at the time rewarded highly divisive content that stirred negative emotions.

Back in 2016, people were posting "Lock her up" memes on Facebook, which flooded everyone's feed. After realizing this was a problem, Facebook did a variety of things to try to correct this, including limiting the reach of political posts in 2024 (it has since eased up on that).

Now in 2025, you have people on Vibes posting divisive Trump videos made with AI. Maybe it's like carcinization, where eventually all Meta products evolve into magnets — at least in some cases! —for boomer ragebait.

There's also something depressing here.

In theory, AI video is a magical tool that could create all sorts of wonderful, creative things. But we ended up instead with anodyne boomerslop that vibrates on the same wavelength as tiresome jokes like "Cheeto-in-chief" or "Let's go Brandon."

To use a tired joke here, the Vibes are off.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Real estate tech startup Digs raised $19 million to build AI that makes home construction easier. Read its pitch deck.

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:00:02 +0000

Digs cofounders by Frackiewicz and Ryan Fink.

Digs

Digs has raised $19 million to assist builders with pre-construction and warranty services.
The startup uses AI to generate a "digital twin" for homeowners.
Here's the pitch deck Digs used to close its seed round.

Digs, an AI product for home builders, has raised $19.1 million in seed funding.

Digs came out of stealth in 2023, and previously raised two $7 million rounds, cofounder and CEO Ryan Fink told Business Insider. It announced Thursday that it has closed an additional $5 million in seed funding, led by Dallas-based SPLY Capital with participation from Lanthorne Homes.

The Vancouver, Washington-based startup uses AI to organize building documents. Fink, whose last startup, Streem, was acquired by Frontdoor in an eight-figure deal, cofounded the company alongside Ty Frackiewicz, the chief product officer.

Digs offers two main products. DigsCanvas is used for preconstruction, serving as a hub where trades and vendors can collaborate on diagramming, Fink said. When construction is complete, DigsCare handles warranty management, helping builders troubleshoot issues and deflect ineligible requests.

Digs also generates "digital twins" — an interactive 3D model — to assist homeowners with upkeep after construction is complete.

"This is their life's largest asset, and they know nothing about it," Fink said, adding that information during the build process is "typically lost into the ether once the home's handed over."

The company generates revenue by selling seats to builders, who can then invite contractors and homeowners as free collaborators.

Digs is exploring the sale of products to homeowners, where both the company and builders would take a cut of the purchases. It's also looking into a subscription service where homeowners could purchase quarterly or seasonal maintenance.

Digs has nearly 10,000 homes using it, and Fink said the company expects to be cash flow positive by the end of next year.

Digs has 28 employees, mostly in engineering, product, and design. It will use its new funding to build out its sales arm.

Digs isn't the only startup building AI tools for construction. Trunk Tools creates AI agents to assist with project tracking, while Scalera uses AI for procurement and tender management.

Here's a look at the pitch deck Digs used to raise its seed funding. One slide has been removed so that the deck can be shared publicly.

Digs

Read the original article on Business Insider

'Boomerslop' is all over Meta AI's Vibes feed

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:00:02 +0000

Meta Vibes lets you create AI videos. So far, users seem to be creating a lot of "Boomer" slop.

CFOTO/CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Meta AI's Vibes feed has a lot of political content — specifically, lots of videos featuring Donald Trump.
These are mostly jokey, like ones with Trump dancing or being arrested. It's very boomer-coded.
I'm calling it boomerslop.

It's been a little over a month since Meta launched Vibes, the all-AI video feed inside its stand-alone Meta AI app. I regret to inform you that it seems to be full of what I'm calling boomerslop.

And in particular, it's full of politically charged boomerslop about President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump — the AI version — dances in an example of the "boomerslop" spreading across Meta AI's Vibes feed.

Screengrab

Vibes has echoes of old Facebook

There's also something depressing here.

To use a tired joke here, the Vibes are off.

Read the original article on Business Insider