• Xiaomi's EVs are crushing it in China and wowing Western auto execs, and now they're coming to Europe.
• The company said it would begin selling its electric cars in Europe in 2027.
• Ford's CEO said last year he didn't want to give up Xiaomi's SU7 after test-driving it for six months.

Ford CEO Jim Farley's favorite Chinese EV is coming to Europe.

Speaking on an earnings call on Tuesday, Xiaomi president Lu Weibing said the smartphone giant would begin selling its electric vehicles in Europe in 2027.

The move marks the first overseas foray for Xiaomi's electric vehicles, which have proved enormously popular in China and wowed Western auto executives.

Xiaomi did not specify which of its vehicles it would introduce in Europe.

The Chinese Apple rival only launched its first vehicle, the SU7 sedan, last March, after CEO Lei Jun pushed the company to take on industry giants like BYD and Tesla.

The $30,000 SU7 quickly became a smash hit, selling more than 135,000 units last year. Xiaomi launched its second electric vehicle, the $35,000 YU7 SUV, in June, with the Model Y rival amassing over 240,000 preorders in 24 hours.

The SU7 is not available in the US thanks to high tariffs on Chinese vehicles, but that has not stopped Ford CEO Farley from becoming one of the EV's most high-profile fans.

The Detroit executive called Xiaomi an "industry juggernaut" last October. Farley said that he had been driving an SU7 that Ford flew from Shanghai to Chicago for six months, adding that he "didn't want to give it up."

Xiaomi is the latest Chinese automaker to eye expansion in Europe, as China's brutally competitive auto market continues to heat up.

Other brands like BYD and Xpeng have seen rapid sales growth in the European market. In April, BYD sold more battery EVs than Tesla on the continent for the first time.

Speaking on the earnings call, Lu Weibing said Xiaomi picked Europe as its first overseas launch because it was the "most difficult" market outside China.

Weibing added that the company would need to increase brand awareness of its electric vehicles in Europe, but said that Xiaomi's highly dedicated fan base would make this easier.

Xiaomi announced better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, with rising revenues from EV sales balancing out slowing demand for the company's smartphones.

• Although I've worked in the greeting-card industry for years, I hate most thank-you notes.
• I don't need thank-you notes for wedding or birthday gifts — they're often sent out of obligation.
• The thank-you cards that really matter come from the heart, and when they're not expected.

I have a secret: I really hate thank-you notes.

Now, for most people, that might not be the biggest deal. After all, the heyday of the greeting card has long since passed, and these days, plenty of folks don't send mail at all.

However, those people also likely didn't spend a decade working in the greeting-card industry.

There's a big difference between 'obligatory' thank-you cards and ones from the heart

Throughout my career, I've edited and written cards for places like Hallmark, American Greetings, and Lovepop.

One of the most useful things I learned was a term called "obligatory sending" — the idea that you're "required" to send certain cards if you don't want to seem rude.

Most thank-you notes fall into this category, especially the sort that get sent en masse, such as after a graduation or wedding.

Let's be clear: I'm not against gratitude, and I understand why my mom insisted I write thank-you notes as a kid.

However, in my opinion, gifts should always be about sharing something with a person you care about — not the gratitude they show in return.

Personally, I don't need a "thank you for the toaster" note after an event like a bridal shower. The hosts already invited me to share their big moment, usually throwing an elaborate party in the process.

Consider my present a "thank you for including me," and let's just call it even. (Rinse and repeat this approach with any graduations, baby showers, birthday parties, or other big shindigs.)

This doesn't mean I hate all thank-you cards, though. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

To me, the ones that matter are the ones that you were never obligated to send. They're cards from my mentees at work, sharing the ways that they've grown thanks to my help. Or ones I've received during tough times that tell me how much I've helped someone in the past and remind me I have a support system, too.

They're the thank-yous that are unexpected, but never unwanted — ones that come straight from the heart.

One experience always reminds me of the power of genuine gratitude over obligatory politeness

A few years ago, my mom was sick with terminal cancer. During chemo, she had trouble eating and drinking much of anything, and she had an intolerance for any cold or spicy foods.

By that point, my mom was reluctant to go to most restaurants. She hated feeling like a "bother" to the staff, and too often, waiters would interpret her requests for ice-free drinks and spice-free foods as high-maintenance customer nitpicking.

However, we found sanctuary when we visited a nearby Indian restaurant, Taj Palace. The welcoming staff took my mom's concerns seriously without making her feel singled out.

When the owner learned that masala chai (a type of tea) was one thing my mom could almost always enjoy, he insisted we stop by whenever it would help — and he was always ready with a cup (or several).

After my mom died, my family brought Taj Palace a card to let them know and, more importantly, to ensure they knew how much their kindness had meant to us.

Five years later, the thank-you card from my family is still on the wall, prominently displayed next to the counter.

Whenever I see it, it reminds me that even the smallest things, like a cup of tea, may have a huge impact — and that saying "thank you" really does matter, and sometimes a card is the best way to do so.

I still hate most thank-you notes, and you won't find me writing the "obligatory" sort anytime soon.

But for those who've made a real difference? Well, those are the cards that I'll always want to send.

• Stefan Mai, a former manager at Meta and Amazon, said low-performer quotas can lead to awkward moments in reviews.
• On "The Peterman Pod," he said assigning low-performer status after praising performance was what managers "are afraid of."
• "For everyone involved, most of which the actual person who's receiving that news, it can be devastating," Mai said.

Low-performer quotas can lead to some "mea culpa" moments for managers — especially if a manager has been telling their team they're all aces, says startup founder Stefan Mai.

Mai, who cofounded Hello Interview, previously worked as a senior engineering manager at Meta and a software development manager at Amazon. Both workplaces have instructed managers to be stricter in how they review employees, which has sometimes led to cuts for "low performers" or placements on performance improvement plans.

Low-performer quotas typically require managers to label a certain percentage of their teams as underperformers. The quotas can be a way for a company to push managers to expect excellence across their teams, hold stragglers accountable, and deliver the kind of critical feedback that some managers may have avoided messaging.

Those quotas can also lead to a whole lot of heartache when a manager feels their team is performing at its best, Mai said on "The Peterman Pod."

Mai described a hypothetical "worst scenario" for a manager: They've spent the lead-up to the review cycle praising their team's hard work, only to get an instruction from their director that "somebody's got to be in that low bucket."

"Now you've to go change your tack," Mai said. "Those sort of like egg-on-the-face moments are what most managers are afraid of, and they try their damnedest to try to prevent those situations."

A company tightening its performance-review process can also be a precursor to job cuts.

Three years after Mai left Meta in 2022, the company laid off 3,600 employees, or about 5% of its workforce. Many of these employees were labeled "low performers" — a title that trailed some of them after their exit. Months after the layoffs, an internal memo at Meta pushed managers to put more employees in the "below expectations" tier. For teams of 150 or more, Meta wanted managers to put 15% to 20% of employees in the bottom bucket.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees he had "decided to raise the bar on performance management" and to "move out low-performers" more quickly.

Microsoft recently employed a new strategy to handle those it viewed as poor performers, per an internal email to managers: pay them to leave.

Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson wrote that the tech giant, "like most companies," has a performance management process that "helps our managers identify who in their teams are performing well and who needs more support."

"The vast majority of our colleagues regularly meet or exceed expectations, but for the small number of employees who don't, we provide coaching and opportunities to help them improve," Stephenson wrote. "If they're unable to do that, then we may have to discuss them leaving the company."

To Mai, a good manager should be able to "message it appropriately" when employees are labeled low-performers.

"That way they're not surprised, you're not surprised," Mai said. "The structure works fairly."

Managers don't always have that level of foresight — and others are simply new to the job or "immature," as Mai put it. That's where the real pain occurs.

"People have to go 'mea culpa' with their reports," Mai said. "For everyone involved, most of which the actual person who's receiving that news, it can be devastating. It's pretty bad."

Are you a manager who navigated a low-performer quota? Contact the reporter from a non-work email and device at [email protected]

The essay "Remote work has been the best thing for me as a parent but the worst as a person" was removed after a review found it didn't meet Business Insider's standards.

The essay "I had my first kid at 45. I'm financially stable and have years of life experience to guide me" was removed after a review found it didn't meet Business Insider's standards.

• Despite Spotify's strong performance overall, its ad business is struggling.
• Ad buyers say they have been disappointed by a decline in customer service amid high staff turnover.
• Spotify hopes a raft of new ad product launches and partnerships will turn its fortunes around.

Spotify's ad business is floundering.

"We have simply been moving too slowly," CEO Daniel Ek said on the company's latest earnings call.

Spotify has said it wants advertising to make up 20% of its overall revenue. As of June, that figure stood at 11% — a share that has barely budged over time. Second-quarter ad revenue was down 0.7% versus the prior year, and media industry analyst Brian Wieser pondered in a recent note to clients whether it had plateaued.

Chris Camacho, CEO of the ad agency Cheil UK, said cracks in Spotify's ad business have been visible for some time. That contrasts with the rest of the company's relatively strong performance, with healthy growth in user numbers and overall revenue, and a stock price that's up over 100% in the last year.

"In a world demanding seamless media execution and measurable impact, Spotify has struggled to connect ambition with action," Camacho said of the company's ad efforts.

"It needs to give brands access to cultural moments, not just audio slots," he continued. "That means better content partnerships, richer storytelling formats, and measurement that proves value beyond listens."

Industry insiders say Spotify's ad efforts have been hampered by the company's focus on its subscription business, which is much more lucrative. Two ad buyers told Business Insider that Spotify's customer service has slipped recently, while podcast industry insiders said its ad rates remain low.

Spotify seems to recognize the need for change. Longtime ad head Lee Brown left last month, and the company confirmed that a search is underway for a new leader. Ek appeared to blame Brown for Spotify's ad struggles, saying on the earnings call that "execution" and not strategy led to the poor performance.

"We felt it was the right time for a leadership change," Ek added. Brown, who recently became the chief revenue officer at DoorDash, didn't respond to requests for comment.

Spotify's executives said on the recent earnings call that they want advertising to contribute more to the company's revenue.

Podcasts offer advertisers access to Spotify's Premium users — but the strategy has been messy

In some ways, Spotify has a business model that eats its own tail.

If Spotify converts too many free users into Premium subscribers, the audience for advertisers shrinks. If it makes the free offering too attractive, users won't be tempted to upgrade. Spotify's ad-supported tier serves as an important on-ramp for its Premium business — plus the $1.9 billion in ad sales it brought in last year helps toward paying its substantial royalties to music labels and other content creators. However, Premium is the sacred cash cow: Enders Analysis estimates that gross profits for Premium are around 15 to 20 times those of the advertising tier.

The company's big push into podcasts — which have ads for those on the Premium tier — offered a way to bridge that gap. It also gave advertisers the chance to reach more affluent audiences. Spotify spent more than $1 billion to acquire companies like Gimlet Media and Anchor, and signed exclusive deals with Joe Rogan and the Obamas.

Podcast executives and ad buyers told Business Insider that the podcast advertising strategy has been messy, with several pivots in its few years of operation. Spotify ended some of its original and exclusive programming, cut staff, flip-flopped its stance on areas like measurement and ad pricing floors, and made a pivot to video that is still in the early stages and has yet to prove itself as a guaranteed moneymaker.

Spotify acquired the podcast hosting and adtech company Megaphone in 2020 in a $235 million deal that was designed to help podcast publishers make more money through its advertising marketplace.

There were hiccups from the start. A former Spotify ad sales exec said there was an irony in the company attempting to sell Megaphone to podcasters as a best-in-class adtech solution while Spotify itself uses Google as its ad server.

One podcast publisher said they were getting around $8 or $9 CPMs — the cost of 1,000 impressions for a digital ad — on average through Megaphone, versus the $20 to $40 CPMs they would achieve for host-read ads. However, they acknowledged that directly sold ads usually fetch higher prices than those sold via third-party adtech, such as Spotify's. The average CPM price advertisers paid for digital audio ads in the second quarter of this year was $16.51, according to the analytics company Measured — though the final fee a podcast publisher would receive after platforms and other third parties take their cut would be smaller.

A Spotify spokesperson said the average CPM on Spotify is "far above" $9, though they declined to provide additional specifics. They said that ad revenue is influenced by macroeconomic and seasonal shifts that may impact overall CPMs. Publisher revenue generated through the Spotify Audience Network had seen double-digit growth year-over-year, the spokesperson said.

A pivot to video

Spotify has been introducing other money-making opportunities to offset volatile ad prices.

This year, as part of a big video push, it launched the Spotify Partner Program, offering creators a 50% share of the ad revenue their videos generate. It has encouraged some publishers and creators to get on board by giving them minimum revenue guarantees, though it's unclear how long those will last.

The Spotify Partner Program has been a "big win" for YMH Studios, producer of podcasts including "Your Mom's House" and "2 Bears, 1 Cave," according to the company's head of ad revenue, Alan Abdine. He said the company had seen a consistent 20% to 30% revenue lift.

Several ad buyers told Business Insider that Spotify must prove it can be a meaningful player in video.

"Video here feels like an add-on," Cheil's Camacho said. "If Spotify wants to be bold, brave, and first, it needs to reinvent what video within an audio experience could be."

A Spotify spokesperson said video podcast consumption is up 54% this year, with users who watch a podcast consuming 1.5 times as much as those who just listen. The spokesperson said it is building ways to improve the creative options available for creators, fans, and advertisers, such as audio-to-video playback, built-in community tools, better on-platform analytics, and new monetization models like the Spotify Partner Program.

Customer service takes a slide

Some advertisers have been put off by Spotify's increasing focus on automated ad buying and by high turnover in the company's ad sales staff.

Spotify cut 2,300 jobs through three rounds of layoffs in 2023. Last year, it axed 40 positions and 17 open roles in its ad and campaign management teams.

Dan Granger, CEO of the audio ad agency Oxford Road, said getting a response from the Spotify team could take days versus a matter of hours from other partners, and that many of its accounts were handled offshore.

The Spotify spokesperson said the company prides itself on its customer service and aims to respond to advertisers within three to six hours, with the goal of resolving any issues or queries within 48 hours. They added that Spotify has dedicated customer service managers and client partners for every direct sales account.

Granger said his agency had experienced consistency issues when Spotify inserted ads into podcast streams. Sometimes, ads are clustered in a short burst instead of being paced evenly, eroding a campaign's performance. Ad prices had recently jumped without a commensurate increase in the value they delivered, Granger said, adding that Spotify's measurement offering was "inhospitable" for brands.

In an August note to clients, analysts from Arete Research said they questioned whether Spotify "has the DNA of an ads company, or whether ads are simply a way to spur users into paying for Premium."

This dynamic isn't lost on the ad community.

"Spotify just doesn't prioritize the needs of the advertising community the way it does that of its subscriber business," Granger said.

Spotify is pinning its hopes on 2026 being a better year for the ad business

Some in the ad industry think Spotify can turn its fortunes around.

Spotify has made a raft of announcements in the last year. Among them, it launched the Spotify Ad Exchange, which lets customers buy ads using demand-side platforms, an in-house creative lab, and a generative AI tool to help advertisers create audio ads. It hopes these rollouts will help turn the dial for its ads business by 2026.

Will Doherty, senior vice president of inventory partnerships at The Trade Desk, said Spotify's decision to partner with adtech companies gives ad buyers more choice and control versus rival "walled garden" Big Tech platforms from whom they can only buy directly. The Trade Desk is a Spotify Ad Exchange partner.

Doherty said moves like these put Spotify's ad business in a position to grow.

"From a technical standpoint, Spotify is pretty sophisticated," Doherty said. "It takes time for any business to consolidate and unify an ad stack on a global scale, while managing the various partnerships needed to grow and be successful."

• Aalo Atomics secured $100 million to develop mass-manufactured nuclear reactors.
• The startup aims to mass-produce small modular reactors to power data centers amid the AI boom.
• Valor Equity Partners led the round, with participation from Harpoon Ventures and Alumni Ventures.

One Austin-based startup may have the answer to a crucial problem that the AI industry is still stuck on: how to power it all.

Aalo Atomics says the answer isn't the hulking nuclear plants of decades past. Instead, it's betting on mass-manufactured smaller reactors built to sit beside the data centers they'll fuel.

That pitch earned the company a hefty check. Aalo recently closed a $100 million Series B, CEO Matt Loszak told Business Insider. Valor Equity Partners led the round, and Harpoon Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and others participated, bringing Aalo's total funding to north of $136 million.

The startup's trajectory shows just how tightly AI and energy are now linked. Aalo CEO Matt Loszak said he cofounded the startup "hand-in-hand" with the AI boom.

"When we started the company, we had data centers high up on our list," he told Business Insider. "Very rapidly, we were like, 'OK, we have to focus the entire company around this.'"

Loszak and Yasir Arafat, the company's chief technology officer, founded Aalo in 2023 to make mass-manufactured nuclear power plants. The company's main product is the Aalo Pod, a small modular reactor built to power data centers. Aalo says one Pod can power roughly 50,000 homes, or one data center, Loszak said.

"Nuclear really is the ultimate underdog," Loszak said. He called it "the most misunderstood technology I've ever seen in my life," citing skepticism of the safety of nuclear power.

In August, the Department of Energy selected Aalo to test the company's experimental power plant Aalo-X, which it plans to complete construction for in 2026, at Idaho National Laboratory under the Trump administration's Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program. This program aims to speed up testing of advanced reactor designs and authorize deployment at sites beyond national labs.

Aalo isn't the only company getting a boost from Washington. Ten nuclear companies—including Antares Nuclear, Radiant Industries, Valar Atomics, and Sam Altman-backed Oklo—have been tapped for the DOE's initiative.

Big Tech companies have also increasingly become interested in leveraging nuclear power to fuel AI ambitions.

Aalo plans to take its technology global

Aalo aims to eventually take its factory-built model global. In the future, Aalo hopes to mass-produce reactors in large facilities like its 40,000 square-foot Austin factory, ship them to sites around the world, and assemble them on location. Over time, Loszak said, the company hopes to work with a network of partner developers who would handle installation and operation of the Aalo Pods.

For now, the company hopes to partner with customers "willing to pay a premium because they value the speed," Loszak said, namely, cloud giants with data center projects in the works. The company declined to disclose which hyperscalers it's working with.

Aalo also plans to eventually "bring costs as low as possible to help bring more energy to everyone," Loszak said. Ultimately, it aims to cut energy costs to around three cents per kilowatt hour, though Aalo's prices are currently higher than this, Loszak said. Energy costs can vary greatly depending on location, and electricity across all sectors in the US averages about 13 cents per kilowatt hour as of May 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Aalo will use the new funding to double its staff, growing from about 60 employees now to 120 within the next year. It will focus on hiring engineers and manufacturing talent. That's a sharp increase for a startup that was just Loszak and Arafat less than two years ago.

Betting on nuclear power

Loszak's interest in nuclear power is personal. He said he developed asthma while growing up in Canada due to coal-plant smog. Once the country expanded nuclear power, though, Loszak said his symptoms disappeared.

"Lo and behold, smog days went to zero, and my asthma went away," Loszak said. "I thought, 'my God, this technology is incredible.'"

Previously, Loszak cofounded Humi, an HR software startup that Employment Hero acquired for over $100 million in January.

Arafat, Aalo's cofounder and CTO, brings the nuclear chops. He started his career at Westinghouse Electric Company and later worked on MARVEL, an advanced nuclear reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory. Arafat earned his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University.

"When I met him, I just knew he was the right guy to partner with. We had really similar values, a similar vision for what nuclear should become, and even a similar sense of humor, which is important because we spend a lot of time together," Loszak said of Arafat.

Loszak said Aalo's investor, Valor, is a "special partner" for the startup because of its relationships with big data center projects.

Valor backed Elon Musk's xAI in a $6 billion Series B in 2024, and the investment firm is in talks with lenders to secure up to $12 billion for xAI's plan to buy a large sum of Nvidia chips for a new mega-sized data center, The Wall Street Journal reported in July. Valor also participated in AI infrastructure company Crusoe's $600 million Series D in late 2024.

• After almost 10 years in tech, Melody Koh wants to leave the industry.
• Her first few years in tech were marked by innovation and good rewards, she said.
• But Koh believes the industry is now in a downward spiral due to layoffs and efficiency pushes.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 28-year-old Melody Koh, a product designer from Germany. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I've worked in tech for just under 10 years. The first half of my career and the second half tell completely different stories.

I built a career as a product designer working for startups, but my career has dipped since 2021.

After being laid off in May 2025, I was unemployed for over two months. In August, I landed an opportunity to work as a contractor on product design for an e-commerce company.

It's tech-adjacent, but since the focus is more on retail, I'm hoping it can help me eventually pivot away from the tech industry.

I don't want to work in tech anymore. The industry has been moving in a downward spiral, with layoffs becoming common and companies being less generous.

I don't think that the tech job market is going to get better.

I built a career in tech, focused on design

I studied experience and product design at a polytechnic in Singapore.

I was learning to design spaces and furniture, but I grew interested in digital design, such as user experience (UX) design. My tech career began with freelance work for a few start-ups during my studies. I built up my portfolio designing for apps and websites, and went on to work at tech startups after finishing my diploma in 2017.

Digitalization was a big deal at the time. I felt there would be a lot of demand for my skills and a good industry to build my career.

Between 2018 and 2022, I worked for a few startups focused on crypto and blockchains, where I learned a lot about the technology behind those kinds of products. There were always interesting design problems to solve. In 2021, I relocated to Europe, where I live now, for a fintech role.

In 2022, I lost my job due to an insolvency. After that, I worked for a data company, a Danish fintech unicorn, and then pivoted to an EdTech company, but I was laid off from the EdTech in May 2025.

The tech industry is in a downward spiral

When I first started working in tech, there was a lot of innovation and discovery around products, and I was building a lot of new things.

Nowadays, many product playbooks are already made. There are also more resources designers can implement into their own work, but it feels like you're mimicking something that already exists.

Being a designer gets diluted when you're not creating anything new.

In my experience, founders were more generous with their funding than they are now. Hard work used to be well-rewarded, but now, I don't think startup employees see good rewards.

Earlier in my career, we'd always celebrate something good happening by going for team lunches or team trips. This has been less common for me recently.

It wasn't like we got everything we wanted, but there was a work-hard, play-hard environment.

When I moved from the unicorn I was working at to my last job at an EdTech company, I took a pay cut — partly because I wanted to make an impact in the education space.

Efficiency pushes are hurting employees

I don't think changes have happened because there's less money in the industry. I think it's because companies are trying to become more efficient. They're cutting fat, and employees are getting the short end of the stick.

My friends at corporate companies get job stability, a clear career progression, and corporate discounts. They may make less money than I do, but they can use their job stability to build wealth. Meanwhile, I've been in and out of employment during my career. Since finishing my diploma in 2017, I've worked for six tech startups.

Years ago, if you weren't happy with your pay, you could leave and find another job.

It was never easy to find a job in tech — you need technical knowledge — but nowadays, it feels like the amount of talent saturation makes it harder to land roles. It's switched from an employee's market to an employer's market.

Companies overhired during COVID. I lost my job to insolvency in 2022. The industry was never the most stable, but since 2022, I feel like layoffs have become so common that it's almost impossible not to get laid off.

I'm seriously considering leaving tech

I don't regret my career in tech. I've been challenged, and I've grown a lot as a designer.

After being laid off in May, I was job-searching for three months. I applied to around 60 jobs, but received a lot of rejections before landing my current role.

I've been working on multiple side projects, including writing on Medium and starting a product studio. I plan to continue working on these in conjunction with my new job.

I'm considering what I should do next. I would probably like to focus on designing physical products instead of digital ones.

It will be difficult to convince me to work for tech companies. I don't think it's worth it.

Do you have a story to share about working in tech? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• Russia has expanded its drone operations with new launch sites, satellite imagery shows.
• Recent images of three bases in Russia show infrastructure to support drone launches and storage.
• The developments appear to reflect Russia's increasing investment in its drone operations.

Russia has expanded its one-way attack drone operations, building out launch sites and storage facilities across the country, new satellite images and research show.

Captured in recent weeks by Maxar Technologies and reviewed by Business Insider, the new images reveal apparent launch rails, runways, and hardened shelters, as well as what looks like Shahed-style drones at three key bases used to stage attacks.

Russia has dramatically scaled up the production and launch rates of the Geran-2, a one-way attack drone modeled after the Iranian-designed Shahed-136. These deadly weapons, packed with explosives, have been used nightly in widespread strikes against Ukrainian cities.

The expanded infrastructure seen at the three bases — namely Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Navlya, and Tsimbulova — appears to reflect Russia's growing investment in its highly destructive drone operations.

Brady Africk, an open-source intelligence analyst who has closely tracked and researched these drone base developments, explained to Business Insider that construction of the expanded drone infrastructure at the three bases began last year.

Africk said that the construction at three launch sites at Primorsko-Akhtarsk air base, located in Russia's southeastern Krasnodar Krai region along the Sea of Azov, began in November 2024, in line with efforts to build hardened storage shelters there, too.

Ukraine has repeatedly attacked Primorsko-Akhtarsk. Kyiv's internal security agency, known as the SBU, said at the start of August that it used drones to strike the base because it was used to store and launch Shaheds.

Kyle Glen, an investigator at the UK-based Centre for Information Resilience who monitors Russian drone operations, told Business Insider that Primorsko-Akhtarsk is one of the main launch sites for attacks against Ukraine.

Further north, in Russia's Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, Russia began construction work at the Navlya nase last July. Africk said that the site, like others, has launch positions and drone storage areas.

In the neighboring Oryol region, Russia began construction at its base at Tsimbulova in September 2024. The site has a long stretch of road for launching drones from moving vehicles; Russian media released footage last month showing Shahed-style drones launching from pickup trucks there.

Africk said the launch sites like the ones at Navlya and Tsimbulova require a smaller footprint than a full-fledged air base, so they are harder to find and target. They also have both the infrastructure for launching drones and storage areas to protect them.

"This makes stifling Russia's launches of waves of drones a difficult matter in terms of timing," he explained. "By the time Ukraine is aware of drone launches, the more pressing issue becomes shooting down ones in flight rather than targeting the launch sites suspected of sending them."

The Iranian-designed Shahed is a one-way attack drone, or loitering munition, that can fly hundreds of miles and linger over an area before diving down toward its target and exploding on impact, with devastating effects.

Russia started using the Iranian-made Shaheds to attack Ukraine in 2022 and then opened up a factory the following year to produce them at home. The Yelabuga plant — over 1,000 miles from the Ukrainian border in the Tatarstan region — now makes an estimated 5,000 drones each month.

The Yelabuga operations have allowed Russia to rapidly scale up production without having to rely on Iran. The larger inventory has been underscored in recent months by massive drone attacks against Ukraine, regularly involving hundreds of Shahed-style drones. Western assessments suggest Moscow may soon be able to launch 2,000 in a single night.

"We've seen Russia's capacity to launch these one-way attack drones increase in tandem with its capacity to produce them domestically," Africk said, stressing that there are believed to be additional launch sites beyond the three known ones.

Britain's defense ministry said last week that Russia launched some 6,200 one-way attack drones at Ukraine in July, a new monthly high that surpassed June's tally by an estimated 600. But the scale of attacks seems to have subsided in August.

Glen, citing Ukrainian Air Force figures, said that as of Tuesday morning, Russia has launched nearly 1,700 drones at Ukraine so far in August — compared to around 4,500 by this point in July and 3,500 in June.

"It's unlikely that it's any kind of capacity issue for Russia," he said, suggesting that Moscow may have been exercising some self-restraint in the lead-up to last week's meeting in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump.

Monday night, however, marked the largest attack of the month by a lot. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 270 drones from various directions, including Primorsko-Akhtarsk. Glen said it was almost double the number of the next-biggest attack in August.

The attack, though, was much smaller than some in July — one consisted of at least 700 drones — but it came on the heels of a high-stakes meeting between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European leaders at the White House.

"That kind of shows how much of Russia has been almost restraining themselves," Glen said. "Whether that continues will be interesting to see."

• I moved from my hometown of Los Angeles to Phoenix in June 2022 for my job.
• The heat was miserable, and I had a hard time making friends in a new city.
• When I was passed over for a promotion, I realized I'd made a mistake.

When my employer relocated offices from Los Angeles to Phoenix during COVID, I had a life-changing choice: leave the company or leave the city I'd spent nearly my entire life in and considered home.

I'd been at the company for five years, and it felt like I had invested too much time and energy to walk away and start over.

It was also the middle of COVID, and seemingly every day there was a new news article about the changing economy and rumors of companies downsizing in order to maintain operations. I wondered if I left, how long it would take to find work again.

Most employees at the Los Angeles location worked remotely. However, my responsibilities required me to go into the office. So, while the company didn't say that choosing to stay or go would affect employment, I knew my role would likely change or be in jeopardy if I didn't relocate.

Plus, I was the third most senior person in my office — my US manager had decided to leave, and the next direct manager was in New Zealand. No one else had decided to transition to Phoenix, so I thought this could be my chance at a leadership and management opportunity since the new location would be staffed with all-new onboarded employees whom I could guide and train.

I felt excited at the prospect of showing off my knowledge and abilities, so I took the plunge and chose to relocate to Phoenix.

I was dedicated to the cause

During the relocation period, I helped disassemble the office and coordinated the transportation of furniture and equipment while also searching for housing for myself.

Using my vacation days and my own funds, I drove to Phoenix to see several potential options before deciding on an apartment complex.

My company provided me a small stipend to cover half of my moving costs, and the remainder I paid out of my savings.

I quickly realized Phoenix wasn't where I belonged

I had never spent more than a few days in Phoenix at a time. When I moved there full-time, it was the height of summer: June 2022. The extreme heat was miserable.

I spent almost all my time indoors, in stark contrast to my life in Los Angeles, where I spent the summer outside exploring the city.

While some of the attractions were nice, they primarily focus on the outdoors and nature, with hiking trails and urban parks, but I wasn't about to do that in 100+ degree weather.

I tried the few museums and art galleries that caught my interest, but found them underwhelming. They didn't feel vibrant or active and had very few visitors when I went on the weekends or a US holiday. What I had hoped for, I suppose, was an opportunity to meet people with other common interests, but nobody seemed that interested in this kind of activity.

Moving in your mid-30s makes it challenging to meet new people and develop a core friendship group. I went to local meetup events and even joined a kickball league for a single season, but nothing clicked with the people I met. I was an outsider awkwardly trying to connect with others who had spent years or their entire lives here.

So, in the end, most of my time in Phoenix, I spent on my own.

The straw that broke my back and made me question my choice

I was willing to look past the weather and loneliness because these felt like minor sacrifices for the chance to grow at my company. However, when I was passed over for a promotion that came up eight months after I relocated, I realized I had made a mistake.

I felt like I was doing above average at my position. I was assisting other departments that had junior members. I was taking on additional tasks that were technically not my responsibility. That, on top of relocating, I believed I'd earned this promotion.

However, most of the company's upper management was located outside the country, which made it more difficult for me to pitch myself for a raise and title bump.

When I was passed over, I even spoke to several colleagues about transferring to other departments where I could develop new skills and have different opportunities. Instead, I was told there were no openings, and I received no support from leadership to facilitate a transition.

Being passed over was a complete wake-up call for me

I had uprooted my life and committed to a company that I now felt had no continued interest in developing my skills or working toward my career growth.

No one said it directly, but reading between the lines and the subtle gestures told me that this was as far as I could go in the company.

It felt as if the company had never intended to help my career growth and just wanted me to stay in my lane and do the job I was hired for — no more, no less.

I quit and moved back home. Lesson learned.

Two weeks after I was passed over for promotion in February 2023, I put in my notice and started planning my move back to Los Angeles for March. Taking my final paycheck and cashing in my saved vacation time, I returned home.

I felt like those eight months in Phoenix had resulted in no accomplishments or personal growth. The entire time, I was just going through the usual motions.

It was a repeated cycle of chasing the 9-5 that I had slowly come to regret. I had saved a little money but had no new worthwhile experiences, friendships, or romantic relationships. I walked away with a valuable lesson, though.

I learned to prioritize my needs over those of the company I work for. Moving forward, I now seek a better work-life balance, and reflect on those days in Phoenix, so I don't fall into that kind of life again.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy wore an all-black suit to the White House, a shift from his usual style.
• Image consultants say it was a calculated and strategic choice, giving him credibility and gravitas.
• They explained how to dress for high-stakes meetings, from wearing neutrals to investing in quality pieces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a departure from his usual military garb, suited up for his meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday.

Since the start of the Russian invasion, Zelenskyy switched out formal suits for military outfits, including cargo pants and crew-neck T-shirts. He previously said he would wear these clothes until the war ended.

The Ukrainian president's last outfit at a White House meeting — a long-sleeved black shirt with a mandarin collar in February — wasn't well received by some Republicans.

But on Monday, he arrived at the White House in an all-black suit — no tie — for his meeting with Trump and European leaders.

Trump was quick to comment on the new look. When a right-wing journalist who previously criticized Zelenskyy told the leader that he looked "fabulous" in the suit, Trump added, "I said the same thing."

Whether in politics or the corporate world, showing up in the right outfit can make or break how a message is received.

Fashion and image consultants told Business Insider that Zelenskyy's choice to suit up underscored that when the stakes are high, dressing formally can earn credibility and keep the focus where it belongs.

The black suit was a calculated choice

Zoë Hennessey, a Los Angeles-based fashion stylist, said Zelenskyy's upgraded look headed off criticism that might have overshadowed the purpose of his visit.

"Trump and his aides clearly noticed the change, since they commented on it, and I imagine it helped Zelenskyy gain some favor," she said.

"Sometimes you have to give people what they expect, even if it feels like a compromise," Hennessey said.

Ann Vodicka, a Sydney-based image consultant, said that a suit broadcasts power. And black communicates strength, sophistication, and seriousness.

"Zelenskyy's attire reinforced his message: He is to be taken seriously, and the meeting's importance cannot be overstated," Vodicka added.

However, Anna Avuziak, a Singapore-based stylist, said Zelenskyy's refusal to wear a tie was significant.

"The absence of a classic cut and a tie added another layer: 'Yet I still remain who I am — the president of a country in the middle of a full-scale war,'" Avuziak said.

Dress to impress, not to stand out

Hennessy said standing out and showing personality make sense in industries like fashion, entertainment, and the arts. However, most corporate environments still favor understated dressing, she said.

"You can still look interesting and show a point of view, but it is usually better to stick to traditional dress conventions."

Vodicka said workers have to balance blending in and standing out.

"Dressing to blend in too much can make you appear forgettable, while dressing to stand out too much risks being seen as unprofessional or distracting," she said.

She said a sweet spot is to express individuality through subtle details like a modern cut, a well-chosen accessory, or a color that suits you.

What to wear for important meetings

Vodicka said that in high-stakes meetings or interviews, how you dress has a powerful impact on how you feel and are perceived.

She recommends trying to "match or slightly elevate the dress code."

"Being underdressed can leave you feeling self-conscious and can distract others from your message," Vodicka said.

She also advised prioritizing quality over quantity by investing in fewer high-quality pieces instead of many ill-fitting ones.

Avuziak said that polished fabrics like fine wool and poplin cotton can elevate the outfit, instead of denim, knitwear, and cheap polyester.

Avoiding a baggy fit will also help an outfit look better, Avuziak said. That means going for structured bags over shapeless totes, blazers over cardigans, and pointed-toe kitten heels over ballet flats.

Still, comfort is key if you want to look and feel your best and not get distracted, she added.

"So if your skirt or trousers look chic but the fabric is itchy or the cut is too snug, let them go," Avuziak said.

Hennessy said dressing to impress was simple. Wear clothes that fit properly — nothing too tight or skimpy. The outfit should also be spotless and well-pressed, she said.

She recommended wearing neutrals, which look polished and professional.

"I would avoid dramatic prints and bright colors. It may feel a bit boring, but in certain situations, playing it safe often works best," she said.

• Air Canada's flight attendants have ended a three-day strike that led to thousands of flight cancellations.
• It comes after a tense battle that saw the union refuse to go back to work despite government orders.
• Analysts estimated that the strike could cost Air Canada up to $289 million.

Air Canada flight attendants are going back to work after agreeing to a deal that ends a tense strike that led to over 2,700 flights being canceled.

After negotiations restarted Monday night, the union announced early Tuesday that it had reached a tentative agreement after mediation had concluded.

It added that the union worked through the night, from 7 p.m. to 4:23 a.m.

The Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) represents over 10,000 cabin crew members at the flag carrier and its low-cost subsidiary, Air Canada Rouge.

Almost all of the airline's 700 daily flights have been canceled since the strike began in the early hours of Saturday morning, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Per data from FlightAware, 2,733 flights operated by the airline and Air Canada Rouge have been canceled since the strike began.

In a research note, analysts at Raymond James estimated that the strike would impact the airline's third-quarter earnings by 150 million to 400 million Canadian dollars ($109 million to $289 million). It did not specify what timeframe for the strike it based these estimates on.

Air Canada on Monday suspended its guidance for the third quarter and the full year, which it had reported in late July.

Earlier this month, 99.7% of CUPE members voted to strike if necessary.

CUPE said Air Canada withdrew from the bargaining table last Tuesday, and the union issued a notice of its intent to strike the following day.

After flight attendants walked off the job early Saturday, Canada's jobs and families minister, Patty Hajdu, ordered the flight attendants back to work.

As the union refused, the Canada Industrial Relations Board then ruled the strike illegal.

"We will not be returning to the skies this afternoon," CUPE national president Mark Hancock said at a news conference on Monday, CBC reported. "If it means folks like me going to jail, then so be it," he added.

The union was fighting for pay increases and compensation for flight attendants' work before takeoff.

Details of Tuesday's tentative agreement have not yet been revealed, but the union is about to present it to members.

Air Canada previously said it had offered pay increases worth 38% over four years, but the union said this didn't account for inflation and was actually worth 17.2% over four years.

It also said the airline had offered 50% pay for some duties on the ground, but the union wanted full hourly pay for these.

In a Tuesday statement, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau said it may take over a week to fully restore operations, with crew and aircraft out of position.

"The suspension of our service is extremely difficult for our customers. We deeply regret and apologize for the impact on them of this labour disruption," he said. "Our priority now is to get them moving as quickly as possible."

Air Canada also said it will not comment on the tentative agreement until the ratification process is complete.

• John Stringer, a Bay Area resident, started Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley in 2018.
• Stringer grew the organization to 6,000 members and 1.2 million followers on X.
• He sees Elon Musk as a "visionary" and says the media is wrong about the CEO and his companies.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with John Stringer, a Bay Area resident who started Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I was first exposed to Tesla back in 2018.

Traffic in the Bay Area is horrendous. At the time, I was driving about two hours a day in my Toyota Scion from San Jose to San Mateo, and it was just painful. You're working at a stressful job, but you're already wound up by the time you get in the car because you have to deal with idiotic drivers.

My goal was to get an electric vehicle because it would give me access to the carpool lane and the EV tax credit.

That's when my wife told me about Tesla.

I started to look into the company, and my friend allowed me to drive his Model 3. After experiencing Autopilot, I just knew: This is the future.

A Tesla would drive for me 90% of my commute so that I could relax and enjoy the journey. And to see how the app was integrated into the car and how the vehicle communicated with my phone and vice versa, I saw how Tesla was a software-first company.

In 2018, there was no car even close to the integration of the software that Tesla had. And then to have the side mirrors collapse as you walk away from the car — it just kind of felt James Bond-ish. It was a no-brainer. It was like it would be dumb for me not to make the move.

My first Tesla was a metallic silver Model 3, long range.

Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley is born

After I bought the car, I got on Twitter in July of 2018 to connect with other owners.

One of the most powerful things about Twitter, now X, is that stuff breaks there, and it's kind of like the world's discourse. I started to see all these insane articles about Tesla, and I thought, "I drive the car. That's not true."

You see all this insane amount of hate, so you're like, "Okay, how do you not jump on board and really just help tell the story of what this company is?"

In October 2018, I started the Silicon Valley chapter of the Tesla Owners program — a community of Tesla owners that's officially partnered with the company.

One requirement for Tesla to officially recognize your club is to get 25 VINs. So, I literally went to my neighbors and friends to start the club.

The mission is obviously aligned with Tesla's, just building awareness of sustainability. But also community building.

Today, we have about 6,000 members. We have also partnered with some of the other clubs in Northern California, for an overall umbrella of 10,000 in the region.

We're the largest Tesla club in North America, but we also have the largest digital presence of any Tesla group. Our social media channels have two and a half million followers. We've also conducted three interviews with Elon Musk for a total of six and a half hours—not that anyone's counting.

In a lot of ways, we've become the global voice of the Tesla community.

A lot of our members are environmentally-friendly people, tech enthusiasts, and early adopters who want to drive the best tech. Some of our original members were Model S and X owners, who paved the way for Model 3 owners. And then we have a plethora of members who are on the younger side who came in with the more affordable Model 3.

A lot of our members are also Democrats. You will have some people who are not as involved and are not fans of the things Elon Musk is doing in politics. It's been insane to see the left attack their own base. To say that our group is a MAGA group would be ridiculous.

Around 2019, I also started to invest in Tesla for all the reasons I first bought the car, and for the safety aspect that I discovered later. The fact that my car is recording 24/7 saved me from a hit and run a year after I bought my car.

To believe in Tesla is to believe in Elon

For me, to believe in Tesla is to also be excited about what Elon Musk is doing for the company and what he brings to the table. If I'm an investor in Tesla and I'm not a fan of Elon Musk, I'm probably going to get out. Why would you put your money into the guy who's driving the ship?

So, for me, where Tesla's headed and what Elon's doing are pretty tied together. When you get someone like Elon, there's a whole ecosystem that comes with it — a network of people who will come and work for his company and an opportunity to work with the brightest person, entrepreneur, and engineer of our lifetime.

It's super exciting to think about where the company is today and where it's going — the humanoid robots, the robotaxis.

Elon also made these great products by receiving feedback from the Tesla community. We're not an echo chamber. Why would we be sitting here shilling the biggest, richest man in the world? He's not paying us.

Has he been way too optimistic about when Full Self-Driving is going to be here? 100%. But I was the first public beta tester for FSD, so I knew it was going to be a growing process.

Elon's a visionary. The dude sees 10 years into the future, and he thinks things could be done in a week. He's probably oversimplifying problems. But I've been in the same room with him for four hours in Austin and have done two virtual interviews with him. I've literally seen this guy do math and solve problems in his brain in real time.

But I also don't need to prove anything about Elon to anybody. Just look at the results. He created a trillion-dollar company.

• Trump's second term has helped fuel European spending for AI, defense, and climate startups.
• VCs and founders told Business Insider that Europe is now embracing so-called tech sovereignty.
• European startups like Mistral are focusing on developing their own AI infrastructure.

"Make Europe's tech ecosystem great again" might not fit on a Trump campaign badge, but it's something he might unintentionally be delivering on.

At least, that's what investors and founders on the continent are betting on as the US has become more protectionist with its economic policies and a less reliable ally for Ukraine.

It's spurred investors in Europe to put more capital into defense startups, and tech companies and politicians to embrace so-called tech sovereignty in areas like AI and climate.

"There's been a shift in deployment targets," Flavia Levi, a deep tech VC at Europe-based Join Capital, told Business Insider. "Now, we're talking about how money should be going into strengthening the critical technologies of Europe."

European founders and investors also sense an opportunity.

Six months into his second term, Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and his "Big Beautiful Bill" have unsettled the US tech sector. They have slashed funding for clean energy projects, inflated manufacturing costs for hardware startups, and complicated visa requirements for global talent entering the country.

Investors are backing Europe's defense startups

Globally, defense tech has been a top focus for investors in 2025 — but especially so in Europe. Last year, defense startups on the continent raised a banner $2.4 billion, per PitchBook data. This year, they've already clinched $2.11 billion — with notable raises coming from the likes of Helsing and Quantum-Systems.

The Trump administration's unpredictable relationships with Ukraine and NATO have been "a further wake-up call for the European continent to seek military and economic independence," said Alexander Lange, general partner at VC fund Inflection. He added that it's galvanizing a whole generation of founders to pursue "meaningful challenges in energy, compute infrastructure, manufacturing, and defense."

Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2022 reminded Europe that war is a tangible reality on the continent, Matthew Wright, UK lead at defense tech startup Delian, told Business Insider.

"Trump accelerated a lot of the thinking that was in place already," Wright said. "It encouraged European governments to spend more on defense so they don't have to rely on the US or third parties."

Trump's bashing of ESG policies may have also indirectly influenced investors' approaches to European defense tech startups.

"Historically, there has not been a lot of money in defense tech, because a lot of VCs and sometimes LPs have clauses whereby they agree not to invest in defense," said Levi. Limited partners, which provide capital for VCs, have historically gravitated to companies that "tick off ESG boxes," instead of building weapons — but this has started to change, she added.

"LPs have started to change their investment thesis, and they're removing these clauses so VC funds have more freedom to invest in defense-related technologies," she said.

VCs are championing European tech sovereignty

Defense isn't the only sector getting extra investor attention in the Trump 2.0 era.

This year, European government leaders such as France's Emmanuel Macron and the UK's Keir Starmer have committed billions in funding toward national AI ventures, often around "AI sovereignty" — the idea that a country or region should have control over the governance of its AI technologies and infrastructure.

At London Tech Week in June, Arthur Mensch, the cofounder and CEO of OpenAI rival Mistral, said that trade tensions between the US and Europe had "accelerated conversations" about Europe becoming less dependent on US tech infrastructure. That same week, the Paris-based startup announced a partnership with Nvidia to establish sovereign computing infrastructure in France.

Europe has also been stepping up in response to Stargate, the US's $500 billion AI infrastructure project announced in January, Roxanne Varza, director of startup incubator Station F, previously told Business Insider.

At the February AI Summit in Paris — weeks after Trump announced Stargate in the White House — key corporations, VCs, and founders pledged to invest up to $150 billion in capital into Europe's AI ecosystem over the next five years.

It's a significant amount of capital for Europe, whose startups have long lagged behind their US counterparts when securing VC funding. Critics attribute this gap to the continent's stringent regulations and fragmented ecosystem. In 2024, startups on the continent raised $51 billion in VC funding — trailing the $190 billion secured by US startups the same year.

Trump's industrial policy is also causing ripple effects for climate startups in the US. Many are eyeing Europe as a haven for climate tech innovation and government funding at a time when federal funding for clean energy programs is being slashed.

In all, founders and VCs in Europe are banking on a "historic opportunity" to establish a more coherent identity and strategy in the global technology race, said Julien Codorniou, general partner at 20VC. "We must position ourselves as a refuge for anyone who believes in technology, science, progress, and meritocracy."

• I'm a digital clutter coach, but my work had never hit close to home until my dad passed away.
• When he did, I was glad that I'd taken steps ahead of time to be organized.
• Saving his logins, organizing a Dropbox, and keeping his phone active helped during a tough time.

I never imagined that being organized in my digital life would help my family during one of our toughest times.

My father had Parkinson's disease for many years. But in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, it got worse, fast.

He was suddenly adding extra zeros to checks, looking for the TV remote in the coat closet, and he got lost driving to the grocery store four blocks away. (That was the last time he drove.)

My way of coping with his sudden decline was to kick my organizational skills into overdrive. Though I'm a digital clutter coach by profession, it had never hit this close to home.

Here's what I did that made an extremely difficult time easier for me and my family.

I got a clear picture of his assets and organized his documents digitally

I worked with him (as much as he was able) and my mom to gather all of the financial statements, wills, powers of attorney, insurance policies, health directives, medicines, and more.

I saved these files in Dropbox so that they could be accessed from anywhere and easily shared with others. (Another great option is Trustworthy, which has certified experts who can help gather all of these documents into one user-friendly hub.)

Taking it a step further, I shared those documents pre-emptively with his healthcare providers, banks, insurance companies, and more to ensure I could speak to them on his behalf.

I used my phone as a scanner and a fax machine

When my dad ultimately passed in November of 2020, we found ourselves signing slews of documents and faxing dozens of death certificates.

My phone became a powerful tool that I could use on the go, whether I was at the funeral home, the bank, or my mom's house.

I used my phone to scan documents directly into Dropbox, but one of the most surprising and helpful things was using it to fax.

I learned quickly that many banks and insurance companies do things "old school." I sent faxes via a phone app called GeniusFax. It was super affordable and saved me the stress of running around town trying to track down a fax machine. (Hello, 1985.)

I saved his logins, and I kept his phone active

I stored all of my dad's usernames, passwords, and answers to security questions (like, who was your first grade teacher) in 1Password so that I could access accounts on his behalf.

I created a tag called "Dad" so that I could easily find all items related to him amid my own passwords.

We also somehow had the foresight not to deactivate his phone right away. That was crucial when we needed to receive 2-step verification texts when logging into his accounts.

I used facial recognition to gather photos

I was tasked with making the video for his memorial service, so I asked family and friends to use the facial recognition feature on their phones and add their favorite photos of Dad to a shared photo album. This made it so easy to create a beautiful tribute video, and to this day, my mom still watches it.

I miss my dad's goofy, dry humor, our peaceful canoe rides together, and his gentle spirit every day. But as strange as it sounds, learning how to use this technology made it easier to stay present, process my grief, and honor my dad. It made an incredibly difficult time just a little more bearable.

• Russia and Ukraine are desperately trying to stop each others' drones using electronic warfare.
• Soldiers sometimes accidentally jam their own sides' drones if they're on the same frequency.
• There are so many drones that soldiers can be confused about which side they belong to.

With too many drones in the air and only so many radio frequencies, Ukrainian soldiers sometimes accidentally jam their own drones trying to stop Russian ones, Business Insider learned.

Dimko Zhluktenko, a drone operator with Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces who has operated strike and reconnaissance drones, told Business Insider that his unit was recently the victim of friendly electronic warfare, or just EW.

He said it's something that often happens with the big reconnaissance drones that both sides use because many of Ukraine's drones "use the same frequencies that enemy drones use." That's been the case, for instance, with Russia's Zala recon and strike drones and Ukraine's Shark reconnaissance drones.

"When friendly EW tries to jam Zala, it also jams Shark," he said.

Ukraine uses the Shark to identify targets that other Ukrainian weaponry can then destroy, including Russian artillery convoys, and Russia uses its Zala to identify Ukrainian targets and attack Ukrainian assets like tanks and artillery.

The Shark drone is developed by Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems, and its newest version has a range of 260 miles, while the Zala is made by Russia's Zala Aero.

The huge volume of drones used in Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in an electronic warfare battle, with jamming and more flooding frequencies with noise, cutting connections, and confusing enemy drones, frustrating operators attempting to use them for strikes and surveillance. It's fueled new developments in EW, as well as efforts to get around electronic warfare, such as fiber-optic drones and AI-enabled systems.

Zhluktenko said there are so many drones in the sky that Ukrainian soldiers have to try to coordinate when they fly drones, to try to avoid the accidental jamming of their own side's drones.

In a single one-mile stretch of the front line, there might be more than 60 drones in the sky, he said.

In his area, a roughly three-mile section, there might be around three large Russian reconnaissance drones in flight at any given time. There's a lot of other stuff in the air though, and that can make it hard to tell what belongs to which side.

Zhluktenko previously told BI that it can be so difficult to tell the drones apart that infantry soldiers sometimes panic and jam everything with their electronic warfare systems. He said: "They literally click all of the frequencies to be jammed because they're scared."

Another Ukrainian drone operator, who previously spoke to BI on the condition of anonymity, said the confusion sometimes causes soldiers to try to shoot down every drone they see.

As Western militaries look to adopt small drones in new ways, concerns about battlefield confusion are a priority. Combat footage from Ukraine has shown troops frantically questioning if the drone buzzing overhead is on their side. With some dropping grenades or screaming out of the sky and exploding, soldiers may have only moments to sort that out.

Drone usage is higher in this war than in any other conflict in history. Among these systems are the more traditional large reconnaissance drones, emerging small strike drones, and drones with weaponry like firearms and grenades. These weapons are designed to attack and gather information on the enemy and guide other weapons and combat forces.

The prolific employment of drone technology has sparked an innovation race between Russia and Ukraine to create new types of drones and drone technologies. On both sides, domestic innovation and defense engineering are fueling developments, as is support from foreign partner nations.

Ukraine is relying on drones as it faces Russia's far-larger military and deals with shortages in Western-provided weaponry.

Drones are something that Ukraine can make itself in large quantities, with efforts ranging from huge companies to small outfits in people's garages. It's a key part of Ukraine's growing domestic defense industry, which also includes homegrown missiles, air defense systems, and ground robots.

Ukraine said it made 2.2 million drones last year, and it aims to make four million this year. But Russia also sees value in drones and is investing heavily in boosting output. It uses them at the front lines, as well as to complicate its strike packages when targeting Ukrainian cities, mixing one-way attack drones with missiles.

The huge volume of drones has led to some irregularities in battle, such as panic jamming. It's also resulted in drone operators sometimes accidentally being able to see each other's drone feeds, allowing them to unintentionally pick up intelligence about what enemy drones are doing and collecting.

There are just so many drones and only so many operating frequencies that drone feeds can get switched without them doing anything. Ukrainian and Russian troops are working through these issues in real time, and lessons learned from the fight may shape future wars.

• Tesla posted a new video on Chinese social media showing off the Model Y L, a longer wheelbase variant of the popular vehicle.
• The six-seat extended SUV will cost $47,200 in China, but Tesla didn't say if it plans a US launch.
• The Model Y is the most popular midsize SUV in China, though sales have been relatively flat amid stiff competition.

A new Tesla variant has arrived — just not in the US.

On Monday, Tesla posted a video of the upcoming Model Y L to its account on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. Translated from Chinese, the post said that the vehicle was "coming soon."

Hours after the video was posted, Tesla announced on Weibo that the Model Y L would be priced from 339,000 yuan ($47,200). The company is now taking orders for the extended SUV on its Chinese website, with deliveries estimated for September.

The video shows three rows of seats, the back two of which fold forward.

The middle row of the vehicle features two stand-alone "captain chairs," which also appear to have new powered armrests that rise up. While the captain chairs in the Model X only tilt forward, these chairs appear to fold all the way down for more storage space.

The video also shows a black headliner, the material on the vehicle's ceiling, and a new logo stamped on the back, with two small accents added to the traditional Model Y badge.

News of Tesla's plans for a six-seat rendition of its Model Y first broke in 2024, when sources told Reuters that the vehicle would launch the following year in China. In July, Tesla registered plans for the Model Y L with a wheelbase of 3,040 mm, according to a filing viewed by the news outlet. The filing also indicated that the Model Y L would be almost 200 mm longer than the Model Y.

The Model Y is the most popular SUV in China. China is Tesla's second-largest market, though the company's sales have been sagging in the region amid fierce competition from BYD, Xiaomi, and Xpeng. Tesla sold 129,000 vehicles in China in the second quarter of 2025, down nearly 12% year-over-year.

BYD sold 1.76 million battery electric cars in 2024. Tesla sold 1.79 million cars that same year, edging out its Chinese competitor.

The Chinese smartphone and electric vehicle company Xiaomi recently launched its own SUV, underpricing Tesla. Chinese EV startup Xpeng also released a Model Y competitor below the Model Y sticker price.

It is not yet clear whether Tesla plans to launch the Model Y L in the United States.

• Annie Lu left Atlassian after working for over two years and taking a 12-week medical leave.
• Lu's departure followed structural changes and a shift in project assignments.
• She said departing was a hard decision that has led her to a more fulfilling life.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Annie Lu, a 32-year-old former product marketing manager at Atlassian based in Bellevue, Washington. It's been edited for length and clarity.

When I got hired at Atlassian as a product marketing manager in late 2022, it was a dream come true.

For the first few months, I was working on projects that leveraged my interests and skill set. I also loved the culture, the hybrid work schedule, and my colleagues. It was exactly what I was looking for.

After a while, I noticed Atlassian following the growing trend in Big Tech of increasing structural reorganizations, layoffs, and cost cuts. As priorities shifted to more macro-level changes, I slowly stopped being assigned to projects that felt impactful, creative, and aligned with my skillset.

I tried to push through, but I hit a wall in early 2025 when I felt my body shutting down. I took a 12-week medical leave to recover, but it only made things clearer. When I returned, I quit, and it was one of the hardest decisions I've made.

How I spent my 12-week medical leave to recover from burnout

I spent the first month of leave restoring my physical health and regulating my nervous system by eating well, sleeping consistently, moving my body, and even making time to play. I slowly reintroduced some of my hobbies like journaling and reading, and finally began reflecting on what I wanted next for my career and life.

Falling into burnout made me realize life is short, and no paycheck or title is worth more than my well-being. I realized I had a lot of limiting beliefs, including that I needed to follow a conventional corporate path to success rather than pursuing my passions.

When I returned from medical leave, I decided to leave Atlassian. It was time to take a leap, explore, and pursue my passion for writing.

Quitting Big Tech was a step toward the life I truly wanted

I walked away from a stable, six-figure paycheck with stock options, great health and wellness benefits, and a flexible hybrid schedule. And more importantly, I stepped away from the career I had worked years to achieve.

But after structural changes, I no longer felt connected to my work or its purpose, which made it difficult to find motivation and work through stress. I knew quitting was a step toward the life and work I truly wanted.

After quitting my Big Tech job, I feel so much more fulfilled

When I quit, I felt like I was stepping away from something good to get something even better.

It's been just over a month since I quit, and I already feel so much more fulfilled. I'm writing about my burnout experience to reach others who feel stuck in corporate but want to pursue their passions or live a more fulfilling life.

I'm taking this new journey one step at a time

My next step is building a portfolio career in the creative space. I'm funding this transition period using savings and relying on the support of my husband, who is still working.

There's a chance future me will want to go back to corporate given the right opportunity, but right now I'm enjoying focusing on solopreneurship. I don't know what the future is going to look like, but I'm enjoying the process and not focusing on results.

Did you leave Big Tech and want to share your story? Email the editor, Manseen Logan, at [email protected].

• Nicholas Gilpin and his wife decided he would leave his full-time job to care for their first child.
• A second kid and three years later, Gilpin has felt guilt for not providing as much financially.
• He said the reward of raising his sons outweighs those feelings, and he's glad to be there for them.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nicholas Gilpin, a 38-year-old stay-at-home dad and entrepreneur from Fair Oaks, California. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I never planned to be a stay-at-home dad.

When I was an information technology consultant at KPMG, there were some weeks when I worked almost 100 hours across all seven days.

Now, I spend those hours with my sons — a very different environment. Almost three years since becoming a full-time stay-at-home dad, I'm glad to invest this time I can't get back with my sons.

We didn't take our sons' births for granted

At KPMG, the burnout was relentless. I managed million-dollar technology implementations and worked nonstop. In late 2021, I joined Crossfuze, a consulting company, as a project manager and worked there for a little over a year.

In 2022, my wife and I were expecting our first child, and her pregnancy needed more attention from us both. She was also working full-time as a case manager at a health insurance company, but needed to take time off before the birth to keep up with doctor's visits.

Supporting my wife and keeping up with client demands became too much. We felt it made sense for me to take a break from working, so two weeks before my first son was born, I clocked out of the corporate world and clocked in as a full-time dad.

We'd spent years trying to have children, and the months of visits to the doctor's offices took an immense emotional and mental toll on both my wife and me. So, when our first son was born through IVF, and our second two years later naturally, it was a gift we didn't want to take for granted.

Having a parent at home is worth more than a second paycheck

At Crossfuze, I was making $135,000 a year before my son was born. That loss of salary didn't play a large part in my transition to being a full-time dad, though. We'd always planned for one of us to stay home with the kids. Ultimately, we saw having a parent home as more valuable than maintaining two full-time incomes.

We didn't want to outsource parenting. We don't know what a day care or babysitter might be teaching our kids, and the time spent driving them to and from those programs may negate the benefit of sending them there in the first place.

I'm with my boys every hour of the day, and sometimes, we sleep in the same room throughout the night. My first son is almost 3 years old now, so he requires much more attention and play time, while my other son, almost 6 months old now, spends more time with his mom.

I take care of 70 to 80% of the daytime responsibilities, and my wife takes care of our family when she's not working. She's the most active with our boys in the evenings and weekends.

I feel guilty for not providing as much

Thankfully, my wife and I worked hard early in our careers, and she can support us through her private mental health counseling practice. We also bought a duplex and rented out half of it to help cover our mortgage.

We've really had to get intentional about what matters most. Personally, I don't buy anything unless it's essential — supplements, a gym membership, and basic toiletries. We rarely go out to eat, and I cook nearly all of our meals at home. My mom has also helped provide essentials for our boys, and my wife's parents have contributed financially since our youngest was born.

We're making it work — but every dollar has a job.

A part of me wants to rebuild my career to support my family more financially. Society's expectation for fathers has always hinged on them being providers. While this era of parents is evolving away from stereotypical parenting roles, I still feel a sense of guilt for not providing as much while our sons grow up.

I have to remind myself that I'm doing enough for my family through the hours of spending time with them, potty training, going on walks around the neighborhood, playing in the backyard, and making them breakfast.

This has been my biggest challenge when trying to have it all as a dad.

Being a stay-at-home dad can sometimes feel isolating

I spent most of my adult life connecting with clients, working on projects, and advancing my career. I've invested heavily in my skills throughout my career and obtained my MBA.

When it's just my sons and me during the week, I lack the adult conversations I was used to. It can feel isolating, and like I'm regressing in my career or missing out on the latest tech advancements.

A month after my first son was born, ChatGPT was released to the public. Seeing the way AI has been implemented to outsource work, code, and handle menial tasks around the office makes me feel like I'm missing out on a major tech advancement in my field.

But staying home has also given me the space to build my own business and work on the book I'm writing, "Thriving Dad," during my sons' naps or after their bedtimes.

AI models have leveled the playing field for entrepreneurs like me as I try to rebuild my career a couple of hours at a time, since 100% of my day is invested in my boys.

I use ChatGPT as a personal assistant to help manage all the tasks and coding I want to get done during the day, and chip away at the business I want to sculpt.

Balancing my time between childcare, spending time with my wife, and rebuilding my career is a challenge.

I'm grateful to be able to give my sons what I didn't have

I find spending time with my sons incredibly rewarding. I grew up without a father in my life, and I consider the time I spend with my sons to be unfulfilled time I didn't have with my father. In a way, I'm kind of winging it.

Time is invaluable when children are young, and I want to pour this experience into my sons while I stay home.

While it's difficult to pinpoint the most rewarding experience of being a dad, recently, my oldest said, "I love you, daddy," for the first time. That hit me hard.

Seeing these milestones for both of them and seeing parts of myself in them, I am immensely grateful to give them what I couldn't have and what I needed as a child. When I look at my boys, I see a lot of love every single day.

Do you have a story to share about being a working parent and not paying for childcare? Fill out this quick form or email [email protected] to share your story.

• The startup Nominal raised $20 million to turbocharge financial planning with agentic AI.
• The serial founders sold their last AI startup for $70 million.
• As the number of people becoming accountants declines, AI startups are trying to address that.

Nominal, a New York-based startup seeking to turbocharge financial planning with agentic AI, raised $20 million last month.

The AI startup is arriving at an opportune moment as the number of people becoming Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) is on the decline.

Cofounder and CEO Guy Leibovitz shared the pitch deck the team used to close its Series A. The deck showed how Nominal would use AI to address the accountant shortage and handle manual accounting labor, as the majority of accountants approach retirement and fewer people take the CPA exam.

Nominal's new round brings its total funding to $30 million. Next47 led the round, which included participation from Workday Ventures, Bling Capital, and Hyperwise Ventures. The company declined to share its valuation.

Leibovitz and Nominal's cofounder and CTO, Golan Kopichinsky, previously built another AI startup together in data security, Cognigo, which sold to NetApp for $70 million in 2019.

After the acquisition, Leibovitz saw firsthand much of the manual work NetApp's finance teams struggled with, which inspired the creation of Nominal.

Leibovitz likened Nominal to a hot $5 billion legal tech startup by calling it "Harvey for accountants and finance teams." Nominal plugs into a company's existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and helps CFOs and controllers automate tasks to reduce manual work and errors.

The company said its product can analyze financial forecasts, reconcile balance sheets, and more.

Nominal makes money by selling annual subscriptions based on usage, and Leibovitz said revenue doubled every quarter last year. Funding will go to expanding operations in North America and adding more AI agents to the product.

Nominal has 40 employees, Leibovitz said, and it has dozens of customers, including auto shop chain Jiffy Lube and business travel company GoGlobal.

Nominal isn't alone in disrupting ERP systems with AI. Earlier this month, AI startup Rillet announced it raised $70 million from Andreessen Horowitz and ICONIQ, while Campfire announced a $35 million Series A raise led by Accel in June.

Here's a look at the pitch deck Nominal used to raise its $20 million Series A. Certain slides have been edited and removed so that the deck can be shared publicly.