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Tag: News and Trends

  • Uber CEO: Robotaxis Will Take Over Drivers’ Jobs Soon | Entrepreneur

    Rideshare driving was the most-searched side hustle last year, garnering nearly 31,000 monthly Google searches, per a Creative Fabrica study. More than seven million people drive or deliver with Uber alone every month.

    However, there might only be a decade left to make any money through the gig.

    Earlier this month, at an “All-In” podcast event, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledged that right now, there is still growth, but that work could dry up soon due to robotaxis and autonomous vehicles.

    Related: Uber Released Its Annual List of Things People Leave in Backseats — and It Is Wild

    “For the next five to seven years, we’re going to have more human drivers and delivery people, just because we’re going so quickly,” Khosrowshahi said, per Business Insider. “But, I think, 10 to 15 years from now, this is going to be a real issue.”

    “This is a big, big societal question that we’re going to have to struggle with, and lots of others are going to struggle with too,” Khosrowshahi added.

    It’s not the first time Khosrowshahi has issued the warning, either. In an interview in January, he also said that driving for Uber is only a safe gig for the next decade.

    “You fast forward 15, 20 years, I think that the autonomous driver is going to be a better driver than the human driver,” Khosrowshahi told the Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern at WSJ Journal House Davos, at the time. “They will have trained on lifetimes of driving that no person can; they’re not going to be distracted.”

    Related: Fewer Gen Zers Are Getting Their Driver’s Licenses. Here’s What’s Behind the Decline, According to Uber’s CEO.

    “I think the human displacement here, while it’s not something that is going to happen tomorrow, is going to happen eventually,” he said in January. “And it’s something we have to think about, society has to think about.”

    According to researchers at the University of Central Florida, who put together data from 2,100 accidents involving autonomous vehicles and 35,000 accidents involving human drivers, autonomous vehicles generally show more safety than human-operated vehicles in most scenarios. However, self-driving cars have five times the risk of getting into accidents when operating at dawn and dusk when compared to human-driven cars.

    Khosrowshahi acknowledged the drawbacks of autonomous vehicles as they are today, stating that they currently have limited areas of origination, destination, and overall areas of operation. The upfront costs, including the cost of mapping routes, are expensive, and the hardware isn’t as advanced as it needs to be for widespread adoption.

    Related: Waymo’s Driverless Robotaxi Fleet Is Making 50,000 Trips Per Week — Here’s Where the Cars Are Headed Next

    Autonomous vehicles aren’t going to take over all at once, but instead are going to start by augmenting what humans can do over the next decade, he said. They are going to start by taking over the easier routes.

    “I think for the next 10 years you’re going to have hybrid networks of humans and machines,” Khosrowshahi said.

    “We are making investments in creating alternative methods of making money for our earner base,” Khosrowshahi said, adding that he wasn’t sure which will get there faster — Uber in terms of opportunity or autonomous vehicles in terms of job replacement.

    Rideshare driving was the most-searched side hustle last year, garnering nearly 31,000 monthly Google searches, per a Creative Fabrica study. More than seven million people drive or deliver with Uber alone every month.

    However, there might only be a decade left to make any money through the gig.

    Earlier this month, at an “All-In” podcast event, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledged that right now, there is still growth, but that work could dry up soon due to robotaxis and autonomous vehicles.

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  • Chick-fil-A Opening Drinks-Focused Restaurant ‘Daybright’ | Entrepreneur

    Chick-fil-A is opening a drinks-forward concept in the next couple of months called Daybright, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. The location appears to be in a former Chick-fil-A location in Hiram, Ga., about 30 miles from downtown Atlanta.

    “Daybright is a new beverage-focused restaurant concept and is scheduled to open in the greater Atlanta area this fall,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Daybright is brought to you by Red Wagon Ventures, LLC, which is a subsidiary of Chick-fil-A Inc. We look forward to sharing more details in the future.”

    QSR magazine notes that Daybright will be its own standalone business and is not an offshoot of Chick-fil-A. The menu will offer food, but it likely won’t be items from the popular chicken chain. A Chick-fil-A rep told QSR that Daybright will feature specialty coffees, smoothies, cold-pressed juices, and food — but did not go into detail.

    Related: Chick-fil-A Just Opened a Wild New Store Design That It Says Handles Three Times as Many Drive-Thru Cars as Other Stores

    Red Wagon Ventures was founded in 2017 and serves almost as Chick-fil-A’s entrepreneurial test lab. The team there creates new ventures and concepts outside of the traditional Chick-fil-A brand.

    Meanwhile, several food-focused businesses are trying to capitalize on Gen Z’s love of unique, non-alcoholic drinks. McDonald’s opened a drinks-focused spin-off called “CosMc’s” but closed it after two years in May. Some of the drinks were folded into restaurant menus. Taco Bell’s beverage-focused concept, Live Más Café, however, is still growing, with plans to open around two dozen locations in the next few months.

    Chick-fil-A has a total of 2,684 stores (55 company-owned and 2,629 franchised), per QSR.

    Related: Chuck E. Cheese Is Opening 10 New Arcades for Adults: ‘A Natural Evolution’

    Chick-fil-A is opening a drinks-forward concept in the next couple of months called Daybright, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. The location appears to be in a former Chick-fil-A location in Hiram, Ga., about 30 miles from downtown Atlanta.

    “Daybright is a new beverage-focused restaurant concept and is scheduled to open in the greater Atlanta area this fall,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Daybright is brought to you by Red Wagon Ventures, LLC, which is a subsidiary of Chick-fil-A Inc. We look forward to sharing more details in the future.”

    QSR magazine notes that Daybright will be its own standalone business and is not an offshoot of Chick-fil-A. The menu will offer food, but it likely won’t be items from the popular chicken chain. A Chick-fil-A rep told QSR that Daybright will feature specialty coffees, smoothies, cold-pressed juices, and food — but did not go into detail.

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  • Stellantis Data Breach Affects Millions of Car Buyers: Report | Entrepreneur

    A major automaker just experienced a data breach that could affect tens of millions of customers.

    Stellantis, the carmaker behind Jeep, Fiat, Chrysler, and Dodge, stated on Sunday in a press release that it “recently” uncovered “unauthorized access” to a third-party service platform part of its customer service operations in North America.

    “We are also notifying the appropriate authorities and directly informing affected customers,” Stellantis wrote in the press release. The release notes that while contact information was exposed, financial information was not. The statement did not specify the types of contact information affected.

    Related: Jaguar Land Rover Shuts Down Production After Cyberattack, Costing the Company More than a Billion So Far

    Stellantis, which was created in 2021 following the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, is the world’s fifth-largest automaker by sales volume.

    The car company did not reveal the number of people impacted by the breach. However, the ShinyHunters cybercriminal group claimed responsibility for the attack and told tech site BleepingComputer on Monday that it had stolen more than 18 million Salesforce records from Stellantis, including names and contact information.

    A 2025 Stellantis Jeep Wrangler, a 2025 Stellantis Ram 1500, and a 2025 Stellantis Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    ShinyHunters has been going after high-profile Salesforce customers since the beginning of the year by using voice phishing attacks to steal data. Google confirmed in June that ShinyHunters was responsible for a data breach affecting one of its own Salesforce databases that contained information about small and medium-sized businesses.

    Related: ‘Largest Data Breach in History’: Apple, Google, and Meta Passwords Reportedly Among 16 Billion Stolen in Massive Hack

    Louis Vuitton and insurance company Allianz Life also experienced data breaches in July that were linked to the ShinyHunters group.

    According to the National CIO Review, ShinyHunters employs a consistent attack strategy: Someone calls a company employee pretending to be IT support and has them download an app, which grants the attacker access to customer data. The attacker then steals information like names, emails, and phone numbers, and demands ransom payments from the company to stop the publication of the data.

    ShinyHunters told BleepingComputer that it had stolen over 1.5 billion Salesforce records from 760 companies in total so far.

    A major automaker just experienced a data breach that could affect tens of millions of customers.

    Stellantis, the carmaker behind Jeep, Fiat, Chrysler, and Dodge, stated on Sunday in a press release that it “recently” uncovered “unauthorized access” to a third-party service platform part of its customer service operations in North America.

    “We are also notifying the appropriate authorities and directly informing affected customers,” Stellantis wrote in the press release. The release notes that while contact information was exposed, financial information was not. The statement did not specify the types of contact information affected.

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    Sherin Shibu

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  • Spirit Airlines Furloughing Flight Attendants, Cutting Routes | Entrepreneur

    Spirit Airlines is set to furlough 1,800 flight attendants, according to a memo sent to staff from John Bendoraitis, Spirit’s chief operating officer, on Monday.

    “As we work to return Spirit to profitability, we face difficult decisions about our network, our fleet, and ultimately our workforce,” the memo said, per The Wall Street Journal. “We need to shift our focus to a complete rightsizing of the airline, which means volume-based adjustments to our Flight Attendant group, and across our teams. This is hard news, and we understand it affects not only you and your peers but also your families.”

    Last week, Spirit CEO Dave Davis warned staff that job cuts were imminent after the company filed its second bankruptcy in less than a year in late August. The cuts announced on Monday will impact one-third of the company’s total cabin crew members.

    Related: Workers Taking Mental Health Leaves Have Increased By 300% Since 2019, According to a New Study

    Travelers at a Spirit Airlines bag drop at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in the Queens borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    The current, voluntary furloughs can be selected for six or 12 months, and those who choose the leave will keep medical benefits while out, according to a note sent by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) union to its members and seen by CNBC.

    Bendoraitis said that about 800 flight attendants are already on leave, but there is a “limit to how many people can volunteer.” Hundreds of pilots have already been furloughed.

    Involuntary furloughs will begin on Dec. 1, the union said.

    Earlier this month, Spirit announced that it was ending service to a dozen cities in October, and rival airlines are already swooping in. Frontier Airlines, for example, which has a 35% overlap with Spirit on routes, per CNBC, said it would be adding 20 new routes.

    “If Spirit suddenly goes out of business, it will be incredibly disruptive, so we’re adding these flights to give their customers other options if they want or need them,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, in a press release at the time.

    Related: Spirit Airlines Issues New Dress Code After Last Year’s Viral Crop Top Incident

    Spirit Airlines is set to furlough 1,800 flight attendants, according to a memo sent to staff from John Bendoraitis, Spirit’s chief operating officer, on Monday.

    “As we work to return Spirit to profitability, we face difficult decisions about our network, our fleet, and ultimately our workforce,” the memo said, per The Wall Street Journal. “We need to shift our focus to a complete rightsizing of the airline, which means volume-based adjustments to our Flight Attendant group, and across our teams. This is hard news, and we understand it affects not only you and your peers but also your families.”

    Last week, Spirit CEO Dave Davis warned staff that job cuts were imminent after the company filed its second bankruptcy in less than a year in late August. The cuts announced on Monday will impact one-third of the company’s total cabin crew members.

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    Erin Davis

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  • Build-A-Bear Workshop Outpaces Nvidia, Microsoft, Oracle | Entrepreneur

    Nvidia may be the most valuable company in the world, surging to a record-high $4.395 trillion market capitalization over the past few months, but when it comes to stock growth, one surprising company has it beat: Build-A-Bear Workshop.

    Build-A-Bear’s stock grew by more than 2,000% over the past five years, making it one of the top 20 companies in the world by share growth, per The Washington Post. Company shares are up over 60% year-to-date at the time of writing. According to Build-A-Bear’s earnings report for the second quarter ending August 2, total revenue hit $124.2 million, an 11% increase from the same period last year. It was the company’s most profitable second quarter in its history.

    Build-A-Bear’s stock growth beats the world’s biggest tech giants, such as Nvidia (surged by over 1,300% in the past five years, with shares up over 30% year-to-date); Microsoft (stock grew by 147% across the past five years); and Oracle (stock swelled 444% across the same time period).

    Related: How Labubu Outsold Barbie and Hot Wheels — and Will Help Parent Company Pop Mart Earn $4 Billion This Year

    At Build-A-Bear, customers stuff a plush toy, add a toy heart, and dress the stuffed animal. The company was founded in October 1997 in Saint Louis, Missouri, and the experience in stores has remained consistent since its founding.

    The company’s CEO, Sharon Price John, who took over in 2013, told CNBC that the process of making a bear is “a really emotional, memorable experience that creates a tremendous amount of equity.” The store’s in-person experience contributes to its resilience, even as other mall stores like Claire’s close hundreds of locations.

    Build-A-Bear Workshop in Denver, Colorado. Photo by Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images

    “Those strong feelings that consumers have for brands are very stretchable beyond just that one experience,” John told the outlet.

    University of Pennsylvania Marketing Professor Americus Reed told CNBC that the “ritualistic” process of creating a stuffed animal at Build-A-Bear creates a memorable experience that is “really hard to replicate.” Build-A-Bear creates a deeper connection with its customers, building a sense of loyalty, Reed explained.

    Related: The Lego Resale Market Is Reportedly Thriving — And Some Sets Can Fetch Over $15,000

    Zach Wray, a customer whose family has hundreds of bears, told The Washington Post that the experience of creating a stuffed animal is what keeps his kids coming back to Build-A-Bear.

    “They make it really special for the kids,” Wray told the outlet.

    Nostalgia also plays a role in the company’s growth. A recent survey released by Build-A-Bear earlier this month shows that 92% of adults still have their childhood stuffed animal, and nearly 100% say that teddy bears are for all ages. Two-fifths (40%) of Build-A-Bear’s customers are adults, not kids, according to The Washington Post.

    Build-A-Bear has 627 stores across 32 countries, 100 of which opened within the past two years. The company told The Washington Post that it plans to open 60 more locations this year, and that almost all of its stores in North America were profitable.

    Related: This Mom’s Side Hustle Selling a $600 Children’s Toy Became a Business Making Over $1 Million a Year: ‘There Is a Lot to Love’

    Nvidia may be the most valuable company in the world, surging to a record-high $4.395 trillion market capitalization over the past few months, but when it comes to stock growth, one surprising company has it beat: Build-A-Bear Workshop.

    Build-A-Bear’s stock grew by more than 2,000% over the past five years, making it one of the top 20 companies in the world by share growth, per The Washington Post. Company shares are up over 60% year-to-date at the time of writing. According to Build-A-Bear’s earnings report for the second quarter ending August 2, total revenue hit $124.2 million, an 11% increase from the same period last year. It was the company’s most profitable second quarter in its history.

    Build-A-Bear’s stock growth beats the world’s biggest tech giants, such as Nvidia (surged by over 1,300% in the past five years, with shares up over 30% year-to-date); Microsoft (stock grew by 147% across the past five years); and Oracle (stock swelled 444% across the same time period).

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  • Who Get’s TikTok’s Algorithm? Here Are the New Owners: Report. | Entrepreneur

    After almost a year of deadline extensions preventing a TikTok ban from taking effect, a deal for new owners to take over the app in the U.S. is imminent. Reports suggest the announcement could come as soon as this week.

    Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the “framework” for a TikTok deal had been reached, and President Donald Trump extended the deadline for a deal to be completed to December 16. It was the fourth extension issued since Congress passed a law last year requiring TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, to sell the popular app or face a ban in the U.S.

    Related: Here’s How a New Employee’s Major TikTok Mistake Led a Cookie Company to Viral Fame — and a 46% Increase in Sales

    Trump announced on Truth Social on Friday that he had a “very productive” call with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, and that “progress” has been made “on the approval of the TikTok Deal.”

    Now, details are emerging. Here’s what we know.

    Who Is Buying TikTok?

    The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Oracle and the private-equity firm Silver Lake would lead a group of U.S. backers in owning about 80% of the company. (Oracle and Silverlake’s shares would be about 50% and previous investors would hold about 30%.) ByteDance’s stake would be just below 20%.

    Trump told Fox News this past weekend that other investors “involved” in the deal “probably” included Michael Dell and Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch.

    “I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.”

    Related: President Donald Trump Suggests Canceling Quarterly Reporting: ‘This Will Save Money’

    The potential to buy TikTok attracted a lot of suitors, and bids were submitted by a slew of notable business leaders, including the team of Kevin O’Leary, billionaire former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in “The People’s Bid.” AI startup Perplexity, Amazon, and Applovin all submitted separate proposals as well.

    Who Will Control TikTok’s Algorithm and Data?

    According to a new report by Bloomberg, data would be stored by Oracle, and the tech giant would also “retrain” the algorithm. ByteDance, meanwhile, would not be able to access U.S. user data, and the China-based company would not have any control over the algorithm stateside.

    Oracle has been TikTok’s U.S. cloud provider since 2022.

    “Oracle, the U.S. security partner, will operate, retrain, and continuously monitor the U.S. algorithm to ensure content is free from improper manipulation or surveillance,” a White House official told Bloomberg.

    A senior White House official told CNBC on Monday that the deal will not involve the U.S. government taking a “golden share” or any equity stake.

    Related: Billionaire Investor Frank McCourt Jr. Wants to Do More Than Buy TikTok — He Wants to Transform the Entire Internet. Here’s How.

    Erin Davis

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  • FTC Takes Amazon to Court Over Prime Subscriptions | Entrepreneur

    The U.S. government thinks Amazon may have tricked its users into signing up for Prime, Amazon’s $15 per month membership service — and now the case is headed to trial in a Seattle federal court this week.

    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon two years ago, alleging that Amazon deceived tens of millions of customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions without their consent, and then “knowingly” made the cancellation process difficult. Prime memberships include fast and free shipping, video streaming, and other benefits.

    “Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions,” the 159-page complaint reads.

    Related: Amazon’s CEO Wants His 1.5 Million Person Company to ‘Operate Like the World’s Largest Startup.’ Here’s How He Plans to Do It.

    According to the lawsuit, “dark patterns” include unfair design tactics to boost subscriptions, such as making the option to purchase an item without Prime more difficult to locate. The FTC also accused Amazon of deliberately creating a “labyrinthine” cancellation process that made it hard for customers to terminate their Prime memberships.

    Amazon denies the FTC’s allegations, with Mark Blafkin, an Amazon spokesperson, telling The New York Times that customers choose Prime because of its genuine value.

    “Prime, with hundreds of millions of members, is among the highest performing subscription programs of any kind, as measured by renewal rates and customer satisfaction,” Blafkin said in a statement.

    The trial will start on Monday with jury selection and move to opening arguments on Tuesday. It will last about a month. The judge will decide on penalties if the jury determines that Amazon is at fault. The FTC has not requested specific monetary damages at the time of writing.

    Launched in 2005, Prime has amassed a large user base over the past two decades. The FTC called Prime “the world’s largest subscription program” in the complaint. A third-party analysis from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that Amazon had 197 million U.S. Prime members as of March, representing a 7% increase from June 2024.

    Related: Amazon Launches Same-Day Grocery Delivery to 1,000 Cities. Here’s How to Find Out If It’s Coming to Your Town.

    In 2024, Prime subscription fees comprised $44.37 billion of Amazon’s $638 billion annual revenue, or about 7%.

    Prime members additionally “spend more” shopping on Amazon when compared to non-Prime customers, contributing to Amazon’s bottom line, per the complaint. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners CEO Michael Levin estimates that Prime members spend twice as much as non-Prime members.

    “We can’t stress how important Prime is to Amazon’s retail business,” Levin told The New York Times.

    Amazon also faces a separate lawsuit filed by the FTC and 17 states over allegations that it engaged in anticompetitive behavior. One example was asking sellers to use its fulfillment services to obtain optimal positioning of their products on its site. That trial is set to begin in February.

    Related: Amazon Prime Day 1 Was the ‘Single Biggest E-Commerce Day So Far This Year,’ According to New Data

    The U.S. government thinks Amazon may have tricked its users into signing up for Prime, Amazon’s $15 per month membership service — and now the case is headed to trial in a Seattle federal court this week.

    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon two years ago, alleging that Amazon deceived tens of millions of customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions without their consent, and then “knowingly” made the cancellation process difficult. Prime memberships include fast and free shipping, video streaming, and other benefits.

    “Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions,” the 159-page complaint reads.

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  • 7 AI Tools to Build a Profitable One-Person Business That Runs While You Sleep | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Most entrepreneurs scratch the surface with AI — writing headlines, generating copy, tweaking posts. That’s like using a supercomputer just to check your email. You’re massively underutilizing its power and risking falling behind.

    In this video, I reveal seven hidden AI capabilities that can 10x your output and give you an edge before everyone else catches on.

    What you’ll discover:

    • Web-surfing AI assistant: Open its own browser, research opportunities, reply to comments and even spot viral trends before they take off.
    • Deep research engine: Run competitor analysis, uncover market gaps and get data-backed insights — without expensive software.
    • Automation without code: Build intelligent agents that handle admin, integrate with your apps and make smart decisions for you.
    • Instant presentation creator: Transform outlines, transcripts, or blogs into polished decks in minutes.
    • Social listening powerhouse: Track competitor activity, scrape audience insights and identify content that resonates.
    • Data analyst on demand: Turn raw numbers into clear reports, charts and insights to optimize campaigns and offers.
    • All-in-one AI toolbox: Explore advanced tools for voice, sentiment, content and more — expanding what one person can achieve.

    These are advanced strategies, but I’ll break them down step-by-step so you can apply them today. If you’re serious about scaling your business with AI, this video is your blueprint.

    The AI Success Kit is available to download for free, along with a chapter from my new book, The Wolf is at The Door.

    Most entrepreneurs scratch the surface with AI — writing headlines, generating copy, tweaking posts. That’s like using a supercomputer just to check your email. You’re massively underutilizing its power and risking falling behind.

    In this video, I reveal seven hidden AI capabilities that can 10x your output and give you an edge before everyone else catches on.

    What you’ll discover:

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  • Anthropic CEO Warns That AI Will ‘Likely’ Replace Jobs | Entrepreneur

    The leadership at Anthropic, a leading AI startup that raised billions of dollars earlier this month, is cautioning the world that AI is “likely” to take over jobs.

    At the Axios AI + DC Summit on Wednesday, Anthropic Cofounders Dario Amodei and Jack Clark, who also serve as CEO and Head of Policy, respectively, said that AI’s potential to cause work displacement is picking up rapidly — and the situation is dire enough to warrant a warning.

    “As with most things, when an exponential is moving very quickly, you can’t be sure,” Amodei said at the event. “I think it is likely enough to happen that we felt there was a need to warn the world about it and to speak honestly.”

    Related: An AI Company With a Popular Writing Tool Tells Candidates They Can’t Use It on the Job Application

    Amodei said that government intervention may be necessary to support individuals whose occupations are displaced by AI, and Clark emphasized that Anthropic predicts a substantial “scale of disruption” in society due to AI within the next five years.

    “You need some kind of policy response,” Clark said.

    Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei. Photo by Chance Yeh/Getty Images for HubSpot

    Anthropic raised $13 billion earlier this month at a $183 billion valuation. The AI startup released a report earlier this week that suggested that AI has the “potential” to displace workers. The majority of businesses using its chatbot, Claude, were automating tasks instead of helping people accomplish them. Claude had 30 million monthly active users globally as of the second quarter of this year.

    “Given clear automation patterns in business deployment, this may also bring disruption in labor markets,” the report stated.

    Related: The ‘Godfather of AI’ Says Artificial Intelligence Needs Programming With ‘Maternal Instincts’ or Humans Could End Up Being ‘Controlled’

    Amodei, meanwhile, has spoken about AI’s potential to replace human work before. In March, he stated that AI would take over writing code for companies within the next year. In May, he predicted that AI would wipe out half of all entry-level, white-collar jobs within the next five years, causing unemployment to rise to 20%.

    And he’s not alone in issuing warnings. Geoffrey Hinton, known as the Godfather of AI due to his pioneering work in creating the technology, said in June that AI is going to “replace everybody” in white-collar jobs. A person and an AI assistant will take over the work of ten people, he predicted.

    Hinton suggested paralegals and call center representatives will be some of the first roles replaced. He added that it would take AI some time to become skilled at physical labor, so “a good bet would be to be a plumber.”

    The leadership at Anthropic, a leading AI startup that raised billions of dollars earlier this month, is cautioning the world that AI is “likely” to take over jobs.

    At the Axios AI + DC Summit on Wednesday, Anthropic Cofounders Dario Amodei and Jack Clark, who also serve as CEO and Head of Policy, respectively, said that AI’s potential to cause work displacement is picking up rapidly — and the situation is dire enough to warrant a warning.

    “As with most things, when an exponential is moving very quickly, you can’t be sure,” Amodei said at the event. “I think it is likely enough to happen that we felt there was a need to warn the world about it and to speak honestly.”

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    Sherin Shibu

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  • How Costco’s Extended Hours Impact Warehouse Foot Traffic | Entrepreneur

    In June, Costco extended its hours at some stores for Executive members, adding an hour in the morning from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays and Sundays and a half hour from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays. By September, the perk applied to Executive members at all Costco stores.

    Now, according to a new report released on Thursday from analytics company Placer.ai, the move has resulted in measurable effects in foot traffic for the wholesale giant, “likely improving the shopping experience for members overall” by creating “a more balanced flow of visitors.”

    Costco’s earlier hours have shifted visits to earlier in the day while decreasing foot traffic during peak hours (which are typically weekday evenings from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to House Beautiful).

    Related: These Luxury Items Are Flying Off the Shelves at Costco, According to the Company’s Longtime Chairman

    “By extending special hours to Executive members, Costco not only rewards high-value customers, but also reduces congestion during traditional peaks,” the report reads.

    Costco’s latest quarterly report, released in late May for the third quarter ending May 11, showed that sales momentum was strong for the company. Net sales increased 8% to $61.96 billion, up from $57.39 billion the previous year. The warehouse chain reports its fourth quarter earnings on Sept. 25.

    An Executive membership at Costco costs $130 per year. The Business and Gold Star memberships are each priced at $65 annually.

    Memberships are a prime revenue source for Costco, allowing the company to keep prices low by offsetting operating costs. Costco made about $4.8 billion in membership sales during the 2024 fiscal year ending September 1, 2024, up from $4.6 billion in 2023. In 2024, membership fees comprised close to 65% of Costco’s overall $7.4 billion net income for the year.

    Related: Costco’s CEO Says This Product Is the ‘Most Important Item We Sell’

    The company had nearly 137 million cardholders in 2024, with a 90% renewal rate, per the company’s 2024 annual report. Close to half of that count (47%) were Executive members.

    Costco has 905 warehouses globally, including 624 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, according to the quarterly report.

    Related: Here’s How Much a Costco Gold Bar Purchased in 2024 Is Worth Today

    In June, Costco extended its hours at some stores for Executive members, adding an hour in the morning from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays and Sundays and a half hour from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays. By September, the perk applied to Executive members at all Costco stores.

    Now, according to a new report released on Thursday from analytics company Placer.ai, the move has resulted in measurable effects in foot traffic for the wholesale giant, “likely improving the shopping experience for members overall” by creating “a more balanced flow of visitors.”

    Costco’s earlier hours have shifted visits to earlier in the day while decreasing foot traffic during peak hours (which are typically weekday evenings from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to House Beautiful).

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  • TikTok Deal Approved But Not Finalized: President Trump | Entrepreneur

    President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Friday that he had a “very productive” call with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, and that “progress” has been made “on the approval of the TikTok Deal.”

    A White House official told CNBC that the call began at 8 a.m. ET. Although the matter does not appear to have been finalized, Trump wrote that he can “appreciate the TikTok approval” and that the two leaders will meet again in November at the APEC Summit in South Korea.

    “I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China. We made progress on many very important issues, including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal,” Trump wrote. “The call was a very good one. We will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!”

    Related: Billionaire Investor Frank McCourt Jr. Wants to Do More Than Buy TikTok — He Wants to Transform the Entire Internet. Here’s How.

    Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the “framework” for a TikTok deal had been reached with China. Then, Trump extended the deadline for a TikTok deal for another 90 days, until December 16, with an Executive Order. It is the fourth extension issued since Congress passed a law last year requiring TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, to sell the popular app or face a ban in the U.S.

    CNBC’s David Faber reported earlier this week that TikTok’s U.S. owners will consist of new and existing investors. Oracle, which has been TikTok’s U.S. cloud provider since 2022, will keep its agreement with the company, sources told Faber. CBS reports that the private equity firm, Silver Lake, is also involved. Reports noted ByteDance would keep an ownership stake.

    Bids to buy the app have been submitted by a slew of notable business leaders, including the team of Kevin O’Leary, billionaire former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in “The People’s Bid.” AI startup Perplexity, Amazon, and Applovin all submitted separate proposals as well.

    Related: President Donald Trump Suggests Canceling Quarterly Reporting: ‘This Will Save Money’

    President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Friday that he had a “very productive” call with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, and that “progress” has been made “on the approval of the TikTok Deal.”

    A White House official told CNBC that the call began at 8 a.m. ET. Although the matter does not appear to have been finalized, Trump wrote that he can “appreciate the TikTok approval” and that the two leaders will meet again in November at the APEC Summit in South Korea.

    “I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China. We made progress on many very important issues, including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal,” Trump wrote. “The call was a very good one. We will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!”

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  • Kevin Durant Finally Has His Bitcoin Back: Coinbase | Entrepreneur

    NBA players, they’re just like us — when it comes to losing passwords, at least.

    Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant, 36, has been locked out of his Coinbase account for a long time, his agent, Rich Kleiman, told a group of conference attendees earlier this week.

    “We’ve yet to be able to track down his Coinbase account info, so we’ve never sold anything, and this bitcoin is just through the roof,” Kleiman said Tuesday at CNBC’s Game Plan conference in Los Angeles. “It’s just a process we haven’t been able to figure out, but Bitcoin keeps going up … so, I mean, it’s only benefited us.”

    Related: These Are the Two Words That Inspired NBA MVP Russell Westbrook to Achieve Greatness on the Court, in Business, and in His Community

    Kleiman said that recovering Durant’s account has been in the works for a while, and it was a “user error” on his and Durant’s end. At the event, he blamed a forgotten password.

    Durant, a 15-time All-Star, began buying Bitcoin in 2016, when it sold anywhere from $400 to $900, according to Investopedia. Decrypt reports that it was at $600 when Durant began his investment.

    In a statement, Coinbase confirmed to Decrypt on Thursday that Durant has recovered his account.

    Bitcoin is at $115,000 at press time, which is about 11,000% higher than when Durant first purchased it.

    Durant has had a promotion deal with the crypto exchange since 2021, per Decrypt.

    Related: Meeting the Right People Who Can Help Your Business Isn’t Easy — Even for an NBA All-Star. Baron Davis Has a Plan to Change That.

    NBA players, they’re just like us — when it comes to losing passwords, at least.

    Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant, 36, has been locked out of his Coinbase account for a long time, his agent, Rich Kleiman, told a group of conference attendees earlier this week.

    “We’ve yet to be able to track down his Coinbase account info, so we’ve never sold anything, and this bitcoin is just through the roof,” Kleiman said Tuesday at CNBC’s Game Plan conference in Los Angeles. “It’s just a process we haven’t been able to figure out, but Bitcoin keeps going up … so, I mean, it’s only benefited us.”

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  • Nvidia Spends Nearly a Billion on AI Startup to Hire CEO | Entrepreneur

    Nvidia has paid nearly a billion dollars to bring in fresh talent and technology from an AI hardware startup.

    According to a CNBC report on Thursday, Nvidia spent more than $900 million in cash and stock to hire Rochan Sankar, the CEO of AI chip startup Enfabrica, as well as several other employees at the company. Additionally, as part of the deal, Nvidia is allowed to license Enfabrica technology. The deal closed last week, and Sankar has already begun working at Nvidia, per CNBC‘s sources.

    Enfabrica’s chips use special software to keep data center speeds up, but costs down. The startup’s standout feature is a system that incorporates cheaper memory costs, which noticeably reduces the cost of operating AI.

    Related: Nvidia’s CEO Says It No Longer Matters If You Never Learned to Code: ‘There’s a New Programming Language’

    The deal, which involves bringing in new talent, is similar to those conducted recently by Google and Meta. In June, Meta invested $14.3 billion in AI data training startup Scale AI. The deal involved former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang leaving the startup to join Meta’s superintelligence team.

    Meanwhile, in July, Google signed a $2.4 billion agreement with AI coding startup Windsurf to hire the startup’s CEO, Varun Mohan, as well as other employees. Google also obtained a nonexclusive license to Windsurf’s technology.

    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images

    The advantage of trading money for new talent is that tech giants can circumvent the complex regulatory hurdles that come with acquisitions — and still poach top talent from other companies.

    Nvidia first began its involvement with Enfabrica in 2023, as one of the backers in a $125 million Series B funding round for the startup. Enfabrica was last valued at around $600 million in November, following a $115 million Series C round, according to PitchBook.

    Nvidia has also made or considered a few other high-profile deals lately. Earlier this week, the AI chipmaker announced that it would be investing $5 billion into Intel to develop advanced technology, a deal that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called “an incredible investment.” On Friday, Nvidia signed a letter of intent to evaluate a $500 million investment in self-driving car startup Wayve.

    Nvidia is the world’s most valuable company, a spot it claimed in June. One month later, Nvidia became the world’s first company to exceed $4 trillion in market value. The AI chipmaker is worth $4.32 trillion at the time of writing.

    Related: Nvidia CEO Warns That ‘Some Jobs’ Will Disappear As the AI Chipmaker’s Earnings Beat Estimates

    Nvidia has paid nearly a billion dollars to bring in fresh talent and technology from an AI hardware startup.

    According to a CNBC report on Thursday, Nvidia spent more than $900 million in cash and stock to hire Rochan Sankar, the CEO of AI chip startup Enfabrica, as well as several other employees at the company. Additionally, as part of the deal, Nvidia is allowed to license Enfabrica technology. The deal closed last week, and Sankar has already begun working at Nvidia, per CNBC‘s sources.

    Enfabrica’s chips use special software to keep data center speeds up, but costs down. The startup’s standout feature is a system that incorporates cheaper memory costs, which noticeably reduces the cost of operating AI.

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  • Bank of America and Amazon Are Increasing Worker Pay | Entrepreneur

    A major U.S. bank, with over $2.6 billion in assets, just raised its minimum wage.

    Bank of America announced on Wednesday that it would raise its minimum pay for its full- and part-time U.S. hourly workers to $25 an hour. The change will take effect next month, pushing the minimum salary for full-time U.S. employees to over $50,000 annually.

    This pay increase is the final phase of a plan announced in 2017 to boost the bank’s base pay from $15 an hour to $25 an hour by 2025. (Employees have been making $24 an hour since October 2024.) With the raise to $25 an hour, the starting salary for full-time U.S. workers will have increased by more than $20,000 since 2017.

    Related: Bank of America Is Cracking Down on Overwork for Junior Bankers and Capping Hours to ‘Only’ 80 a Week. Here’s Why.

    “[The raise] gives a teammate a chance to join our company, spend their whole career here, and support their families,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told Bloomberg.

    Moynihan emphasized that the higher minimum wage minimized turnover, causing the rate of departing employees to drop from 20% in 2017 to around 10% this year. Customer attrition, or a loss of customers, has also dropped, he stated.

    Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. Photographer: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    As Bank of America adopts new technologies like AI, it has reduced its number of employees across some departments, Moynihan told Bloomberg. The goal is to put more dollars in the pockets of the employees who remain and “re-skilling them,” he said.

    Bank of America had about 213,000 employees as of July, according to its newsroom.

    Related: Here’s What’s Considered ‘Middle Income’ in the U.S. Today, According to Bank of America Data

    Amazon Is Raising Pay

    Amazon also announced this week that it would increase its average hourly pay to more than $23 per hour. The retail giant is investing more than $1 billion to increase wages and decrease the cost of healthcare plans for its employees.

    Full-time employees will have their pay increase by an average of $1,600 per year.

    Meanwhile, Amazon’s entry-level healthcare plan will cost $5 per week and $5 for co-pays beginning next year. Amazon stated that the change is a 34% reduction in weekly contribution costs.

    Amazon employed 1.55 million people globally as of the end of last year.

    Related: Amazon Tells Thousands of Employees to Relocate or Resign

    A major U.S. bank, with over $2.6 billion in assets, just raised its minimum wage.

    Bank of America announced on Wednesday that it would raise its minimum pay for its full- and part-time U.S. hourly workers to $25 an hour. The change will take effect next month, pushing the minimum salary for full-time U.S. employees to over $50,000 annually.

    This pay increase is the final phase of a plan announced in 2017 to boost the bank’s base pay from $15 an hour to $25 an hour by 2025. (Employees have been making $24 an hour since October 2024.) With the raise to $25 an hour, the starting salary for full-time U.S. workers will have increased by more than $20,000 since 2017.

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  • Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Reveals New Ray-Ban Display Glasses | Entrepreneur

    Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave the keynote address at Meta Connect on Wednesday, revealing a trio of new smart glasses. The products have been a hit with consumers — the tech giant has sold more than two million pairs of its Ray-Ban glasses since it launched in October 2023.

    “It is no surprise that AI glasses are taking off,” Zuckerberg said at the event. “The sales trajectory that we’ve seen is similar to some of the most popular consumer electronics of all time.”

    The product that took center stage was the Meta Ray-Ban Display, an entirely new pair of glasses ($799) that has a small screen on the bottom right lens and comes with an accompanying neural wristband that tracks hand movements as commands. The screen allows the user to look at messages, take video calls where they can see the person on the other end, see walking directions, watch Instagram Reels, and get a preview of pictures before taking them.

    Related: Are Apple Smart Glasses in the Works? Apple Is Eyeing Meta’s Ray-Ban Success Story, According to a New Report.

    Only the person wearing the glasses is able to see the display, and they can turn off the screen when it is not in use. The user controls the display through the wristband, which allows them to click, scroll, and write out messages with different hand gestures. For example, tapping the thumb and index finger together plays music. The glasses also allow users to generate a live transcription of the speech around them, which they can view on the screen.

    Zuckerberg said the screen enables people to “put subtitles on the world.”

    Related: Amazon Is Developing Smart Glasses for Consumers to Take on Meta’s Bestselling Ray-Bans

    The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses function for six hours on a single charge, and the case adds up to 30 hours of battery life. The water-resistant wristband has 18 hours of power. The glasses and the wristband are sold together and will hit shelves in the U.S. on September 30 at retailers like Best Buy, LensCrafters, and Sunglass Hut.

    Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wears a pair of Meta Ray-Ban Display AI glasses with an accompanying neural wristband at Meta Connect 2025. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    At $799, the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are priced more like a smartphone substitute than an AI accessory. For comparison, the iPhone 17, which Apple announced earlier this month, starts at $799, while the Samsung Galaxy S25, announced in January, is priced a little bit higher at $859.

    Other smart glasses with built-in displays, like the $269 RayNeo Air 3s and the $429 Rokid Max 2, are hundreds of dollars cheaper — but don’t include a neural wristband.

    Related: Here’s Why Meta’s Earnings Were Better-Than-Expected, According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg

    Zuckerberg also revealed updated Ray-Bans ($379) with double the battery life, improved cameras, and an $80 price hike. The glasses allow users to take photos and videos, make calls, listen to music, and send text messages through voice commands. Facebook’s founder also introduced the new $499 Oakley Vanguard glasses, which feature water resistance and a centered camera. These glasses, which join the $400 Oakley Meta HSTN introduced earlier this year as another Meta offering from the Oakley brand, start shipping on October 21.

    Meta’s smart glasses partner, EssilorLuxottica, stated in July in an earnings report that revenue from the Ray-Ban Meta frames unexpectedly tripled over the past year, making the glasses the No. 1 bestselling frames on the market.

    The partnership between Meta and EssilorLuxottica is so lucrative that Meta acquired a stake worth $3.5 billion in the eyewear company in July.

    Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave the keynote address at Meta Connect on Wednesday, revealing a trio of new smart glasses. The products have been a hit with consumers — the tech giant has sold more than two million pairs of its Ray-Ban glasses since it launched in October 2023.

    “It is no surprise that AI glasses are taking off,” Zuckerberg said at the event. “The sales trajectory that we’ve seen is similar to some of the most popular consumer electronics of all time.”

    The product that took center stage was the Meta Ray-Ban Display, an entirely new pair of glasses ($799) that has a small screen on the bottom right lens and comes with an accompanying neural wristband that tracks hand movements as commands. The screen allows the user to look at messages, take video calls where they can see the person on the other end, see walking directions, watch Instagram Reels, and get a preview of pictures before taking them.

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  • Jaguar Land Rover Production Shut Down After Cyberattack | Entrepreneur

    In January, the U.S. replaced China as the largest single market for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which makes the popular Range Rover and Defender models. In fact, the company’s North American sales were up 23% last year. (Range Rovers start around $42,000 and go up to about $180,000.) But it might be more difficult to buy a JLR vehicle soon.

    After a short pause in shipments over trade wars and tariffs, the U.K.-based automaker has issued another pause — but this time, it’s affecting production, and you can blame hackers instead. According to a statement on the company’s website, a cyberattack has caused JLR to shut down production, which will continue until at least September 24. So far, the breach has cost the automaker more than $1.36 billion in revenue, per Auto News.

    “We have informed colleagues, suppliers and partners that we have extended the current pause in our production until Wednesday, 24th September 2025,” the statement reads. “We have taken this decision as our forensic investigation of the cyber incident continues, and as we consider the different stages of the controlled restart of our global operations, which will take time.”

    Related: I Tried Buying a Car on Amazon. Here Are the Pros and Cons.

    A Land Rover – Range Rover LWB Autobiography is displayed during the Salon Privé Concours at Blenheim Palace on August 27, 2025, in Woodstock, England. John Keeble/Getty Images

    JLR first announced the attack on September 2, writing in a statement that it had been “impacted by a cyber incident” and was “proactively shutting down” its systems. The company had initially noted that data was not stolen, but later issued an update to add that “some data may have been affected.”

    While JLR’s retail locations remain open, Reuters reports that the company has closed three plants in the U.K. that would normally be producing around 1,000 vehicles per day. Manufacturing magazine reports that factories have also closed in China, Slovakia and India.

    It’s unclear how the breach will affect car shipments to the U.S., but reports note that disruptions could last through the fall.

    In January, the U.S. replaced China as the largest single market for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which makes the popular Range Rover and Defender models. In fact, the company’s North American sales were up 23% last year. (Range Rovers start around $42,000 and go up to about $180,000.) But it might be more difficult to buy a JLR vehicle soon.

    After a short pause in shipments over trade wars and tariffs, the U.K.-based automaker has issued another pause — but this time, it’s affecting production, and you can blame hackers instead. According to a statement on the company’s website, a cyberattack has caused JLR to shut down production, which will continue until at least September 24. So far, the breach has cost the automaker more than $1.36 billion in revenue, per Auto News.

    “We have informed colleagues, suppliers and partners that we have extended the current pause in our production until Wednesday, 24th September 2025,” the statement reads. “We have taken this decision as our forensic investigation of the cyber incident continues, and as we consider the different stages of the controlled restart of our global operations, which will take time.”

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  • Spirit Airlines Announces More Flight Cuts, Layoffs | Entrepreneur

    Spirit Airlines announced some dispiriting news for travelers and company employees: it will cut 25% of its flight capacity in November 2025 and brace for further job cuts.

    After declaring its second bankruptcy in less than a year earlier this month, CEO Dave Davis revealed the news in a memo to employees on Wednesday, emphasizing that the reductions are necessary for the company to focus on its more profitable markets.

    “These evaluations will inevitably affect the size of our teams as we become a more efficient airline. Unfortunately, these are the tough calls we must make to emerge stronger,” Davis wrote.

    Related: Spirit Airlines Issues New Dress Code After Last Year’s Viral Crop Top Incident

    The airline’s restructuring arrives amid heavy financial losses this year. CNBC reports that Spirit lost nearly $257 million between March and June 2025. And after emerging from bankruptcy earlier this year, the company has faced weak travel demand, increased competition, and rising costs (especially following its failed merger with JetBlue).

    Spirit has already dropped routes in 11 cities, including Albuquerque, San Diego, and Oakland.

    So far, specifics on future layoffs remain unclear, but recent changes have included furloughs and demotions for hundreds of pilots and voluntary unpaid leave for some flight attendants. The carrier’s unionized workforce is preparing for negotiations, with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA telling its members that “this bankruptcy will be much more difficult than the last one.”

    Rival airlines—most notably United, Frontier, and JetBlue—have already moved to expand into routes Spirit is abandoning. Experts say that fewer Spirit flights could signal higher prices and reduced choices for holiday travelers.

    Spirit Airlines announced some dispiriting news for travelers and company employees: it will cut 25% of its flight capacity in November 2025 and brace for further job cuts.

    After declaring its second bankruptcy in less than a year earlier this month, CEO Dave Davis revealed the news in a memo to employees on Wednesday, emphasizing that the reductions are necessary for the company to focus on its more profitable markets.

    “These evaluations will inevitably affect the size of our teams as we become a more efficient airline. Unfortunately, these are the tough calls we must make to emerge stronger,” Davis wrote.

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  • Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Is ‘Unhappy’ With Airbnb’s Growth | Entrepreneur

    Airbnb’s growth has slowed in recent years, says the company’s CEO, Brian Chesky, but he has a plan to remedy the situation.

    In an interview on Tuesday at the Skift Global Forum conference, an event for the travel industry, Chesky noted that Airbnb experienced 40% growth in 2022, but that number declined to 18% in 2023 and then 12% in 2024. For the second quarter ending June 30, revenue growth was at 13%.

    “I’m not happy about where the growth rate is at the company,” Chesky said at the event. “I think Airbnb should be growing significantly faster. It should at least be growing in the teens, and I aspire to run the kind of company that’d be growing at more than 20% one day.”

    Related: Airbnb’s CEO Says He Personally Manages 40 to 50 Employees as Direct Reports: ‘A Lot of Work’

    The problem, Chesky explained, was that the company lacked the foundation for sustainable growth and needed to “rebuild” itself entirely earlier this year to open the doors to new businesses.

    “That’s what we’ve been doing,” Chesky said. “The final stage is now we reinvent ourselves.”

    In May, Airbnb redesigned its app to include a new feature that allows guests to book services (such as massages, photography services, spa treatments, personal training, private chefs, and beauty treatments) and experiences (such as watching a comedy show or going on a boat sightseeing tour with local hosts). Chesky said the company hopes to grow its core business, vacation rentals, while “layering on” these services and experiences.

    Chesky said on Tuesday that he believes Airbnb‘s new offerings will be “multi-billion-dollar businesses” at some point, per Business Insider.

    Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Myunggu Han/Getty Images for Airbnb

    He also stated in the interview that he believes Airbnb’s growth will accelerate next year, despite Airbnb’s history of “decelerating” growth, and reminisced about the company’s “hypergrowth,” when it was first founded in 2008.

    “We grew the company like a rocket ship,” Chesky stated at the event.

    Related: Airbnb Will Be the Place to Find Work After AI Takes Your Job, Says Its CEO: ‘Nobody Wants a Robot Answering the Door’

    Airbnb is also leaning into AI. In August, Chesky stated on an earnings call that Airbnb would become an “AI-first application” over the next few years. The company began using AI for customer service in April, which reduced human customer service interactions by 15%. AI now handles tasks at the company like canceling reservations and helping with travel plans. Airbnb plans to expand the agent this year and give it more advanced capabilities, like the ability to search through a reservation to find specific details.

    Airbnb had a market cap of over $76 billion at the time of writing. The company has over 5 million hosts.

    Airbnb’s growth has slowed in recent years, says the company’s CEO, Brian Chesky, but he has a plan to remedy the situation.

    In an interview on Tuesday at the Skift Global Forum conference, an event for the travel industry, Chesky noted that Airbnb experienced 40% growth in 2022, but that number declined to 18% in 2023 and then 12% in 2024. For the second quarter ending June 30, revenue growth was at 13%.

    “I’m not happy about where the growth rate is at the company,” Chesky said at the event. “I think Airbnb should be growing significantly faster. It should at least be growing in the teens, and I aspire to run the kind of company that’d be growing at more than 20% one day.”

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  • Zoom CEO: Best Tips for Running a Video Meeting | Entrepreneur

    Zoom CEO Eric Yuan founded the video communications company in 2011 when he was 41 years old and took it public in 2019. As of September 2025, Zoom had a market cap of $25.66 billion.

    But despite 15 years of daily practice, he still thinks video calls can be better, because the best meetings are when people “can be themselves,” he told The New York Times.

    Here’s Yuan’s advice for making your Zoom calls more productive.

    Be accessible

    Yuan says that he has a Zoom meeting link in his email signature so that people can set up calls with him.

    Related: 13 Leadership Lessons from Zoom Founder and CEO Eric Yuan

    Preparation is key

    Who you invite is as important as why you’re calling the meeting, Yuan said.

    “Number one, you need to prepare: who to invite, who not to invite, and a very clear agenda,” Yuan said, per The Times.

    Think about the vibes

    Yuan said the second most important thing for a productive meeting is to make sure everyone can be themselves.

    “Don’t be too nice, too polite,” Yuan said. “In a Zoom call, people tend to be so nice. It’s becoming too formal. It’s OK to interrupt a little bit. And after the meeting, you need to have some follow-up.”

    How to exit a call

    Don’t be afraid to use the chat.

    “Sometimes I just send a channel message: ‘Sorry, I got to do something.’ I use the chat a lot before I leave,” Yuan said.

    Related: Zoom CEO Eric Yuan Cuts His Own Pay By 98% Amid Layoffs

    Zoom CEO Eric Yuan founded the video communications company in 2011 when he was 41 years old and took it public in 2019. As of September 2025, Zoom had a market cap of $25.66 billion.

    But despite 15 years of daily practice, he still thinks video calls can be better, because the best meetings are when people “can be themselves,” he told The New York Times.

    Here’s Yuan’s advice for making your Zoom calls more productive.

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  • Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Is Fighting Against Bureaucracy | Entrepreneur

    Andy Jassy is trying to reset Amazon’s culture by getting rid of excess layers of middle management.

    The Amazon CEO stated on Tuesday at the company’s annual conference for third-party sellers that he wanted to eliminate bureaucracy to help Amazon grow and innovate more quickly. Bureaucracy is not compatible with “startups” and “entrepreneurial organizations,” but it is “really easy to accumulate,” according to Jassy.

    “I would say bureaucracy is really anathema to startups and to entrepreneurial organizations,” Jassy said at the event. “As you get larger, it’s really easy to accumulate bureaucracy, a lot of bureaucracy that you may not see.”

    Related: Amazon Tells Thousands of Employees to Relocate or Resign

    Jassy wrote in his latest annual shareholder letter in April that Amazon must “strive to operate like the world’s largest startup” by solving real customer problems, working quickly, reducing bureaucracy and being willing to take risks.

    Jassy’s latest remarks on Tuesday follow Amazon’s attempts across the past year to flatten its organization and eliminate excess layers.

    In September 2024, Jassy asked each team within the company to reduce the number of managers by at least 15%. A leaked guidelines document in January showed that Amazon accomplished this without layoffs by asking managers to increase their number of direct reports, pause hiring new managers, and demote some employees down a level to non-managerial positions.

    Managers are now required to have at least eight team members as direct reports, an increase from the six that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos mandated in 2017, according to the document.

    Jassy also introduced a “Bureaucracy Mailbox” last year to allow employees to email him examples of unwanted processes or rules that could be changed to help the company run more efficiently. Within a year, the mailbox received 1,500 emails, resulting in changes to 455 processes, Jassy said at Tuesday’s event.

    Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on July 8, 2025. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    At a November all-hands meeting, Jassy reiterated that he wanted to make changes to middle management to keep the company competitive.

    “The reality is that the [senior leadership team] and I hate bureaucracy,” Jassy said at the meeting. “One of the reasons I’m still at this company is because it’s not a political or bureaucratic place.”

    Related: Here’s Why Companies Shouldn’t Replace Entry-Level Workers With AI, According to the CEO of Amazon Web Services

    Jassy took over as Amazon CEO in 2021, following Bezos. Under his leadership, Amazon laid off 27,000 corporate employees and mandated that employees return to the office five days a week.

    Despite complaints from employees and an initial shortage of desks, the return-to-office mandate took effect on Jan. 2.

    Amazon states on its sustainability page that it employs 1.5 million people worldwide at the time of writing, making it the second-largest employer in the world.

    Andy Jassy is trying to reset Amazon’s culture by getting rid of excess layers of middle management.

    The Amazon CEO stated on Tuesday at the company’s annual conference for third-party sellers that he wanted to eliminate bureaucracy to help Amazon grow and innovate more quickly. Bureaucracy is not compatible with “startups” and “entrepreneurial organizations,” but it is “really easy to accumulate,” according to Jassy.

    “I would say bureaucracy is really anathema to startups and to entrepreneurial organizations,” Jassy said at the event. “As you get larger, it’s really easy to accumulate bureaucracy, a lot of bureaucracy that you may not see.”

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