Iain Martin
@iainmartin.bsky.social
Forbes Senior Editor writing about AI, tech and venture capital
Pinned
Iain Martin
@iainmartin.bsky.social
· Jan 3
Marketing copy likely churned out by AI keeps tricking people into showing up to events that don't exist.
This week, thousands of people gathered in the centre of Birmingham, England, for the city's NYE firework display. But there hasn't been one since 2016...
This is likely only to get worse...
This week, thousands of people gathered in the centre of Birmingham, England, for the city's NYE firework display. But there hasn't been one since 2016...
This is likely only to get worse...
"Take away AI spending, and the economy looks in worse shape. Although job growth was higher than expected in September, job creation has nonetheless slowed this year and the unemployment rate is inching up. Private business investment excluding AI-related categories is mostly flat since 2019"
November 25, 2025 at 11:11 AM
"Take away AI spending, and the economy looks in worse shape. Although job growth was higher than expected in September, job creation has nonetheless slowed this year and the unemployment rate is inching up. Private business investment excluding AI-related categories is mostly flat since 2019"
Reposted by Iain Martin
Forbes raised questions about the massive funding round metaverse-turned-AI firm #Napster announced as a done deal in January. The money is never coming, the company said Thursday.
With @iainmartin.bsky.social for @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
With @iainmartin.bsky.social for @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
Napster Said It Raised $3 Billion From A Mystery Investor. Now That Investor Is Gone
Forbes raised questions about a massive funding round metaverse-turned-AI firm Napster supposedly raised in January. The money is never coming, the company said Thursday.
www.forbes.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Forbes raised questions about the massive funding round metaverse-turned-AI firm #Napster announced as a done deal in January. The money is never coming, the company said Thursday.
With @iainmartin.bsky.social for @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
With @iainmartin.bsky.social for @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
Metaverse startup Napster earlier this year claimed to have raised a massive $3 billion round from one, unnamed investor, valuing it at $12 billion. Now it claims the money never landed and its working with law enforcement as a “victim of misconduct”.
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
Napster Said It Raised $3 Billion From A Mystery Investor. Now That Investor Is Gone
Forbes raised questions about a massive funding round metaverse-turned-AI firm Napster supposedly raised in January. The money is never coming, the company said Thursday.
www.forbes.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Metaverse startup Napster earlier this year claimed to have raised a massive $3 billion round from one, unnamed investor, valuing it at $12 billion. Now it claims the money never landed and its working with law enforcement as a “victim of misconduct”.
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
Reposted by Iain Martin
Scoop from @iainmartin.bsky.social, @rashis.bsky.social and me: Swedish vibe-coding startup Lovable is in talks to raise at a $6 billion valuation. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Vibe Coding Startup Lovable In Talks To Raise At $6 Billion Valuation
The Stockholm-based startup that uses artificial intelligence to code apps and websites for its users is in talks to raise a new round at triple its last valuation from just four months ago.
www.forbes.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Scoop from @iainmartin.bsky.social, @rashis.bsky.social and me: Swedish vibe-coding startup Lovable is in talks to raise at a $6 billion valuation. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Vibe Coding Startup Lovable In Talks To Raise At $6 Billion Valuation www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Vibe Coding Startup Lovable In Talks To Raise At $6 Billion Valuation
The Stockholm-based startup that uses artificial intelligence to code apps and websites for its users is in talks to raise a new round at triple its last valuation from just four months ago.
www.forbes.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Vibe Coding Startup Lovable In Talks To Raise At $6 Billion Valuation www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
The three 22-year-old cofounders of Mercor became billionaires last month. Now workers say they canned an AI project that involved thousands of contractors, then offered to rehire workers at a lower hourly rate.
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Mercor Contractors Allege The AI Company Slashed Their Wages
Mercor allegedly canned an AI training project with thousands of contractors just weeks after hitting a $10 billion valuation.
www.forbes.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:48 AM
The three 22-year-old cofounders of Mercor became billionaires last month. Now workers say they canned an AI project that involved thousands of contractors, then offered to rehire workers at a lower hourly rate.
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
The World’s Youngest Self Made Billionaires Just Slashed These Workers Wages By A Third
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Mercor Contractors Allege The AI Company Slashed Their Wages
Mercor allegedly canned an AI training project with thousands of contractors just weeks after hitting a $10 billion valuation.
www.forbes.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:19 PM
The World’s Youngest Self Made Billionaires Just Slashed These Workers Wages By A Third
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
So just how much money is OpenAI dumping on this firehose of imbecilic video? More than $5 billion annualized, or around $15 million per day, according to Forbes estimates and conversations with experts www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
Here’s How Much Cash OpenAI Is Burning On AI Video App Sora. What It Means
Some back-of-napkin math suggests OpenAI is spending more than a quarter of what it’s making to power the AI slop factory.
www.forbes.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:06 PM
So just how much money is OpenAI dumping on this firehose of imbecilic video? More than $5 billion annualized, or around $15 million per day, according to Forbes estimates and conversations with experts www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
Reposted by Iain Martin
YIKES: NSO floats Pegasus spyware used in hypothetical "time of domestic crisis" in 🇺🇸America.
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
November 7, 2025 at 8:36 PM
YIKES: NSO floats Pegasus spyware used in hypothetical "time of domestic crisis" in 🇺🇸America.
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
JPMorgan says convicted fraudster Charlie Javice’s $60M legal bills included hotel room upgrades
nypost.com/2025/11/04/b...
nypost.com/2025/11/04/b...
JPMorgan says convicted fraudster Charlie Javice’s $60M legal bills included hotel room upgrades
Bank told Delaware’s Chancery Court on Monday that Javice and her co-defendant, Olivier Amar, treated the bank’s indemnification as a “blank check.”
nypost.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:22 PM
JPMorgan says convicted fraudster Charlie Javice’s $60M legal bills included hotel room upgrades
nypost.com/2025/11/04/b...
nypost.com/2025/11/04/b...
Yes, There's a Parallel Parking Championship
www.caranddriver.com/features/a69... I feel like any European would sweep the board here....
www.caranddriver.com/features/a69... I feel like any European would sweep the board here....
www.caranddriver.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Yes, There's a Parallel Parking Championship
www.caranddriver.com/features/a69... I feel like any European would sweep the board here....
www.caranddriver.com/features/a69... I feel like any European would sweep the board here....
Midas Stalwarts Alfred Lin And Pat Grady To Helm Sequoia After Roelof Botha Steps Down via @forbes www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Sequoia's Roelof Botha Steps Down, Alfred Lin and Pat Grady To Take Over
The two partners will take over as the venture capital fund’s “senior stewards” after Roelof Botha announced the end of his three year stint as the storied firm’s leader. All three are longtime honore...
www.forbes.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Midas Stalwarts Alfred Lin And Pat Grady To Helm Sequoia After Roelof Botha Steps Down via @forbes www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
"Getty Images largely lost its London lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Stability AI over its image generator on Tuesday, prompting Getty and some lawyers to call for stronger protections for copyright owners in Britain." www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Getty Images largely loses landmark UK lawsuit over AI image generator
Getty Images largely lost its landmark lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Stability AI over its image generator at London's High Court on Tuesday.
www.reuters.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:58 PM
"Getty Images largely lost its London lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Stability AI over its image generator on Tuesday, prompting Getty and some lawyers to call for stronger protections for copyright owners in Britain." www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Since its creation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered companies to provide $20 billion in relief payments to 195 million consumers and to pay $5 billion in fines. The Trump Administration has brought nearly all of that activity to a halt www.forbes.com/sites/jeffka...
Trump’s Gutting Of The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Is Leaving The Public Vulnerable To Abuses
A massive dismantling of the financial regulator created to protect consumers is underway, affecting everything from auto lending and digital payments to credit cards and credit reports.
www.forbes.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Since its creation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered companies to provide $20 billion in relief payments to 195 million consumers and to pay $5 billion in fines. The Trump Administration has brought nearly all of that activity to a halt www.forbes.com/sites/jeffka...
“Is the line secure?” Xi chuckled, pointed at the Xiaomi gadgets and replied through an interpreter: “You can check if there’s a backdoor.” The two leaders burst into laughter.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Xi Quips About Backdoors During Xiaomi Phone Gift to Korea’s Lee
Chinese President Xi Jinping joked about security backdoors while presenting a pair of Xiaomi Corp. smartphones to his South Korean counterpart, a rare moment of spontaneous levity captured during a w...
www.bloomberg.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:58 PM
“Is the line secure?” Xi chuckled, pointed at the Xiaomi gadgets and replied through an interpreter: “You can check if there’s a backdoor.” The two leaders burst into laughter.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"Some of the biggest quant firms are based in and around New York but there is “absolutely” a quant renaissance in London, according to Raffaele Savi, global head of BlackRock’s quantitative investing teams." www.ft.com/content/8a65...
London becomes ‘quant’ powerhouse as traders rake in revenues
A pipeline of skilled graduates is helping the UK build out its expertise in algorithmic trading
www.ft.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:12 PM
"Some of the biggest quant firms are based in and around New York but there is “absolutely” a quant renaissance in London, according to Raffaele Savi, global head of BlackRock’s quantitative investing teams." www.ft.com/content/8a65...
Reposted by Iain Martin
NEW: Former xAI researcher Eric Zelikman is in talks to raise $1 billion at a $5 billion valuation to build AI models that are better at collaborating with humans. The startup is called Humans&. With Anna Tong and @iainmartin.bsky.social.
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
xAI Researcher In Talks To Raise $1 Billion For New Frontier Lab Humans&
Founded by former xAI staffer Eric Zelikman and early Googler Georges Harik, the new lab is building models that are better at interacting with humans.
www.forbes.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:09 PM
NEW: Former xAI researcher Eric Zelikman is in talks to raise $1 billion at a $5 billion valuation to build AI models that are better at collaborating with humans. The startup is called Humans&. With Anna Tong and @iainmartin.bsky.social.
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Former xAI researcher Eric Zelikman is raising $1 billion for a new startup called Humans&, that will train AI models to be better at collaborating with humans
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
xAI Researcher In Talks To Raise $1 Billion For New Frontier Lab Humans&
Founded by former xAI staffer Eric Zelikman and early Googler Georges Harik, the new lab is building models that are better at interacting with humans.
www.forbes.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Former xAI researcher Eric Zelikman is raising $1 billion for a new startup called Humans&, that will train AI models to be better at collaborating with humans
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Snowflake had to make a Securities and Exchange Commission filing this week after an executive shared unauthorized financial guidance in a street interview video on Instagram posted on Sunday. www.cnbc.com/2025/10/29/s...
Snowflake says exec shared unauthorized guidance in Instagram street interview
The video was posted by Instagram account "theschoolofhardknockz" and features Snowflake Chief Revenue Officer Mike Gannon.
www.cnbc.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Snowflake had to make a Securities and Exchange Commission filing this week after an executive shared unauthorized financial guidance in a street interview video on Instagram posted on Sunday. www.cnbc.com/2025/10/29/s...
Luca Ferrari bought his first app back in 2014 for just $10,000 with the hope that his Milan-based startup could turn it around. A decade later, Ferrari has become one of tech’s biggest dealmakers, and a new billionaire, after a new funding round valued his startup at more than $11 billion.
Bending Spoons Cofounders Become Billionaire After Italian Startup Raises At $11 Billion Valuation | Iain Martin
Luca Ferrari bought his first app back in 2014 for just $10,000 with the hope that he and his three cofounders in Milan-based startup Bending Spoons could turn it around. A decade later, Ferrari has b...
www.linkedin.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Luca Ferrari bought his first app back in 2014 for just $10,000 with the hope that his Milan-based startup could turn it around. A decade later, Ferrari has become one of tech’s biggest dealmakers, and a new billionaire, after a new funding round valued his startup at more than $11 billion.
"With 90% of the SEC’s staff furloughed during the government funding fight, IPO reviews have ground to a halt"....meanwhile China's securities regulators are fast-tracking tech listings www.theinformation.com/articles/chi...
China Fast-Tracks Tech IPOs to Counter US AI Rivalry
The tech rivalry with the U.S. has made China take an unusual step: It is accelerating the pace at which startups go public in hopes of increasing investment in the tech sector. In recent months, secu...
www.theinformation.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:32 PM
"With 90% of the SEC’s staff furloughed during the government funding fight, IPO reviews have ground to a halt"....meanwhile China's securities regulators are fast-tracking tech listings www.theinformation.com/articles/chi...
AOL was the first destination on the internet for millions of Americans during the first dot com boom...decades later its still visited monthly by around 30 million people. And now has a new owner www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Italy’s Bending Spoon Acquires AOL From Apollo
Milan's Bending Spoons has bought AOL and raised $2.8 billion to finance its biggest takeover to date, and future deals.
www.forbes.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:54 PM
AOL was the first destination on the internet for millions of Americans during the first dot com boom...decades later its still visited monthly by around 30 million people. And now has a new owner www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Under the cloud services loophole, Chinese companies barred from accessing cutting-edge chips can use Microsoft or AWS overseas instead to train their AI models. Both advertise the capacity to store video surveillance footage for Chinese customers apnews.com/article/chin...
US government allowed and even helped US firms sell tech used for surveillance in China, AP finds
Even while warning about national security and human rights abuse, the U.S. government across five Republican and Democratic administrations has repeatedly allowed and even actively helped American fi...
apnews.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Under the cloud services loophole, Chinese companies barred from accessing cutting-edge chips can use Microsoft or AWS overseas instead to train their AI models. Both advertise the capacity to store video surveillance footage for Chinese customers apnews.com/article/chin...
Reposted by Iain Martin
Scoop: AI video company Synthesia has raised $200 million at a $4 billion valuation in a round led by GV (Google's venture arm). With Anna Tong and @iainmartin.bsky.social.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
AI Video Startup Synthesia Valued At $4 Billion In $200 Million Raise
Alphabet’s venture firm GV is leading the round, which nearly doubles Synthesia’s valuation, per three sources.
www.forbes.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Scoop: AI video company Synthesia has raised $200 million at a $4 billion valuation in a round led by GV (Google's venture arm). With Anna Tong and @iainmartin.bsky.social.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
Reposted by Iain Martin
Donald Trump Jr. in 2021: “Those Hunter no-show no-experience board seats didn’t come without an expected return!”
Donald Trump Jr. in 2024: Gets $2.8M in stock for joining an advisory board that didn't exist until he joined it.
New: me, for @forbes.com
1/
Donald Trump Jr. in 2024: Gets $2.8M in stock for joining an advisory board that didn't exist until he joined it.
New: me, for @forbes.com
1/
After Unusual Machines Names Donald Trump Jr. To New Advisory Board, Defense Contracts Follow
Donald Trump Jr. once mocked Hunter Biden's "no-show no-experience board seats." Now he's on his second newly activated advisory board—and that company just announced $15 million in contracts.
www.forbes.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Donald Trump Jr. in 2021: “Those Hunter no-show no-experience board seats didn’t come without an expected return!”
Donald Trump Jr. in 2024: Gets $2.8M in stock for joining an advisory board that didn't exist until he joined it.
New: me, for @forbes.com
1/
Donald Trump Jr. in 2024: Gets $2.8M in stock for joining an advisory board that didn't exist until he joined it.
New: me, for @forbes.com
1/