Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. Middle-management jobs don’t typically come with mega paychecks, but this IT worker credits them with helping him build wealth and retire early. The secret? Staying at this level gave him time outside of work to pursue side hustles.
On the agenda today:
But first: Back from the Alps.
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A week in Davos
World Economic Forum/Ciaran McCrickard
I’ve spent the last week or so traveling, visiting our crackerjack team in London before heading to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. I’ve been to Davos before, but this was my first time with Business Insider. And I got to see the tremendous smarts, hustle, and spirit of this newsroom in full swing.
I was on the ground there with our international editor, Spriha Srivastava; the writer of this daily newsletter, Dan DeFrancesco; and ace tech reporter Hugh Langley. Together, we easily met more than 100 people, maybe twice that.
Yes, there was plenty of pitching of wares, but mostly these were meaningful conversations about AI, Trump, DOGE, social media, trade, EVs, crypto, the workplace, and you-name-it other hot topics.
Plus, protests. Plus, parties and celebrity sightings. Plus fabulous clothes.
The fashion seemed to reach a new level this year, including for the corporate types, as stunning outfits studded the Promenade. Dan wrote here about what a person’s footwear said about their status.
Every day we were constantly updating daily diaries on all of it. That included blurbs about AI agents in the boardroom, how DOGE could prove a good business opportunity for tech, consulting firms’ expectations for a strong year, Uber wanting to “out Amazon” Amazon, and why the best place to do business might actually be on the slopes.
As we scurried about, our colleagues in Singapore, London, and New York helped us research and polish stories while also doing some writing of their own. They listened in to WEF panels virtually, further deepening our coverage of arguably the business world’s most important event of the year.
All in, BI wrote about 25 stories about Davos. Other highlights: Spriha’s report on the audience reaction as Trump spoke (virtually); Hugh and Spriha’s story about workplaces populated with AI agents; Hugh’s piece quoting an AI pioneer worried about these agents; and Dan’s daily video updates about all that was going on. Here, I wrote about a moving and provocative talk about how to raise and educate people so they can navigate our evolving world, from the President of Singapore.
What’s key now is that we synthesize all we absorbed and use these takeaways and valued connections to help you, our readers, in our coverage. As always, please let me know what you think at eic@businessinsider.com.
Inside TikTok’s wild weekend
TikTok; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI
The Friday before Trump took office again, a Supreme Court opinion cleared the path for a long-awaited TikTok ban, sending shockwaves through the community of creators and partners. The next day, TikTok officially “went dark” — for about 14 hours. The app was then resurrected on Sunday, January 19, around 12:30 pm ET.
Even though TikTok is back, many remain rattled. BI’s Sydney Bradley and Dan Whateley spoke to employees, creators, and partners about the intense 72 hours — and what comes next.
Also read:
DOGE in the house
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI
When President Trump introduced DOGE in November, he initially said it would operate separately from the government. But the DOGE signed into existence on Monday looks almost nothing like that.
The new DOGE is officially part of the White House, operating within the government and not beyond it. Experts said the move reduces some legal challenges but creates issues in other areas.
Also read:
Doubling down on DEI
Upon his return to the Oval Office, President Trump signed a slew of executive orders, including an end to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal workplace. Many companies have made similar moves to roll back on DEI programs, with Target being the latest.
However, efforts to save these initiatives aren’t forsaken. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon recently defended the bank’s DEI work and told investors targeting the company to “bring them on.” Costco shareholders also overwhelmingly rejected an anti-DEI proposal on Thursday.
The latest on the battle over DEI.
The next tech unicorns
Beacons
Venture capitalists investing in tech tend to base their decisions on gut feelings, founder background, and personal relationships. The San Francisco-based firm TRAC wants to change that.
The firm developed a proprietary AI model, known as “Moneyball for VC,” to predict which early-stage startups are likely to become unicorns by analyzing over 30 data sources.
This week’s quote:
“Everybody’s trying to figure it out, and we’re trying to do it with limited time and on the fly.”
— A veteran and four-year federal employee on President Trump’s RTO mandate for federal workers.
More of this week’s top reads:
- Meet the future leaders of Goldman Sachs’ investment bank.
- The trade-secrets fight between 2 of alternative data’s biggest names is getting nasty.
- Nondisclosure agreements are now rampant in the workplace, covering nearly half of employees.
- Exclusive: Rivian CEO shrugs off Trump’s rollback of EV incentives.
- 5 charts that explain Trump’s presidency so far.
- The S&P 500 closes at a record high as Trump pushes for cheaper oil and lower interest rates.
- Instagram made a change that might reveal your embarrassing habits — or not.
- The SEC launches a crypto task force on Trump’s 2nd day in office.
- How Palm Beach is becoming the life of the party under Trump.
- 24 hours of Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s public exchanges since Trump announced Stargate.
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Trump’s administration is looking to slash the federal workforce. Here’s where most people are employed and what they make.
The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.
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