Bolstered bookseller Barnes & Noble is planning a major expansion and potential IPO
One of the hottest IPOs of the year could be a century-old bookstore that Amazon almost killed.
Iconic hot dog brand Nathan’s Famous just sold for $450 million
Packaged meat company Smithfield Foods has agreed to acquire the historic Coney Island staple — best known for its annual hot dog eating contest — in an all-cash deal.
Streamers continued retreating from original shows in 2025
The death of “peak TV” has not been exaggerated, per a new report from Luminate.
America’s love for spicy food and mouth-tingling sauces has surged, but are we approaching “peak heat”?
Takis doesn’t think so, as it searches for a “Chief Intensity Officer.”
OpenAI’s ARR reached over $20 billion in 2025, CFO says
Sam Altman’s $500 billion artificial intelligence behemoth hit a major financial milestone last year, according to a new blog post over the weekend from OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar, as the company confirmed it had hit a more than $20 billion annual revenue run rate at the end of 2025.
Elsewhere in the blog post, Friar spent time addressing the company’s shifting goals, referencing plans to “close the distance between where intelligence is advancing and how individuals, companies, and countries actually adopt and use it.” As has become customary in the AI company press release genre, the CFO was also keen to tout the unending growth of the business, writing:
“Both our Weekly Active User (WAU) and Daily Active User (DAU) figures continue to produce all-time highs. This growth is driven by a flywheel across compute, frontier research, products, and monetization.”
“Compute grew 3X year over year or 9.5X from 2023 to 2025: 0.2 GW in 2023, 0.6 GW in 2024, and ~1.9 GW in 2025.”
And, perhaps most importantly for current backers and those keeping an eye on the private company before its rumored mega IPO:
“Revenue followed the same curve growing 3X year over year, or 10X from 2023 to 2025: $2B ARR in 2023, $6B in 2024, and $20B+ in 2025. This is never-before-seen growth at such scale.”
That latest figure has certainly set tongues in the tech world wagging, just as the company announced it would begin rolling out ads to free and ChatGPT Go users. It also puts the chatbot giant a fair way ahead of competitors like Anthropic, the company behind Claude.
Elsewhere in the blog post, Friar spent time addressing the company’s shifting goals, referencing plans to “close the distance between where intelligence is advancing and how individuals, companies, and countries actually adopt and use it.” As has become customary in the AI company press release genre, the CFO was also keen to tout the unending growth of the business, writing:
“Both our Weekly Active User (WAU) and Daily Active User (DAU) figures continue to produce all-time highs. This growth is driven by a flywheel across compute, frontier research, products, and monetization.”
“Compute grew 3X year over year or 9.5X from 2023 to 2025: 0.2 GW in 2023, 0.6 GW in 2024, and ~1.9 GW in 2025.”
And, perhaps most importantly for current backers and those keeping an eye on the private company before its rumored mega IPO:
“Revenue followed the same curve growing 3X year over year, or 10X from 2023 to 2025: $2B ARR in 2023, $6B in 2024, and $20B+ in 2025. This is never-before-seen growth at such scale.”
That latest figure has certainly set tongues in the tech world wagging, just as the company announced it would begin rolling out ads to free and ChatGPT Go users. It also puts the chatbot giant a fair way ahead of competitors like Anthropic, the company behind Claude.
Washington, DC, looks set to get America’s second Sphere
Revenue for the Las Vegas version of the big orb has soared, but the Sphere is still a money pit.
Ford reportedly in talks to buy hybrid vehicle batteries from Chinese auto giant BYD
Detroit’s Ford and China’s BYD are said to be in ongoing talks to partner on an agreement that would see Ford buy hybrid vehicle batteries from BYD, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal.
The report comes just days after President Trump toured a Ford factory in Michigan and implied openness to Chinese automakers coming to the US.
“If they want to come in and build a plant... that’s great, I love that,” Trump said on January 13. “Let China come in, let Japan come in.”
Last week, China’s Geely Automobile Holdings said it expects to make an announcement about expanding into the US within the next three years. Chinese carmakers currently face huge tariffs and software restrictions, effectively barring their vehicles from the US.
Ford has doubled down on hybrid vehicles amid high EV costs and the end of federal EV tax credits. The automaker is currently building a battery plant in Michigan where it plans to use tech from Chinese battery maker CATL.
“If they want to come in and build a plant... that’s great, I love that,” Trump said on January 13. “Let China come in, let Japan come in.”
Last week, China’s Geely Automobile Holdings said it expects to make an announcement about expanding into the US within the next three years. Chinese carmakers currently face huge tariffs and software restrictions, effectively barring their vehicles from the US.
Ford has doubled down on hybrid vehicles amid high EV costs and the end of federal EV tax credits. The automaker is currently building a battery plant in Michigan where it plans to use tech from Chinese battery maker CATL.
Lawsuit alleges Lilly, Novo locked up telehealth to kill compounded GLP-1s
Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar estimated that around 1.5 million US patients are using compounded versions of the company’s drugs.
Big Pharma enters 2026 with an appetite for deals
At the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, biotechs and Big Pharma signaled they’re primed for M&A this year, after a big year for deals in 2025.
Delta, the K-shaped airline
Delta’s premium ticket sales grew more than 7% in 2025. Its main cabin ticket sales fell 5%.
Paramount sues Warner Bros. for more info on its deal with Netflix, says it plans to nominate new directors
It’s a fresh week and that means a fresh bit of escalation in the ongoing Warner Bros. Discovery merger drama.
At an upcoming meeting, Paramount Skydance plans to “nominate a slate of [WBD] directors who, in accordance with their fiduciary duties, will... enter into a transaction with Paramount,” CEO David Ellison wrote in a letter to WBD shareholders disclosed on Monday.
Ellison also said that Paramount sued WBD in Delaware court in an effort to force the board to disclose “basic information” that will allow shareholders to make an informed decision between Paramount’s offer and one from Netflix. WBD shares dipped about 2% on Monday morning.
The latest update follows Paramount’s move last week to reaffirm — but not raise — its $30-per-share offer for WBD. Some saw that decision as Paramount effectively throwing in the towel on its merger hopes, given that the same deal has been rejected twice by the WBD board and winning over shareholders directly is a difficult process. Monday’s disclosure appears to signal that whether it loses or not, Paramount isn’t going to make Netflix’s acquisition easy.
