Aramco's VC Arm Backs Record AI Funding Round for Saudi Startup
Wa'ed Ventures participated in the round alongside lead investor Impact46. Takamol Ventures, SparkLabs and returning backers Rua Growth Fund and ARG also joined, according to a statement from Lucidya. Individual investment amounts were not disclosed.
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Forbes
13 minutes ago
- Forbes
The Current Stupid CEO Flex: Everybody's Replaceable (Including Them)
caucasian senior businessman - spooky portrait The Wall Street Journal had an interesting recent article about a change in the way executives talk about workers. What they think of as artificial intelligence has given them the confidence to say that everyone is replaceable. Wholesale elimination of jobs has been developing for at least the last decade — much longer if you consider the broader development of automation. Will new AI technologies enable even more job destruction? Certainly, but it will come at a cost and likely spread further than prudent and intelligent business strategies would allow. Possibly including their own jobs. The Myth Of Profit Maximization Chief executives typically look to improve the fortunes of a company and returns to shareholders. Many take to heart the argument Milton Friedman made in a 1970 New York Times op-ed that the 'social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.' That has been further interpreted as meaning the responsibility to maximize return on investment to shareholders. This is both legally incorrect and strategically troubling and mistaken. Experts in corporate governance have, across many years, tried to find a legal basis for the prescription. It has yet to appear. In the 2014 Supreme Court decision in 'Burwell, Secretary of Health and Huma Services, et. al. v. Hobby Lobby Stores,' the Court addressed whether a for-profit corporation could give money to religious causes. 'While it is certainly true that a central objective of for-profit corporations is to make money, modern corporate law does not require for-profit corporations to pursue profit at the expense of everything else, and many do not do so,' Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the Court.' Corporate law and governance also recognize that a company's board and executives have duties to the company. They are charged with strategy and operations for the company's benefit, with the shareholder's benefit being an offshoot. In basic calculus, math students learn that you cannot maximize for more than one variable at a time. That doesn't necessarily mean one factor cannot benefit while another does as well, but maximization mathematically means something has to come first. Everything becomes subject to that desire. Confusing People And Machines There is a peculiar attitude among executives, which has been around for a long time, that people are infinitely extensible. The signs come up with every wave of layoffs, and if you've ever been one of the people who survived a round of staff cuts, you have likely experienced this. Those left are expected to pick up and complete the extra work with neither additional pay nor schedule adjustments. Everything is supposed to be compressible. Employees are expected to contort themselves, making operations look as though they were normal. Forbes contributor Bryan Robinson discussed a study last year that noted 88% of layoff survivors experience burnout, and 25% suffer from mental and physical exhaustion. A developing and increasing trend is the desire to replace people with actual machines. Bring in not only the robots to do everything physical, but software to do everything mental. Chief executives want to make shareholders happy, which drives up share prices and the CEO's own holdings. Replace people with mechanisms to drive labor costs down and profits up. Ten years ago, I wrote about how automation was already coming for white collar jobs, including professional ones. A study at the same time said 'highly creative' professionals would remain safe. That didn't last long. When all work becomes something to be done by mechanisms — robots, artificial intelligence, or people — human needs become unimportant. Ultimately, there is only the need to cut costs, to increase profits. Three Rising Risks The decisions may seem obvious to the MBA crowd, but they bring three risks to business. One is the loss of institutional knowledge. It is people who hold the understanding of how processes work, the things a company needs to know about its customers. Again, this has been known for many decades. Lose people and you lose understanding. In theory, a company could use technology to capture and store much of this, but they don't tend to. Next is the risk of mediocrity, which is particularly true of large language model software that works on complex statistical algorithms. These products don't think. Instead, they're trained on vast examples of how words connect and then respond accordingly. What seems like intelligence is clever repetition, in a way. This brings up average responses. Furthermore, increasingly repeating what others have done undercuts creativity and innovation. The third and biggest risk is the undermining of the jobs and incomes of a growing portion of the populace. What happens when fewer and fewer people can make a good living? Who's going to buy all the products and services that companies need to sell to make their growing profits?
Bloomberg
18 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
China's Premier Takes Aim at AI ‘Monopoly' as US Effort Quickens
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Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Alcoa Corporation (AA) Reports for Q2 2025; Earnings Beat Estimates
Due to strong hedge fund interest, Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) is among the . A construction crew working on a solar energy system, revealing the company's drive for success. On July 16, 2025, Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) reported results for Q2 2025, which turned out to be a stronger-than-expected quarter. The company reported an adjusted EPS of $0.39 per share, surpassing estimates of $0.29. Meanwhile, sequential revenue went down by 10% to $3 billion. Lower alumina and aluminum prices, along with a $95 million tariff (including the 50% U.S. Section 232 tariff on Canadian aluminum), had a heavy impact, also dragging adjusted EBITDA down by $542 million to $313 million. To mitigate the tariff impact, the company is planning to reroute 100,000 or more metric tons to non-U.S. purchasers. On the strategic side, Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) closed its $1.35 billion Ma'aden JV exit on July 1, 2025, selling its 25.1% stake in the venture to Saudi Arabian Mining Company. Meanwhile, the company continued with its commitment to sustainable actions with initiatives like EcoLum sales and supply extensions with Prysmian. Looking ahead, improved alumina performance and tariff-offsetting Midwest premiums are expected in Q3. However, the company expresses caution due to power-related delays at San Ciprián. Alcoa has faced a challenging environment due to the high cost of energy at the site for an extended period. After the earnings release, on July 18, 2025, Morgan Stanley cut its price target for AA from $40 to $38, while maintaining an 'Overweight' rating, citing the company's short-term market condition and strategic outlook. With its operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Spain, the United States, and internationally, Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) is engaged in the bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminum production, and energy generation business. It is included in our list of the Best Material Stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of AA as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. Disclosure. None.
