Business Archive

Nilay PatelDec 11, 2024

Reverse acquihires in... the grilling industry?

It’s not just big tech companies finding confusing new ways to merge — Weber just announced that it’s “combining” with the Blackstone griddle company, and that Blackstone founder and CEO Rager Dahle will become the new CEO of the combined company when all is said and done.

Roger was on Decoder in 2021 talking about how he’d started the company in 2015 and what it was like as his griddles — and the smashburgers you can make on them — started going viral on TikTok during the pandemic. We’ve been interviewing grill company CEOs nearly every summer since — they are some of the most interesting episodes we do.

WEBER AND BLACKSTONE PRODUCTS TO COMBINE

[www.weber.com]

Why every company wants a podcast now

David PierceDec 11, 2024

Jess WeatherbedDec 11, 2024

The transformation of Elon Musk’s Texan town.

This deep-dive from Sherwood explores how things are progressing at Snailbrook, the company community that Musk is building to house SpaceX and The Boring Co employees — if they can be persuaded to move there.

Those that do seemingly prefer to rent, according to Real-estate agent Judah Ross:

“I get the sense from a lot of the employees that they’re not ready to commit. They’re not sure about planting roots here, buying it, or they’re just not sure what Elon’s gonna do.”

The revenge of the company town: Elon Musk, the new Baron of Bastrop

[Sherwood News]

Cruise’s robotaxi service will shut down as GM pulls its funding

Andrew J. HawkinsDec 10, 2024

Richard LawlerDec 10, 2024

SiriusXM is cutting costs again and refocusing on cars over streaming.

Last year, Joseph Inzerillo announced SiriusXM’s new logo (below) and plan to conquer new audiences. Now he’s out, as the company cuts spending on marketing to “high-churn” streaming audiences with plans to cut an additional $200 million in annual costs.

CEO Jennifer Witz announced it’s “doubling down” on automotive customers, using streaming as a companion in the app and in Teslas.

Image: SiriusXM

Over $6 billion in CHIPS Act funding finalized for Micron plants in the US

Wes DavisDec 10, 2024

Wes DavisDec 9, 2024

AI robot companions for kids go dark as company shutters.

The company, Embodied, announced this week it had lost funding and will close up shop, reports Aftermath. That will brick Moxie, its cloud-connected $799 educational robot.

The company won’t offer refunds or warranty and repair services. That leaves caregivers with distraught kids and robots that shut down despite otherwise functioning hardware — a situation consumer protection groups have lobbied the FTC to go after.

AI Company That Made Robots For Kids Goes Under, Robots Die - Aftermath

[aftermath.site]

Elizabeth LopattoDec 9, 2024

Are the jobs LLMs most effectively automate... actually management?

Henry Farrell, co-author of Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy, notices that LLMs do an awful lot of things done by middle management. What if the wrong people are worried that AI will take their jobs?

The Management Singularity

[www.programmablemutter.com]