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Epiminds, a marketing tech startup, is betting that AI can help marketers get more done.Founded by Elias Malm (ex-Google) and Mo Elkhidir (ex-Spotify) in 2025, the Swedish startup recently raised a $6.6 million seed investment led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from European funds EWOR and Entourage.”What we are building is an operating system for marketing,” Malm told Business Insider in an interview. “An independent third-party player that can do what’s best for companies, best for agencies.”Epiminds’ core technology is an AI-powered bot called “Lucy” that deploys over 20 autonomous “agents” to help with tasks like analyzing ad performance…

Investors are betting on new software tools to grapple with one of the thorniest problems in business and life — taxes. Anrok Inc., a startup helping software companies automate sales tax compliance, has raised $55 million in a Series C funding round, more than doubling its valuation to $525 million, the company told Bloomberg. Spark Capital led the round, with participation from Sapphire Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures. Anrok’s customers include a number of fast-growing AI startups, like Anthropic, Mistral and the AI coding company Cursor.Co-founder and chief executive officer Michelle Valentine previously worked at Index Ventures, where…

2025-10-21T17:05:24Z Share Facebook Email X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky WhatsApp Copy link lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Coca-Cola’s coffee business is at a crossroads. Its $5 billion acquisition of Costa Coffee hasn’t worked out as expected, its CEO said on Tuesday. Coke still views coffee as a “super attractive business,” Quincey said. Coca-Cola’s foray into coffee is losing its buzz. Now, the drink giant is rethinking…

Still from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.”NetflixNetflix is partnering with both Hasbro and Mattel to bring “KPop Demon Hunters” toys to shelves.The animated film, which debuted on the streaming service in June, has become Netflix’s most popular film of all time, with more than 325 million views worldwide. Its popularity has spurred Netflix to release it twice in theaters — once in August for a two-day weekend event and again next week around Halloween.Partnering with Mattel and Hasbro will allow Netflix to offer a suite of consumer products based around the film.Mattel will handle dolls, action figures, accessories and playsets, while…

When an AI wearable’s ad campaign sparked backlash in New York City, Heineken said: Hold my beer.Friend, the company behind an AI companion you wear around your neck, spent over $1 million to plaster the city’s subway system with 11,000 car cards, 1,000 platform posters, and 130 urban panels on September 25. New Yorkers quickly defaced the ads with graffiti like “surveillance tool” and “AI is not your friend.” A defaced Friend ad in New York City on October 3, 2025. Business Insider Within two weeks, Heineken joined the fray, launching an ad campaign of its own. Friend’s signature pendant…

Gold is trading more like a trending stock on Reddit than a haven for investors, and may have topped out after its record surge, billionaire investor Bill Gross told Business Insider.The yellow metal fell as much as 6.3% on Tuesday, suffering its worst drop in 12 years. The drop coincided with an even steeper 8.7% decline in spot silver prices.The moves suggest investors are taking profits after gold and silver’s record-setting gains this year, and perhaps acting on Gross’s latest warning.After cautioning investors in a Friday post on X to “wait awhile” if they wanted to buy gold, the Wall…

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesHBO Max is the latest streaming services to raise its prices.The streaming giant, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, announced Tuesday that it is raising prices across all plans. HBO Max’s Basic with ads plan is increasing $1 a month to $10.99, the Standard plan is going up $1.50 to $18.49, and Premium is increasing $2 to $22.99. HBO Max last raised prices in June 2024.The price hikes are effective immediately for new subscriptions. Existing monthly subscribers will be notified 30 days in advance of their plan renewing, with the new prices starting on their next…

A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.Roughly a decade ago, cryptocurrency began to show up in the residential real estate market. There were stories of the first bitcoin home sale, but really it was just people buying in the currency and then converting it back to dollars. Now crypto is being used more for leverage. Lenders…

Thomas Fuller | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesNetflix is due to report third-quarter earnings after the closing bell Tuesday.The streaming service is no longer offering investors quarterly subscriber updates, but Wall Street will be keen to hear how recent price hikes and the platform’s growing advertising tier are faring — especially as businesses across all sectors grapple with consumers tightening their purse strings.Here’s what Wall Street expects for the company’s most recent quarter: Earnings per share: $6.97, according to LSEGRevenue: $11.51 billion, according to LSEGNetflix posted major earnings beats for the first and second quarter of the year. The company noted that…

Warner Bros. Discovery, the conglomerate that owns HBO, CNN, and the Warner Bros. studio, has officially hung a “for sale” sign on itself.But wait a minute. Didn’t Paramount owners Larry and David Ellison already offer to buy WBD? So wasn’t it already for sale?Yes, they did. And yes, it was.So the right way to view WBD’s announcement Tuesday morning, where it said it would conduct “a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value” is primarily a formality: WBD has rejected Paramount’s bid to buy the company at a reported $20 a share, and wants to see if it can…