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Not sure what to get the freelancer in your life for the holidays? Do you want to show them you support the independent path they’re on? We’ve created for you the Ultimate 2025 Freelancers Gift Guide, with gifts that will help empower the freelancer you’re shopping for in their work, and help them take a well-earned break when they need it. And as a bonus — all of these gifts are created and sold by freelancers and small businesses themselves! For the New FreelancerMutualism written by Freelancers Union founder, Sara HorowitzBreak Up With Your Job hat, from our friends at Freelancing Females99 Classics headphones by Meze AudioFor the Work-From-Home WarriorMain Character Candle by Mise En Scènt, located in Industry City (home to the Freelancers Hub)The Brick, for cutting down on screentime and increasing focusSet Piece, a romance novella written by Freelancers Union Marketing Director Lana SchwartzFor the Freelance ArtistA hand-crafted mug for tea, coffee, or anything else they like to drink, by Aziza MirzanKnitting for Olive Pure Silk Yarn, sold at Brooklyn General StoreUsed camera equipment from our partners at MPBFor the NomadFreelancers Union hoodie, for keeping warm wherever they goFreelancers Union tote, for hauling their belongings anywhere they needSlingshot 2026 Organizer, for staying organized and on top of deadlinesFor the Deadline AddictLilac’s 30 pc. Continental Assortment of Dark Chocolate with Fruits & Nuts, for creative fuelFreelancers Union mug, to remind them who’s boss (they are)View the full article

The investor markets already set mortgage rates to include the 25 basis point reduction the FOMC announced, and it is too early to see the longer-term effect. View the full article

Mickey Mouse, welcome to the AI era. Fans will soon be able to create short-form generative AI videos featuring more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters thanks to a three-year agreement that The Walt Disney Co. inked Thursday with OpenAI. In addition to a $1 billion equity investment in the tech company, Disney will become the first major content licensing partner on OpenAI’s Sora app. The new collaboration offers an opportunity for Disney to “extend the reach of our storytelling” through AI, Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, said in a statement. “Bringing together Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before, giving them richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love.” As for what Disney gets out of this deal, the media giant said it will become a “major customer” of OpenAI and receive warrants to purchase additional equity. Disney employees will also have access to ChatGPT and use OpenAI’s tools to build new products and experiences. DISNEY’S CLASHES WITH AI The move by Disney is interesting on two fronts: The company is famously and aggressively protective of its characters, while it has had other recent clashes over AI. In June, Disney and Universal Pictures sued the AI image creator Midjourney, alleging that the company trained its AI models on their intellectual property. And Disney jumped into another AI-related legal tussle this week. The company sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google on Wednesday, accusing the tech giant of using UA to engage in copyright infringement on a “massive scale,” as Variety reported. By partnering with OpenAI, Disney is busting open its massive toy chest of popular characters spanning the decades—from Mickey Mouse to Darth Vader, Ariel, and Captain America—as fodder for AI creators. The company even teased that some of these fan-created videos could stream on Disney+. It will be interesting to see how this partnership plays out once fans can start creating videos, which is estimated to begin sometime in early 2026. When Sora launched in September, the blowback came fast and furious after users flocked to the platform to create AI-generated videos featuring all sorts of popular characters. Within weeks, the Motion Picture Academy urged OpenAI to stop allowing copyright infringement on the platform. EMPHASIS ON RESPONSIBILITY But Disney and OpenAI emphasized in their announcement that the companies have a shared commitment to the responsible use of AI, which includes protecting the rights of creators. “This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences,” Sam Altman, cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, said in a statement. How, exactly, opening up the Disney library of characters to use on an AI platform benefits society is a bit unclear. But the agreement seemingly will give Disney more control over how its characters are used in this new era. And, at the very least, investors seem intrigued by the partnership. Disney shares rose nearly 1.5% amid a broader market rally as of mid-day Thursday. View the full article

Communist party leadership pledges to ‘stabilise’ major engine of economic growthView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Gift shopping for the DIYer in your life can be a challenge. Tools are the obvious choice, but truly handy folks probably already have most, if not all, of the tools they need (in addition to a long list of tools they only needed once but still hang onto). And even if they do need a specific tool, your chances of picking out the precise make and model they want are pretty slim. But no matter what level of DIYer you're shopping for, they likely need other stuff besides tools, from safety gear (which too many DIYers neglect), to cold-weather accessories, to the little extras that can make around-the-house projects a little easier, and maybe even more fun. Protective gear is a great option for DIY giftsSafety is paramount—it’s terrifyingly easy to injure yourself while working with any kind of tool. Just as important is the “wear and tear” your body goes through while working with loud power tools and while contorting your body in ways nature never intended. A few safety and comfort essentials for the DIYer in your life include: Work boots: Cold, wet feet make any job more miserable than it has to be, and if your DIY friend hasn’t dropped a hammer on their foot yet, don’t worry, they will. A pair of waterproof, toe-protecting work boots is a great gift. Cut-resistant gloves: Working with power saws or hand saws means risking a nasty cut. Cut-resistant gloves protect those hands from all kinds of nicks and scrapes—and worse. Safety glasses: The number of DIYers who think they don’t have to worry about eye injuries is, frankly, stunning. Do your handy loved one a favor and give them some protective eyewear. Knee pads: I once spent a few days bent over in my crawl space, working, and my knees took a real beating. Knee pads may not be sexy, but they will be appreciated. Hearing protection: Working with power tools can be hard on the ears. A pair of noise-canceling, rechargeable headphones that play music and allow hands-free operation of your phone while preventing hearing damage are a must-have. Cold-weather work gear is a practical gift optionWhen I first started my DIY journey, my solution for working outside in the cold was to put on multiple layers of my regular clothes, which limited my mobility and made me sweat up a storm. A better idea? Some work gear designed for the cold weather: Thermal gloves will keep hands from going numb while still offering protection. Base layers: The key to staying warm without getting chilled by your own sweat while working outside lies in having the right base layers—tops and bottoms. Headgear: Keeping the head and neck warm while working outside is the key to keeping your whole body warm, because so much heat is lost through the head. A combination hat, scarf, and headlamp solves the problem. Stocking stuffers for DIYersSome gifts for the DIYer are just about making every job a little easier or a little more fun. Tool belts and work aprons: I went an embarrassingly long time carrying my tools around in my pockets or in awkward bundles. A tool belt gives you a perfect hands-free way to transport your gear, and a work apron does the same while protecting your clothes and body from dirt and projectiles. The Bucket Boss: Another solution for lugging around your tools is a bucket organizer like the Bucket Boss, which makes bringing along every tool you might need a lot easier. A magnetic wristband: Give the gift of never having to carry a dozen nails in your mouth ever again. A headband lamp: At some point, every DIYer gets tired of trying to balance a flashlight in just the right spot. A lamp they can use hands-free will quickly become a favorite gift. A rugged Bluetooth speaker: Sure, everyone owns a bluetooth speaker these days—but handypeople will appreciate a Bluetooth speaker that’s durable enough for a worksite and that also uses the same batteries as their power tools. Anti-fatigue mat: Ah, the simple joys of standing hunched over a workbench for hours at a time. An anti-fatigue mat will spare your DIYer’s back and leave them refreshed after every job. Boot and glove dryer: There’s nothing worse than getting up to continue a big project only to discover that your boots and gloves are still soaked from the day before. Drying those items out in an hour or less? Magical. Beverage holster: Anyone who’s done work around their house knows that DIY work is fueled by refreshing beverages. Whatever your drink of choice, make it easy to have on hand at all times with this nifty holster. View the full article

Last week, Netflix announced it was buying Warner Bros. in a massive $82.7 billion deal. The streaming giant’s acquisition will set Netflix, which already leads the streaming wars, even further apart from competitors, as it will also add HBO, a Warner subsidiary. But while the deal will further cement Netflix’s domination, questions are swirling around how it will impact viewers, as well as the talent platforms rely on. Streaming platforms have recently undergone consolidation, creating three mega-platforms. According to a Forbes survey, Netflix is the most popular streaming service in America with 55% of Americans saying they use it, followed by Amazon Prime (51%), and Disney+ (49%). And, for talent, like actors and writers, the further consolidation of streaming platforms may escalate financial worries that have already been growing for some in the entertainment industry. In recent years, a number of actors have openly raised concerns about fair pay, as streaming platforms began to change the game. While traditional broadcast series pay residuals for each re-airing, as a percentage of the actor’s salary, later agreements changed the way actors earned residuals entirely. The new formula was based around a predetermined licensing fee, rather than the number of re-runs. Netflix, which seemed to favor paying actors more upfront while rather than residuals may have been particularly guilty of underpaying talent. And there was no shortage of actors calling the streaming giant out. A number of actors on some of Netflix’s most popular shows have spoken about their low-ball paychecks, having to keep their day jobs, or even pay for their own transportation to the set — a conversation which gained traction with the 2023 writer’s strike. Alysia Reiner, who played the warden Natalie (Fig) Figueroa, in Netflix’s hit series, Orange is the New Black, told New York Magazine in a 2023 interview, about the “risk” that actors took during the early days of streaming, saying that “the reward for Netflix does not seem in line with the reward for all of us who took that risk.” Reiner continued, “I can go anywhere in the world and I’m recognized, and I’m so deeply grateful for that recognition. Many people say they’ve watched the series multiple times, and they quote me my lines. But was I paid in a commensurate way? I don’t think so.” With the latest transaction under way, SAG-AFTRA addressed the reignited concerns around talent’s pay in a Dec. 5 statement, explaining that the consolidation “raises many serious questions about its impact on the future of the entertainment industry, and especially the human creative talent whose livelihoods and careers depend on it.” The statement continued, “A deal that is in the interest of SAG-AFTRA members and all other workers in the entertainment industry must result in more creation and more production, not less. It must do so in an environment of respect for the talent involved.” However, it seems like those things may not come without a fight, especially given how Netflix prefers to put big-budget films directly on its streaming service for subscribers, rather than opting for theatrical releases. That recent transaction has some groups, like the Directors Guild of America (DGA), already expressing “significant concerns ” over the development. In a Dec. 5 statement, the DGA said, “We believe that a vibrant, competitive industry — one that fosters creativity and encourages genuine competition for talent — is essential to safeguarding the careers and creative rights of directors and their teams.” The DGA added that it will be meeting with the streaming giant “to outline our concerns and better understand their vision for the future of the company.” Jon Shavitz, an independent filmmaker and writer living in Los Angeles, also addressed concerns around the deal in a recent blog post, writing that the experience of going to the movie theater is endangered as the giants take over, but it’s not because audiences don’t want theatrics, which, in his view, is utterly irreplaceable. “Audiences still want the big screen,” Shavitz writes. “They still want the magic of the lights coming down and the quiet anticipation before the picture starts. They still want to gasp with a hundred people at the same time. You can’t algorithm that. You can’t stream your way out of that fundamental human appetite for an exciting theatrical-only event.” Still, Shavitz tells Fast Company that the concern creators are feeling around financials, as well as potentially fewer jobs, is “fair.” He says that, simply, the streaming model “doesn’t work” as far as getting talent paid fairly. Still, the writer says he’s also hopeful that people within the industry “will fight to fix what’s broken,” noting that he believes the economics of deals such as this which don’t support talent, could ultimately “force a return to core business fundamentals.” By that he means an eventual return to the ever-evaporating exclusive theatrical windows. As he writes in his blog, Netflix’s deal is an “overreach” that will force both those working within the industry, as well as audiences, to decide between “a streaming-only future for major release films, or working to restore the very thing that made cinema a cultural force in the first place…”. Once the deal goes through, whatever happens next, Shavitz says, will be “up to us — industry and non-industry people alike — to fight for the theatrical experience.” Fast Company reached out to Netflix for comment. View the full article

If budgeting spreadsheets and lofty financial goals leave you stressed rather than inspired, consider another New Year’s ritual: an end-of-year money audit. The word “audit” might not sound all that fun. But just like an accountant, it’s helpful to approach your money behavior as neutral and impersonal as possible. “At the end of every year, people tend to jump straight into resolutions: cutting spending, tightening budgets, and promising themselves they’ll ‘finally get disciplined’ in the new year,” Jack Howard, Head of Money Wellness at Ally Bank, told Fast Company. “But I think the most meaningful financial reset starts somewhere much quieter: with your emotions. One of the most overlooked parts of financial wellness is understanding the emotional habits behind our money choices.” It’s not about creating a strict budget; it’s taking stock of the emotional habits behind your spending. When you understand what’s working (or not), you can make more intentional choices about what to amplify, adjust, or leave in 2025. Before the holidays get rolling, it can be helpful to take a pause to conduct an emotional money audit. December is a great time to do this because you can go into the new year feeling confident about where you are financially and plan for the upcoming year. Here’s how Howard recommends people approach their own audit, to start off 2026 on the right financial footing. Start with reflection, not restriction “Look back at the year through the lens of how your spending made you feel—secure, stressed, impulsive, proud?” Howard says. “Notice patterns without judgment. Ask yourself which habits supported your financial well-being and which ones held you back.” More than one in five American adults (22%) said they’d had to dip into their savings to cover their expenses in the past year. And as traditional milestones, like starting a family and homeownership, feel further out of reach for many, “treat culture,” the habit of indulging in small luxuries has taken grip. Examine the habits beneath your behaviors And yet much of our adult spending behavior started long before we were old enough to even make our own money. “I call these our ‘money roots,’” Howard says. “Take a moment to understand what triggers certain financial choices and which habits you want to start, continue, or stop heading into 2026.” Get a clear, full picture of your finances According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans owe more debt than at any point in history—more than $18.5 trillion in total. In such circumstances, it can be easier to bury your head in the sand or throw caution to the wind and book that three-week trip to Europe. “When you don’t have a clear picture of what’s coming in and going out, everyday decisions can feel overwhelming,” Howard says. “Start by listing out your current income, expenses, savings, and debt.” Be specific so you can see where your money is actually going. Create a realistic, values-based spending plan for 2026 “Money wellness isn’t about always saying ‘no’ to spending,” says Howard. “It’s just as much about saying “yes” intentionally—to the things that you truly value.” Figure out your core values, and invest in them. Is it an expensive gym membership or overpriced fitness class? Is it that coffee you buy on the way to work everyday that puts a smile on your face? Budget for the purchases that bring you joy and cut costs elsewhere. The goal is never perfection—it’s progress The power of compounding is not limited to investments. “Focus on creating positive financial wellness momentum to propel you into the new year,” says Howard. “Set clear, manageable milestones and outline small, steady steps to build traction, like setting a weekly money check-in, automating tiny transfers towards your goals, or reviewing one spending category at a time.” View the full article

US proposes ‘compromise’ option of demilitarised buffer that excludes both Ukrainian and Russian forces, says KyivView the full article

Google has released the December 2025 core update, its third of the year. The rollout began December 11 and may take up to three weeks. The post Google Releases December 2025 Core Update appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Google officially announced the rollout of the December 2025 core update on Thursday at around 12:25 pm ET. This core update is expected to take about 3 weeks to roll out. Google said this "is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites."View the full article

Any successful business requires thoughtful planning and well-structured documentation to stay focused and achieve growth. With the right business planning templates, organizations can capture goals, strategies and financial plans clearly, ensuring every stakeholder has consistent, accurate information to guide decision-making. Below, you’ll find our top 12 business planning templates for Microsoft Excel and Word. These resources help streamline strategic planning, improve analysis and support better communication across teams. Use them individually or as a complete toolkit to build a comprehensive business plan that investors, leaders and employees can trust. 1. Business Plan Template A business plan is a strategic document that explains how a company will create value, reach its market and operate successfully. It guides decisions by outlining goals, opportunities, risks and resource needs. Investors and internal stakeholders rely on business plans to understand financial viability and expected growth. By organizing market research, marketing strategy and operational planning, a business plan helps turn an idea into a structured initiative with clear direction. /wp-content/uploads/2023/04/business-plan-template-screenshot-600x710.jpg This free business plan template for Word provides a practical framework to organize your strategy and make a strong case to stakeholders. It includes guided sections for your company description, target customers, competitive landscape, marketing approach, operations, financial projections and organizational design. The layout supports clarity, structure and professionalism when presenting your business opportunity to investors or lenders. By prompting focused details, the template saves time and encourages better planning, alignment, accountability and confidence in execution and growth for every team. To take your planning one step further, consider ProjectManager. Our award-winning software has Gantt charts that make it easy to stay in sync with your team. Use it to turn complex initiatives into a clear timeline that shows tasks, deadlines, dependencies and milestones. This helps organizations understand how work fits together, allocate resources effectively, anticipate risks, and run “what-if” scenarios when plans change. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2023/02/operations-implementation-gantt-chart-150-cta.jpgLearn more 2. Strategic Plan Template When organizations look beyond the day-to-day and aim for sustainable growth, they rely on a strategic plan to map the way forward. Strategic plans are meant to outline the business objectives that will guide the direction of a company for usually 1-3 years. Rather than simply listing goals, it prioritizes what will drive competitiveness and allocates resources where they can have the biggest impact. The result is a shared direction that supports smarter decisions, prepares for market shifts and ensures long-term initiatives stay aligned with the company’s mission and vision. /wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Strategic_Plan_Template_for_Word_Image.png Our free strategic plan template for Word helps leadership structure long-range planning with clarity and accountability. Each section prompts thoughtful analysis— from defining your vision and mission to conducting a SWOT assessment and establishing SMART business goals. It also incorporates marketing alignment, operational planning and financial projections to support informed budgeting and resource needs. The template brings teams together around shared priorities, creating a unified path to execution and long-term impact while ensuring every step is trackable and purpose-driven. 3. Vision Statement Template Imagining the ideal future of the business comes first, and a vision statement puts that picture into words. It serves as a motivational beacon—something bold, inspiring and built on core values. Instead of describing how the work gets done today, the vision concentrates on where the organization is heading and why it matters, guiding innovation and lifting teams toward a destination everyone can believe in. /wp-content/uploads/2024/01/vision-statement-template-screenshot-600x537.png This free vision statement template for Word provides a simple guided framework to help businesses articulate where they’re headed. It walks users through defining mission, core values, differentiation and five-year goals before turning those insights into a compelling statement. Breaking the process into reflective questions prompts deeper thinking and more authentic messaging. It’s a practical tool for leadership alignment, branding workshops or new business planning where a clear sense of direction is essential. Related: 38 Free Excel Templates for Business (Plus 10 Word Templates) 4. SWOT Analysis Template Before committing to new strategies, companies need a clear understanding of what’s helping or hindering them. That’s where a SWOT analysis provides immediate insight. By separating strengths and weaknesses inside the business from external opportunities and threats, teams can better position themselves for success. This structured view encourages practical planning, risk awareness and smarter choices when charting the next move. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Swot-analysis-template-screenshot-600x513.jpg Our free SWOT analysis template for Word provides a clean, structured layout to capture and compare internal and external factors side by side. It prompts teams to list strengths that can be leveraged, weaknesses that need improvement, opportunities worth pursuing and threats that require mitigation. The format is easy to complete during workshops or planning sessions and encourages strategic discussions that lead to actionable insights. With everything visible at a glance, stakeholders can quickly align on priorities and next steps. 5. Strategic Roadmap Template A strategic roadmap visualizes how major initiatives will unfold over time to advance business goals. Instead of focusing on day-to-day activities, it highlights priority programs, milestones and dependencies that move the organization toward its long-term vision. Leaders use roadmaps to coordinate efforts across teams, align timing with strategic priorities and communicate progress clearly. By showing direction and sequence at a glance, a strategic roadmap keeps everyone focused on what must happen and when to reach future targets. /wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Strategic-Roadmap-Template-for-Excel-ProjectManager-2-600x225.webp This free strategic roadmap template for Excel uses a Gantt chart layout to bring structure and transparency to your long-term initiatives. It organizes key activities by department and spreads milestones across quarterly timelines, making it easier to track progress and adjust priorities as plans evolve. The format supports collaboration by revealing scheduling gaps, interdependencies and upcoming workload peaks. It’s a practical tool for leadership reviews, stakeholder communication and maintaining momentum behind critical business transformations. 6. 5-Year Plan Template Looking five years ahead requires more than ambition—it demands structure. A 5-year plan breaks long-range goals into manageable milestones, helping leaders respond to shifting markets while still moving toward a bold destination. Each phase builds on the last, backed by measurable outcomes that track advancement. With everyone aligned on what progress looks like, the business gains a clearer path to growth and the confidence to invest in initiatives that shape its future. /wp-content/uploads/2025/01/5-Year-Plan-template-600x407.png Our free 5-year plan template for Excel structures planning into annual milestones that support one overarching objective. Each year includes dedicated fields for measurable goals, action steps, success indicators, anticipated benefits and required resources. The format encourages thoughtful sequencing while still allowing flexibility as conditions evolve. By visualizing progress across multiple years, the template helps companies communicate expectations, track accountability and ensure that strategic initiatives remain realistic, supported and continuously moving forward toward a defined future state. 7. Annual Work Plan Template When strategy needs to be put into motion, an annual work plan becomes the guide for what must happen right now. It translates high-level goals into prioritized initiatives, assigning ownership and defining the timing for each deliverable. Organizing resources and performance measures in one place supports efficient execution and helps teams stay accountable. Throughout the year, this plan becomes the reference that keeps efforts coordinated and momentum strong. /wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Annual-Work-Plan-Template-Screenshot-1-600x315.png This free annual work plan template for Word provides a structured format to align goals with the activities required to accomplish them. It organizes objectives, key initiatives, resource needs, schedules and role assignments into one cohesive document that keeps teams coordinated and on track. Performance metrics are built into the layout to support ongoing evaluation and data-informed decisions. The result is a practical planning tool that clarifies expectations, enhances transparency and strengthens organizational focus throughout the year. 8. Business Action Plan Template Turning ideas into results doesn’t happen by accident—action plans make execution tangible. They outline the specific tasks and dependencies required to reach defined objectives, ensuring that no critical steps are overlooked. Managers can see who’s responsible, what tools are needed and when outcomes should be achieved. This clarity reduces uncertainty, strengthens coordination and keeps the entire organization advancing toward measurable success. /wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Business-Action-Plan-Template-Screenshot-600x534.png Our free business action plan template for Word organizes execution into a clear, step-by-step framework that supports real progress. It includes sections for defining objectives, tactics, resource needs, budget allocation, milestones and role assignments, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. Built-in KPIs and review processes help teams evaluate performance and adapt quickly when challenges arise. Whether tackling growth initiatives or operational improvements, the template keeps everyone aligned and committed to delivering measurable results. 9. Marketing Plan Template A marketing plan defines how a business will attract customers, build demand and strengthen its competitive position. It connects market research with strategies for pricing, promotion and distribution so growth efforts are purposeful and impactful. Companies rely on marketing plans to align messaging, allocate budgets and coordinate campaigns across channels. By outlining measurable objectives and performance indicators, the plan helps track results, refine tactics and ensure every activity supports revenue goals and brand development. /wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Marketing-Plan-Screenshot-600x451.jpg This free marketing plan template for Word brings order and clarity to campaign planning, guiding teams from competitive research through execution and evaluation. It includes space to document marketing goals, define target audiences, map the buyer journey and craft a differentiated value proposition. Sections for branding, channels, SEO and KPIs ensure that the strategy is both creative and measurable. By detailing timelines, assumptions and constraints, the template helps organizations deliver marketing initiatives that are coordinated, accountable and driven by results. 10. Operational Plan Template An operational plan explains how a business will run efficiently to achieve its short-term goals. It focuses on the activities, resources and workflows that turn strategy into daily execution. Managers use operational plans to outline responsibilities, schedule work, control costs and maintain quality standards. Clear processes and performance indicators allow teams to measure productivity and identify improvements. By aligning routine operations with business objectives, an operational plan helps organizations work smarter and deliver consistent results. /wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Operational-plan-template-screenshot.png Our free operational plan template for Word structures key execution details into a single, organized document. It prompts teams to define operational objectives, assign tasks, estimate costs, build timelines and document resource needs. Dedicated sections help plan for staffing requirements, compliance measures and quality assurance, while KPIs provide checkpoints to evaluate performance. Designed to improve clarity and oversight, the template enables leaders to manage operations proactively and respond quickly when challenges or changes arise. 11. Go to Market Strategy Template Bringing a new product to market requires a plan that goes far beyond the launch date. A go-to-market strategy syncs up positioning, pricing, promotion and sales execution so the offering reaches the right customers with the right message. It sharpens understanding of the target buyer, highlights why the solution stands out and lays out how demand will be generated. With marketing and sales working in lockstep, businesses can accelerate adoption, reduce risk and build momentum from day one. /wp-content/uploads/2025/02/go-to-market-plan-template-600x309.png This free go-to-market strategy template for Excel provides a structured way to organize the elements required for a successful product launch. It prompts clear articulation of the value proposition, target market characteristics, buyer personas and channel selection. Budget tables and timeline tracking help teams align resources and coordinate execution across marketing, sales, distribution and support. By mapping every step from development to post-launch optimization, the template keeps launch activities synchronized and focused on revenue growth from day one. 12. Scenario Planning Template Scenario planning helps organizations prepare for an uncertain future by exploring multiple plausible outcomes. Instead of predicting a single result, teams examine how different forces—such as market shifts, regulatory changes or economic trends—may interact over time. This approach supports stronger decision-making by revealing risks, opportunities and strategic options before changes occur. By visualizing alternative paths, scenario planning strengthens resilience, encourages creativity and ensures leaders can adapt quickly if conditions evolve unexpectedly. /wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Scenario-Planning-Matrix-template-600x561.png Our free scenario planning template for Excel uses a four-quadrant matrix to map strategies across varying levels of impact and uncertainty. Each quadrant becomes a distinct scenario shaped by key drivers or external factors. The visual layout encourages collaborative discussion about assumptions, strategic responses and potential consequences. It’s a practical framework for workshops, planning sessions or leadership reviews, helping teams stress-test plans and stay prepared no matter how the future unfolds. How ProjectManager Helps Businesses Templates have their time and place in helping your business achieve success, but they shouldn’t be your only means of organization. ProjectManager’s dynamic project management software is designed to help ensure teams can finish projects on time and on budget. With various project views including the Gantt, calendar, kanban board, list and sheet, it’s seamless for teams to stay in sync. Plan for Success on the Gantt Chart Use the award-winning Gantt chart to plan even your most complicated projects. The Gantt chart allows you to set a project baseline, track all four types of dependencies, filter for the critical path and so much more. Add comments and make adjustments in real time, alerting your team of changes on the go. /wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Event-plan-gantt-chart-in-projectmanager-2024-1600x870.png Generate Reports in a Few Clicks As the business plan is executed, executives and stakeholders want to understand how the project is progressing. View our real-time dashboards that update with live data on six key areas of projects and portfolios. Then, leverage our reporting features powered by AI Project Insights to keep everyone in the loop. /wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Project-portfolio-status-report.png Related Business Planning Content Budget Templates for Business & Project Budgeting Strategic Planning in Business Creating a Tactical Plan for Your Business What Is a Business Budget? Business Budgeting Basics How to Write a Business Plan What Is Business Impact Analysis? How to Conduct One Aligning Your Project to Business Strategy Get all the features of these Word and Excel project management templates and more when you sign up for ProjectManager. The robust planning features in our award-winning project management software will help you plan, track and report on your project, making project success that much more likely. See what it can do for you by signing up for free today. The post 12 Free Business Planning Templates for Excel & Word appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

If you've engaged in any sort of doomscrolling over the past year, you've no doubt encountered some wild AI-generated content. While there are plenty of AI video generators out there producing this stuff, one of the most prevalent is OpenAI's Sora, which is particularly adept at generating realistic short-form videos mimicking the content you might find on TikTok or Instagram Reels. These videos can be so convincing at first glance, that people often don't realize what they're seeing is 100% fake. That can be harmless when it's videos of cats playing instruments at midnight, but dangerous when impersonating real people or properties. It's that last point that I thought would offer some pushback to AI's seemingly exponential growth. These companies have trained their AI models on huge amounts of data, much of which is copyrighted, which means that people are able to generate images and videos of iconic characters like Pikachu, Superman, and Darth Vader. The big AI generators put guardrails on their platforms to try to prevent videos that infringe on copyright, but people find a way around them. As such, corporations have already started suing OpenAI, Google, and other AI companies over this blatant IP theft. (Disclosure: Lifehacker’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) Disney is handing its characters over to Sora users But it seems not all companies want to go down this path. Take Disney, as a prime example. On Thursday, OpenAI announced that it had made a three-year licensing agreement with the company behind Mickey Mouse. As part of the deal, Sora users can now generate videos featuring over 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters. The announcement names the following characters and movies specifically: Mickey Mouse Minnie Mouse Lilo Stitch Ariel Belle Beast Cinderella Baymax Simba Mufasa Black Panther Captain America Deadpool Groot Iron Man Loki Thor Thanos Darth Vader Han Solo Luke Skywalker Leia The Mandalorian Stormtroopers Yoda Encanto Frozen Inside Out Moana Monsters Inc. Toy Story Up Zootopia That includes licensed costumes, props, vehicles, and environments. What's more, Disney+ will host a "selection" of these "fan-inspired" Sora videos. (I'll admit, that last point genuinely shocks me.) This does only apply to Disney's visual assets, however, as Sora users won't have access to voice acting. ChatGPT users will also be able to generate images with these characters, so this news doesn't just affect Sora users. You might think OpenAI is paying Disney a hefty licensing fee here, but it appears to be quite the opposite. Not only is Disney pledging to use OpenAI APIs to build "products, tools, and experiences," it is rolling out ChatGPT to its employees as well. Oh, and the company is making a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI. (Is that all?) I know many companies are embracing AI, often in ways I disagree with. But this deal is something else entirely. I'm not sure any Disney executives actually searched for "Sora Disney" on the internet, because right now, you'll find fake AI trailers for Pixar movies filled with racism, sexual content, and generally offensive content—all generated using an app Disney just licensed all of its properties to. OpenAI asserts in its announcement that both companies are committed to preventing "illegal or harmful" content on the platform, but Sora users are already creating harmful content. What kind of content can we expect with carte blanch access to Disney's properties? Now that Disney's characters are fair game, I can't imagine the absolute slop that some users are going to make here. The only hope I have is in the fact that Disney+ is going to host some of these videos. Staff will have to weed through some garbage to find videos that are actually suitable for the platform. And maybe seeing the "content" that Sora users like to make with iconic characters will be enough for Disney to rethink its plans. View the full article

Cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for misleading investors who lost billions when his company’s crypto ecosystem collapsed in 2022. Kwon, known by some as “the cryptocurrency king,” pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court in August to fraud charges stemming from Terraform Labs’ $40 billion crash. The company had touted its TerraUSD as a reliable “stablecoin”—a kind of currency typically pegged to stable assets to prevent drastic fluctuations in prices. But prosecutors say it was all an illusion that came crumbling down, devastating investors and triggering “a cascade of crises that swept through cryptocurrency markets.” Kwon, who hails from South Korea, has agreed to forfeit over $19 million as part of the plea deal. While federal sentencing guidelines would recommend a prison term of about 25 years, prosecutors have asked the court to sentence Kwon to 12 years. They cited his guilty plea, the fact that he faces further prosecution in Korea, and that he has already served time in Montenegro while awaiting extradition. “Kwon’s fraud was colossal in scope, permeating virtually every facet of Terraform’s purported business,” prosecutors wrote in a recent memo to the judge. “His rampant lies left a trail of financial destruction in their wake.” Kwon’s attorneys asked that the sentence not exceed five years, arguing in their own memo that his conduct stemmed not from greed, but hubris and desperation. In a letter to the judge, Kwon wrote, “I alone am responsible for everyone’s pain. The community looked to me to know the path, and I in my hubris led them astray,” while adding, “I made misrepresentations that came from a brashness that is now a source of deep regret.” Authorities said investors worldwide lost money in the downfall of the Singapore crypto firm, which Kwon cofounded in 2018. Around $40 billion in market value was erased for the holders of TerraUSD and its floating sister currency, Luna, after the stablecoin plunged far below its $1 peg. Kwon was extradited to the U.S. from Montenegro after his March 23, 2023, arrest while traveling on a false passport in Europe. View the full article

It’s a special “where are you now?” season at Ask a Manager and I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. There will be more posts than usual this week, so keep checking back throughout the day. Remember the letter-writer whose employer who laid them off and then wanted them to sign an indemnification (#2 at the link)? Here’s the update. Your advice was incredibly helpful. My previous manager continued to send me multiple followup texts regarding the indemnification that felt very guilt-tripping (reminding me they could not proceed with the critical business operation unless I signed and agreed). I did not reply to any of the texts. I did reply to the document they sent me via email (indemnification document). I cc’d the company’s head of legal. In the email, I refused to sign, said I did not consent to the use of my credentials, and that this was my final decision. In reply, they said they hoped for a different outcome but “respected my decision given the use of my name and dob in login credentials.” I also contacted the government agency that I had the credentials with and informed them I no longer worked there, asking them to remove my credentials from association with the company, and they did so. Months passed and I heard nothing more, but eventually I received a text from this same manager, who let me know that they found another partnership and were able to continue with business as usual (they “thought I’d like to know”). I responded with a very brief “Glad to hear” and have not heard from them since. Of course, what I would have liked to say was, “Why do I care? This isn’t my business since you fired me” but I wanted to end on an okay note. I am still job searching. It’s extremely rough out there, and I have not been able to get very far in interviews for the same job I left at this company because I am so early career. I’ve been getting feedback from companies when they do not move forward with me that they just have more candidates with more experience, always. I feel resentful that I was cut off from developing in my early career by this company that clearly didn’t think through their own needs before making that decision. I’m starting to look outside my previous industry with a little more success (and a big pay cut). I wish everyone out there looking right now the best of luck. Again, thank you so much for all your advice, and your readers for their comments! I enjoyed reading through them all and it felt very vindicating. The post update: employer who laid me off is now asking me to sign an indemnification appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

Google today released the December 2025 core update. Google said this core update “Today we released the December 2025 core update.” This is the third core update of 2025, and the fourth overall update in all of 2025. Google previously had the August 2025 spam update, before that was the June 2025 core update and before that was the March 2025 core update. Google also wrote: “Released the December 2025 core update. The rollout may take up to 3 weeks to complete.” Google added on LinkedIn, “this is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites.” Core updates happen multiple times per year. Core updates can have significant, broad changes to Google’s search algorithms and systems, which is why Google announces them. This is the third core update of 2025. What to do if you are hit. Google didn’t share any new advice specific to the March 2025 core update. However, in the past, Google has provided advice on what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update: There aren’t specific actions to take to recover. A negative rankings impact may not signal anything is wrong with your pages. Google offered a list of questions to consider if your site is hit by a core update. Google said you can see some recovery between core updates, but the biggest change would be after another core update. In short: write helpful content for people and not to rank in search engines. “There’s nothing new or special that creators need to do for this update as long as they’ve been making satisfying content meant for people. For those that might not be ranking as well, we strongly encourage reading our creating helpful, reliable, people-first content help page,” Google said previously. For more details on Google core updates, you can read Google’s documentation. Previous core updates. Here’s a timeline and our coverage of recent core updates: The June 2025 core update was on June 30 and ended on July 17. The March 2025 core update was on Mar. 13 and ended on Mar. 27. The December 2024 core update was on Dec. 12 and ended on Dec. 18. The November 2024 core update was on Nov. 11 and ended on Dec. 5. The August 2024 core update was on Aug. 15 and ended on Sept. 3. The March 2024 core update was on March 5 and ended on April 19. The November 2023 core update was on Nov. 2 and ended on Nov. 28. The October 2023 core update was on Oct. 5 and ended on Oct. 19 The August 2023 core update was on Aug. 22 and ended Sept. 7. The March 2023 core update was on March 15 and ended March 28. Why we care. With any core update, we often see significant volatility within the Google search results and ranking. These updates will hopefully improve the rankings of your sites or your clients’ sites. But some of you may see fluctuations or even downgrades in Google rankings and organic traffic. We hope this update rewards you all and sends you lots of traffic and conversions. It has been a long time since we had a core update and while we were expecting more core update, more often – it seemed that didn’t really happen. View the full article

Figures for September raise hopes that GDP growth in third quarter was stronger than forecastView the full article

This year’s Black Friday through Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend marked a robust surge for businesses utilizing Stripe, a major financial infrastructure platform for online payments. More than 578 million transactions were processed, generating over $40 billion in total payment volume, placing it as the largest four-day span in the company’s history. This unprecedented activity culminated in Cyber Monday, which alone saw over $10 billion in transactions. For small business owners, these statistics can be more than just impressive numbers; they represent a glimpse into the potential for growth during peak shopping periods. The ability to tap into such vast consumer demand is crucial, especially in an era where online shopping continues to gain momentum. Stripe has positioned itself as a reliable partner in this landscape. The company reported an impressive uptime of over 99.9999% during BFCM, meaning that businesses had uninterrupted access to payment processing during critical times. This reliability is vital as small businesses face the dual challenge of managing customer expectations and technical performance. “Our customers expect seamless checkout online and in stores during BFCM. Stripe’s performance and stability help us deliver that consistency at scale,” said Rob Frieman, Chief Information Officer at URBN. Additionally, with the rise of global ecommerce, Stripe noted a staggering 37% year-over-year growth in cross-border transaction volume, jumping from $3.2 billion to over $4.4 billion. This expansion highlights an exciting opportunity for small businesses looking to reach international customers, enabling them to participate in a broader marketplace. The growth in ecommerce activity doesn’t come without its challenges. Small business owners need to consider how to manage increased traffic effectively while maintaining a high-quality customer experience. Stripe clients like Jean-Cédric Costa, Chief Information Officer at La Redoute, highlighted the importance of technical reliability: “In that high-pressure environment, technical reliability is what matters most.” Another key aspect for small businesses lies in the integration of technology. Stripe recorded significant usage of its Model Context Protocol (MCP) feature during this busy shopping period, showing how developers utilized AI tools to manage product and pricing updates quickly. Forty-one percent of MCP usage involved requests related to managing products and pricing, suggesting that small businesses can benefit from leveraging technology to remain agile amidst rapid consumer changes. Notably, Stripe’s one-click checkout feature, known as Link, resulted in major time savings—more than 2.7 million minutes—demonstrating to business owners the tangible benefits of streamlining the purchasing process. Simplifying checkout procedures can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and reduce cart abandonment, which is particularly important during peak shopping seasons. However, small businesses venturing into ecommerce need to remain vigilant about security, especially with the potential for fraud as transaction volumes rise. Stripe’s Radar technology successfully prevented over 24.6 million fraudulent transaction attempts during the BFCM weekend, showcasing how essential secure payment processing can be in maintaining customer trust. The numbers tell a compelling story for small businesses: at peak times, more than 152,000 transactions occurred every minute across multiple currencies, with top cities for transactions including New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles. This data illustrates the continuous demand and the potential for revenue growth during these crucial shopping windows. As the landscape evolves, small business owners must adapt to emerging trends and innovations. With resources like Stripe providing the backbone for payment processing, they can focus more on what matters most—delivering an exceptional customer experience. With the right tools and strategy, even small businesses can compete in this rapidly expanding digital marketplace, paving the way for future growth. For more details, you can check the original press release on Stripe’s website here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Stripe Hits Record $40B in Transactions Over Black Friday Weekend" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

This year’s Black Friday through Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend marked a robust surge for businesses utilizing Stripe, a major financial infrastructure platform for online payments. More than 578 million transactions were processed, generating over $40 billion in total payment volume, placing it as the largest four-day span in the company’s history. This unprecedented activity culminated in Cyber Monday, which alone saw over $10 billion in transactions. For small business owners, these statistics can be more than just impressive numbers; they represent a glimpse into the potential for growth during peak shopping periods. The ability to tap into such vast consumer demand is crucial, especially in an era where online shopping continues to gain momentum. Stripe has positioned itself as a reliable partner in this landscape. The company reported an impressive uptime of over 99.9999% during BFCM, meaning that businesses had uninterrupted access to payment processing during critical times. This reliability is vital as small businesses face the dual challenge of managing customer expectations and technical performance. “Our customers expect seamless checkout online and in stores during BFCM. Stripe’s performance and stability help us deliver that consistency at scale,” said Rob Frieman, Chief Information Officer at URBN. Additionally, with the rise of global ecommerce, Stripe noted a staggering 37% year-over-year growth in cross-border transaction volume, jumping from $3.2 billion to over $4.4 billion. This expansion highlights an exciting opportunity for small businesses looking to reach international customers, enabling them to participate in a broader marketplace. The growth in ecommerce activity doesn’t come without its challenges. Small business owners need to consider how to manage increased traffic effectively while maintaining a high-quality customer experience. Stripe clients like Jean-Cédric Costa, Chief Information Officer at La Redoute, highlighted the importance of technical reliability: “In that high-pressure environment, technical reliability is what matters most.” Another key aspect for small businesses lies in the integration of technology. Stripe recorded significant usage of its Model Context Protocol (MCP) feature during this busy shopping period, showing how developers utilized AI tools to manage product and pricing updates quickly. Forty-one percent of MCP usage involved requests related to managing products and pricing, suggesting that small businesses can benefit from leveraging technology to remain agile amidst rapid consumer changes. Notably, Stripe’s one-click checkout feature, known as Link, resulted in major time savings—more than 2.7 million minutes—demonstrating to business owners the tangible benefits of streamlining the purchasing process. Simplifying checkout procedures can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and reduce cart abandonment, which is particularly important during peak shopping seasons. However, small businesses venturing into ecommerce need to remain vigilant about security, especially with the potential for fraud as transaction volumes rise. Stripe’s Radar technology successfully prevented over 24.6 million fraudulent transaction attempts during the BFCM weekend, showcasing how essential secure payment processing can be in maintaining customer trust. The numbers tell a compelling story for small businesses: at peak times, more than 152,000 transactions occurred every minute across multiple currencies, with top cities for transactions including New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles. This data illustrates the continuous demand and the potential for revenue growth during these crucial shopping windows. As the landscape evolves, small business owners must adapt to emerging trends and innovations. With resources like Stripe providing the backbone for payment processing, they can focus more on what matters most—delivering an exceptional customer experience. With the right tools and strategy, even small businesses can compete in this rapidly expanding digital marketplace, paving the way for future growth. For more details, you can check the original press release on Stripe’s website here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Stripe Hits Record $40B in Transactions Over Black Friday Weekend" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

An entirely subjective list of shareholder primacy, management hubris and value destructionView the full article

Some of the country’s most prestigious colleges are enrolling record numbers of low-income students — a growing admissions priority in the absence of affirmative action. America’s top campuses remain crowded with wealth, but some universities have accelerated efforts to reach a wider swath of the country, recruiting more in urban and rural areas and offering free tuition for students whose families are not among the highest earners. The strategy could lead to friction with the federal government. The The President administration, which has pulled funding from elite colleges over a range of grievances, has suggested it’s illegal to target needier students. College leaders believe they’re on solid legal ground. At Princeton University, this year’s freshman class has more low-income students than ever. One in four are eligible for federal Pell grants, which are scholarships reserved for students with the most significant financial need. That’s a leap from two decades ago, when fewer than 1 in 10 were eligible. “The only way to increase socioeconomic diversity is to be intentional about it,” Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber said in a statement. “Socioeconomic diversity will increase if and only if college presidents make it a priority.” Last year, Princeton set aggressive goals to recruit more low-income students in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action in higher education. Without the ability to consider race, officials wrote in a campus report, focusing on economic diversity offers “the university’s greatest opportunity to attract diverse talent.” The country’s most selective colleges still enroll large proportions of students from the wealthiest 1% of American families. Many of those campuses have tried for years to shed reputations of elitism, with only gradual changes in enrollment. Colleges set records for enrollment of low-income students Only a small fraction of the nation’s colleges have publicly disclosed their low-income enrollments this year, and national data won’t be released by the federal government until next year. But early numbers show a trend. At 17 highly selective colleges that have released new data, almost all saw increases in Pell-eligible students between 2023 and this year, according to an Associated Press analysis. Most saw increases in consecutive years, and none saw a significant decrease in aggregate over the two years. Yale, Duke, Johns Hopkins, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology all have set enrollment records for Pell-eligible students in the past two years. Part of the uptick owes to a federal expansion that made more students eligible for Pell grants last year. But campus leaders also believe the increases reflect their own efforts. The numbers in MIT’s freshman class have climbed by 43% over the past two years, and low-income students account for more than a quarter of this year’s class. MIT officials cited its policy providing free tuition for families that earn less than $200,000 a year. “MIT has always been an engine of opportunity for low-income students, and we are dedicated to ensuring we can make an MIT education accessible for students from every walk of life,” Stu Schmill, MIT’s dean of admissions, said in a statement. Nationwide, roughly a third of undergraduate students have received Pell grants in recent years. Two years ago, Amherst College in Massachusetts made tuition free for students in the bottom 80% of U.S. earnings. It also started covering meals and housing for those below the median income, and it stopped prioritizing children of alumni and donors in admissions decisions. Since then, low-income enrollment has risen steadily, reaching 1 in 4 new students this year. At the same time, the admissions office has stepped up recruiting in overlooked parts of the country, from big cities to small towns. “When we go out and talk to students, it’s not in the fanciest ZIP codes,” said Matthew McGann, dean of admissions. “It’s in places where we know there’s a lot of talent but not a lot of opportunity.” Racial diversity does not necessarily follow economic diversity On many campuses, officials hoped the focus on economic diversity would preserve racial diversity — Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous Americans have the country’s highest poverty rates. But even as low-income numbers climb, many elite campuses have seen racial diversity decrease. Without the emphasis on income, those decreases might have been even steeper, said Richard Kahlenberg, a researcher at the Progressive Policy Institute who advocates for class-based affirmative action. He called the latest Pell figures “a significant step in the right direction.” “Economic diversity is important in its own right,” he said. “It’s important that America’s leadership class — which disproportionately derives from selective colleges — include people who’ve faced economic hardships in life.” Swarthmore College saw the most dramatic leap in Pell enrollment, jumping from 17% to 30% last year. While many campuses were delaying scholarship decisions until the government resolved problems with a new financial aid form, Swarthmore used other data to figure out applicants’ financial need. That allowed Swarthmore to offer scholarships to students while they were still awaiting decisions from other schools. More financially disadvantaged students ended up enrolling at Swarthmore than officials expected. College leaders also credit their work to reduce campus costs — laundry is free and students get yearly credits for textbooks, for example. Yet Swarthmore saw its Black enrollment fall to 5% of its freshman class this year, down from 8% the year before. “In a race neutral environment, those numbers are likely to drop,” Jim Bock, the admissions dean, said in a statement. “Not all minority students are low-income, and not all majority students have significant financial means.” The approach risks federal scrutiny In legal memos, the White House has alleged that prioritizing students based on earnings or geography amounts to a “racial proxy” in violation of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision against affirmative action. In a June letter, The President officials accused the University of California-Los Angeles of “race-based admissions in all but name.” It criticized UCLA for considering factors like applicants’ family income, ZIP code, and high school profile. Colleges often weigh that kind of information in admissions decisions. Yet the The President administration has declared that the Supreme Court decision outlaws a wide range of long-accepted education practices, including scholarships targeting students in underserved areas. Already, there are signs of an impact. Earlier this year, the College Board — the nonprofit that oversees the SAT — suddenly discontinued an offering that gave admissions offices a wealth of information about applicants, including earnings data from their neighborhoods. Kahlenberg and others see it as a retreat in the face of government pressure. The College Board offered little explanation, citing changes to federal and state policy around the use of demographic information in admissions. ___ The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. —Collin Binkley, AP education writer View the full article

What are your competitive advantages? By Jackie Meyer Go PRO for members-only access to more Jackie Meyer. View the full article

What are your competitive advantages? By Jackie Meyer Go PRO for members-only access to more Jackie Meyer. View the full article

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. I’m Mark Sullivan, a senior writer at Fast Company,covering emerging tech, AI, and tech policy. This week, I’m focusing on Nvidia’s up-and-down fortunes stemming from Jensen Huang’s close relationship with The President. I also look at some reported infighting over AI at Meta, and at the reasons for data centers in space. Sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. And if you have comments on this issue and/or ideas for future ones, drop me a line at sullivan@fastcompany.com, and follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @thesullivan. China may not want (many) Nvidia H200 chips after all Nvidia appeared to have scored a major coup when President The President on Monday wrote on Truth Social that the U.S. government would allow the sale of its powerful H200 AI chips to China. Previously, the chip company lobbied its way to an approval to sell its older and weaker H20 chip in China—the world’s second-largest economy and a hotbed of AI and robotics research—but President Xi Jinping told Chinese firms not to buy them, citing security reasons. The administration’s favor to Nvidia came with some conditions. The U.S. would get a 25% cut of the Chinese sales, and the chips would undergo a “security review” before their export. And Nvidia’s most powerful chips, the Blackwell GPU, would remain banned from export to China. But Nvidia still stood to make a lot of money selling the H200s. Now reports say that the Chinese government plans to restrict the import of the H200s, allowing only a small set of trusted Chinese companies or research organizations to get them. Reuters reports that Alibaba and ByteDance want to order H200s but are waiting for a final decision from the Chinese government. Xi wants Chinese companies to use chips from domestic companies such as Huawei, which could help the Chinese chip companies catch up with Nvidia in a technological sense. The Information reports that the Chinese government sees the H200s as a “stopgap” solution in the meantime. The Chinese also have serious concerns about the security of the H200s, amplified no doubt by the chance that agents of the U.S. government might install security backdoors or location tracking codes in the chips during the security review. Huang reportedly talks to The President on the phone regularly and has written checks for things like The President’s new ballroom at the White House. The downside of embracing The President so openly and unconditionally may have eroded trust for Nvidia in China. In the past, China has mounted state-sponsored or grassroots boycotts against American companies, including Apple, McDonald’s, and the NBA. And there are other ways of getting Nvidia chips into China. The Information reports that the Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has been using thousands of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips (the most powerful in the world for AI) to train its newest model. Chinese companies have been setting up fake data centers in neutral countries, outfitting them with Nvidia servers loaded with chips, then dismantling the servers and sending the chips off to China. Nvidia said Wednesday that it’s unaware of any such activity. ‘Friction’ between Zuckerberg’s new superintelligence and other parts of Meta?: report After the disappointing performance of Meta’s latest Llama models, CEO Mark Zuckerberg hatched a plan to put his AI lab in the running to build artificial superintelligence. He badly wants Meta to compete for that holy grail against the likes of OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Google DeepMind. So, he paid $14.3 billion to buy Scale AI with the idea of having that company’s young CEO Alexandr Wang lead a new superintelligence research group at Meta. Over the summer, Wang and Zuckerberg went on a poaching spree to hire top AI research talent away from those companies, offering salaries in the hundreds of millions of dollars. They were successful: The new group has about 100 researchers. But all is not well, the New York Times reports. Wang has clashed with some of Zuckerberg’s top lieutenants—Chris Cox, who manages the company’s social network products, and Andrew Bosworth, who runs Meta’s mixed reality (metaverse) business—on how Wang’s group’s research should be applied. From the report: In one case, Mr. Cox and Mr. Bosworth wanted Mr. Wang’s team to concentrate on using Instagram and Facebook data to help train Meta’s new foundational A.I. model — known as a “frontier” model — to improve the company’s social media feeds and advertising business, they said. But Mr. Wang, who is developing the model, pushed back. He argued that the goal should be to catch up to rival A.I. models from OpenAI and Google before focusing on products, the people said. In other words, Cox and Bosworth are more interested in using Wang’s AI models as a means to an end (a business end): to pump up social engagement and better target ads at users. But Wang may see the superintelligence group as something more like a “pure research” group that sets its own research agenda. Wang, Cox, and Bosworth may simply be the latest actors in a much older tension between pure research and applied AI. “It’s unclear if Mr. Wang, Mr. Cox and Mr. Bosworth have resolved their debate,” the Times reports. After all the money he spent to chase superintelligence, Zuckerberg is likely to side with Wang and insulate the group from short-term demands of product managers. Why Musk and Bezos are putting data centers in space Why are Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos working on missions to launch AI data centers into space? It sounds exotic. But it makes sense. Tech companies and their partners are spending trillions to build new terrestrial data centers to produce enough computing power for AI. In some areas, electricity costs have increased after the local energy provider built new grid infrastructure to accommodate new data centers. Data centers need a lot of electricity to power the AI chips inside them, and a lot of electricity and water to keep the chips cool. It’s very cold in space, so the cooling problem goes away. An orbiting data center could use solar panels to collect the energy needed to run the servers (the sun is 30% more intense in space). Troubles associated with terrestrial data centers—land-use permitting, local zoning, water rights, etc.—don’t apply in space. The Wall Street Journal reports that Bezos’s Blue Origin has had a team working on orbital AI data centers for more than a year. Musk’s SpaceX has plans to mod one of its Starlink satellites to host AI servers. Google and Planet Labs have plans to launch two test satellites into orbit loaded with Google AI chips (called Tensor Processing Units). Other, smaller companies, such as Starcloud and Axiom AI, have sprung up to focus all their efforts on orbiting data centers. Those involved acknowledge that while the floating data centers are technically feasible, lots of work remains to bring the costs down to a point where they’re competitive with earth-based data centers. More AI coverage from Fast Company: OpenAI appoints Slack CEO Denise Dresser as first Chief Revenue Officer Nvidia’s Washington charm offensive has paid off big Google faces a new antitrust probe in Europe over content it uses for AI The President allows Nvidia to sell H200 AI chips to China Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium. View the full article

Today's Bissett Bullet: “When we can listen to our prospective client’s issues without giving away all the answers in our replies, we’ve got a chance of winning work.” By Martin Bissett See more Bissett Bullets here Go PRO for members-only access to more Martin Bissett. View the full article

Today's Bissett Bullet: “When we can listen to our prospective client’s issues without giving away all the answers in our replies, we’ve got a chance of winning work.” By Martin Bissett See more Bissett Bullets here Go PRO for members-only access to more Martin Bissett. View the full article