AI is no longer just for large corporations with dedicated tech teams.
Nearly 89% of small business owners indicated that someone at their business currently uses AI tools, according to a new report from the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), supported by Intuit.
President Trump's new FTC chair Andrew Ferguson told a group of big business CEOs on Tuesday that he wouldn't let proposed deals "die on the vine," but warned them not to expect automatic approval for big mergers.
Why it matters: Ferguson is explaining the Trump administration's approach to M&A, giving fresh guidance to the group it will need to help bolster the economy and usher in a new age of prosperity.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched a new app that officials say will allow immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally to report when they "self deport."
Why it matters: The move comes after the Trump administration shut down the CBP One app that facilitated the legal entry of migrants at the border, and as immigrant removals in President Trump's first days in office fall behind the daily average in the final weeks of former President Biden's term.
Conference season is around the corner, so set up a personal VPN to enhance your privacy and security on the go, especially when using that free and often insecure Wi-Fi service offered at hotels, in airplanes, or at conference centers.
— Kemba Walden, president of Paladin Global Institute
🇨🇳 The U.S. indicted 10 individuals and two Chinese government officials tied to several high-profile cyberattacks. (Axios)
🪙 International law enforcement seized Russian crypto exchange Garantex, which has long been popular with cybercriminals to launder funds. (Axios)
💼 President Trump says the U.S. is in talks with four groups about a potential TikTok deal. (TechCrunch)
@ Industry
🤖 Alibaba launched its own AI reasoning model that the company says rivals DeepSeek's capabilities. (CNN)
👀 In 2015, Meta was willing to create a new censorship system and hire a "chief editor" who would decide what content to remove from the platform in a failed attempt to bring Facebook to China, according to a new whistleblower complaint. (Washington Post)
Eric Schmidt has acquired a control stake in Relativity Space, a Long Beach, Calif.-based rocket maker, and taken over as CEO.
Why it matters: This will be Schmidt's first CEO job since leaving Google's top post more than 14 years ago, and is a reminder of how fast the space industry can burn venture capital.
Nearly half (49%) of the media companies cited by President Trump in his Truth Social posts since his inauguration are Murdoch-owned, according to an Axios analysis. Around 17% are mainstream outlets, including ones he's suing or has banned.
Why it matters: While Trump relies heavily on MAGA-affiliated influencers and media to reach his base, his Truth Social activity shows how much he still cites mainstream outlets for credibility and reach.
President Trump has nominated Sean Plankey, a veteran cyber official from his first administration, to run the lead U.S. cyber agency, according to a list of nominations sent to Congress.
Why it matters: If confirmed, Plankey will oversee the agency charged with securing the nation's critical infrastructure amid growing questions about its budget and workforce needs.
Visa has created an unprecedented scam detection initiative, built to both protect customers and dismantle the scammer ecosystem, the company shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: Consumers lost more than $1 trillion to scams around the world last year, according to a report from Feedzai — but few resources exist to adequately fight back against the vast online scam ecosystem.
