Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Investment in consumer tech startups has been in a downturn since 2022, as a turbulent macroeconomic climate and rising inflation have made VCs skittish about consumer spending power. For the past couple of years, most AI investment has focused on winning over enterprise customers, who provide fat checks, multi-year contracts, and quick paths to scale.   But one VC sees the consumer sector gearing up for a comeback in 2026.  “This is gonna be the year of the consumer,” said Vanessa Larco, partner at the venture firm Premise and a former partner at NEA, on this week’s episode of the Equity…

2026-01-08T14:40:14.966Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Angi, the company formerly known as Angie’s List, is cutting 350 jobs, it said on Wednesday. Angi cited AI efficiency among its reasons for the layoffs. Economists and tech experts have predicted that more companies will replace humans with AI in 2026. The popular contractor listing site once known…

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to remake Head Start, ordering it to stop purging words it associates with diversity, equity and inclusion from grant applications and barring it from laying off any more federal employees in the Office of Head Start.The order came this week in a lawsuit filed in April against Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials. The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of illegally dismantling Head Start by shutting down federal Head Start offices and laying off half the staff. It also…

2026-01-08T14:00:01.218Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Tivara raised $3.6 million, backed by Mischief VC, Day One Ventures, and Y Combinator. The startup introduces AI agents to healthcare administration, taking over phone calls and scheduling. Tivara shared its pitch deck with Business Insider — take a look. Tej Seelamsetty dislocated his shoulder in 2024.The 29-year-old told…

UC Berkeley’s ability to draw international students appears little affected by the national political scene. New international student enrollment grew by 43% at UC Berkeley this school year to 2,363, according to University of California data released Thursday, despite a federal immigration crackdown that has deterred some foreign students from studying in the U.S. Enrollment of undergraduates from California also increased, as the university welcomed 46,151 students, its largest-ever student body, up from 45,882 last year.The growth in new international students stands in sharp contrast to a 17% decrease among that group at campuses nationwide, according to a November report…

Spangle, an AI e-commerce startup founded by former Bolt CEO Maju Kuruvilla, has raised $15 million in a new funding round, valuing the company at $100 million after the investment. Led by NewRoad Capital Partners, the all-equity Series A round comes over a year after the Seattle-based startup raised a $6 million seed round at a $30 million pre-money valuation. Madrona, DNX Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, and strategic angel investors also participated, bringing total funding to $21 million, according to the startup. Retailers are facing changes in how consumers discover products online, as AI tools, social platforms, and recommendation engines increasingly…

Google has unveiled a new AI Inbox for Gmail that’s designed to provide a personalized overview of your tasks and keep you informed about important updates. Gmail is also launching AI Overviews in search and a Grammarly-like “Proofread” feature. Additionally, Gmail is bringing to all users several AI features that were previously available only to paid users. The new AI Inbox tab features two sections: “Suggested to-dos” and “Topics to catch up on.” The first section displays summaries of top priority emails that require an action, such as a reminder that you have a bill due tomorrow or that you…

RAMSEY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey on Thursday joined a growing list of states to limit students’ cellphone use during the school day. In the remaining days of his second term, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation requiring the state education commission and local school boards to come up with guidelines for the use of cellphones in schools for grades K-12. The new law specifically requires the prohibition of non-academic uses of internet-connected devices — including phones — during the school day. Murphy, who will be succeeded by Democrat Mikie Sherrill this month, called for the ban early last year.…

NEW YORK (AP) — Quintin Sharpe considers it a duty to support those without means. Whether collecting food pantry goods through local service groups or helping out his parents’ nonprofit music school, he regularly gives back to his small-town waterside community in southeast Wisconsin.But the 27-year-old wealth manager encountered a situation last year that prompted another form of charity. A former classmate’s father got “blindsided” in a motor vehicle accident, he said, and crowdfunding proved to be the “easiest way to help” with hospital bills. He donated more than $100 to the family’s GoFundMe campaign.“Crowdfunding can be a little bit…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and Louisiana officials have lifted another decades-old school desegregation order, part of a campaign to end court mandates they describe as outdated.A federal judge on Monday approved a joint motion from Louisiana and the U.S. Justice Department to dismiss a 1967 lawsuit in DeSoto Parish schools, a district of about 5,000 students in the state’s northwest. It’s the second such dismissal since the Justice Department began working to overturn desegregation cases it once championed.Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill thanked President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday for “helping us to finally…