Business Insider

Ukrainian forces are repurposing ground robots initially designed for assaults to handle critical logistics missions due to a shortage of available UGVs. This shift is part of a larger strategy aiming for robots to manage 100% of battlefield logistics, as front-line supply runs have become deadly amidst constant drone monitoring.

Uber COO Andrew Macdonald suggests that while AI could potentially reduce roles in functions like customer support or analytics, the company may ultimately require more employees to seize new opportunities enabled by AI. He stated he is 'tempted to say' Uber will have fewer people in five years compared to current operations, but also suggested new activities might necessitate growth. The article noted that despite recent layoffs and Macdonald's predictions, Uber's overall headcount increased 54.4% over the last five years.

Ilia Penzin and Liliia Penzina run T.O.L.K., a café and art gallery located in Bushwick, NYC. The business started with credit cards and a $30,000 loan, but despite high sales of around $5,600 monthly, they face significant financial hurdles and a roughly $900 cash shortfall each month. Despite these struggles, the owners remain highly optimistic about their dream business.

A journey tracked a reconnaissance drone from a high-tech company building in Wales to Ukraine's front line. The trip highlights Ukraine's emergence as a global leader in drone technology, while also noting its continued reliance on Western weapons and planes for fighting Russia.

Claire Stapleton wrote the memoir "Don't be Evil," detailing her time at Google and the company’s promises. Her writings focus on the tension between Google's utopian image and its corporate realities, particularly regarding bad management and lack of tolerance for dissent. She was instrumental in spearheading 2018 walkouts that protested Google's handling of sexual misconduct allegations.

An investigation tracked three young founders' sleep schedules for four days, revealing contrasting work habits between 'biohackers' and 'hustlers'. Lance Yan of Traverse reported struggling to find a balance, often getting only 5 to 6 hours of sleep. Conversely, Kavitta Ghai maintains a rigorous schedule, taking measures like wearing masks and ensuring she gets seven hours by aligning her workday around peak cognitive function.

The Hampton Grocer recalled its 8-ounce packs of "Lacnola Lactation Granola" after discovering a potential Salmonella contamination risk, which was alerted by its ingredient supplier, Food to Live. The company suspended production and advised customers who purchased the granola to dispose of it and seek refunds from the place of purchase. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the consumption of the recalled product.

Homeowners are increasingly building accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in their yards for various reasons, including generating rental income or facilitating multi-generational living. The trend is particularly noted for keeping loved ones who require care close by, which provides flexibility for adapting long-term care plans. For example, Lena Koropey plans to build a 750-square-foot ADU on her property in Mattituck to create space while ensuring her mother remains comfortable and supported at home.

Dropbox co-CEO Ashraf Alkarmi maintains a productivity system where he selects five core priorities each quarter. He uses this list as a 'filter' to guide how he spends his time, allowing him to skip meetings and tasks that fall outside these central objectives. These stated priorities help structure his weeks and determine where the company devotes its attention.

Homeowners are using Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs) to buy investment properties, converting equity into capital for wealth building. A HELOC functions like a credit card, allowing borrowers to access funds by borrowing against the difference between their home's value and what they still owe on it. Two investors cited were Mark, who bought a 25-unit portfolio, and Scott Steenbergh, who financed a sober-living rental.

Personal trainer Harley Pasternak identified three common mistakes that prevent people from building muscle: worrying about looking bulky, performing full-body workouts, and not allowing muscles enough time to recover between training sessions. He stresses that successful muscle gain requires progressive overload, sufficient rest, focusing on specific muscle groups, and maintaining a calorie surplus.

Instagram vowed to crack down on harassing videos filmed with Meta glasses using existing Community Standards on bullying and harassment. Despite Meta stating that thousands of pieces of content were removed and search terms like "rizz" are blocked, the article found dozens of similar videos still remaining active a month later. The ongoing issues highlight uneven enforcement regarding pickup lines and pranks filmed in public.

Real estate executive Leslie Cohen, based in the Boston area, has decided to pause her professional career to dedicate time to her college-bound children. Previously, she returned to work only 10 days after giving birth, a decision informed by her desire to maintain her career trajectory while managing family life.

Eldercare costs have skyrocketed over the last three decades, leaving millions of Americans unprepared to cover expenses like nursing homes and assisted living. The financial strain is depleting family resources, forcing some families to quit jobs or use home equity to pay for care. These escalating costs are worsened by a critical shortage of caregivers due to factors such as pandemic-related exodus and immigration restrictions.

Ferrero, an Italian company, is building a confectionery empire in the US by spending billions. This expansion involves buying iconic American brands and investing in new factories and an R&D lab. Furthermore, the company has created a new Nutella flavor specifically for Americans.

Big Wall Street banks are heavily investing billions in AI, leveraging generative AI across departments from trading floors to back offices. JPMorgan Chase, for example, is rolling out a proprietary genAI platform to over 200,000 employees, establishing nearly 1,000 use cases from fraud protection to marketing. Despite these advancements, analysts continue to scrutinize the massive spending on AI and question if the returns are justified.

Business Insider followed an AR3 surveillance drone from its manufacturing site in Wales, operated by Tekever, to soldiers positioned in southeastern Ukraine. This journey demonstrates how foreign aircraft are essential for sustaining Ukraine's fight, while simultaneously providing Western manufacturers with necessary combat experience. The drone deployment underscores a feedback loop critical to both the conflict and broader NATO military planning.

Joyce Leveston, CEO of New York City's Javits Center, began her career as a telephone operator and is now responsible for overseeing 145 events yearly at the 3.4 million-square-foot convention center. As an industry veteran, she manages over 3,000 employees and oversees diverse crowds ranging from comic-book devotees to car enthusiasts.

Brittany and Kelan Kline co-founded The Savvy Couple, a finance blog, in 2016 while managing student debt. Driven by a desire for time freedom, they leveraged minimal startup costs to build the online business into a major revenue source. By 2023, the blog generated $1.3 million, allowing the couple to build a net worth exceeding $1 million.

Dustin Chaveleh transformed his routine using full-body exercises and smart dieting to boost energy and build muscle. This physical transformation gave him a confidence boost that helped launch his dream career in real estate. Less than a year after starting his fitness journey, he successfully closed his first real estate deal.

Millennial parents often face financial challenges when raising children, with keeping two kids in day care costing thousands annually. Waiting longer between pregnancies can alleviate some childcare expenses and spread out costs by having only one child requiring full-time care at a time. However, this preference for spacing must be balanced against the reality of declining fertility rates as millennials have kids later.

Burger King saw its second-quarter US same-store sales jump 8.5%, significantly outperforming McDonald's, whose growth lagged at 0.8%, and Wendy's, which fell 7%. Rising prices have made fast food less reliable in terms of value, opening up competition from stores like Wawa and sit-down restaurants such as Chili's. Burger King also saw a 20% increase in Whopper sales after revamping the item by packaging it in a box instead of a wrapper.

Tech workers from companies including Amazon, Google, and Meta shared their biggest career regrets with Business Insider. Regrets ranged from not leaning into AI sooner to missing job opportunities or staying too long at one company. Mike Kostersitz highlighted his regret of remaining loyal to a company for 31 years before being laid off.

Coinbase CTO Rob Witoff uses an internal beta AI tool called "Coinbase Coach," which analyzes company data sources like Slack messages and Google Docs to provide feedback on employee performance. This coaching tool provides private advice intended to improve efficiency, and the resulting reports are not used in performance reviews or available to managers. The use of such tools is part of a broader effort at Coinbase to help employees automate tasks and optimize work.

Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens AG, detailed his routine managing a global technology company combining physical and digital worlds. His day starts with a workout, followed by working breakfast where he keeps his inbox below 100 emails using quick responses like "OK" or "No." He also adheres to a rule designed to minimize recurring meetings.

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin expressed optimism about AI's future, explaining his belief stems from the idea that it won't replicate genuine human emotion in art. He drew comparisons to an abstract painting and violent video games to support his claim that AI-generated content will lack emotional connection. His next film, "The Social Reckoning," focuses on Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and documents related to The Wall Street Journal's "Facebook Files" investigation.

Anthropic plans to embed an "imperceptible watermark" directly into Claude-generated text output, helping distinguish AI content from human writing in compliance with the European Union's AI Act. This announcement has raised concerns among tech figures regarding digital privacy, copyright, and potential issues with lightly edited work. Anthropic addressed these questions by stating that it plans to roll out a free API, allowing users and third parties to check for the watermark themselves.

Scott and Rebecca Steenbergh achieved financial independence through their real estate investments, using them to purchase a dream home. Scott established a high-cash-flow niche with sober-living rentals, generating cash-on-cash returns of 50% to 75%. The couple now operates six such properties along with two short-term rentals in Michigan.

Student-loan borrowers are navigating confusion stemming from repayment changes that took effect on July 1, resulting from an overhaul. Borrowers have reported encountering inaccurate bills and payment glitches, while the transition away from the SAVE plan has complicated budgeting efforts due to confusing notification processes. Furthermore, the Department of Education confirmed instances where borrowers received incorrect payments or were wrongly notified of past-due statuses.

Startup founders face crucial early decisions about their partnerships, leading to the need for a cofounder prenup. Interest in US entrepreneurship is rising, with new business applications up by more than 450,000 in the first half of 2026. Cofounders are advised to discuss key elements like whether they aim to build a venture-backed winner-take-all company or a profitable bootstrapped business.

Miami's cost of living has surpassed New York City's, which is slowing migration despite drawing wealthy residents. Meanwhile, Austin’s real-estate market has cratered, with a high percentage of homes sold in 2022 now valued less than their original sale price. Both cities are facing complex challenges regarding growth and affordability.

Lovable raised $400 million in a new funding round, doubling its valuation to $13.3 billion as investors bet on AI coding technology. The startup reported achieving $400 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in March. Since launching in November 2024, the platform has helped build over 60 million projects.

Paul Griggs, PwC senior partner and US CEO, built a customized AI agent called "PG's Whisperer" and uses it daily for various professional tasks. This tool helps him review lengthy documents, test ideas against news, and pressure-test strategy work, allowing assessment at previously impossible speeds. The development of the assistant stemmed from conversations with a PwC colleague in the firm's intelligent enterprise offerings.

Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings, stated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have a "human cost" concerning employment and predicted encountering "rough waters." He emphasized that because AI could impact various careers, he wants every employee to become "AI literate." Furthermore, Fogel predicted job impacts would extend beyond his company to sectors like investment banks.

OpenAI is quietly testing a paid feature that allows ChatGPT Plus users to immediately reset their weekly usage quota via an "$8 to reset" button. This early experiment, which was not formally announced, enables the removal of the typical waiting period associated with depleted AI usage caps. The company stated it is exploring ways for some users who hit quotas to buy additional usage.

Mark Zuckerberg presented an 'AI-for-all' vision in a long blog post, which coincided with Meta launching its open-weight model, Muse Glimmer. To support this push, Meta plans to create a $1 billion fund for communities hosting AI data centers. However, the article notes that Meta must overcome user reluctance regarding AI adoption while relying on its existing platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) and accumulated data.

A British Airways Airbus A380 took a seven-hour flight to nowhere on a journey from Johannesburg, South Africa, bound for London. The plane reportedly U-turned over the Democratic Republic of the Congo after experiencing technical issues with its weather radar, leading it to return near its starting point.

David Hatcher, managing partner of Baringa, details his structured routine for maintaining productivity in global consulting. His days begin early with exercise and a commute where he reads news like the Financial Times. He spends roughly 80% of his time in meetings that cover diverse topics including company strategy, clients, culture, and mergers and acquisitions.

Ribbon AI, a voice-AI recruiting platform, reports that approximately one quarter of its interviews occur between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time. Company leaders cite this 24/7 availability as a major accessibility feature that increases inclusive hiring opportunities for candidates who might otherwise struggle to interview during the day. The tool is also credited with improving employee retention by 10% to 30% across top customers.

RBC Capital Markets developed an interactive tool to address the build-versus-buy debate surrounding business software. The calculator allows users to compare subscription costs with the full cost of building and running an in-house alternative, factoring in maintenance, security risks, and repairs. RBC's analysis found that building core systems—such as payroll or customer records—is usually more expensive than simply purchasing the required software.