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Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Companys weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here. Coming soon: The one-person, billion-dollar startup Were beginning to see a new kind of lean startup company, enabled in large part by new AI agents. Since these companies rely far less on people power, some of themthe ones addressing real market needsare achieving extraordinary revenue-per-employee numbers. AI coding tools could become major enablers of these lightly staffed AI startups, simply because theyre starting to automate software development tasks that once required a human designer or engineer. The makers of these coding tools provide early examples of such startups. We are seeing the rise of the AI-first company, where tech companies use AI and agents to complete tasks before hiring employees, says Jeremiah Owyang, general partner at Blitzscaling Ventures. A few notable examples: Anysphere, the company behind the Cursor AI coding tool, has only about 20 employees. By the end of 2024, its annual recurring revenue (ARR) had reached $100 millionroughly $5 million per employee. Now, TechCrunch reports that its ARR has surged to $300 million in 2025, bringing its per-employee revenue to $15 million. (Anysphere was named one of Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies in the Applied AI category.) The company has reportedly turned down several buyout offers, including one from OpenAI, to remain independent. Another AI coding tool maker, Windsurf (formerly known as Codeium) has reached $40 million in ARR, up from $12 million at the end of 2024. With around 170 employees, this implies a revenue-per-employee figure of approximately $235,000. OpenAI is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Windsurf for around $3 billion, or about $17 million per employee. A South Korean startup called Nari Labs, with just two employees, recently unveiled a new text-to-speech model called Dia that may outperform category leaders ElevenLabs and Sesame in terms of voice authenticity. Voice samples posted to X by the company appear to support this claim. Nari Labs has shared its model on GitHub and could potentially build a business around licensing future models. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Midjourney, the creator of the well-known text-to-image AI tool, has kept a lean profile, with only about 10 employees. PitchBook estimates that by the end of 2024, the company was generating approximately $200 million in annual recurring revenuearound $20 million per employee. A lesser-known AI company, Nexad, which develops and deploys AI-native advertising within AI applications, has just six employees but has already reached 30 million users through its chat app partnerships. Founded in 2024, the startup has secured $6 million in seed funding in a round co-led by Andreessen Horowitzs Speedrun accelerator and Prosus Ventures. This trend will only continue as companies realize they can gain efficiencies by using software for repeatable tasks, says Blitzscaling Ventures Owyang, while reserving human talent for strategy, innovation, creativity, leadership, and community. These AI-first companies are becoming more viable as AI models improve. The generative AI boom began with models that could string words together in useful ways, but only recently have models gained the ability to reason independently and work through processes with a degree of autonomy and agency. The place where this ability is having the greatest impact today is in AI coding assistants, but many expect AI agents to take over other tasks, like invoicing and customer support, that were formerly the sole province of humans. In the future, when Company A wants to buy from Company B, it could be a matter of two AI agents working together to open the business relationship. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speculated in early 2024 that because of AI agents, a billion-dollar company employing one individual might be created. In fact, Altman said he has a running bet with some of his peers on when such a unicorn might appear. That day might be coming sooner than we think. It might even go further than Altman envisions, Owyang says: In a future that once seemed like science fictionbut may be just a few years awaywe could see companies comprised entirely of AI agents, with no clear indication of whether any humans are at the helm. Why OpenAI buying Chrome could face antitrust headwinds A federal court ruled last August that Google holds a monopoly on internet search. This week, the court is working to determine a list of remedies to address that antitrust issue. Federal antitrust officials are urging Judge Amit Mehta to order Google to sell its Chrome browser, which acts as a major funnel of user traffic to Google Search. Google earns the majority of its revenue by selling ads around search results and referring users to brands when they search for products. Depending on the buyer, selling Chrome might fix one monopoly only to create another a few years down the line. OpenAIs head of ChatGPT, Nick Turley, testified that his company would be willing to purchase the popular browser, which could fetch as much as $20 billion, according to Bloomberg. That would place the browser in the hands of a company currently building its own internet search business. OpenAI licenses Bing search data and is developing its own search index. The company reportedly tried to license Googles search datathe most complete inventory of the webs contentsbut was denied. The Justice Department has also proposed requiring Google to license its search index to other search competitors. “To grow further, OpenAI needs to move beyond supplying models and start owning the customer connection,” says Info-Tech principal research director Brian Jackson. “Gaining control over a major browser like Chrome would expand its reach and create new data opportunities, while helping it better compete with Google and its Gemini platform.” OpenAI is among the first companies to offer an alternative to the classic Google search thats become almost reflexive for many webusers. Instead of returning a list of most relevant links, ChatGPT, Perplexity and other chatbots return a direct answer to a users question, in narrative form (Google has its own AI search format called AI Overviews). Instead of doing searches from Chrome (by either using the URL bar or right-clicking on search terms) Ive found that using a chatbot desktop app, which typically display a handy little prompt window triggered by a keyboard shortcut, is just as easy and often yields more useful results, depending on the type of search. A ChatGPT-optimized Chrome could provide another easy entry pointone that far more people would likely use. In that experience you might highlight something in the browser, right-click, and see a search with ChatGPT menu item where search with Google used to be. Of course, that would create a major advantage for OpenAI in search, while other AI search providers such as Google, Perplexity, and Anthropic could be put at a disadvantage. If AI search continues to grow in popularity, theres a real chance that it becomes the dominant way of searching the web at some point in the future. Does that make OpenAI the next search giant? Meta rolls out new AI features in its Ray-Ban AR glasses Im excited about Metas Ray-Ban smart glasses, both because of their stylish design (theyre not bulky or awkward), and their potential to integrate useful AI features. Meta has chosen a great feature to lead with: On Wednesday, the company began rolling out its live translation capability to smart glasses users in all markets. (The feature was first teased back in October.) In effect, people will be able to travel abroad and hold reasonably smoothif occasionally clunkyconversations with speakers of different languages. When the microphones on the glasses hear a different language, the words are sent to an AI server in the cloud, which then sends the translated words back down and through the glasses earphones. And, in a nod to on-device AI, Meta allows users to download language packs directly to the glasses, enabling offline translation without a network connection. For now, live translation supports English, French, Italian, and Spanish, with more languages on the way. Meta also seemed to move up the timeline for another AI featureLive AI, in which the AI continually watches the live view from the devices cameras in order to assist the user in things they may be doing. If it sees food preparation, the Meta assistant might offer recipes from the web or substitutes for missing ingredients, or if the user is exploring a new neighborhood it might supply mapping or navigation features. Meta now says Live AI is coming soon to general availability in the U.S. and Canada. Live AI gives a feel for how Meta has hoped AI would enhance the user experience in its smart glasses. More AI coverage from Fast Company: Microsoft thinks AI colleagues are coming soon Trump is reportedly drafting an executive order to integrate AI into public schools Broadcom is betting big on ethernet to disrupt AI workloads and data centers This startup wants to reprogram the mind of AIand just got $50 million to do it Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium.
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Even as the right to disconnect movement has picked up steam, true work-life balance is still hard to come by for many employees. Fielding emails and other work-related messages after hours continues to be the norm across workplaces, despite ample evidence that it can contribute to burnout and actually decrease productivity. Part of the issue may be that the average workday is punctuated by a mounting number of drains on productivity. A new report from Microsoft, which compiled input from 31,000 workers across more than 30 countries, sheds light on the scale of interruptions and hurdles workers are currently facing on the job, as well as the degree to which the average workday has stretched beyond traditional business hours. The price of near-constant interruptions While 53% of leaders say they want to see a spike in productivity, the overwhelming majority of employees and managers alikeabout 80% of workers globallyclaim that they don’t have the time or energy to effectively do their jobs. Employees say they are being interrupted near constantly during the workday, juggling emails, meetings, or real-time messages every two minutes. That can amount to 275 daily interruptions on the whole, when taking into account the additional time employees spend on the job beyond standard working hours. In fact, the report also captures a marked increase in the number of pings that workers receive after hours: Chats outside of the 9-to-5 window increased by 15% year over year, yielding an average of 58 messages when tallied over the course of four weeks. An expanding workday Even meetings appear to be happening around the clock, according to the report, in part because so many companies now employ people who are working across time zones. Meetings that take place after 8 p.m. had increased by 16% year over year, and 30% of meetings involve employees in different time zones. Part of this shift could also be driven by the fact that the majority of meetings60%are unscheduled and convened on an ad hoc basis. (Also of note: The number of PowerPoint edits jump by 122% in the 10 minutes leading up to a meeting, a stark contrast to PowerPoint activity in the hours prior.) What could help reduce burnout All this points to a broader disconnect between the business needs of many companies and what their workforce can reasonably accommodate, a strain that both employees and leaders seem to be feeling. According to Microsofts findings, 48% of employees and 52% of leaders claim their workload is chaotic and fragmented. The report makes the case for why companies will need to use AI agents to bridge the gap, and almost half of all leaders have already said using digital labor to augment the existing capabilities of their workforce is a top priority for the next 18 months. But AI alone wont alleviate the many pains of modern work for employees or managersand it certainly wont put a stop to superfluous meetings overnight.
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Uncertainty over tariffs and an unpredictable trade war is weighing heavily on companies as they report their latest financial results and try to give investors financial forecasts.Some tariffs remain in place against key U.S. trading partners, but others have been postponed to give nations time to negotiate. The tariff and trade picture has been shifting for months, sometimes changing drastically on a daily basis. Those shifts make it difficult for companies and investors to make a reliable assessment of any impact to costs and sales.On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the U.S. and China, but cautioned that talks between the two sides had yet to formally start.Here’s how several big companies are dealing with the tariff confusion: Chipotle Chipotle Mexican Grill said Wednesday that its costs are rising due to the tariffs.The Tex-Mex chain said it gets some beef from Australia and packaging from Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. It also sources avocados from Colombia and Peru. All are now subject to a 10% tariff.The tariffs may also impact the cost of building new restaurants, since items like shelving and parts for equipment come from China, Chipotle Chief Financial Officer Adam Rymer said during a conference call with investors. But Rymer said the impact of the tariffs on imports from China is harder to predict. This week, Trump administration officials have said they expect a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the U.S. and China.Chipotle reported weaker-than-expected revenue in the January-March period and lowered its outlook for full-year same-store sales.CEO Scott Boatwright said concern about the economy was the “overwhelming reason” consumers reduced their visits to Chipotle during the quarter. That trend has continued through April, he said. Tesla Tesla is in a better position than most car companies to deal with tariffs because it makes most of its U.S. cars domestically. But it still sources materials from other nations and will face import taxes.The bigger impact will be seen in the company’s energy business. The company said the impact will be “outsized” because it sources LFP battery cells from China.The broader trade war could also hurt the company as China, the world’s largest electric vehicle market, retaliates against the U.S. Tesla was forced earlier this month to stop taking orders from mainland customers for two models, its Model S and Model X. It makes the Model Y and Model 3 for the Chinese market at its factory in Shanghai.CEO Elon Musk, an adviser to President Donald Trump, on Tuesday reiterated that he believes “lower tariffs are generally a good idea for prosperity.” But he added that ultimately the president decides on what tariffs to impose. Akzo Nobel The Amsterdam-based maker of paints and coatings for industrial and commercial use said the big risk from tariffs could come in the form of lower demand for its products.The company said almost all sales of finished goods in the U.S. were locally produced, with the majority of raw materials locally sourced.“Over the years, we deliberately localized both our procurement and production in the U.S.,” said CEO Gregoire Poux-Guillaume, in a conference call with analysts. “We also largely run China for China and use the rest of Asia instead as an export base.”The company’s products range from paints and coatings for the automotive industry to the do-it-yourself homeowner. Broader tariffs could squeeze consumers and businesses and hurt sales. Boston Scientific The medical device maker said it expects most of the effecs of tariffs to hit the company during the second half of the year, but that it can absorb the impact.The company raised its earnings and revenue forecasts for the year, despite the tariffs. It estimates a $200 million impact from tariffs in 2025, but said it can offset that through higher sales and reductions in discretionary spending.The company said it has a long-standing supply chain around the globe and has made significant investments in the U.S. Boeing Boeing said much of its supply chain is in the U.S. and many of its imports from Canada and Mexico are exempt from tariffs under an existing trade agreement.The company does have suppliers in Japan and Italy, but it expects to recover those tariff costs. The net annual cost of higher tariffs on the supply chain is less than $500 million.A bigger concern is the potential for retaliatory tariffs, which could impact its ability to deliver aircraft. China, a key target for U.S. tariffs, has retaliated in part by no longer accepting deliveries of Boeing aircraft. AT&T AT&T, like its peers in the telecommunications sector, faces higher costs for cellphones and other equipment.The company said it believes it can manage anticipated higher costs, based on the current pause in some tariffs and its supply chain.“The magnitude of any increase will depend on a variety of factors, including how much of the tariffs the vendors pass on, the impact that the tariffs have on consumer and business demand,” said CEO John Stankey, on a conference call with analysts. Damian J. Troise, AP Business Writer
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