Ramp

Vendelux, a B2B events platform co-founded by Stefan Deeran and Alex Reynolds, raised $50 million in a Series B round led by Tribeca Venture Partners. The company uses AI and event data to help marketers optimize event strategies and has 250 customers including Ramp and ElevenLabs.

David Senra built a highly profitable podcast business without full-time employees and rejected acquisition offers exceeding $50 million. His podcast 'Founders' attracts notable figures like Jeff Bezos and Shopify's CEO, and he prioritizes creative control over financial gains from external investments.

Small businesses are increasingly adopting AI for cost-saving and efficiency, with 58% using it in 2025 compared to 23% in 2023. While AI helped companies like Sparkles Homes and Flint Avenue Marketing reduce costs and automate tasks, it also caused unexpected expenses and awkward errors, such as AI-generated emails and over-apologetic phone responses. Small businesses are now budgeting more for AI, with median costs rising to $21 per employee in 2025.

New reports from BCG, Ramp, and Revelio Labs indicate that successful AI adoption in companies requires strategic organizational change rather than mere tool deployment. High-intensity AI adopters, spending over $34 monthly on AI, saw greater workforce growth than low-intensity users, but BCG's survey found 66% of workers received limited guidance on leveraging AI time savings, highlighting a gap between tool access and strategic implementation.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has partnered with Anthropic to expand the use of its chatbot Claude in state agencies while launching a plan to track AI-related job losses. The initiative highlights a political challenge as leaders balance reliance on AI products with concerns over job impacts, with mixed findings on employment trends from Ramp/Revelio research and California's unemployment data.

A Ramp study found that companies investing heavily in AI are experiencing job growth. The research highlights a correlation between significant AI spending and employment expansion.

Anthropic's CFO Boris Cherny discusses Claude Code's $2.5B annualized revenue and advises comparing AI costs to engineering labor rather than traditional software subscriptions. He highlights efficiency gains, such as a developer rewriting a codebase in six days versus a year of manual work, and emphasizes internal pilot testing to measure AI adoption impact.

Johnny Hilbrant's parody character PE Guy has grown into a $1 million business through revenue streams like Cameo, TikTok, brand partnerships, and corporate events. The character, initially a joke, gained popularity with finance professionals and secured brand deals with companies like The Black Tux and fintech Ramp.

Ramp has reached a $44 billion valuation as companies look to rein in AI spending. The latest funding round was led by ICONIQ, GIC, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

Ramp has raised $750 million in funding, achieving a $44 billion valuation as investors seek fintech startups leveraging AI. The company's valuation has nearly tripled over the past year.

Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek surpassed US-based PheedLoop on Ramp's corporate spending index in June as US firms increasingly adopt its lower-cost AI solutions over OpenAI and Anthropic. Ramp's data shows a shift toward affordable alternatives as companies replace expensive Silicon Valley AI options.

Anthropic faces potential revenue risks as corporate customers reduce AI spending ahead of its IPO. Companies are questioning AI costs after underwhelming returns, with some reporting low cost savings and accidental high expenses on Anthropic's Claude model. Anthropic's business revenue growth could be challenged if enterprises shift to cheaper alternatives.

A school allegedly shamed a disabled girl for requesting a ramp to attend her eighth-grade graduation, according to her mother. The incident highlights concerns about accessibility and respect for students with disabilities in educational institutions.

Mercury, a fintech firm, has reached a valuation of $5.2 billion after a funding round, representing a 49% increase in 14 months. The company has thrived despite the collapse of pandemic-era valuations. Mercury is compared to other successful fintech firms like Ramp and Stripe.

Anthropic has surpassed OpenAI in verified business customers, according to Ramp's AI Index. This marks a significant milestone for Anthropic, indicating growing traction among businesses. The data from Ramp highlights the shifting landscape of AI adoption.

Ramp is in talks to raise $750 million at a pre-money valuation of over $40 billion, just six months after reaching a $32 billion valuation. The company's potential new valuation represents a significant increase. Ramp's latest funding round comes as the company continues to grow.

Ramp's Sheets AI tool has been found to exfiltrate financial data, raising security concerns. The article from PromptArmor highlights potential risks associated with the AI system, though no details on the breach's scope or impact are provided.

Stablecoins expanded into new markets and corridors, with Transfero launching a BRZ bridge, Xelio enabling Nigerian text/WhatsApp transfers, and Singapore Gulf Bank offering zero-fee USD-to-USDC conversion. Solana surpassed Ethereum in adjusted USD stablecoin volume, while P2P transfers reached $971M weekly. Ramp added Solana Tether support, and MetaMask cards now offer Solana USDC.

Ramp, a Peter Thiel-backed fintech unicorn, has introduced $0 conversions between USDT and dollars across its product suite, expanding support for Ethereum, Solana, and Plasma-issued USDT tokens.

OpenAI is leveraging consulting partners and its compute capacity advantage to regain enterprise customers from Anthropic as both AI labs compete for IPO momentum. The rivalry focuses on enterprise adoption, model quality, and compute resources, with Anthropic currently showing stronger investor demand in secondary markets.

Slash, a startup founded by teenagers and competing with Ramp, has raised $100 million at a $1.4 billion valuation. The founders, now 24, report $300 million in annualized revenue after five years.