JPMorgan Is Now Valued More Than Its 3 Largest Competitors Combined: ‘We’re Quite Cautious to Just Declare Victory’

JPMorgan Chase is far ahead of its rivals — but the bank is still running the race with an eye on its competition.

In the first half of the year, JPMorgan’s market value reached nearly $800 billion, more than the market values of its competitors Citigroup ($168 billion), Bank of America ($344 billion), and Wells Fargo ($260 billion) combined. In the same period, the bank raked in $30 billion in profit.

According to a Wednesday Bloomberg report, JPMorgan was able to reach market value highs because it benefited from acquiring First Republic Bank in May 2023. The acquisition made the bank even larger and more powerful, allowing it to be the biggest bank in the U.S. with $3.9 trillion in assets at the time of writing.

Related: JPMorgan Will Fire Junior Bankers Over a Common Practice That CEO Jamie Dimon Calls ‘Unethical’

Meanwhile, JPMorgan’s competitors have been facing unique difficulties. For example, Wells Fargo’s growth in recent years has been limited by an asset cap, or a growth restriction imposed on the bank by the Federal Reserve in 2018, which limits the bank’s total assets to $1.95 trillion. The action was in response to a scandal involving the bank’s creation of fake customer accounts to meet sales targets. The Federal Reserve finally lifted the asset cap last month.

Citigroup, meanwhile, has been in the middle of a significant, multi-billion-dollar tech overhaul aimed at improving legacy software systems, and Bank of America has faced losses that could top $100 billion on its bond portfolio.

Still, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon isn’t ready to “just declare victory,” pointing out that the bank’s rivals are gaining ground.

“All of our major bank competitors are back growing and expanding,” Dimon said on an earnings call on Tuesday. “We’re quite cautious to just declare victory, like somehow we’re entitled to these returns forever.”

JPMorgan reported its second-quarter results on Tuesday, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of stronger-than-expected earnings. Reported revenue for the quarter was $44.9 billion, higher than the revenue of $43.8 billion that analysts expected. The bank’s net interest income, or the income it makes from loans and other products after interest payments, was $23.3 billion, up 2% year-over-year, while net income as a whole was $15 billion.

Related: JPMorgan Chase Says AI Could Cut Headcount By 10% in Some Divisions: ‘We Will Deliver More’

JPMorgan’s competitors are also reporting better-than-expected earnings. On Tuesday, Citi reported a net income of $4.02 billion, up 25% from the same period last year. The same day, Wells Fargo surpassed profit estimates with a net income of $5.49 billion, up from $4.91 billion a year prior.

On Wednesday, Bank of America beat estimates on earnings, with a net income of $7.1 billion compared to $6.9 billion a year prior, but was the only major U.S. bank to miss the mark on revenue.

JPMorgan shares were up over 19% year-to-date.

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Here Are the ‘Rules’ If You Want to Be Rich, According to Barbara Corcoran

Barbara Corcoran famously sold the real estate company she founded for $66 million in 2001. Since then, she became an original investor on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” which is now filming its 17th season, and now makes about $4.5 million a year from her investments.

On Tuesday, Corcoran posted on Instagram that, despite accumulating millions, there are some “rules to being rich” that she wishes she had known sooner.

Related: Barbara Corcoran Did ‘Crazy Things’ to Retain Employees, From Hot Air Balloon Rides to a Free Bentley: ‘We Had No Turnover’

“If you want to be rich, follow these rules,” the post begins. Then she lists 11 “rules” that she lives by when building her businesses.

Some rules, Corcoran has talked about before, such as not hiring “fancy degrees” and opting for hustle and attitude, instead. Corcoran famously “doesn’t look at resumes.” Others are new, like what Corcoran says is the “most important part of your budget,” what she calls “mad money,” or the money “you spend on yourself to feel like a million bucks.” Corcoran recommends setting money aside to look the part — in 2023, she told viewers that she spent her first-ever commission check on a $320 peacoat at luxury retailer Bergdorf Goodman, despite not being able to afford it. She said it was the best purchase she ever made.

Here are some other rules to being rich, according to Corcoran.

• Spend less than you make.

“You can’t grow wealth if you’re always playing catch-up.”

• Learn to love rejection.

“The most successful people I know all have one thing in common: They spend little time feeling sorry for themselves, and they get right back up. Keep swinging!”

Related: Barbara Corcoran Needed to Make Job Cuts. Here’s Why She Fired Her Mom First.

• Start before you’re ready.

“The best time to move on an idea is the moment you think of it. You don’t have to get it right, just get it going.”

• Have a vision of where you want to go.

“I saw myself as the queen of New York real estate, clear as day, and that’s what I became. If you can imagine it, you can build it.”

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What Most Employers Overlook That’s Costing Them Great Hires

Professional skills and experience are essential in hiring, but they’re only part of the equation. When screening candidates, it’s equally important to consider how well someone aligns with your company’s culture. This alignment influences employee satisfaction, team collaboration and long term retention. In short, it’s the difference between simply filling a role and building a resilient, values-driven organization.

In my own hiring process, I look beyond resumes and technical credentials. I pay close attention to how candidates show adaptability, a growth mindset and genuine interest in our mission. I want to know how they work with others, how they respond to change and whether they value integrity and transparency — two of our organization’s core principles. One of my go-to questions is how they’ve handled an ethical dilemma. Their response often reveals far more than a skills test ever could.

Your priorities may differ depending on your team’s culture, but the approach to identifying fit should follow a similar framework. Here’s how to build a hiring process that balances competency with cultural alignment.

Related: I’ve Worked with Hundreds of Entrepreneurs to Scale Their Teams. Here’s How to Get the Right People Onboard

Understand and define your company culture

Before you can screen for culture fit, you need a clear understanding of what your culture actually is. That includes your mission, values, communication norms, leadership style and even how people collaborate day to day. Culture isn’t a poster on the wall — it’s how work actually gets done.

Gallup research shows that just four in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree their company’s mission makes them feel their job is important. In other words, candidates are looking for meaning, not just a paycheck. They’re researching your company before applying, and if your values aren’t visible or clearly defined, they won’t know whether to self-select in — or out.

During interviews, one question I often ask is: “Can you tell me about a time you had to adapt to a major change at work?” This helps gauge flexibility, resilience and values in action — key indicators of whether a candidate will thrive in our fast-moving environment.

Embed culture into your hiring materials

Introducing your culture early sets the tone for the entire candidate experience. By weaving your values and workplace norms into job descriptions, career pages and interviews, you attract applicants who resonate with your environment — and deter those who don’t.

For example, I always outline our mission, values and expectations upfront. We design interview questions around real scenarios our teams face, which allows candidates to demonstrate not only how they think, but how they’d show up day-to-day.

Some practical ways to showcase culture in your hiring process include:

• Sharing employee testimonials on your website or LinkedIn.
• Describing communication preferences, workplace flexibility and performance expectations clearly in job posts.
• Using real-life examples in interviews to reflect your values in action.

Use open-ended, insightful questions

Open-ended questions spark conversation — and surface the deeper qualities that make or break team dynamics. Instead of asking yes or no questions or relying solely on hypothetical situations, let candidates tell real stories about their experiences.

This approach helps reveal how they solve problems, navigate conflict, take initiative and collaborate — all things that influence team chemistry and performance. It also allows you to assess communication style and thought process, both critical for a healthy, effective work culture.

Related: Your Team Will Succeed Only if They Trust Each Other

Be transparent from the start

Hiring is a two-way decision. The more transparent you are about the role, the team, and the challenges involved, the more likely you’ll find candidates who are genuinely prepared and excited to contribute. If there are tough aspects of the role — unusual hours, evolving responsibilities or shifting team structures — say so upfront.

Transparency filters out misaligned candidates early and sets the tone for an honest, trust-based relationship.

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She Was CEO of OpenAI for 2 Days. Now Her Secretive AI Startup Has Raised $12 Billion.

Mira Murati spent six and a half years at OpenAI as its chief technology officer (CTO) before stepping down in September 2024. Now, her AI startup Thinking Machines Lab (TML), which was founded in February, closed a $2 billion seed round this week that values the startup at $12 billion, a spokesperson told TechCrunch.

TML has yet to launch any products, at least publicly. But on Tuesday, Murati said on X that the company would be sharing its first product “in the next couple of months.”

Related: This New AI Startup Led By a Former OpenAI Exec Is Offering $500,000 Salaries

“We’re building multimodal AI that works with how you naturally interact with the world – through conversation, through sight, through the messy way we collaborate,” Murati wrote. “We’re excited that in the next couple months we’ll be able to share our first product, which will include a significant open source component and be useful for researchers and startups developing custom models.”

The deal was led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Nvidia, Accel, ServiceNow, CISCO, AMD, and Jane Street, Murati wrote. She also noted that TML is hiring.

“We’re always looking for extraordinary talent that learns by doing, turning research into useful things,” she wrote. “We believe AI should serve as an extension of individual agency and, in the spirit of freedom, be distributed as widely and equitably as possible. We hope this vision resonates with those who share our commitment to advancing the field. If so, join us. https://thinkingmachines.paperform.co.”

Related: Here’s How Much a Typical Salesforce Employee Makes in a Year

According to federal filings obtained by Business Insider, several TML employees are earning around $500,000 in compensation.

Thinking Machines Lab exists to empower humanity through advancing collaborative general intelligence.

We’re building multimodal AI that works with how you naturally interact with the world – through conversation, through sight, through the messy way we collaborate. We’re…

— Mira Murati (@miramurati) July 15, 2025

Although she was CTO of OpenAI, Murati spent two days as the interim CEO after the current chief executive and co-founder, Sam Altman, was forced out by the board in November 2023.

After a drama-filled couple of days, Altman returned to his role. Murati, meanwhile, left OpenAI about a year later. Altman has said Murati was instrumental in the creation of ChatGPT.

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The $16 Trillion Revolution That’s Unlocking the Next Generation of Finance

My investment journey started over 10 years ago. Having invested in over 200 companies since then, I couldn’t help but realize the need for a better infrastructure to close my deals. I’d set up a lot of SPVs and tools, and I invested in other providers building tools for investors and fund managers, but I needed fast, efficient and customized platforms.

However, the platforms I was looking for did not yet exist, so I adapted by creating my own tools to facilitate a smoother investment experience. This was when I realized that the tools I had developed presented an opportunity that met a significant market demand, specifically in the area of tokenization.

With a forecast to reach US$16 trillion by 2030, tokenized assets are tapping into a new generation of finance that extends beyond trading to include accessibility, compliance and more. From there, I found myself leading a venture that had tokenized over US$2 billion worth of assets for 20,000 investors across more than 1,500 funds.

Related: The Tokenization Revolution: Reshaping How We Own and Trade Assets

More to assets than just trading

While the projected value of tokenized assets elicits much excitement, it’s crucial to examine what tokenization entails from a utility standpoint, so as not to lose potential in the excitement. Understanding why assets belong on the blockchain needs to go beyond the view of “digital wrappers” that are idle in wallets. Tokenization must be viewed as a key to doors that were once inaccessible, providing opportunities that were once unrealistic.

A good example of a door unlocked by tokenization is the tokenized stock exchange, a digital marketplace where traditional shares are converted into blockchain-based tokens. What this unveils is a quicker, more accessible and streamlined trading experience that transcends geographical borders and financial limitations.

Tokenized stocks offer investors globally the opportunity to own a slice of U.S. technology leaders, including Apple, Amazon or even a private company like SpaceX, without the need for a U.S. brokerage account. Tokenization will also permit 24/7 trading of public stocks from anywhere in the world. For private stocks, it will unlock significant liquidity for pre-IPO companies, which until now were viewed as very illiquid investments.

With geographical borders being removed, financial ceilings are also being lifted as high-priced assets are broken down into smaller units, bringing liquidity to markets that are typically difficult to trade. Take, for example, properties with multi-million-dollar value, and how fractional ownership can enable liquidity from retail investors.

Related: Why Your Business Assets Belong on the Blockchain

What about compliance?

The promise of tokenization, valued at US$16 trillion, is achieved through steps that consider not only utility but also due diligence and precaution. The truth remains that this is a nascent technology with much regulatory ambiguity and global inconsistencies. While the U.S. views digital tokens as securities under the jurisdiction of the SEC, some countries in Asia have yet to develop detailed regulations governing these tokens.

Countries are rushing to regulate the space, which drives even more adoption and safety to the industry. As an example, the U.S. Senate is looking to pass the Broker-Dealer Tokenization Act, a bill that would allow broker-dealers to operate in the tokenization space with a well-defined legal framework.

This is where one of the most potent elements of tokenized securities comes into play: the ability to directly encode compliance and regulatory requirements into the asset using smart contracts. This embeds compliance in a manner that reduces regulatory overhead, while ensuring market integrity is sustained, and delivers an efficient use of real-world assets among developers and end-users.

Exclusivity erodes through utility

The norm thus far has been one of exclusive access to primary investment instruments; however, this exclusivity will soon erode due to the advent of tokenization. While we recently saw news about the Circle IPO and other high-ticket crypto projects, the story was yet another case of institutional investors being the early birds that get the worm, as each share was priced at US$31 pre-IPO, opened at US$69, and closed its first day at US$83.23.

The arrival of tokenized equities, bonds and yield-bearing instruments is likely to cater to the appetite of both institutional and retail investors, with a lowered entry barrier, broadened access and a shift in opportunities for wealth creation. With tokenization gradually percolating the financial processes of today’s economy, it would be no surprise to see the next game changer be access to early-stage gains, such as that of Circle’s IPO.

Related: How This Finance Guru Created A Breakthrough Financial Service Platform

The next generation of finance

Moving forward in a world that is growing increasingly tokenized, we’re already noticing shifts in the likes of tokenized private credit, with platforms having pushed the volume of on-chain loans beyond US$13 billion in assets under management.

This creates an inversion of the old mortgage model, where the token is liquid collateral tracked in real time and the borrower is priced by the pool. Invoices, revenue-share agreements and more can now be cleared in minutes on platforms that are monitored in real-time.

The approach of constantly online collateral can also be seen in the corporate world, with tokenized U.S. treasures having reached US$7.2 billion. If this isn’t enough, then JPMorgan’s first public blockchain treasury trade most definitely provides clear proof of concept.

These are some examples that demonstrate how tokenization can unlock the next generation of finance, tapping into the massive potential of this nascent space. The unicorns of tomorrow are those who see in this technology the opportunity to not just tokenize, but to enable the productivity of the assets tokenized in a manner accessible to all with transparency, compliance and security baked into its core.

Here’s What It’s Like to Work at OpenAI, According to an Employee Who Quit 3 Weeks Ago

When engineer and MIT graduate Calvin French-Owen joined OpenAI in May 2024, the startup had around 1,000 employees. A year later, OpenAI’s workforce had tripled to 3,000 employees, and French-Owen was in the top 30% by tenure.

In a blog post published Tuesday, French-Owen detailed what it was like to work for the ChatGPT-maker for a little over a year, from May 2024 to June 2025. He quit OpenAI three weeks ago, stating that there was no “personal drama” behind his decision, but that he was simply “craving a fresh start.”

Related: OpenAI Is Creating AI to Do ‘All the Things That Software Engineers Hate to Do’

While at OpenAI, French-Owen worked on Codex, a coding assistant released in May that competes with AI coding tools like Cursor and Anthropic’s Claude Code. He described in his blog post that his team of eight engineers, four researchers, two designers, two go-to-market managers, and one project manager created Codex in just seven weeks. They worked most nights until 11 p.m. or midnight and came into the office on weekends to complete the project.

“It’s hard to overstate how incredible this level of pace was,” French-Owen wrote. “I haven’t seen organizations large or small go from an idea to a fully launched + freely available product in such a short window.”

He added later that Codex had reached 630,000 engineers in less than two months since launch.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever worked on something so impactful in my life,” French-Owen wrote.

One “unusual” aspect of OpenAI, which French-Owen emphasized in his blog post, was that “there is no email,” and nearly all communication happens on the workplace messaging platform Slack. He estimated that he received about 10 emails in his entire time at the company.

Related: OpenAI Executives Look For These 3 Key Traits in New Hires: ‘It’s Actually My Advice to Students’

French-Owen also stated that there’s a strong bias for action at OpenAI, meaning that staff are encouraged to have good ideas and act on them. He characterized the startup as extremely meritocratic, promoting employees based on their ability to have the best ideas instead of their ability to present at meetings or play political games.

French-Owen found OpenAI to be “a very secretive place” as well as “a more serious place than you might expect.” The startup prohibited him from telling anyone what he was working on in detail, and it felt as though the stakes were high for the company to build a product used by 500 million global weekly users.

French-Owen also wrote that when it comes to engineering personnel, there is a “very significant” Meta to OpenAI pipeline. He pointed out that OpenAI is similar to Meta in its early days, with a top-performing consumer app and “a desire to move really quickly.”

Before joining OpenAI, French-Owen was previously a co-founder of data startup Segment, which Twilio bought for $3.2 billion in 2020.

Related: ‘I’ll Fight to Keep Every One of You’: OpenAI Responds to Meta Poaching Talent, Says It Is ‘Recalibrating’ Pay

Meta has been hiring talent from OpenAI, too. Meta recently poached top OpenAI researchers, including ChatGPT co-creator Shengjia Zhao and ChatGPT voice mode co-creator Shuchao Bi, with pay packages reportedly in the nine figures. OpenAI Chief Research Officer Mark Chen indicated last month in a leaked Slack message that the company is rethinking compensation in response to the poaching.

OpenAI raised $40 billion in March at a valuation of $300 billion, the biggest private tech deal ever recorded.

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5 Things People Don’t Tell You About Being a High-Growth Entrepreneur

If you spend five minutes on LinkedIn or Instagram, you’d think being a high-growth entrepreneur is nothing but private jets, roundtables at Davos and “crushing it.” I should know. I’ve built multiple businesses, advised countless founders and worked in industries where appearances are currency.

Yet the truth is far messier, and far more valuable, than the highlight reel we’re often shown.

As the founder of Digital24, where we help entrepreneurs and businesses shape their online presence and reputation, I’ve navigated the highs and lows of fast-scaling ventures across digital PR, brand building and luxury services. Over the years, I’ve learned there are crucial realities that rarely make it into glossy articles or podcasts. Here are five things people don’t tell you about being a high-growth entrepreneur, and why knowing them might save your sanity, your business and perhaps your health.

Related: Rapid Business Expansion Can Be a Good Thing — But It Comes With Challenges. Here’s How to Make This Growth Sustainable.

1. Growth magnifies every flaw

In the early days, you can skate by on hustle and charm. But as your business scales, tiny cracks in your processes, team culture or product become glaring fault lines. Growth doesn’t just amplify revenue. It amplifies everything, good and bad.

“Growing fast is like turning up the volume on your business. If the music is beautiful, it’s incredible. But if there’s static in the system, it’s suddenly deafening.” — Steve Laidlaw

At Digital24, I’ve worked with companies where a lack of clear communication or weak middle management didn’t seem critical at 10 people but became existential threats at 50.

One of the biggest myths in entrepreneurship is that growth automatically fixes problems. It doesn’t. It exposes them. If you’re planning for fast growth, spend as much time strengthening your foundations as you do chasing new customers.

2. You’ll outgrow relationships, and that’s painful

No one talks about the emotional casualties of scaling a business. As you evolve, some friendships, partnerships or early team dynamics won’t survive the journey.

“Entrepreneurship is personal growth on steroids. And sometimes the people who helped you start can’t help you scale.” — Steve Laidlaw

Early hires might be incredible generalists, but eventually you’ll need specialists who’ve seen the scale you’re chasing. Trusted suppliers may not be able to keep up with rising standards or volumes. Even friendships outside your business can feel strained if people don’t understand the pressures you’re under.

That’s not arrogance; it’s reality. Your orbit will change as your business does. A high-growth founder’s journey often feels lonely precisely because it requires constant adaptation.

3. Cash flow stress doesn’t disappear with bigger numbers

I’ve seen founders assume that once they hit, say, £5 million or £10 million in revenue, the sleepless nights will vanish. Here’s the reality: Bigger numbers often come with bigger risks.

“The zeros change. The anxiety often doesn’t.” — Steve Laidlaw

You’ll have larger payrolls, bigger contracts and more complex cash flow timing. One delayed payment from a major client can ripple through your entire operation. And in high-growth businesses, you’re usually reinvesting profits into further growth, marketing, talent and product development, which means your bank account rarely feels as comfortable as outsiders assume.

At Digital24, we’ve seen how rapid expansion can strain even the healthiest businesses. If you’re scaling fast, prepare for a balancing act between aggressive growth and cash preservation. It’s an invisible tightrope that few outsiders appreciate.

Related: The Inevitable Challenges You’ll Face as Your Business Grows — and How to Handle Them

4. Visibility is a double-edged sword

Everyone wants publicity, right? Coverage in high-profile publications, podcasts and speaking gigs. It all sounds great. And it is, until it’s not.

In a high-growth business, visibility brings opportunities and scrutiny. As your profile rises, your reputation becomes both your strongest asset and your biggest vulnerability.

“When you’re invisible, mistakes stay private. When you’re visible, mistakes become headlines.” — Steve Laidlaw

We often work with founders whose social media posts, once casual, suddenly triggered PR crises because they were now seen as brand representatives. Media attention is powerful for fundraising, recruiting and credibility, but it requires discipline. Every word you say, every online footprint, every casual comment carries weight.

High-growth founders need to think like public figures long before they feel like one. That means professionalizing your personal brand, monitoring your digital presence and sometimes learning to say less.

5. Success brings an identity crisis

Here’s the strangest secret of all: Achieving your growth goals can leave you feeling lost.

Entrepreneurs are builders by nature. The adrenaline of problem solving, pivoting and creating is addictive. But high growth eventually demands a shift from scrappy founder to structured CEO, and not everyone wants that role.

“There’s a moment every founder faces where you realize the job you’ve built for yourself isn’t the one you want anymore.” — Steve Laidlaw

Some entrepreneurs thrive as visionaries but struggle with the operational discipline required to scale. Others miss the personal connections with customers that get diluted in a bigger company. I’ve seen founders sell businesses not for the money, but to escape the role their own success trapped them in.

If you’re pursuing rapid growth, check in with yourself regularly. What do you actually want your day-to-day life to look like? The cost of ignoring that question is burnout, or worse, building a business you no longer love.

Related: The Truth About Achieving Exponential Growth in Business, Exposed

My hard-earned conclusion

Being a high-growth entrepreneur is extraordinary. It’s a privilege to create jobs, build products and chase your vision. But it’s not the fantasy often portrayed in social media highlight reels.

If I could give one piece of advice to any ambitious founder, it would be this:

“Treat your business like a machine and your reputation like an asset. But treat yourself like a human being.” — Steve Laidlaw

Growth is thrilling. But it’s also relentless, exposing every weakness and forcing you to evolve constantly. Knowing the hidden realities doesn’t make the journey less exciting. It makes it survivable, sustainable and ultimately more rewarding.

So here’s to the founders building high-growth companies. May you grow wisely, and may you always remember there’s a real human behind the brand.

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How Yankees Star Anthony Volpe Turned a Recovery Drink Into a Business Opportunity

At some point in elementary school, you were probably asked what you wanted to be when you grew up. If you were a kid in New York or New Jersey, odds are someone in that classroom wrote down shortstop for the New York Yankees.

Most people never reach the heights their childhood selves aspired to.

But Anthony Volpe isn’t most people.

Fueled by years of preparation, passion and patience, Volpe made his major league debut for his beloved Yankees in 2023, just four years after being drafted. Today, he’s living his dream — starting at shortstop for the team he grew up idolizing, following in the footsteps of Derek Jeter.

Now in his third MLB season, the 24-year-old is taking the next big step in his career — not just on the field, but off it.

“I grew up dreaming of being a baseball player,” Volpe says. “As a kid, you don’t consider all the opportunities that come with it.”

Nevertheless, in his relentless pursuit of a competitive edge, Volpe found a natural partner in Recover 180, an organic sports drink that aligns with both his performance needs and personal values.

Related: ‘Nobody’s Ever Seen This Before’: How These 2 NYC Sports Icons Are Infusing Swagger into Next-Gen Eyewear

Real relationships, real ingredients

Unlike many athlete partnerships, where a brand seeks out an athlete to promote its product, Volpe was already a consumer of Recover 180 before any formal relationship began.

After researching the company and trying the product himself, the 24-year-old took the initiative to get involved with the business, much to the delight of Recover 180 VP of Marketing Jonny Hochschild.

“It’s really about authenticity,” Hochschild says. “We want athletes and partners who genuinely resonate with the brand, people who are actual consumers of it.”

Volpe fits that description to a tee, incorporating Recover 180 into his workout regiment before he ever joined forces with the company.

“Baseball season is as crazy as a sports season gets,” the young shortstop shares. “So recovery is huge for me.”

As the name suggests, Recover 180 is built with recovery in mind. The drink features a coconut water base and contains no artificial flavoring, aiming to deliver maximum hydration, hence the tagline: Better Hydration.

“Sugary traditional sports drinks are fine in the moment,” Volpe says, “but you shouldn’t really drink them if you’re not actually playing and sweating.”

Recover 180, on the other hand, is USDA organic certified and made with a mix of clean, functional ingredients like coconut water, elderberries, added vitamins and antioxidants.

“If you look at other sports drinks out there, most don’t have that USDA organic certification, and they definitely don’t have the low calories like we do,” says Hochschild. “A lot of them even use red dye.”

Of course, no matter how healthy a product is, people won’t drink it if it doesn’t taste good. Fortunately, Recover 180 has received strong feedback on that front.

“We handed out tens of thousands of samples at Fanatics Fest, and everyone loved it,” says Hochschild. “In my first beverage job, about 60% of people would spit it out. So, having a product people actually enjoy drinking is a game-changer.”

Related: 5 Lessons I Wish I Didn’t Learn the Hard Way During My 20 Years in Business

Beyond the ballpark

For Volpe, partnering with Recover 180 marks a new stage in his growth off the field, as the young star begins learning to navigate the boardroom with the same confidence he has on the baseball diamond.

“One of the biggest things I’ve learned through this whole process is how important it is to find balance,” he says. “Being in New York, you could take on a new opportunity every single day if you wanted to. But I’ve learned to focus on partnerships that are truly worth my time and have the potential to succeed.”

Recover 180 has already built a strong presence among professional athletes, partnering with stars like Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and Lakers guard Austin Reaves. Now, with Anthony Volpe on board, the brand has a footprint across all major U.S. sports leagues — and a valuable connection to one of the most prestigious franchises in American sports: the New York Yankees.

“I’m very fortunate to play on a stage as big as the Yankees,” Volpe says. “Even on the road, it’s wild to see how many of our fans show up compared to the home team.”

That kind of visibility extends off the field as well, opening doors for brand partnerships and business opportunities. But Volpe is selective about where he puts his name.

“You have to be intentional about what you do,” the 24-year-old says. “It’s a good problem to have, but it means picking and choosing what you really want to pursue.”

Finding that balance can be challenging for a young player, but Volpe is fortunate to be surrounded by seasoned MLB veterans he can lean on for guidance. He says his biggest takeaway from them has been the importance of authenticity.

“My main thing is avoiding the corny deals that don’t make sense or serve a real purpose,” he explains. “I’m not the most outgoing person when it comes to promoting myself or posting, even though I know that’s important to brands. But when a partnership is genuine, when the brand uses its platform to help share my story and vision, it feels natural.”

Volpe is still in the early stages of his career, both on and off the field. But if his partnership with Recover 180 is any indication, he’s already knocking it out of the park in both arenas.

Your AI Initiatives Will Fail If You Don’t Address This Crucial Component First

The conversations I am having with CIOs have changed dramatically over the past year. The conversation used to center around digital transformation milestones and cloud migration timelines. Now it’s about agents, multi-agent workflows and how to scale AI initiatives beyond proof-of-concept demos. But here’s what’s becoming painfully clear: Most organizations are trying to build the future of work on infrastructure that was barely able to accommodate yesterday’s demands, let alone tomorrow’s.

As a Field CTO working with organizations at various stages of their AI journey, I’m seeing a troubling pattern. Mature companies rush to implement new agentic technologies, only to discover their underlying systems were never engineered to support the data, velocity, processing requirements or security governance that agentic workflows demand. The results aren’t just failed pilots — it’s cost, risk and operational drag that compounds over time.

Related: Outdated Systems Are Harming Your Business More Than You Realize. Here’s How to Modernize Before Disaster Strikes.

The agent infrastructure reality

Agents and models are fed on data, and without the right structure, network topology and foundational building blocks in place, agents sit around idle, waiting for information. We’re not just talking about having data — we’re talking about having it in the right format, at the right time, with the right security, transparency and governance wrapped around it.

The demands of globalization make this even more complex. When scaling across geographies with bespoke data sovereignty requirements, how is repeatability and consistency ensured when data cannot leave certain jurisdictions? Organizations that put modern infrastructure pieces in place with the goal of facilitating easy scale suddenly find they can onboard customers, move into new markets and launch new product offerings at a fraction of the cost and effort that they used to.

Inaction or embracing the status quo leads to what I call infrastructure debt, and it accumulates interest faster than most CIOs anticipate.

The operational health diagnostic

I use a simple framework to assess organizational readiness: the 60-30-10 model for engineering and software development. In a healthy IT organization, around 60% of resources should focus on “move-forward” incremental feature adds and improved user experience that respond to business unit requirements and customer requests. About 30% is devoted to maintaining current operations in areas like support, bug fixes and keeping existing systems functional. The last 10% needs to be reserved for the huge transformation initiatives that have the potential to 10x the impact of the organization.

When I see these ratios skew, particularly when maintenance climbs to 40 or 50% of resources, that is often a systems architecture problem masquerading as an operational issue. You may not be spending more time on maintenance because your code is poorly written, but rather because the underlying infrastructure was never designed to support the current needs, let alone future ones. The systems are getting stressed, things break, shortcuts are taken, and debt just accumulates.

If you find yourself climbing the same hill every time you create a new capability — doing the same data transformations, rebuilding the same integrations, explaining why this application can’t leverage what you built for that one — it’s likely your foundation that needs attention.

The multi-cloud strategy evolution

Your cloud needs will change as your capabilities mature. You might use amazing AI tools in one cloud while leveraging the partnership ecosystem in another. You may go multi-cloud because different product lines have different performance requirements or because different teams have different expertise.

The key is maintaining technology alignment with more open, portable approaches. This gives you the flexibility to move between clouds as requirements change. Sometimes, there’s a proprietary technology that’s core to what you do, and you accept that as the price of doing business. But wherever possible, avoid lock-in that constrains future decisions.

Know who you are as an organization. If you have amazing data scientists but limited Kubernetes expertise, gravitate toward managed services that let your data scientists focus on models rather than infrastructure. If your team wants to optimize every dial and parameter, choose platforms that provide that level of control. Align your cloud strategy with your internal capabilities, not with what looks impressive in vendor demos.

Related: How Multi-Cloud Could Be the Growth Catalyst Your Business Needs

The data architecture imperative

Before implementing any AI initiative, you need to answer fundamental questions about your data landscape. Where does your data reside? What regulatory constraints govern its use? What security policies surround it? How difficult would it be to normalize it into a unified data platform?

Historically, data has been sawdust — the inevitable byproduct of work being performed — that then becomes a cost center where you need to pay an ever-increasing amount to store and protect data that becomes increasingly less irrelevant the further you move away from its time of creation. Organizations often discover they’ve accumulated data over decades without considering its structure or accessibility. That’s acceptable when humans are processing information manually, but agents need structured, governed and accessible data streams. Now, data may be an organization’s most valuable resource — the more unique or more specialized, the better. The time investment required to prepare your data architecture pays dividends across every subsequent AI initiative.

This isn’t just about technical capabilities — it’s about governance maturity. Can you ensure data flows seamlessly where it needs to go while maintaining security boundaries? Can you coordinate multiple agents accessing different data sources and applications without creating compliance risks? Can you even pull disparate kinds of data from all the file systems, databases and object stores into a single view?

Legacy system assessment signals

Several indicators suggest your current infrastructure won’t support AI ambitions. If you’re spending increasing resources maintaining existing systems rather than building new capabilities, that’s a structural issue. If every new project requires extensive custom integration work that can’t be reused, your architecture lacks modularity.

When your sales team loses opportunities because features are “on the roadmap for next year” rather than available now, you’re paying opportunity costs for technical limitations. Jeff Bezos once said, “When the anecdotes and the data disagree, the anecdotes are usually right.” If you’re hearing stories about excessive resource allocation, missed opportunities or customer churn due to system limitations, pay attention to those signals regardless of what your dashboards indicate.

The infrastructure transformation approach

The rip-and-replace approach has burned many organizations because it assumes everything old lacks value. Modern approaches focus on componentization — addressing system elements individually while maintaining operational continuity. You can migrate functionality without losing capabilities, transitioning from old to new without creating a net loss in what you can deliver to customers.

This requires change management discipline and a graceful transition strategy. You’re balancing the introduction of new capabilities with maintaining what has been successful. Sometimes, that means a complete rewrite to take advantage of cloud-native technologies, but it requires architected migration of functionality rather than wholesale application replacement.

Preparing for agentic scale

The organizations that will succeed in the agentic era are those positioning themselves for speed, data accessibility and security without compromising any of these elements. As we move from individual models to agents to multi-agent workflows, the coordination requirements become exponentially more complex.

Having data flow seamlessly in the right format at the right time becomes a showstopper requirement. Everything needs integration with the lowest possible latency while maintaining security and compliance boundaries. Cloud platforms that can wrap governance envelopes around everything you’re doing help diminish the risk of human error as complexity scales. Organizations that can really excel at this don’t just keep up with the Joneses; they are the Joneses.

Related: The AI Shift: Moving Beyond Models Toward Intelligent Agents

Build for agents, not just apps

Your staff are already using AI tools whether your organization has sanctioned them or not. They’re uploading data to external services, using models for work tasks and finding ways to be more productive. The faster you can provide them with governed, secure alternatives, the faster you can put appropriate boundaries around how these tools get used.

Don’t implement AI for the sake of having AI initiatives. Focus on the problems you’re trying to solve and the goals you need to achieve. AI is a powerful tool, but it should be applied to address real business challenges, not to check a box for your board.

The infrastructure decisions you make today determine whether your AI initiatives will scale or stall. In the agentic era, there’s no middle ground between having the right foundation and having a very expensive pile of proofs-of-concept that never delivered business value.

Speed, data and security will be the neural system of successful AI implementations. Getting that balance right isn’t just a technical challenge — it’s a competitive requirement.

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Why the Future of Business Runs on Invisible AI Infrastructure

Artificial intelligence has long been seen as a tool for prediction or automation, a forward-looking technology rather than foundational infrastructure. But its deepest impact may not be in doing new things, but in doing old things better: bringing structure where there was once inconsistency.

In industries ranging from automotive manufacturing to healthcare, from retail returns to pharmaceutical research, AI is quietly reshaping how work gets done. It standardizes processes that used to rely on human judgment, introduces repeatability where variability once reigned and scales precision across thousands of decisions per day.

By turning inconsistent inputs into consistent outputs, AI allows companies to operate with clarity and scale. It often enhances human work, making previously unmanageable processes fully operational.

Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.

Structuring quality where inputs vary

Automakers contend with supplier variability in parts, while retailers manage diverse product returns; machine learning systems analyze sensor data or images to define consistent, objective standards.

BMW’s use of AI in its iFACTORY illustrates this shift. By integrating image and acoustic inspection during assembly, they achieve consistent quality among vehicles built with variable components. As structured evaluation replaces reliance on individual judgment, rejection rates decline while overall throughput rises.

A similar transformation is happening in the secondhand industry. My company, ATRenew, processes over 90,000 secondhand smartphones daily — highly non-standardized products with diverse conditions. Using this massive volume of real-world data, the company has developed the Matrix Automated Quality Inspection System, which uses computer vision and AI to perform precise, standardized inspections at scale.

With over 99% accuracy and labor cost reductions of up to 83%, it brings structure to variability and makes quality assurance repeatable and efficient.

This kind of transformation is not limited to manufacturing. In healthcare, AI helps standardize diagnostic imaging interpretations. In agriculture, it evaluates crop conditions from drone footage. The common thread is that AI brings order to complexity. It makes quality assurance scalable, repeatable and reliable.

Related: Can Innovation Be Ethical? Here’s Why Responsible Tech is the Future of Business

Accelerating R&D through structural intelligence

In sectors that rely on creativity, structure and scale seem at odds. Yet companies like Unilever are bridging that divide. They build AI digital twins of products and feed them into generative content platforms. These platforms produce personalized visuals and copy for global campaigns.

Meanwhile, McKinsey research documents a reduction of up to seventy percent in product development lead times when structured AI methods guide concept iteration. What once required months of testing now completes in weeks. The structure AI brings enables creativity to move faster without compromising coherence.

Beyond marketing, structural AI is also reshaping pharmaceutical R&D. By simulating molecular interactions and predicting drug efficacy, AI accelerates discovery cycles while reducing costly trial-and-error approaches. This allows researchers to focus on high-potential compounds and streamline clinical trials.

The result is a dramatic increase in innovation velocity, without sacrificing scientific rigor. AI does not replace human creativity. It amplifies it, making experimentation more efficient and scalable.

Improving risk and compliance with predictive order

Structured insight matters even more in sectors where oversight and trust are paramount. JPMorgan Chase exemplifies this principle through its comprehensive AI strategy. The bank has embedded AI into trading, fraud detection and customer personalization and estimates that these initiatives have the potential to unlock up to $1.5 billion in value. Tools like ChatCFO support finance teams with real-time decision-making, while AI systems simulate the expertise of senior executives to guide internal strategy.

Simultaneously, AI tools for risk management and fraud detection operate continuously and at scale. They protect client relationships while supporting regulatory commitments. In retail, Amazon applies similar AI logic to dynamic pricing, adjusting millions of product prices in real time based on demand, inventory and competitor behavior. The result is a financial institution anchored by an algorithmic structure rather than reactive review.

Beyond banking, AI-driven compliance solutions are being deployed in healthcare, manufacturing and government. These systems monitor transactions, flag suspicious activity and generate audit trails in real time. They provide transparency, reduce human bias and ensure adherence to evolving regulations.

By embedding predictive logic into governance frameworks, AI ensures that organizations stay compliant by anticipating issues before they arise, rather than simply reacting to them after the fact.

Optimizing global logistics and resource flow

Global logistics is complicated and often unpredictable, but adding structure helps manage that complexity. AI supports smarter planning, quicker responses and better overall performance. It improves route planning, warehouse coordination and last-mile delivery, making supply chains more efficient and dependable.

DHL is an example of this change. They’re experimenting with all kinds of AI — from self-driving trucks and delivery drones reaching remote spots to smart warehouses that sort and pack stuff faster and with fewer mistakes. They also use AI to predict when machines might break down, so they can fix things before they cause problems.

Ultimately, AI transforms a complex, chaotic system into a manageable, scalable network. It helps companies control unpredictability and optimize the flow of goods and resources worldwide with greater precision.

Conclusion

AI’s real promise is not dazzling speed or flashy capability. It is discipline. By transforming fragmented inputs into structured outcomes, AI becomes the backbone that supports every stage of value creation — from inspection to decision to execution.

Businesses that see AI as organizational architecture rather than point solutions gain a sustainable advantage. They turn variability into repeatability, complexity into clarity and scattered potential into reliable performance.

Leaders aiming to embed AI into operations should start by identifying fragmented workflows. They should apply structural AI to formalize decision logic and scale across functions once early wins are demonstrated. When done correctly, AI becomes part of the enterprise’s operating model. It aligns technology with strategy and drives long-term transformation.

In that sense, AI shifts from a mere tool to essential infrastructure. Quietly, it rebuilds the core of global operations. As more industries adopt this structural mindset, AI will no longer be seen as a luxury add-on. It will become a foundational element of modern business.

Turn Free Time Into Income With These Side Hustle Courses for Just $25

One out of five people haven’t become entrepreneurs because they are loyal to their current employer, according to data from accounting service FreshBooks. However, you don’t have to quit your job to start a small business of your own — you can just work part-time on the side.

Company circumstances can sometimes change very quickly, and there may come a time when you do want to leave. That transition might be a lot easier if you create a new revenue stream now that could be expanded later. You can learn how to do just that with this bundle designed to teach users how to develop profitable side hustles, and now only $24.99 (reg. $140).

Four out of the seven courses in this bundle are side hustles. Let’s take a look at some of the classes and what expertise you’ll gain for your future (or current) side hustle.

The comprehensive “YouTube Masterclass: Your 2025 Guide to YouTube Success” course covers everything from setting up a channel and creating successful content to optimizing your videos and conquering the algorithm to maximize your revenue stream.

The “Canva & ChatGPT for Bulk Content Creation (TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Social Media Marketing)” course is a crowd favorite, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars from previous students. You’ll learn how to use AI for the most efficient content creation, as well as how to transform images into the most engaging videos, strategies for creating the best short-form content and much more.

From setting up your profile to optimizing hashtags and monetizing your content, the “Complete TikTok Master Course 2025 for Beginners to Professionals” teaches you all the hidden strategies to creating a powerful brand by boosting engagement. The secret tips in this course are invaluable.

Whether you want to become a successful Airbnb host or want to know everything about Uber and Lyft driving, these courses can help you maximize your side hustle efforts.

For a limited time, you can grab these lifetime side hustle e-learning courses for just $24.99 (reg. $140).

The 2025 Side Hustle Quick-Start Bundle

See Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

2 Tech CEOs Talk Cyber Threats, Space Flights and the Dark Side of AI — Here’s How They’re Preparing for the Future

When I sat down with Lane Bess, CEO of Deep Instinct, and Dinakar Munagala, CEO of Blaize, I didn’t expect the conversation to range from AI-powered cybersecurity to the challenges of edge computing and space travel. But that’s what I love about these interviews — they’re never just about business strategies or forecasting. They’re about how leaders think, what drives them, and I get a bit of insight into their experiences as business leaders.

Lane runs Deep Instinct, a cybersecurity company using deep learning AI to prevent attacks before they occur. He talked about how “dark AI” is making prevention critical, as cyber threats evolve with frightening speed. Dinakar’s company, Blaize, builds semiconductor chips for edge AI applications — essentially bringing the brainpower of AI directly to where data is captured. At least that’s what my non-technological brain comprehended when he told me about it.

Related: The CEO of Thomson Reuters Is Betting Big on AI-Driven Innovation. Here’s What Every Leader Can Learn From His Approach.

What stuck with me was their view on AI as both savior and threat. Both CEOs see AI as a net positive for society, yet they’re realistic about its risks. Lane pointed out how AI makes cyber attacks exponentially faster and more dangerous. Dinakar noted that wars evolved from humans to machines, and now we’re entering an era of AI warfare. It was sobering but necessary to hear leaders acknowledge the dark side of the tools they champion.

We also touched on their personal journeys. Lane shared how he grew up wanting financial security after a childhood in a broken home, while Dinakar recounted his family’s entrepreneurial roots in India — from his grandfather transporting rice via waterways to his father’s corporate leadership. Both left stable corporate paths for riskier ventures, and both admitted fear played a role. Dinakar called leaving Intel “crazy at the time,” while Lane described his near-signing with OceanGate’s ill-fated Titan mission as a moment of pause that left him grateful for good judgment.

Then there was space. Lane has been to space twice with Blue Origin and is an investor in Zero G flights. When asked why wealthy people spend millions to orbit Earth while there are problems below, he said it’s about pioneering technology that should eventually become practical for all. He knows the criticisms, but his belief in humanity’s future frontiers drives him forward. This interview took place shortly after the infamous Katy Perry flight, where that Blue Origin crew received quite a bit of public backlash for their space flight.

Related: 5 CEOs Sat Down for a Candid Conversation — What They Revealed Could Change Your Entire Perspective on Leadership

Walking away from this conversation, I found myself thinking less about the technical details of cybersecurity or AI and more about the mindset it takes to build companies in these spaces. Both Lane and Dinakar carry an urgency in their work — they understand the risks, the stakes and the speed at which it all evolves. But beyond that, there’s a sense of responsibility in how they lead. It reminded me that in industries moving this fast, leadership isn’t just about having a vision for what’s next. It’s about having the conviction to act on it before anyone else does and doing so with integrity, so we make a better world.

‘One of the Coolest Spots’: Here’s a First Look at the New Tesla Diner Supercharging Station Opening Soon

Tesla has been working on a diner-supercharger-drive-in concept in Los Angeles for years — the building broke ground in 2023 — and it looks like the project has finally entered soft-opening mode.

CEO Elon Musk (and some other Tesla enthusiasts) have already tried the food. Musk called it “one of the coolest spots in L.A.”

I just had dinner at the retro-futuristic @Tesla diner and Supercharger.

Team did great work making it one of the coolest spots in LA! https://t.co/wRuyeh9x00

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2025

The supercharger station triples as a 1950s-styled diner and drive-in movie theater, complete with burgers and shakes, but modernized with two 45-foot LED movie screens.

InsideEVs reports that there are about 75 V4 Supercharger stalls, and a security guard told the outlet it is expected to be open in a few weeks.

First look at Tesla’s completed Hollywood diner and Supercharger! It looks sick! Really dope futuristic/retro vibe.

Tesla has completely taken down the fencing surrounding the whole place, so these photos were able to be taken from the public sidewalk/street.

The diner features… pic.twitter.com/AgIg5zYF7Y

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 9, 2025

The station, located at 7001 West Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Related: Elon Musk Gives One-Sentence Response to Linda Yaccarino Stepping Down as CEO of X

The Tesla Diner comes alive in the nighttime pic.twitter.com/iXpFJjeiDS

— Brandon (@brandontsla) July 15, 2025

Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.

Do You Have More or Less Disposable Income Than the Average Person in Your State? Use This Calculator to Find Out.

One-third of Americans (33%) say they couldn’t cover bills for even one month if they lost their income, and 47% cite the cost of living as their biggest obstacle to saving, according to a recent survey from Yahoo Finance and Marist Poll.

Every state’s living wage is at least $82,000 a year, and in 26 states, a family of four must earn at least $100,000 annually to be considered “financially secure” — or $150,000 if they’re in Hawaii, Massachusetts, California and New York, per GOBankingRates data.

Related: People Under 25 Have the Best Chance at Building Wealth in This U.S. State — and the Worst in These 2 Others

Naturally, many people feel they don’t have much money left over once they contribute to essential costs and savings accounts.

A new study from online lender CashNetUSA explores exactly how much disposable income Americans have in every state annually — and comes with a calculator for you to determine your own and see how it compares.

Related: Young People Earning More Than $200,000 a Year Are Fleeing 1 U.S. State — and Flocking to 2 Others

Use the 50/30/20 budget calculator here to figure out how much monthly after-tax income you can spend on “wants” versus “needs” and “savings”:

This 80-Year-Old Tech Billionaire Just Overtook Mark Zuckerberg as the Second-Richest Person in the World

Larry Ellison, the 80-year-old founder and chief technology officer of software giant Oracle, is now the world’s second-wealthiest person.

For the first time, Ellison has overtaken Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 41, on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index to claim the No. 2 spot. According to a Bloomberg report from late Tuesday, Ellison’s net worth is now $251.2 billion, higher than Zuckerberg’s $251 billion but less than Elon Musk’s $358 billion.

Since ChatGPT’s release in late 2022, Oracle has experienced significant growth among enterprise customers, who are eager to tap into the company’s cloud services for AI computing.

As Oracle’s largest shareholder, with a stake of about 40% in the software company that comprises more than 80% of his wealth, Ellison has seen his fortune grow as Oracle’s stock has skyrocketed due to the AI boom. According to The Wall Street Journal, Oracle’s stock price has doubled over the past two years, pushing the company’s market value to around $650 billion.

Related: Nvidia Pulls Ahead of Apple and Microsoft to Become the World’s First $4 Trillion Public Company

A lot of that growth has been concentrated in recent gains. Oracle’s shares have gained more than 90% since late April alone, per Bloomberg. Ellison, who founded Oracle in 1977 and served as CEO until 2014, has seen that growth reflected in his net worth.

Oracle’s most recent earnings report, released last month, tells the story of a growing giant. The company’s quarterly revenues were up 11% year-over-year to reach $15.9 billion, driven by a 14% increase in cloud services revenue.

Oracle CEO Safra Catz predicted in the report that revenue growth rates would be “dramatically higher” in the year ahead as the company experiences growth in its cloud business.

Related: Amazon Cloud CEO Predicts a Future Where Most Software Engineers Don’t Code — and AI Does It Instead

Oracle is competing against other cloud providers like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud, which also offer cloud storage and computing services for businesses.

According to Synergy Research Group, Oracle captured 3% of the global cloud infrastructure market in the first quarter of the year, compared to the 63% captured collectively by Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. It was the fifth-largest cloud provider by market share.

Oracle has recently announced a number of AI deals. Earlier this week, the company said it would invest $3 billion to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure in Germany and the Netherlands. Last month, Oracle inked a $30 billion annual cloud deal with OpenAI to provide the ChatGPT-maker with cloud computing power to support a growing number of AI users.

Oracle is now the 16th most valuable company in the world by market capitalization.

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