It’s Pay-to-Stay at Starbucks As the Coffeehouse Reverses Its Open Door Policy
If you want to use the restroom, work remotely, or sit to chat with friends, you’ll need to be a paying customer.
Apple joins consortium to help develop next-gen AI data center tech
Apple has joined a consortium creating next-gen technology to link together chips in AI data centers. The consortium, the Ultra Accelerator Link Consortium, is developing a standard called UALink, which connects the AI accelerator chips found within a growing number of server farms. As of Tuesday, Apple is a member of the consortium’s board, along […]
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EV startup Harbinger’s obsession with simplicity fuels $100M Series B
It’s not an easy time to raise money for an electric vehicle startup, especially given how many have failed or are close to failing. But Los Angeles-based Harbinger has pulled it off by taking an hyper-focused approach to electrifying commercial trucking. The reward is a $100 million Series B, co-led by early Tesla investor Capricorn […]
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Decentralized Instagram alternative Pixelfed launches mobile apps
Pixelfed, a decentralized alternative to Instagram, has launched its official mobile apps. The service today runs on the same ActivityPub protocol that powers an open source X alternative Mastodon, a YouTube competitor PeerTube, and other decentralized social apps, including now Meta’s Threads and Flipboard (plus its newer app, Surf), that are part of a growing […]
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Massachusetts senator seeks to extend deadline for TikTok ban
Senatory Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is planning to introduce legislation to extend the TikTok ban deadline by 270 days. TikTok has warned of a looming shutdown in just five days, but the new legislation, officially called the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act, would give TikTok more time to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, if approved by Congress. TikTok […]
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The One Factor the Top Franchises of 2025 Have in Common
Here’s how we determined the companies in our annual Franchise 500 ranking, and what we learned from the data.
Buying a Franchise? Don’t Be Intimidated — Follow This Guide to Sizing Up a Franchisor.
You should always ask to meet the franchisor before buying into a brand. When you get that meeting, here’s what to ask.
12 Businesses Share Their Biggest Marketing Wins, From a Social Media Scavenger Hunt to Lovable Mascot
You don’t need a huge budget to get people’s attention, or win over loyal customers. Sometimes you just need a little creativity.
The Growth of These 4 Franchise Concepts Shows Where the Industry Is Going
From autism services to self-pour bars, these concepts in franchising can tell us where the industry is headed.
8 Wild New Franchise Concepts You’ll Want to Know About
Want to own a business that does something fun, sweet or kooky? One of these new franchise brands might be a fit for you.
OpenAI’s AI reasoning model ‘thinks’ in Chinese sometimes and no one really knows why
Shortly after OpenAI released o1, its first “reasoning” AI model, people began noting a curious phenomenon. The model would sometimes begin “thinking” in Chinese, Persian, or some other language — even when asked a question in English. Given a problem to sort out — e.g. “How many R’s are in the word ‘strawberry?’” — o1 […]
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