Entrepreneurship
Small Business Grants: Simply Business Names 2026 Winners
Five founders just landed direct funding after Sky’s the Limit and Simply Business named the 2026 winners of their Big Dreams Grant on July 29. The two partners sorted...
Business Banking Gets a Founder-First Push as Flex Raises $70M
Flex, a fintech offering private-banking-style services for business owners, has raised $70 million from investors including Crosslink Capital, Portage Ventures, and Wellington Management. The company bundles banking, credit, and...
AI Voice Models Go Mainstream as Fish Audio Raises $52M
Fish Audio, a startup building expressive AI voice models, has raised “$52 million in seed funding led by Coreline Ventures and Capital Today,” according to a PRNewswire press release....
AI Infrastructure Startups: Where 2026 Venture Money Moves
Venture capital is shifting away from model builders and chip makers toward what one July 28 funding roundup calls the second-order AI stack. That means the translators, adapters, and...
Small Business Automation: Genius AI Raises $44M for the Back Office
Genius AI, a platform that automates back-office admin for local service businesses, has raised $44 million in a Series D round backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Lux Capital, and...
AI Side Hustles in 2026: 4 That Make Real Money
A widely shared profile of a two-person startup shows an AI side hustle can clear more than $5,000 on a good day, with its founders on track for roughly...
Open Source AI Gains as Together AI Raises $800M
Open source AI just picked up serious momentum, as Together AI announced an “$800 million Series C at an $8.3 billion valuation.” The round, led by Aramco Ventures with...
The Future of Work: Skilled Freelancing Jumps to 38%
The future of work took a measurable step this month, as Upwork’s Future Workforce Index 2026 found that 38% of skilled U.S. knowledge workers now freelance. That is up...
Return to Office Mandates Risk Talent in 2026
The return to office debate has quietly settled into a messy middle, and fresh remote work data shows why. About 21.7% of U.S. employees worked remotely at least part...
Consumer Confidence Index Holds Firm as Spending Rises
The Consumer Confidence Index held firm in July, landing at 129.3 after a June reading of 128.9. That keeps the gauge near the top of its range following five...
