Audos announced $11.5 million in combined Pre-Seed and Seed funding. Audos helps solo entrepreneurs quickly turn their expertise into business opportunities through a unique combination of AI tools, human support, and capital. Audos’ Program focuses on four key pillars: The Million-Dollar Business Model: A codified methodology from successful entrepreneurs to identify promising everyday entrepreneurs and match their unique expertise with viable AI business opportunities using a proprietary framework that aligns personal strengths with business opportunity. The result is a focus on founder-market fit, profitability, sustainability, and solving real problems from day one. Rapid Market Validation Through Doing: Helping entrepreneurs offer real services immediately instead of just testing concepts, handling technical implementation and customer acquisition so entrepreneurs can focus on relationships. The Audos Program: An all-in-one system combining human expertise with AI tools. Based on success patterns from the founders’ dozens of successful start-ups, the program helps entrepreneurs discover their business concept, identify and target customers, and create AI applications that operate 24/7 across multiple channels. The program’s agentic capabilities unlock a business’s potential through features including automated customer service, actionable insights, autopilot functions, and strategic iterative updates based on growth opportunities and customer data. Aligned Capital & Support: A model where Audos succeeds only when entrepreneurs succeed, providing flexible financing capital, support, and shared upside within a community of founders. The approach provides day-one resources with no personal risk through a revenue-sharing system, allowing entrepreneurs to grow at their own pace.
Traditional distinctions between private labels and national brands have become so subtle that most consumers can’t tell the difference
Private-label brands are creating shopper confusion, according to a new study from global retail platform First Insight. The study indicates that traditional distinctions between private labels and national brands have become so subtle that most consumers can’t tell the difference. Results show that 71% of surveyed consumers believed they could recognize a private label when making a purchase, but 72% failed to do so when shown side-by-side images of store-brand and national-brand products. The new data adds an interesting angle to Mondelez International’s claim that Aldi is violating trademark law by selling private-label versions of some of its most popular products. Mondelez International is now suing Aldi, claiming the discount grocer copied its packaging designs. “Defendant’s actions are likely to deceive and confuse consumers and dilute the distinctive quality of Mondelez’s unique product packaging, and if not stopped, threaten to irreparably harm Mondelez and its valuable brands,” the lawsuit states. The First Insight study shows that shoppers enjoy finding “the dupe.” 47% of consumers say they’ve tried a private-label product specifically because it was a duplicate of a name-brand item. In addition, 44% of shoppers—including 70% of those earning more than $150,000 per year—say they’re more likely to try a private label if it’s marketed as a dupe of a high-end product. Private label also continues to gain a strong foothold in the grocery marketplace. “Shoppers aren’t loyal to brand names the way they used to be,” said Greg Petro, CEO of First Insight. “They’re loyal to price, quality, and marketing. This creates a highly competitive arena where the best—yet not necessarily the most well-known—brands will win.”
Anthropic institutes program that probes ‘good and bad’ of AI to study AI impact and disruption of the labor market
Anthropic has debuted a program to study AI impact on the labor market. The AI company’s Economic Futures Program will also help come up with policy proposals to ready the world for this economic shift. “Everybody’s asking questions about what are the economic impacts [of AI], both positive and negative,” Sarah Heck, head of policy programs and partnerships at Anthropic, told. “It’s really important to root these conversations in evidence and not have predetermined outcomes or views on what’s going to [happen].” The report noted that among the prominent figures to offer their views on the potential economic impact of AI is Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s chief executive. Last month, he predicted AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and send unemployment to as high as 20% in the coming years. When asked if one of the goals of the program was to research ways to alleviate AI-related job loss, Heck was “cautious,” the report said, arguing that the disruptive shifts AI will bring could be “both good and bad.” “I think the key goal is to figure out what is actually happening,” she said. “If there is job loss, then we should convene a collective group of thinkers to talk about mitigation. If there will be huge GDP expansion, great. We should also convene policy makers to figure out what to do with that. I don’t think any of this will be a monolith.”
Qodo launches CLI agent framework that enables developers to create, customize, and deploy their own AI coding agents.
Qodo, maker of an AI coding platform, today announced the release of Qodo Gen CLI, an agent framework that enables developers to create, customize, and deploy their own AI coding agents. With the framework, creating agents can be done by writing configuration files that add autonomous AI agents throughout the software development life cycle, according to the company’s announcement. Qodo was built to help developers add autonomous coding capabilities to their applications without requiring expertise in AI systems, which can lead to solutions that sync up with an organization’s requirements, the company said. With Qodo Gen CLI, developers can define custom agents and what tools they can access, specify actions that trigger the agents, what instructions guide their behavior and ultimately, what their outputs should be. Along with enabling custom agent creation, Qodo Gen CLI includes pre-built agents for code review, test coverage analysis, and release notes generation. These agents integrate seamlessly with existing development tools through GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, and other CI/CD systems. For advanced use cases, agents can be exposed as Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, enabling integration with other AI tools and platforms.
Afresh grocery tech reduces shrink by 25% and lifts sales by an average of 3% digging down to the granular level on products that are trickier to track
AI-powered software company Afresh made to the THRIVE Top 50 FoodTech Companies list for the second year in a row. “The platform leverages artificial intelligence to ingest and digitize large volumes of fresh data, enabling accurate item-level forecasts, inventory understanding, and perishability predictions,” THRIVE said. “This empowers grocers to make margin-boosting decisions across their supply chain, reducing food waste and increasing product freshness.” Afresh positions itself as a mission-driven operation “driving both environmental and business results for grocery retailers” through its proprietary software that eliminates food waste through technological efficiency. While initially focused on reducing waste in the produce section, Afresh expanded its reach in 2023 to include the meat, seafood, deli, and foodservice departments. The company said its technology reduces shrink by a whopping 25% and lifts sales by an average of 3%. Afresh has developed a system that digs down to the granular level on products that are trickier to track, such as foods from the salad and hot bars. Rather than forecasting out a few days in advance, Afresh’s tech can estimate demand more than a month in advance. That longer time horizon helps grocers more efficiently plan orders. Once Afresh’s store ordering system is combined with its distribution ordering system “you can create this true demand signal across the chain and truly optimize your decisions.”
Google virtual try-on app lets users not only virtually “try on” outfits but also see themselves in motion while wearing them in AI-generated videos
Google launched an experimental app that lets users not only virtually “try on” outfits but also see themselves in motion while wearing them. The new Doppl app from Google Labs builds on the capabilities of the AI Mode virtual try-on feature launched in May by Google Shopping, adding the ability to turn static images into artificial intelligence-generated videos. The dynamic visuals give users “an even better sense for how an outfit might feel.” Users can generate these images and videos by uploading a full-body photo of themselves as well as photos or screenshots of the items they would like to try on. “With Doppl, you can try out any look, so if you see an outfit you like from a friend, at a local thrift shop, or featured on social media, you can upload a photo of it into Doppl and imagine how it might look on you,” Google’s post said. “You can also save or share your best looks with friends or followers.”
Google Wallet starts rolling out Material 3 Expressive redesign in Android
Google Wallet is the latest first-party app to get a Material 3 Expressive redesign on Android in a simple modernization. On the homepage, “Wallet” in the top-left corner is replaced by the app’s logo to provide a nice balance with your profile avatar on the other side. The list of pass cards is a bit larger than before, while the “Archived passes” button is placed in a pill with an accompanying icon. Lastly, a large FAB (floating action button) is in use. The Recent activity page has been updated to place everything in containers, with the first and last cards featuring more rounded corners. Overall, this is a pretty straightforward Material 3 Expressive redesign for Google Wallet. In other Google Wallet developments, the web app picker in the top-right corner of every Google website recently added a “Wallet App” shortcut to wallet.google.com.
U.S. Bank moves Global Corporate Trust clients to a new trust accounting system that allows transactions across multiple markets and currencies and no longer requires manual intervention to initiate overnight investment of cash
U.S. Bank Global Corporate Trust clients received account statements that looked notably different than ones in the past. They had a fresh, modern look that delivered more details on their accounts than before. The new statements were just one of the many improvements for the client and employee experience courtesy of a migration to a new trust accounting system, SEI Wealth Platform (SWP). The undertaking represents nearly six years of strategic planning and execution to upgrade to a cutting-edge and scalable new platform that allows transactions across multiple markets and currencies, better aligning with the demands of the bank’s global client base. The new SWP platform “incorporates multiple surround systems under a single platform, allowing us to better serve, grow and provide the latest technology solutions to meet our and our clients’ needs well into the future,” said Jeffrey Awsumb, head of Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking (WCIB) product transformation and program sponsor. One of the internal benefits of the new SWP system is it no longer requires manual intervention to initiate overnight investment of cash in an account, said Ilias Gerontidis, a senior vice president in Global Corporate Trust whose team led the business through the transition. Now, once the account is turned on for “sweep,” the system will initiate that processing once cash is deposited into the account. “This saves time and effort, and mitigates the risk of internal teams not initiating the buy transaction in a timely manner,” Gerontidis said. As of the end of January, more than 192,000 accounts have been migrated to SWP. The first major client conversion took place in September 2022, with 10,000 accounts transitioning, and continued in large batches over the next several years before concluding in the U.S. in January. The bank plans to migrate Global Corporate Trust in Europe next. Part of the reason the upgrade took so long was the bank wanted to minimize the disruption to clients, which meant picking a three-day weekend at the end of the month and avoiding the first month after a quarter ended. The migration also involved training hundreds of employees both on their day-to-day usage of the new system and their specific business line needs.
Chime’s IPO price hype has fizzled out owing to the risk from stablecoins, which may pose a direct threat to Chime’s fundamental business model
The fintech firm Chime Financial went public about two weeks ago. Despite the stock rising nearly 40% above its IPO price of $27 to start at $43, it has since faced a steep decline, trading at approximately $29 as of Tuesday. Although post-IPO fluctuations are common, there are valid concerns regarding Chime stock. The risk seems to arise from stablecoins, which may pose a direct threat to Chime’s fundamental business model. Last week, the Senate approved the stablecoin bill, establishing a framework to regulate these digital currencies that are linked to the U.S. dollar. This action is anticipated to provide legitimacy to this cryptocurrency sector, thus increasing competition against traditional and digital-first financial service providers. Stablecoins effectively merge the dependability and stability of fiat currency with the rapidity, transparency, and programmability linked with cryptocurrencies and blockchains. They also have the potential to lower transaction costs compared to conventional financial systems. Chime might be at a greater risk compared to other financial entities. Chime operates as a neobank—essentially a digital-first banking institution that does not utilize physical branches. While several payment stocks, such as Visa and Mastercard, experienced declines following the bill’s approval, they have largely managed to recover those losses. Investors believe these well-established payment companies will adapt swiftly, given their extensive merchant networks and proactive investigation of blockchain systems. In contrast, Chime has a more limited business model. It concentrates on providing low-cost financial services through modern, mobile-first interfaces. This strategy has appealed to younger customers and under-served demographics, particularly those who are deterred by the fees and requirements imposed by traditional banks. However, these consumers are also more price-sensitive and tech-oriented, making them more inclined to adopt stablecoins if they present even greater convenience or savings. It’s important to note that Chime already has a no-fee structure, provides early access to direct deposits, and offers a streamlined app experience, differentiating it from many traditional banks. Nevertheless, these unique features may not suffice if stablecoin-based options emerge that provide near-instant settlements or integrated payment and savings functionalities. Furthermore, Chime has a relatively straightforward business model, primarily generating revenue through interchange fees—small charges that merchants incur when a customer uses a Chime card.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac revamp their JV as fintech venture to reflect a new role in which it will sell access to the mortgage-backed securities platform to others
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unveiled a new strategy for their legacy joint venture, aligning with priorities set by President Trump and their federal overseer. Their Common Securitization Solutions JV will be renamed U.S. Financial Technology to reflect a new role in which it will sell access to the mortgage-backed securities platform used to manage their $6.5 trillion portfolio to others. “We created U.S. Fin Tech to demonstrate the incredible ingenuity of American technology under President Trump’s leadership,” said Pulte, who also has similarly rebranded the Federal Housing Finance Agency he heads. The repositioning of the securities platform might be a step toward releasing the GSEs from conservatorship. “One area that is complicated and difficult under any release from conservatorship is the common securitization platform,” said Dworkin. “Under its current structure where it’s exclusively available to both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that presents probably insurmountable antitrust issues.” Spinning off the securities platform could address the issue. This would require launching “a real IPO and then have an independent board manage and govern the CSP, which would become essentially a utility company,” Dworkin said. “Spinning off the CSP gives you additional value for the CSP itself, and it likely enhances the value of the enterprises, because it adds value to their MBS,” he said. That strategy could play a role in addressing a goal related to finding a way to better monetize the GSEs, although it may not be entirely in line with the thinking of those who want Fannie and Freddie to be more like other private companies that trade publicly.