There's no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to venture capital investments in the booming artificial intelligence sector.
State of play: Large language model companies are still making headlines for raising piles of cash at eye-popping valuations, but it also appears a growing number of VCs are slinging some of their checks in other directions.
Boeing confirmed that it's in talks to acquire Spirit AeroSystems, the jet-fuselage business that's been engulfed in questions over quality issues.
Why it matters: Boeing is under pressure to improve its operations after an emergency exit door flew off an Alaska Airlines flight in mid-air in January, causing the temporary grounding of all 737 MAX 9 planes in U.S. territory.
Data: Insurify; Note: Based on Insurify's database of 97 million rates from car insurance applications over the past five years. Full-coverage premium averages include bodily injury limits between state minimums and $50,000, property damage limits between $10,000 and $50,000, and comprehensive and collision coverage deductibles of $1,000; Chart: Axios Visuals
Car insurance rates aren't rising at last year's torrid pace, but they're still poised to exceed inflation again in 2024, Nathan writes.
The big picture: Pandemic-era jumps in vehicle prices, more frequent severe weather and increasingly risky driving patterns have driven up insurance rates.
"It's starting to have a huge impact on American drivers," Insurify data insights manager Chase Gardner tells Axios.
Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman seeks to disrupt the ChatGPT creator's relationship with Microsoft, its most important investor and customer.
Why it matters: Microsoft has tied its AI fortunes closely to OpenAI, as evidenced by how quickly the tech giant jumped to restore Altman to the top job when he was briefly ousted last year.
Bumble has appointed Slack alum Gabrielle Ferree as vice president, global communications.
Why it matters: Ferree is part of a broader leadership change taking place at Bumble, which recently appointed Lidiane Jones as CEO in place of founder Whitney Wolfe Herd.
Private equity firm Thoma Bravo on Friday increased the amount it's paying to acquire Everbridge, a publicly traded provider of critical event management and national public warning software, by 22.4% to $1.8 billion.
Why it matters Most take-private agreements include "go-shop" provisions, but this is one of the rare times that it mattered.
One of the fastest-growing areas of the economy is clubs selling exclusivity — persuading the very rich that behind certain politely guarded doors lies an expanse of grass that's especially green.
Why it matters: Positional goods have historically mostly been material — the bigger house, the nicer car, the fancier handbag. Increasingly, along with the rest of the economy, they're becoming experiential.
Soaring food prices have taken a serious bite out of consumer spending, but there's at least one item that's consistently bucked the trend: bananas.
Why it matters: The U.S. imports more bananas by volume than any other country, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Despite their popularity, bananas are significantly cheaper than their peers in the fruit world.
I'm like most of you: I get easily sucked into my ambitions, my grievances, my to-do list, my crazy life.
Peggy Cummings, whose funeral I was privileged to attend in Buffalo last week, was not. She easily and gladly threw herself into others' ambitions, grievances, to-do lists and lives.
Why it matters: In a eulogy, her niece Andrea Duvall showed a bright way to measure our days and lives: Not by what we did, but what we did for others.
"I cannot remember a single wish that Peg espoused that was truly for herself, other than to be with her people — and her greatest joy was in their happiness," Andrea eulogized.
A church-full of tears fell in agreement.
The big picture: I won the lottery because I know several people like this — Peggy; my mother, Joan, at home; Mike Allen here at Axios. It has made me focus on being less self-focused. Less what have I done lately and more what have I done for others lately.
This mentality makes us a better parent, spouse, partner, friend, boss or co-worker.
Better yet, there's no downside to it. No one ever said in their final moments: "I just wish I had worried about myself a lot more!"
Andrea's eulogy offered a blueprint for shifting our lives to more about others, at work and at home.
1. Look up, look out. To lock in and truly listen is a hard skill to master. It starts with shifting our gaze from the phone — or mirror. Most of us want to have our turn, to offer our take or to check out. But something magical happens when we shut our mouths and open our ears: We learn and make the other person feel heard, maybe even special.
Peg "had a way of really paying attention to people so that they knew she was fully present and engaged." I saw this in her eyes and actions.
You often find that people remember more vividly interactions in which someone simply asked questions and listened — instead of prattling on. It is the opposite of how many of us think.
2. Show up. Don't show off. We think we impress people by sounding smart or connected or accomplished. But what really turns heads is this attentive silence.
Peg "never worried once about impressing anyone — and thus endeared herself to everyone," Andrea said.
Something about enthusiastic listening makes random conversations stick years later.
3. Kick your bucket list. "I had asked in recent years if she'd like to go to Ireland or Hawaii or anywhere — but she had no such bucket list," Andrea said. "She fought so long and so hard for one reason — she wanted so badly just to be here with all of you."
OK, this one seems impossibly hard. But a doable twist is to spend time dreaming of an adventure you can do for and with others for their joy.
4. Be there — unconditionally. Looking back, I believe the reason I had the stomach for risk to start two companies — and even write these columns — was a safety net of unconditional love from my parents as a kid and my wife Autumn + kids today. Andrea, her husband and two kids had the same thing in Peg:
"Her love was constant, devoted, attentive and never demanding."
What a description. What a way to measure a life well lived.
