🚀 Vuori Reached a $5.5B Valuation

PLUS: Google Fired 10% of Managers, Party City is Going Out of Business

December 25, 2024

Dear founder, here’s your 3-minute recap (without the fluff):

  • Build a data-driven AI strategy for your business.

  • How Vuori reached a $5.5 billion valuation by taking share from Lululemon (More)

  • Google CEO Sundar Pichai says search giant has slashed manager roles by 10% in efficiency drive (More)

  • Party City, the largest party supply store in the US, is going out of business (More)

  • New tools, resources, funding updates & job postings

In Partnership

Feeling lost in the AI hype? Don't waste time on irrelevant tech. Our AI strategy consulting, built for businesses like yours, will help you:

  • Identify Your Perfect AI Fit: Ditch the jargon and discover powerful AI tools that directly address your needs.

  • Effortless Implementation: Get a clear, step-by-step roadmap to bring your AI strategy to life.

  • Rapid Results: See real business growth in weeks, not years.

Ready to reclaim your time and unlock your business potential? Fill out the form today and let's chat about your AI future!

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🛠️ Tools

Danswer - An AI-powered search engine across your company's docs, apps, and people to find the information you need, faster.

Amplemarket - An AI-powered sales platform that helps teams discover prospects, engage customers through personalized outreach, and drive conversions across channels.

Athina AI - Manage LLMs in production by detecting and fixing hallucinations while efficiently managing prompts, all in a single interface.

Symbolab - A powerful online math solver that can help you tackle any math problem, from basic arithmetic to advanced calculus.

MagicForm - A no code high quality sales rep that books qualified appointments for you day and night.

Clipdrop - An AI-powered tool that allows you to create stunning visuals in seconds.

Freepik - An online platform that provides a vast collection of high-quality design assets.

Tidalflow - Helps to create, guide, and adapt workout plans to the rhythm of your life.

Lemlist - Helps to build your lead list with verified emails, write and personalize at scale, and send cold emails that actually get customers.

Sprout Social - All-in-one social media management platform unlocks the full potential of social to transform not just your marketing strategy.

📚 Resources

Larry Ellison on what made Steve Jobs great (link)

Priming, an important concept from Daniel Kahneman's lecture (link)

Everything you need to know about 12 days of OpenAI (link)

Crazy marketing stunt by Volvo (link)

PS. If you’re interested in this AI stuff, you should sign up for our other newsletter - Prompts Daily. It has 100,000+ readers (Executives, VCs, and engineers).

💰 Funding

xAI, Elon Musk's AI company, raised $6 billion in Series C funding to advance scientific discovery.

Cadstrom raised $6.8M to fund streamline validation for electronic hardware design.

💼 Job Board

Director, Services International Sales Strategy at Lenovo (US)

Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Reddit (Remote)

💌 Etcetera

The 25 greatest art heists of all time

How pure is the water from your tap?

How to tell if an image is AI-generated

The most endangered animals in the world

Fifth wheel parking: why it never made it big

25 promising technologies to fight climate change

10 of the best places for chocolate lovers in the world

Checking your own blood pressure can have big benefits

17 women who made history — that you've never heard of

🗞️ News

Vuori Reached a $5.5B Valuation

Vuori has achieved a $5.5 billion valuation following a successful investment round led by General Atlantic and Stripes. The California-based athleisure brand has seen significant growth by capturing market share from competitors like Lululemon. Vuori plans to go public and aims to expand globally, with a target of 100 stores by 2026. Despite its success, the company faces challenges in a crowded market and must maintain product quality as it scales.

Google Fired 10% of Managers

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a 10% reduction in managerial roles as part of an ongoing efficiency initiative. This restructuring affects managers directors and vice presidents. Some positions were transitioned to individual contributor roles while others were eliminated. The changes align with Google's goal to enhance productivity amid rising competition in the artificial intelligence sector. This follows significant layoffs in 2023 when the company cut 12,000 jobs.

Party City is Going Out of Business

Party City is closing all its stores after nearly 40 years in business due to ongoing financial struggles. CEO Barry Litwin announced the immediate wind-down of operations during a corporate meeting, stating that employees would not receive severance pay. The company previously emerged from bankruptcy in September 2023 but faced persistent challenges including inflation and competition from online retailers. All locations are set to close by February 28, 2025, marking the end of the largest party supply retailer in the U.S.

That’s it for now!

Hope you enjoyed this week’s edition! See you next week.

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