Four AI consulting startups collectively raise over $300 million to revolutionize traditional business advisory services through automated data analysis, with PromptQL securing $136 million to create custom AI analysts from company data while competitors target Fortune 500 decision intelligence and accelerated market research.
Google Labs dramatically expands its no-code AI app builder Opal from 15 to over 160 countries worldwide, enabling users to automate complex workflows, streamline research, generate marketing content, and build language learning apps within minutes without coding expertise.
Anthropic projects explosive growth to $70 billion revenue by 2028 and seeks $300-400 billion valuation as its Claude AI products drive rapid business adoption, with Claude Code alone approaching $1 billion in annual revenue.
SoftBank and OpenAI launch joint venture 'SB OAI Japan' to deploy exclusive AI solution 'Crystal Intelligence' across Japanese enterprises in 2026, with SoftBank already creating 2.5 million custom GPTs internally as the first validation user.
Major corporations abandon multi-million dollar consulting contracts as AI automation replaces expensive human analysts from McKinsey, Deloitte, and Accenture, forcing the entire consulting industry to reinvent itself or face obsolescence.
Andreessen Horowitz shuts down its $175,000 Talent x Opportunity Fund that supported over 60 underserved founders since 2020, laying off at least three staff members as the firm integrates diversity efforts into its broader investment strategy.
IBM cuts nearly 3,000 jobs in fourth quarter as tech giant accelerates shift toward AI automation, following previous replacement of 200 HR positions with artificial intelligence agents while maintaining overall U.S. employment levels.
ClickUp unveils version 4.0 featuring AI assistants that proactively answer questions and automate tasks like scheduling, while crossing $300M in revenue and preparing for IPO within two years as it challenges Slack and Notion with its unified workspace platform.
Cognition unveils Windsurf Codemaps, an AI-powered tool that transforms engineer onboarding from a 3-9 month process to minutes by creating structured, annotated maps of codebases that help developers quickly understand complex code before making changes.
Slack launches revolutionary AI-powered enterprise search that connects all workplace apps and conversations into one secure interface, using natural language understanding and real-time summarization to eliminate information silos and deliver instant answers without disrupting workflow.