The Hustle Daily Show Alibaba’s huge investment and Google’s play at Pinterest
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Sep 26, 2025 Chinese tech giant Alibaba ramps up its AI investments, raising eyebrows in the global market. Meanwhile, American retailers like GAP and Macy's are leveraging AI to enhance sales and inventory management. Excitement brews over Google's new Mixboard feature, which could disrupt Pinterest's core functionality. In other news, Starbucks announces a major restructuring plan with significant layoffs. Plus, innovative apps like Neon Mobile are raising privacy concerns by monetizing user call data.
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Restructuring And Parental Leave Moves
- Starbucks announced a $1 billion restructure including 900 non-retail layoffs and North American store closures.
- Parento raised funds to expand paid parental leave insurance for small businesses, addressing a major coverage gap.
Consumers Selling Call Data To AI
- Neon Mobile pays users to record calls and sell data to AI companies, highlighting data-for-pay consumer products.
- Jon Weigell frames this as a concerning but tempting $30-a-day exchange for many users.
VC Frenzy In K-Pop And Virtual Bands
- Korean VCs dramatically increased entertainment investments, fueling real and virtual K-pop groups.
- Maria Gharib cites Plave, a virtual boy band that sold one million albums in a week, as evidence of the trend.