Forget chatbots — SAP has developed an enterprise AI model that speaks spreadsheet.
SAP Chief Technology Officer Philipp Herzig breaks down how SAP-RPT-1 — a table-native foundation model — is redefining enterprise AI. Unlike traditional LLMs trained on internet text, SAP-RPT-1 is built from the ground up to understand structured business data like ledgers and invoices. Herzig explains how the model reduces errors, accelerates predictions and enables teams to act on insights without retraining.
President Trump's threat to deploy federal troops to Minneapolis comes as the city is already in turmoil, with daily demonstrations, school disruptions, and fear running through immigrant communities and beyond amid the government's immigration crackdown.
Why it matters: The unprecedented ICE surge has the hallmarks of an occupation in some neighborhoods, as masked and heavily armed agents drive around in large SUVs, tussle with protesters and observers, and break into people's cars and houses to make arrests.
Royal Caribbean Group is shaking up cruise rewards by expanding how travelers can use their loyalty points — no matter which of its brands they sail.
Why it matters: At a time when many travel loyalty programs are cutting back on perks — often sparking backlash from frequent travelers — the Miami-based company is giving cruisers more flexibility in how and where their points can be used.
Companies with the strongest reputations earn nearly 5% more in unexpected shareholder returns than their counterparts, according to a new analysis by Burson.
Why it matters: Placing a dollar value on reputation underscores how communications can affect business performance, proving that public perception is more than just a soft metric.
Starbucks and Dunkin' are both tapping star power to help sell their newest drinks.
Why it matters: Celebrity collabs aren't new — but the names are changing. As consumer attention splinters, brands are betting that creators with loyal, highly engaged fan bases will drive real-world purchases.
Ukrainian media company Holywater has raised a $22 million Series A to help grow its microdrama app My Drama and other products, the company exclusively tells Axios.
Why it matters: The investment comes as microdramas — short, serialized stories built for binging on mobile — are gaining traction in the U.S.
Microsoft will offer free AI training and premium software to educators and college students starting Thursday, Microsoft Elevate president Justin Spelhaug told Axios.
Why it matters: Access to premium AI tools and training is shaping up to be the next digital divide.
David Gross is the new managing partner of Bain Capital, one of the country's largest alt asset firms with more than $215 billion in assets under management.
Why it matters: He's the first person to ever serve solo in the role, unless you count firm founder Mitt Romney.
Bank stocks slid Wednesday as investors fixated on President Trump's proposed cap on credit card rates rather than on earnings. Yet the banks' results also showed that their trading revenue has surged, thanks in part to Trump's policies.
Why it matters: For the financial sector, Washington is both friend and foe.
Young people who are anxious about their jobs in an AI future are hedging that by investing in the stock market, according to a study by the Oliver Wyman Forum of 300,000 investors since 2020.
Why it matters: Young investors often favor vibes and momentum over fundamentals — so they could get burned if this bull market stumbles.
Amazon is the inaugural buyer of copper cathode that mining giant Rio Tinto is producing with a special process it calls way more climate-friendly than traditional methods.
Why it matters: Data centers need lots of copper, and tech giants are looking to make powerful computing more sustainable as the AI boom complicates their climate goals.
There's little evidence AI is destroying large numbers of white-collar jobs today. But five developments show the potential for massive future job and workplace disruption.
Christmas Day shattered historic streaming records, according to new Nielsen data shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: Streaming accounted for more than half (54%) of all TV viewing in the U.S. on Christmas, marking only the second time in history that streaming has surpassed 50% total viewership in a single day.
The United States faces a fork in the road in which it can either embrace dynamic capitalism or tolerate stagnation, the leader of America's biggest business group will say today in a major speech.
The big picture: American business leaders see strains of thought in both major parties that they believe threaten the nation's economic vibrancy as the U.S. approaches its 250th birthday.
The share of Americans who see business as the country's biggest threat, compared with government and labor, is near a high last reached more than two decades ago, when accounting scandals rocked the corporate world.
Why it matters: Gallup has been polling on this question since the 1960s, and, although big government always ranks as Americans' top perceived threat, distrust of companies has been steadily rising.
Books, movies and songs celebrate the mobility of America, cheering on the striver who wants to leave home and find their riches somewhere... else.
Those inspirational stories often overlook the power of the people who choose to stay home and devote their skills and strengths to the town that made them.
Why it matters: Dreamers make good main characters, but every city, town, hamlet and township has families (it's rarely just one) that set deep, multi-generational roots.
