Tobias

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff revealed that the company has reduced its customer support staff by approximately 4,000 positions due to the increased efficiencies of AI, specifically its “Agentforce” suite. Benioff stated AI now handles a significant workload. While Salesforce cites increased efficiency, analysts like Ed Zitron suggest AI is being used as a scapegoat for past over-hiring, prioritizing growth over employee well-being. HR consultant Laurie Ruettimann urges workers to acquire new skills in response to AI’s widespread impact.

Salesforce’s stock has significantly underperformed compared to Oracle, reversing their pandemic-era market cap crossover. Investors await Salesforce’s quarterly results amid slowing growth in its core CRM market. AI presents both a challenge and an opportunity, with Salesforce launching Agentforce, an AI-powered customer support system. Analysts are watching improvements in remaining performance obligations and the impact of the Informatica acquisition. Activist investors remain engaged, seeking further improvements in profitability. Oracle, meanwhile, benefits from cloud infrastructure commitments related to AI.

Amazon is discontinuing its Prime Invitee Program on October 1, 2025, ending the ability for Prime members to share free shipping with individuals outside their household. This move aims to encourage separate Prime memberships for those benefiting from the perks. Amazon suggests using Amazon Family, which requires shared residency, as an alternative. The company says Prime membership continues to grow, despite concerns of slowing growth.

Anthropic, an AI company founded by ex-OpenAI researchers, secured $13 billion in Series F funding, boosting its valuation to $183 billion. Led by Iconiq, Fidelity, and Lightspeed, the round signifies strong investor confidence. Fueled by its AI assistant, Claude, Anthropic’s revenue run rate exceeded $5 billion in August with over 300,000 business customers. Capital will support safety research, enterprise demand, and global expansion, intensifying its rivalry with OpenAI, valued potentially at $500 billion.

OpenAI is acquiring Statsig, a product development startup, for $1.1 billion to enhance its capabilities in feature testing and data optimization. Statsig CEO Vijaye Raji will become OpenAI’s technology chief within the applications unit, reporting to Fidji Simo. Statsig will operate independently, serving existing customers. This acquisition follows OpenAI’s purchase of Jony Ive’s AI devices startup, IO, and analytics database company Rockset, demonstrating its aggressive expansion strategy. A previous attempt to acquire AI-assisted coding tool Windsurf was unsuccessful.

In a benchmark test simulating social dynamics, seven LLMs played the game Werewolf. GPT-5 significantly outperformed the others with a 96.7% win rate, demonstrating superior strategic thinking and manipulation skills. Other models, including Qwen3 and Kimi-K2, showed respectable performance. Analysis revealed distinct personality traits in each model; for example, Kimi-K2 exhibited aggressive tactics. The experiment highlights the importance of social skills for AI agents operating within human teams, alongside traditional benchmarks.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk predicts the company’s Optimus robots will drive 80% of its future value, potentially reaching a $25 trillion valuation. Facing challenges with EV competition and public perception, Musk aims to shift focus to AI-powered robotaxis and humanoid robots. While Tesla is on track to produce 5,000 Optimus robots in 2025 and deploy them in factories, it trails competitors like Waymo, Unitree and Boston Dynamics in both robotaxi and humanoid robot markets. A recent leadership change in Tesla’s robotics division adds further complexity. Optimus is envisioned as a versatile robot for various tasks.

Bitcoin rose to $111,000 amidst falling stocks and gold’s record high. Cryptocurrency is benefiting from expectations of future rate cuts and geopolitical uncertainty, though Ethereum’s rise has impacted Bitcoin’s dominance. Analysts believe a dovish Fed pivot could help Bitcoin break through resistance. Ether remained stable, while Solana’s token (SOL) outperformed Bitcoin and Ether recently. Crypto-related stocks showed mixed performance.

Klarna, the BNPL giant, is preparing for its NYSE IPO under the ticker “KLAR,” potentially raising $1.27 billion at $35-$37 per share, valuing the company up to $14 billion. Existing shareholders will offer a significant stake alongside Klarna’s new share issuance. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley are joint bookrunners. Klarna’s Q2 revenue grew 20% to $823 million, but net loss widened to $53 million. The IPO marks a significant step for the fintech firm aiming to become a comprehensive financial “super app.”

Chinese web novel author Tiancan Tudou (“Battle Through the Heavens”) publicly criticized the anime adaptation of his work during a live stream. He expressed frustration over deviations from the source material, particularly the character design of “Scorpion” and plot alterations. Tudou lamented his lack of control due to selling the adaptation rights early in his career for a minimal sum, highlighting the challenges authors face with adaptations when relinquishing copyright control. He admitted to no longer watching the series due to its unfaithfulness.