HENRYs are a large class of Americans who earn over $100,000 annually but still feel financially strapped due to lack of substantial wealth, assets, or investment knowledge. While 14% of all US households earn over $200,000 a year, 62% of people with salaries of over $300,000 struggle with credit card debt. A 2024 survey revealed that individuals would need to earn $520,000 a year to feel rich. Wisdom is a more accurate measure of overall financial health and economic security, and a high income does not guarantee wealth, especially if spent lavishly or offset by high debt. Wealth is a source of retirement income, providing security for future generations. In the US, upper-income families had 7.4 times as much wealth at the median as middle-income families and 75 times as much wealth as lower-income families. To become a HENRY, individuals should track their annual household income, savings and investments, living in high-cost urban areas, biggest monthly expense, feeling financially secure, having student loans or significant debt, actively investing or planning for retirement, and often feeling like their lifestyle doesn’t match their income. By integrating these technologies into their financial lives, HENRYs can shift from high earners to high net worth individuals with greater confidence and control. HENRYs are a transitional phase in their financial journey, and it is crucial for them to take control of their financial future. By leveraging technology and embracing digital tools, they can become high net worth individuals with greater confidence and control.
Antitrust ruling orders Google to share with qualified competitors selected search index and user‑interaction data, and bars exclusive default search deals while allowing non‑exclusive preload payments
A federal judge announced what remedies Google faces after the company was found to have a monopoly in online search. On the OS front, the Justice Department wanted Google to sell Chrome and the option to spin-off Android if other remedies did not work. The district judge overseeing the case ruled today that Google does not have to sell the browser, or Android: “Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced [divestiture] of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints.” Additionally, Google can keep paying Apple, Mozilla (Firefox), and others to preload Search, Chrome, and AI products. The court recognized that a ban would cause “substantial—in some cases, crippling— downstream harms” to consumers and partners. However, Google is barred from exclusive Search contracts that prohibit other providers from also being installed on devices. The big change is that Google must share “certain search index and user-interaction data, though not ads data” with “Qualified Competitors.” The aim is to “enable those firms to deliver high-quality search results and ads to compete with Google while they develop their own search technologies and capacity.” The decision recognizes how much the industry has changed through the advent of AI, which is giving people so many more ways to find information.
Stardog’s “hallucination‑free” AI data assistant ties multi‑agent parsing and validation to a unified knowledge graph database; extending retrieval beyond documents to databases for safe, compliant insights
Knowledge graph database startup Stardog Union is launching a new, “hallucination-free” version of its enterprise-grade chatbot Voicebox, aimed at high-stakes industries. Voicebox can be thought of as an “enterprise answer engine” that’s linked to an organization’s internal data, allowing it to respond to knowledge worker’s questions with extreme accuracy in real time. Stardog said it’s targeted at organizations in the most heavily regulated industries, such as financial services, healthcare and defense, enabling them to ask complex questions and receive answers that are based on their own data and fully traceable. The chatbot leverages Stardog’s pioneering knowledge graph platform, which is a flexible and reusable data layer that can access information from across various disparate systems, including siloed databases and applications. It unites data from across the entire organization to power data analytics and other big data initiatives. Stardog says Voicebox is essentially an additional AI layer built atop of its knowledge graph, powered by multiple agents that collaborate behind the scenes on tasks such as data discovery, integration, modeling and mapping. The idea is to provide knowledge workers with a user-controlled, self-service analytics experience that’s completely accessible via natural language commands. It’s supposed to enable everyone within an organization to carry out their own analytics operations and dig up better business insights, the company said. The company’s knowledge graph utilizes what Stardog says is a “Safety RAG architecture,” which it claims is safer than traditional retrieval-augmented generation because it’s designed to ensure no hallucinations can slip through the cracks. Stardog says Safety RAG is also more expressive, because its knowledge graph allows it to build a more complete data environment, expanding its reach from unstructured data only to include traditional databases and other structured data types. According to Stardog, Voicebox will never generate false responses. Instead, it will simply admit when it doesn’t know how to answer a specific question. When this happens, it will ask users to provide examples of “competency questions” so it can direct its agents to perform the necessary integrations, modeling and mapping to try and answer the original question.
Raise unifies public and private assets in one screen, enabling scenario simulation, optimization and personalized advice for family offices and private banks
Raise Partner, a France-based B2B WealthTech provider, has launched a new version of its flagship digital solution, Smart Risk Decisions, designed to meet the needs of family offices and private banks. The web-based platform allows wealth managers to model and optimize multi-asset class portfolios, including equities, fixed income, private assets, and real estate, with an intuitive interface that requires no IT integration. The solution provides a unified global view of client portfolios and supports the simulation, optimization, and risk assessment of complex allocations. The platform addresses growing client expectations for a global wealth approach and personalized, transparent advice. Its modular design allows for the integration of additional asset classes on demand.
Debit rails drive fintech lock‑in: Cash App Card hits 26M actives; Affirm Cardholders up 97% with 132% GMV growth; PayPal/Venmo debit TPV is up 60%+
The latest batch of Q2 2025 results make it clear: Debit cards are no longer optional add-ons, they are central to how FinTech platforms lock users into an expanding bouquet of services, offering a tie-in to lending and banking tools to branded checkout experiences.1) Block’s Q2 2025 earnings presentation noted Cash App’s gross profit rose 16% year over year, driven in large part by Cash App Card, alongside Borrow and BNPL initiatives. Their shareholder letter further emphasizes accelerating user engagement and gross profit per transacting active, up 15%, with 26 million Cash App Card actives. The company has indicated that, as detailed in the latest shareholder letter, debit is holding appeal for younger consumers, as active customers “under the age of 25 have higher Paycheck Deposit attach rates and a 40% higher Cash App Card attach rate compared to the rest of our customer base. 2) Affirm’s Q2 earnings supplement confirms growth in the relatively new Affirm Card, a Visa-issued debit card, with transactions routed via the card versus typical checkout flows. Affirm Card active cardholders surged 97%. Card gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew 132% to $1.2 billion. In-store spending on those cards grew 187% year over year. 3) Klarna’s F-1 report confirms enhancements to the Klarna Card, including real-time transfers and deposits, as part of its U.S. rollout, enhancing the “smarter wallet experience.” Marqeta’s card issuing platform powers the Klarna Card debit card that will allow Klarna customers in the U.S. to use the same card to pay immediately or pay later. The F-1 stated that Klarna Balance, introduced last year, “allows consumers to Pay in Full or make Pay Later payments without connecting a bank account or a credit or debit card and facilitates the growth of cashback.” 4) PayPal’s results indicated that debit card total payment volume across PayPal and Venmo expanded over 60%, and monthly active debit accounts jumped over 65%, reflecting robust adoption as the company added 2 million first-time debit card users in the U.S. 5) LendingClub’s Q2 earnings report highlighted the launch of its LevelUp Checking account, while offering deposit and debit-like capabilities that enhance its lending ecosystem. CEO Scott Sanborn explained that adding checking functionality helps embed LendingClub deeper into consumer financial lives, supporting ecosystem expansion. LevelUp Checking offers customers 2% cash back for on-time loan payments made from this checking account and 1% cash back when using the associated debit card for qualifying purchases, according to company materials.
Birdeye debuts Search AI for GEO (GenAI Engine Optimization), tracking brand visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, auditing citations and sentiment, and auto‑optimizing answers via a closed‑beta agent
Birdeye has laucnhed Search AI, a first-of-its-kind platform designed to help multi-location brands manage GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). GEO is the equivalent of SEO for the AI-world. Search AI is purpose-built from the ground up for the AI era and is powered by BirdAI, Birdeye’s native AI layer that powers the Birdeye platform. Search AI ensures multi-location brands can see what their audiences are searching for, track how and when they’re being surfaced, understand what each AI engine is saying about them and their competitors, and act autonomously to boost visibility, accuracy, sentiment, and engagement. As part of this launch, Birdeye is also introducing the Search Optimization Agent, now in closed beta with select enterprise customers. The agent continuously analyzes prompts, citations, and AI-surfaced answers, and can autonomously optimize a brand’s GEO with one-click approvals. Search AI is built for marketing teams managing hundreds or thousands of locations. It enables them to: Analyze consumer prompts by brand, location, and keyword; Track brand’s visibility across AI Platforms and understand how they are performing vs their competitors — by platform, location, citation; Identify citations used by AI engines and monitor their share of voice; Audit the accuracy of AI-generated business data and brand descriptions; Monitor brand sentiment and themes in AI-generated content for you and your competitors; Benchmark rankings by themes and answers at a local and brand level; Suggest, create, and publish content that is designed for AI engines to consume.
Nasdaq Verafin and BioCatch team up, fusing 2600 FI’s transaction data with 3000 behaviour and device signal analytics, so banks can stop faster‑payments fraud before funds leave accounts
Nasdaq Verafin and BioCatch announced the formation of a strategic partnership to leverage their complementary technology solutions in the fight against payments fraud. The partnership aligns Nasdaq Verafin’s fraud detection platform and consortium data network with BioCatch’s behavioral and device intelligence to more effectively address the rapid growth in payments fraud around the world. The initial phase of the partnership will include the integration of BioCatch alerts and insights into the Nasdaq Verafin platform. This integration will transform fraud prevention efforts, empowering financial institutions to take pre-emptive action against payments fraud, using both behavioral and transactional intelligence to halt fraudulent transactions before the funds leave a customer’s account. The partnership equips financial institutions with more holistic risk insights across the lifecycle of a transaction, eliminating signal-delivery silos and enabling teams to both evaluate risk and stop fraudulent transactions in real-time. The partnership will also include additional product integrations and co-developed fraud solutions, as well as joint research and thought leadership. BioCatch’s financial crime prevention platform delivers real-time analysis of up to 3,000 unique behavioral and device-related datapoints – keystroke and mouse activity, touch screen behavior, physical device attributes, and more – as people interact with their digital banking platforms. With these inputs, BioCatch’s machine-learning models reveal patterns in user behavior, allowing banks to differentiate between the criminal and the legitimate, and to stop fraud before it happens.
Buyers prioritize price (62%), battery (54%), storage (39%) and camera (30%) over AI features (11%), suggesting Apple’s slower AI rollout won’t deter iPhone demand
A poll by CNET and YouGov revealed that only 11% of U.S. smartphone owners upgrade for AI features, a significant decrease from 2024. In contrast, price is the top priority at 62%, followed by battery life at 54%, storage at 39%, and camera quality at 30%. Apple has faced criticism for trailing Samsung and Google in the AI race. Samsung plastered Galaxy AI across the Galaxy SWX, Z Fold 7, and Flip 7. Google packed the Pixel 10 with Gemini features. Apple, by contrast, is still working to roll out Apple Intelligence with iOS 18, after delaying key upgrades to Siri. Yet the survey shows most buyers don’t care. When only a tenth of the market is upgrading for AI, there’s little reason to panic about who has the flashiest chatbot. Apple’s reputation has long been built on stability, privacy, and polished integration, not racing to check every feature box. Consumers prefer phones that are more affordable, have longer battery life, and offer greater storage capacity. Interestingly, a thinner design, rumored to be the highlight of the iPhone 17 Air, appeals to only 7% of buyers. Apple’s recent strategy aligns with what consumers value, which are affordability, battery life, and camera quality. The iPhone 16e highlights affordability, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max concentrates on battery and camera improvements, reflecting key survey findings. AI features are seldom used, with only 13% of users summarizing text, 8% generating images, and 7% editing photos. Additionally, around 20% of users admit they don’t know how to use their phone’s AI at all. The industry narrative says Apple is late to AI, but the consumer data says Apple’s timing may be just right. The company’s hardware still dominates sales, and its Services division continues to grow without leaning on AI hype.
Walmart launches Shoppable series for sports fans and hobby enthusiasts, enabling to buy what’s appearing on-screen, without being redirected to another page
Walmart aims to reach sports fans and hobby enthusiasts with a new weekly series streaming exclusively on Walmart Live and featuring shoppable content. The “Collector’s Night” series is powered by live commerce platform TalkShopLive and presented in partnership with sports card and collectibles community WeTheHobby. The series will deliver nonstop thrills every Thursday with live box breaks, surprise giveaways, and exclusive drops—all designed to capture the real-time rush of the hobby. Mayank Hajela, GM Collectibles at Walmart U.S., said that there has been a surge in demand for collectibles. Walmart and TalkShopLive said in December 2021 that they partnered on a “hassle-free retail and content distribution agreement” enabling fans and shoppers to buy what’s appearing on-screen, without being redirected to another page and having to miss out on the show. “You click and you purchase right from the video player,” TalkShopLive CEO and Co-founder Bryan Moore told. . “There’s no click-through [to another site or page]; you’re not driving back to Walmart.com to buy it. There’s no click out. You literally buy it right then and there within the video player, so that’s why we convert more sales.”
Ant’s Antom launches agentic payment solution with AI-driven APM checkout, MPC-based risk management and Mastercard+Visa partnership for secure tokenized card payments.
Antom, a merchant payment and digitisation services provider under Ant International, today announced the launch of an agentic payment solution, featuring a first-of-its-kind secure APM checkout solution. Antom is also among the first partners of Mastercard and Visa to pilot card-based transaction capabilities for AI agents. Antom’s agentic payment solution is expected to meet this need with broad payment method coverage, offering convenient checkout through APMs and cards. It features an AI-ready payment mandate model and enhanced payment asset management to ensure precise recognition of user intent while safeguarding transaction security and providing increased transparency for users. Building upon the Model Context Protocol (MCP), this agentic payment solution supports embedded payment flows through dialogue-based interactions with AI agents, covering both confirmed purchase requests and conditional, pre-authorized transactions, such as purchases within a predefined spending limit or scheduled flash sales. The Antom agentic payment solution is now open-sourced on GitHub. Antom can connect AI agents to diverse APMs, including a wide range of digital wallets. With Antom EasySafePay, the industry’s first streamlined checkout solution for APMs, the payment process is faster and simpler. Antom EasySafePay allows users to link their digital wallets directly to the checkout page without being redirected to external apps, fitting naturally into agent-initiated payment flows. Antom EasySafePay combines convenience with robust safeguards. It leverages Multi-Party Computation (MPC)-based AI risk management and mobile device security systems to identify and block fraudulent transactions, preventing phishing, fraud, and identity misuse, reducing the risk of account takeovers for digital wallet users while protecting privacy. Antom’s structured and adaptable solution is designed to help AI agents support diverse payment methods such as cards, wallets, and bank transfers, reaching a broad customer base efficiently while reducing integration costs.