![\"Microsoft](\"https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Microsoft-founders.png\")
OpenAI’s CEO says the generative artificial intelligence (AI) startup has reached approximately 800 million people.
\n\u201cSomething like 10% of the world uses our systems, now a lot,\u201d said Sam Altman, whose comments at a Friday (April 11) TED 2025 event were reported by Seeking Alpha.\u00a0
\nHost Chris Anderson pointed out that Altman had said his company\u2019s user base was growing rapidly, doubling in a \u201cjust a few weeks.\u201d
\nThe report noted that OpenAI\u2019s growth has been helped along by viral features like the ability to generate images and videos in a range of styles, such as that of legendary Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli.
\nLast month, Altman said the company, maker of ChatGPT, had added a million users in one hour. Asked during the TED event if the company had considered compensating artists for creating works in their style, Altman said there could be prompts that could trigger payments for specific artists.
\n\u201cI think it would be cool to figure out a new model where if you say, \u2018I want to do it in the name of this artist,\u2019 and they opt in, there\u2019s a revenue model there,\u201d Altman said.
\nAltman added the company had guidelines to prevent the AI model from generating images\u00a0in the styles of specific artists or creators. He also discussed the company\u2019s work on AI agents, models that can operate autonomously on behalf of users.
\nIn other AI news, PYMNTS wrote last week about ways the technology can help companies hoping to alleviate the cost of new tariffs. While those levies will eat into the bottom line of many businesses, AI can help reduce costs while ensuring productivity stays up.
\nResearch by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown that 82% of workers who use generative AI at least weekly say it increases productivity, even though half of these workers also worry that AI would replace them at their jobs.
\n\u201cAI can also facilitate material selection by assessing availability, compliance and cost implications, which helps brands find substitute materials when needed without compromising on quality or compliance with regulatory standards,\u201d said Tarun Chandrasekhar, president and CPO at Syndigo.
\nStill, Pierre Lapr\u00e9e, chief product officer of SpendHQ, told PYMNTS that while AI has a part to play, it\u2019s \u201cmisguided\u201d to believe that AI will automatically offset rising costs from shifts in trade policy.
\n\u201cTariffs are complex, and so is procurement,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need more than an algorithm \u2014 you need clean, structured, specific data. Without that, AI won\u2019t reduce risk. It will amplify it.\u201d
\n\n
The post Sam Altman: OpenAI Has Reached Roughly 800 Million Users appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "OpenAI’s CEO says the generative artificial intelligence (AI) startup has reached approximately 800 million people.\n\u201cSomething like 10% of the world uses our systems, now a lot,\u201d said Sam Altman, whose comments at a Friday (April 11) TED 2025 event were reported by Seeking Alpha.\u00a0\nHost Chris Anderson pointed out that Altman had said his company\u2019s user base was growing rapidly, doubling in a \u201cjust a few weeks.\u201d\nThe report noted that OpenAI\u2019s growth has been helped along by viral features like the ability to generate images and videos in a range of styles, such as that of legendary Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli.\nLast month, Altman said the company, maker of ChatGPT, had added a million users in one hour. Asked during the TED event if the company had considered compensating artists for creating works in their style, Altman said there could be prompts that could trigger payments for specific artists.\n\u201cI think it would be cool to figure out a new model where if you say, \u2018I want to do it in the name of this artist,\u2019 and they opt in, there\u2019s a revenue model there,\u201d Altman said.\nAltman added the company had guidelines to prevent the AI model from generating images\u00a0in the styles of specific artists or creators. He also discussed the company\u2019s work on AI agents, models that can operate autonomously on behalf of users.\nIn other AI news, PYMNTS wrote last week about ways the technology can help companies hoping to alleviate the cost of new tariffs. While those levies will eat into the bottom line of many businesses, AI can help reduce costs while ensuring productivity stays up.\nResearch by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown that 82% of workers who use generative AI at least weekly say it increases productivity, even though half of these workers also worry that AI would replace them at their jobs.\n\u201cAI can also facilitate material selection by assessing availability, compliance and cost implications, which helps brands find substitute materials when needed without compromising on quality or compliance with regulatory standards,\u201d said Tarun Chandrasekhar, president and CPO at Syndigo.\nStill, Pierre Lapr\u00e9e, chief product officer of SpendHQ, told PYMNTS that while AI has a part to play, it\u2019s \u201cmisguided\u201d to believe that AI will automatically offset rising costs from shifts in trade policy.\n\u201cTariffs are complex, and so is procurement,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need more than an algorithm \u2014 you need clean, structured, specific data. Without that, AI won\u2019t reduce risk. It will amplify it.\u201d\n \nThe post Sam Altman: OpenAI Has Reached Roughly 800 Million Users appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-13T20:13:31-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-13T20:38:28-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/OpenAI-Altman.jpg", "tags": [ "AI", "artificial intelligence", "ChatGPT", "GenAI", "generative AI", "News", "OpenAI", "PYMNTS News", "Sam Altman", "What's Hot", "artificial intelligence" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2683523", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2025/businesses-begin-tacking-on-fees-in-response-to-tariffs/", "title": "Businesses Begin Tacking On Fees in Response to Tariffs", "content_html": "Companies across industries have begun issuing new fees in response to U.S. tariffs.
\nAnd with those fees, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Sunday (April 13), comes a message: Please don\u2019t blame us.
\nIn some cases, the report said, these businesses are adding flat fees, while others are charging customers a percentage of the subtotal. The idea is to pass on some of the cost of the tariffs onto consumers, especially on Chinese-made products \u2014\u00a0while placing some responsibility on President Donald Trump.
\n\u201cWe think transparency is the way to go here, and I am giving Trump full credit for his decision to add this tariff to all American consumers,\u201d said Ryan Babenzien, CEO of Jolie, which sells high-end filtered shower heads that are made in China.
\nHe told WSJ to he would add a \u201cTrump Liberation Tariff\u201d to online orders in the weeks ahead, though the amount of that levy will depend on how the larger tariff situation plays out the company\u2019s tariff-cost calculations.
\nOther businesses are being more direct about the tariffs. For example, BigBadToyStore, which sells action figures and collectibles, recently wrote to its customers telling them it would apply a tariff-related fee to preordered items.
\n\u201cI absolutely hate increasing prices to you, but the tariff situation is beyond our control,\u201d wrote Joel Boblit, the company’s president and founder, promising to reduce or remove the charge if the tariffs decreased.\u00a0
\nPYMNTS examined the impact the tariffs are having on the financial services world last week in a conversation with Amias Gerety, partner at QED Investors.
\nThe uncertainty surrounding the tariffs, he told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster, is the key element undermining financial services, which depend on stability to provide loans, extend credit and make long-term investments.\u00a0
\nConditions being what they are, it\u2019s hard for businesses to make long-term commitments, whether constructing factories, expanding supply chains, or undertaking major projects.\u00a0
\n\u201cFinancial services need certainty,\u201d said Gerety, who served as a Treasury department official under the Obama administration. \u201cIf you\u2019re planning for 10 or 14 years, uncertainty is devastating.\u201d
\nAs companies approach earnings season, investors and executives brace for troubling guidance. Gerety expected sharp downward revisions in forecasts and increased volatility. While first quarter results may seem stable due to positive conditions, they now offer little predictive power given the drastically transformed economic landscape.\u00a0
\nMajor financial institutions, including JPMorgan, have already adjusted their forecasts toward predicting recessionary conditions.
\n\u201cQ1 was still a benign environment,\u201d Gerety said, adding, \u201cbut the environment has changed dramatically, and even guidance will reflect that heightened uncertainty.\u201d
\nThe post Businesses Begin Tacking On Fees in Response to Tariffs appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Companies across industries have begun issuing new fees in response to U.S. tariffs.\nAnd with those fees, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Sunday (April 13), comes a message: Please don\u2019t blame us.\nIn some cases, the report said, these businesses are adding flat fees, while others are charging customers a percentage of the subtotal. The idea is to pass on some of the cost of the tariffs onto consumers, especially on Chinese-made products \u2014\u00a0while placing some responsibility on President Donald Trump.\n\u201cWe think transparency is the way to go here, and I am giving Trump full credit for his decision to add this tariff to all American consumers,\u201d said Ryan Babenzien, CEO of Jolie, which sells high-end filtered shower heads that are made in China.\nHe told WSJ to he would add a \u201cTrump Liberation Tariff\u201d to online orders in the weeks ahead, though the amount of that levy will depend on how the larger tariff situation plays out the company\u2019s tariff-cost calculations.\nOther businesses are being more direct about the tariffs. For example, BigBadToyStore, which sells action figures and collectibles, recently wrote to its customers telling them it would apply a tariff-related fee to preordered items.\n\u201cI absolutely hate increasing prices to you, but the tariff situation is beyond our control,\u201d wrote Joel Boblit, the company’s president and founder, promising to reduce or remove the charge if the tariffs decreased.\u00a0\nPYMNTS examined the impact the tariffs are having on the financial services world last week in a conversation with Amias Gerety, partner at QED Investors.\nThe uncertainty surrounding the tariffs, he told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster, is the key element undermining financial services, which depend on stability to provide loans, extend credit and make long-term investments.\u00a0\nConditions being what they are, it\u2019s hard for businesses to make long-term commitments, whether constructing factories, expanding supply chains, or undertaking major projects.\u00a0\n\u201cFinancial services need certainty,\u201d said Gerety, who served as a Treasury department official under the Obama administration. \u201cIf you\u2019re planning for 10 or 14 years, uncertainty is devastating.\u201d\nAs companies approach earnings season, investors and executives brace for troubling guidance. Gerety expected sharp downward revisions in forecasts and increased volatility. While first quarter results may seem stable due to positive conditions, they now offer little predictive power given the drastically transformed economic landscape.\u00a0\nMajor financial institutions, including JPMorgan, have already adjusted their forecasts toward predicting recessionary conditions.\n\u201cQ1 was still a benign environment,\u201d Gerety said, adding, \u201cbut the environment has changed dramatically, and even guidance will reflect that heightened uncertainty.\u201d\nThe post Businesses Begin Tacking On Fees in Response to Tariffs appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-13T19:31:01-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-13T19:32:31-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tariffs-fees.jpg", "tags": [ "BigBadToyStore", "Donald Trump", "ecommerce", "Joel Boblit", "Jolie", "News", "PYMNTS News", "Retail", "Ryan Babenzien", "small and medium sized businesses", "small businesses", "SMBs", "tariff fees", "tariff markup", "tariffs", "trade war", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2683515", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2025/binance-reportedly-sought-looser-regulation-from-us-treasury/", "title": "Binance Reportedly Sought Looser Regulation From US Treasury", "content_html": "Binance has reportedly met with government officials to discuss relaxed regulation on the cryptocurrency exchange.
\nThe meeting between the company and representatives of the Treasury Department happened last month, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported late Friday (April 11), citing sources familiar with the matter.
\nThe meeting came while Binance was also exploring a business arrangement with a Trump family crypto venture, the sources added.
\nSome of those sources said Binance wants the Treasury to remove a government-appointed monitor who oversees the company\u2019s compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) laws. Such a move would be the first step in returning Binance to the U.S. market following its 2023 guilty plea to AML violations.
\nOther sources said Biannce is also in talks to list a new stablecoin from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by President Donald Trump\u2019s sons. That listing could open the coin to a vast new market \u2014 Binance has 250 million users \u2014 a potential multibillion-dollar payday for the Trump family.
\nBinance paid a record $4.3 billion fine for allowing bad actors to move billions through its exchange. It also removed all U.S. customers and agreed to report all suspicious transactions.
\nIf the government agreed to relax its oversight of Binance, it would mark the latest in a series of moves designed to roll back earlier crypto enforcement efforts.
\nLast week saw a report that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was planning to limit its crypto-related investigations to focus on the use of digital assets in things like terrorism, drug trafficking and fraud.
\nDeputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a memo cited by Bloomberg News that this change is meant to leave crypto-related activities to regulators, a change from the Biden administration\u2019s use of the Justice Department to pursue \u201cregulation by prosecution.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda said last month that the regulator has changed how it regulates digital assets.
\n\u201cThis approach of using notice-and-comment rulemaking or explaining the Commission\u2019s thought process through releases \u2014 rather than through enforcement actions \u2014 should have been considered for classifying crypto assets under the federal securities laws,\u201d Uyeda said during a roundtable centered on the regulation of digital assets.
\nOne week later, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) issued new guidance saying that FDIC-supervised institutions can conduct crypto-related activities without prior FDIC approval, provided they adequately manage the associated risks.
\n\u00a0
\nThe post Binance Reportedly Sought Looser Regulation From US Treasury appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Binance has reportedly met with government officials to discuss relaxed regulation on the cryptocurrency exchange.\nThe meeting between the company and representatives of the Treasury Department happened last month, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported late Friday (April 11), citing sources familiar with the matter.\nThe meeting came while Binance was also exploring a business arrangement with a Trump family crypto venture, the sources added.\nSome of those sources said Binance wants the Treasury to remove a government-appointed monitor who oversees the company\u2019s compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) laws. Such a move would be the first step in returning Binance to the U.S. market following its 2023 guilty plea to AML violations.\nOther sources said Biannce is also in talks to list a new stablecoin from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by President Donald Trump\u2019s sons. That listing could open the coin to a vast new market \u2014 Binance has 250 million users \u2014 a potential multibillion-dollar payday for the Trump family.\nBinance paid a record $4.3 billion fine for allowing bad actors to move billions through its exchange. It also removed all U.S. customers and agreed to report all suspicious transactions.\nIf the government agreed to relax its oversight of Binance, it would mark the latest in a series of moves designed to roll back earlier crypto enforcement efforts.\nLast week saw a report that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was planning to limit its crypto-related investigations to focus on the use of digital assets in things like terrorism, drug trafficking and fraud.\nDeputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a memo cited by Bloomberg News that this change is meant to leave crypto-related activities to regulators, a change from the Biden administration\u2019s use of the Justice Department to pursue \u201cregulation by prosecution.\u201d\nMeanwhile, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda said last month that the regulator has changed how it regulates digital assets.\n\u201cThis approach of using notice-and-comment rulemaking or explaining the Commission\u2019s thought process through releases \u2014 rather than through enforcement actions \u2014 should have been considered for classifying crypto assets under the federal securities laws,\u201d Uyeda said during a roundtable centered on the regulation of digital assets.\nOne week later, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) issued new guidance saying that FDIC-supervised institutions can conduct crypto-related activities without prior FDIC approval, provided they adequately manage the associated risks.\n\u00a0\nThe post Binance Reportedly Sought Looser Regulation From US Treasury appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-13T18:56:48-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-13T18:59:57-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Binance-1.jpg", "tags": [ "Binance", "crypto", "crypto enforcement", "crypto regulation", "Cryptocurrency", "Department of Justice", "News", "PYMNTS News", "SEC", "stablecoins", "Treasury Department", "What's Hot", "world liberty financial" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2683512", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/consumer-insights/2025/consumer-spending-grows-shakier-amid-wave-of-tariffs/", "title": "Consumer Spending Grows Shakier Amid Wave of Tariffs", "content_html": "If consumer spending forms the foundation of the American economy, tariffs could represent an earthquake.
\nThat\u2019s according to a report Saturday (April 12) by the Financial Times (FT), which said Americans are signaling financial stress as they prepare themselves for tariff-related price hikes.\u00a0
\nThe report cited JPMorgan\u2019s recent first quarter earnings, which showed that its credit card charge-offs had reached their highest level in 13 years. For the entire industry, charge-off rates are at a higher level than before the COVID pandemic, reversing the trend in which consumers were able to pay down their credit card bills thanks to government stimulus money.
\nThis era of uncertainty means \u201cthere\u2019s a wide range of potential outcomes,\u201d JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said, agreeing with the bank\u2019s economists that the odds of a recession are 50/50. This is driven in part by worries that consumers are chafing at paying higher prices thanks to 10% tariffs on many imports, along with 145% tariffs on goods from China.
\n\u201cLooking at the April data is what would appear to be a little bit of front loading of spending, specifically in items that might have prices go up as a function of tariffs,\u201d said JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum.\u00a0
\nMeanwhile, consumer sentiment has been on the downswing since December thanks in part to \u201cgrowing worries about trade war developments,\u201d\u00a0the University of Michigan said in its monthly measure of how consumers are feeling, released Friday (April 11).
\nThe latest installment of the survey found that the share of consumers who expect higher unemployment levels in the coming year rose for the fifth consecutive month, the highest level of such expectations in 15 years.
\nThe FT report also pointed to store foot traffic data from Placer.ai, indicating that American shoppers flocked to low-priced warehouse club stores in the final week of March, possibly signaling the need to stock up before the tariffs kicked in.
\nBoth consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and those who are more financially comfortable were rethinking their spending even prior to the tariffs, PYMNTS Intelligence research shows.
\n\u201cTech purchases, eating out and buying coffee at the local coffee shop are consistently on the chopping block, even for those who do not feel financial pressures,\u201d PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote last week.
\n\u201cThose living paycheck to paycheck are concerned because higher prices crimp how far their paychecks can or will go. Those not living paycheck to paycheck are pulling back because they want to keep their powder dry, just in case.\u201d
\nThe post Consumer Spending Grows Shakier Amid Wave of Tariffs appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "If consumer spending forms the foundation of the American economy, tariffs could represent an earthquake.\nThat\u2019s according to a report Saturday (April 12) by the Financial Times (FT), which said Americans are signaling financial stress as they prepare themselves for tariff-related price hikes.\u00a0\nThe report cited JPMorgan\u2019s recent first quarter earnings, which showed that its credit card charge-offs had reached their highest level in 13 years. For the entire industry, charge-off rates are at a higher level than before the COVID pandemic, reversing the trend in which consumers were able to pay down their credit card bills thanks to government stimulus money.\nThis era of uncertainty means \u201cthere\u2019s a wide range of potential outcomes,\u201d JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said, agreeing with the bank\u2019s economists that the odds of a recession are 50/50. This is driven in part by worries that consumers are chafing at paying higher prices thanks to 10% tariffs on many imports, along with 145% tariffs on goods from China.\n\u201cLooking at the April data is what would appear to be a little bit of front loading of spending, specifically in items that might have prices go up as a function of tariffs,\u201d said JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum.\u00a0\nMeanwhile, consumer sentiment has been on the downswing since December thanks in part to \u201cgrowing worries about trade war developments,\u201d\u00a0the University of Michigan said in its monthly measure of how consumers are feeling, released Friday (April 11).\nThe latest installment of the survey found that the share of consumers who expect higher unemployment levels in the coming year rose for the fifth consecutive month, the highest level of such expectations in 15 years.\nThe FT report also pointed to store foot traffic data from Placer.ai, indicating that American shoppers flocked to low-priced warehouse club stores in the final week of March, possibly signaling the need to stock up before the tariffs kicked in.\nBoth consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and those who are more financially comfortable were rethinking their spending even prior to the tariffs, PYMNTS Intelligence research shows.\n\u201cTech purchases, eating out and buying coffee at the local coffee shop are consistently on the chopping block, even for those who do not feel financial pressures,\u201d PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote last week.\n\u201cThose living paycheck to paycheck are concerned because higher prices crimp how far their paychecks can or will go. Those not living paycheck to paycheck are pulling back because they want to keep their powder dry, just in case.\u201d\nThe post Consumer Spending Grows Shakier Amid Wave of Tariffs appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-13T18:30:35-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-13T18:32:28-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/consumer-tariffs.jpg", "tags": [ "consumer caution", "consumer sentiment", "Consumer Spending", "credit card charge-offs", "jpmorgan", "News", "PYMNTS News", "tariffs", "What's Hot", "Consumer Insights" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2683492", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/economy/2025/trumps-tariff-exemption-for-tech-products-could-be-short-lived/", "title": "Trump\u2019s Tariff Exemption for Tech Products Could Be Short-Lived", "content_html": "President Donald Trump has exempted electronics from his \u201creciprocal\u201d tariffs, at least for now.
\nThe government announced late Friday (April 11) consumer electronic imports from China would be excluded from the steep tariffs the U.S. has imposed on that country.\u00a0
\nHowever electronics goods such as smartphones would eventually fall under a separate round of tariffs on semiconductors, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview with ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week\u201d on Sunday (April 13).
\n\u201cWhat he\u2019s doing is he\u2019s saying they\u2019re exempt from the reciprocal tariffs,\u201d Lutnick said of Trump. \u201cBut they\u2019re included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two.\u201d
\nThat could mean that tariffs on iPhones could return within weeks, he added.
\n\u201cWe need our medicines and we need semiconductors and our electronics to be built in America,\u201d Lutnick said. \u201cRemember, all \u2014 virtually all \u2014 semiconductors are made now in Taiwan and they\u2019re finished in China. It\u2019s important that we reshore them.\u201d
\nA report on Lutnick\u2019s comments by the Financial Times (FT) argued these remarks will generate even more business uncertainty in connection with the tariff rollout. The government has paused and reversed course on the matter more than once, causing days of stock market turmoil and leading to a wave of sell-offs in the $29 trillion U.S. Treasurys market.
\nThe report added that any relaxation of tariffs on Chinese imports would be a victory for companies like Microsoft and Apple, the latter of which makes most of its iPhones in China.
\nEven before the government formally enacted the tariffs, the idea of the new levies was fostering uncertainty, as PYMNTS Intelligence found when it surveyed chief financial officers at U.S. middle-market firms in mid-February. That survey found that 20% of respondents said they would raise prices on their goods and services in response to the tariffs.
\n\u201cBut crucially, only a sliver said they would do so immediately as their first response to the tariffs,\u201d the PYMNTS Intelligence report \u201cTariffs and Business Uncertainty: The Current State of Play, March 2025\u201d said. \u201cIn any case, most companies hadn\u2019t even started to plan for a global trade war.\u201d
\nThe report also found that 32% of these businesses said they have or will miss opportunities due to that uncertainty, 33% faced delays in getting products to market, and 31% saw client turnover because of their own uncertain business outlooks.
\n\u201cLet that sink in,\u201d PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote in response to those findings. \u201cThat\u2019s roughly a third of U.S. businesses making between $100 million and $1 billion in annual revenue \u2014 and the integral bridge between the enterprise and small business supply chains \u2014 who face some sort of economic uncertainty.\u201d
\n\u00a0
\nThe post Trump’s Tariff Exemption for Tech Products Could Be Short-Lived appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "President Donald Trump has exempted electronics from his \u201creciprocal\u201d tariffs, at least for now.\nThe government announced late Friday (April 11) consumer electronic imports from China would be excluded from the steep tariffs the U.S. has imposed on that country.\u00a0\nHowever electronics goods such as smartphones would eventually fall under a separate round of tariffs on semiconductors, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview with ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week\u201d on Sunday (April 13).\n\u201cWhat he\u2019s doing is he\u2019s saying they\u2019re exempt from the reciprocal tariffs,\u201d Lutnick said of Trump. \u201cBut they\u2019re included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two.\u201d\nThat could mean that tariffs on iPhones could return within weeks, he added.\n\u201cWe need our medicines and we need semiconductors and our electronics to be built in America,\u201d Lutnick said. \u201cRemember, all \u2014 virtually all \u2014 semiconductors are made now in Taiwan and they\u2019re finished in China. It\u2019s important that we reshore them.\u201d\nA report on Lutnick\u2019s comments by the Financial Times (FT) argued these remarks will generate even more business uncertainty in connection with the tariff rollout. The government has paused and reversed course on the matter more than once, causing days of stock market turmoil and leading to a wave of sell-offs in the $29 trillion U.S. Treasurys market.\nThe report added that any relaxation of tariffs on Chinese imports would be a victory for companies like Microsoft and Apple, the latter of which makes most of its iPhones in China.\nEven before the government formally enacted the tariffs, the idea of the new levies was fostering uncertainty, as PYMNTS Intelligence found when it surveyed chief financial officers at U.S. middle-market firms in mid-February. That survey found that 20% of respondents said they would raise prices on their goods and services in response to the tariffs.\n\u201cBut crucially, only a sliver said they would do so immediately as their first response to the tariffs,\u201d the PYMNTS Intelligence report \u201cTariffs and Business Uncertainty: The Current State of Play, March 2025\u201d said. \u201cIn any case, most companies hadn\u2019t even started to plan for a global trade war.\u201d\nThe report also found that 32% of these businesses said they have or will miss opportunities due to that uncertainty, 33% faced delays in getting products to market, and 31% saw client turnover because of their own uncertain business outlooks.\n\u201cLet that sink in,\u201d PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote in response to those findings. \u201cThat\u2019s roughly a third of U.S. businesses making between $100 million and $1 billion in annual revenue \u2014 and the integral bridge between the enterprise and small business supply chains \u2014 who face some sort of economic uncertainty.\u201d\n\u00a0\nThe post Trump’s Tariff Exemption for Tech Products Could Be Short-Lived appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-13T17:51:43-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-13T17:53:48-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tariff-exemption-electronics.jpg", "tags": [ "consumer electronics", "Donald Trump", "Economy", "electronics", "Howard Lutnick", "iPhones", "News", "PYMNTS News", "semiconductors", "tariffs", "trade war", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2683482", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/artificial-intelligence-2/2025/safe-superintelligences-value-jumps-sixfold-after-6-billion-funding-round/", "title": "OpenAI Co-Founder\u2019s Firm Value Jumps Sixfold After $6 Billion Funding Round", "content_html": "Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Safe Superintelligence (SSI) has reportedly raised $6 billion in new funding.
\nThe round, as reported Friday (April 11) by the Financial Times (FT), values the company at $32 billion, a more than sixfold increase from the last time the firm raised money.
\nIt\u2019s the latest sign for continued investor enthusiasm in AI companies, even if \u2014 as the FT report noted\u00a0\u2014 the company in question does not yet have a product.
\nThe company has not provided much info on how it plans to overtake the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic, but co-founder Ilya Sutskever told the FT last year that he and his team had \u201cidentified a new mountain to climb that\u2019s a bit different from what I was working on previously.\u201d
\nSources told the news outlet that SSI has been closed-mouthed even with its backers, though three sources close to the company said SSI was working on \u201cunique ways\u201d of building and scaling AI models.
\nA separate report from Reuters \u2014 also citing unnamed sources \u2014 said that Google and Nvidia were among the investors in this round. PYMNTS has contacted SSI for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.
\nSSI was launched last year by Sutskever \u2014 former chief scientist at OpenAI \u2014 Apple AI vet Daniel Gross and AI researcher Daniel Levy.
\nIn the fall of 2023, Sutskever was involved in an unsuccessful attempt to oust OpenAI CEO Sam Altman from his position. Sutskever announced he would leave the company in May, apparently on good terms with Altman.
\nStill, SSI has taken a different approach than OpenAI, PYMNTS wrote last year, focusing solely on developing safe superintelligence without pressure from commercial interests.
\n\u201cThis has reignited the debate over the possibility of achieving such a feat, with some experts questioning the feasibility of creating a superintelligent AI, given the current limitations of AI systems and the challenges in ensuring its safety,\u201d that report said.
\n\u201cCritics of the superintelligence goal point to the current limitations of AI systems, which, despite their impressive capabilities, still struggle with tasks that require common sense reasoning and contextual understanding.\u201d
\nThese critics contend that the jump from narrow AI, which excels at specific tasks, to a general intelligence that exceeds human capabilities requires more than just increasing computational power or data.
\nSkeptics also argue that the challenges involved in creating a safe superintelligence could be insurmountable, due to humanity\u2019s understanding of AI and the technology\u2019s limitations.
\nThe post OpenAI Co-Founder\u2019s Firm Value Jumps Sixfold After $6 Billion Funding Round appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Safe Superintelligence (SSI) has reportedly raised $6 billion in new funding.\nThe round, as reported Friday (April 11) by the Financial Times (FT), values the company at $32 billion, a more than sixfold increase from the last time the firm raised money.\nIt\u2019s the latest sign for continued investor enthusiasm in AI companies, even if \u2014 as the FT report noted\u00a0\u2014 the company in question does not yet have a product.\nThe company has not provided much info on how it plans to overtake the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic, but co-founder Ilya Sutskever told the FT last year that he and his team had \u201cidentified a new mountain to climb that\u2019s a bit different from what I was working on previously.\u201d\nSources told the news outlet that SSI has been closed-mouthed even with its backers, though three sources close to the company said SSI was working on \u201cunique ways\u201d of building and scaling AI models.\nA separate report from Reuters \u2014 also citing unnamed sources \u2014 said that Google and Nvidia were among the investors in this round. PYMNTS has contacted SSI for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.\nSSI was launched last year by Sutskever \u2014 former chief scientist at OpenAI \u2014 Apple AI vet Daniel Gross and AI researcher Daniel Levy.\nIn the fall of 2023, Sutskever was involved in an unsuccessful attempt to oust OpenAI CEO Sam Altman from his position. Sutskever announced he would leave the company in May, apparently on good terms with Altman.\nStill, SSI has taken a different approach than OpenAI, PYMNTS wrote last year, focusing solely on developing safe superintelligence without pressure from commercial interests.\n\u201cThis has reignited the debate over the possibility of achieving such a feat, with some experts questioning the feasibility of creating a superintelligent AI, given the current limitations of AI systems and the challenges in ensuring its safety,\u201d that report said.\n\u201cCritics of the superintelligence goal point to the current limitations of AI systems, which, despite their impressive capabilities, still struggle with tasks that require common sense reasoning and contextual understanding.\u201d\nThese critics contend that the jump from narrow AI, which excels at specific tasks, to a general intelligence that exceeds human capabilities requires more than just increasing computational power or data.\nSkeptics also argue that the challenges involved in creating a safe superintelligence could be insurmountable, due to humanity\u2019s understanding of AI and the technology\u2019s limitations.\nThe post OpenAI Co-Founder\u2019s Firm Value Jumps Sixfold After $6 Billion Funding Round appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-13T17:27:26-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-13T21:53:39-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Safe-Superintelligence.jpg", "tags": [ "AI", "AI funding", "AI Investment", "artificial intelligence", "Ilya Sutskever", "News", "OpenAI", "PYMNTS News", "Safe Superintelligence", "SSI", "What's Hot", "artificial intelligence" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2683478", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/startups/2025/british-startups-look-to-us-as-homegrown-funding-grows-scarce/", "title": "British Startups Look to US as Homegrown Funding Grows Scarce", "content_html": "British startups are reportedly weighing a move to the U.S. as investment declines.
\nStartups in the U.K. took in just \u00a316.2 billion ($21.1 billion) last year, the Financial Times (FT) reported Sunday (April 13), citing data from Dealroom. That figure, the report said, is the lowest since 2020. At the same time, American tech startups raised more than \u00a365 billion during 2024, a 71% increase over the prior year.
\nNow, the CEOs of several U.K. startups tell the FT that their wish to entice American investors has led them to incorporate in the U.S., even though they are based in London.
\n\u201cRecognizing that most venture funding comes from the U.S., we set up as a Delaware corporation \u2014 the preferred and familiar structure for U.S. investors,\u201d said Mati Staniszewski, co-founder of artificial intelligence (AI) company ElevenLabs, which was valued at $3.3 billion after completing a funding round in late January.
\nThe report added that of the 70 U.K.-founded, venture-backed tech startups now based in the U.S., nearly a fifth of them were incorporated after 2020.
\nThe FT also noted that this trend is happening as the British government is pushing the growing AI sector as a possible engine for growth.
\nHowever, young companies warn that trouble in finding capital was hindering British businesses from competing with their global peers. The report also points to the tradition of leading U.K. tech companies being purchased by much larger international investors, like the now-Google-owned-DeepMind.
\nMeanwhile, U.S. lawmakers say they want to make it easier for companies to get funded, with the House Financial Services Committee (HSFC) recently taking up 40 bills aimed at that goal.
\n\u201cOur capital markets should work for everyone,\u201d HFSC Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., said in a news release. \u201cThat means reducing barriers for startups to access funding, incentivizing investment in regional businesses, and reforming outdated regulations that improve access to growth capital to ensure a public offering is a more viable option again.\u201d
\nMembers of the committee argue that most venture capital (VC) funding is concentrated in just a few states, that just 19% of American households were defined as accredited investors in 2022, and that the number of public company listings in the U.S. has declined.
\nThe post British Startups Look to US as Homegrown Funding Grows Scarce appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "British startups are reportedly weighing a move to the U.S. as investment declines.\nStartups in the U.K. took in just \u00a316.2 billion ($21.1 billion) last year, the Financial Times (FT) reported Sunday (April 13), citing data from Dealroom. That figure, the report said, is the lowest since 2020. At the same time, American tech startups raised more than \u00a365 billion during 2024, a 71% increase over the prior year.\nNow, the CEOs of several U.K. startups tell the FT that their wish to entice American investors has led them to incorporate in the U.S., even though they are based in London.\n\u201cRecognizing that most venture funding comes from the U.S., we set up as a Delaware corporation \u2014 the preferred and familiar structure for U.S. investors,\u201d said Mati Staniszewski, co-founder of artificial intelligence (AI) company ElevenLabs, which was valued at $3.3 billion after completing a funding round in late January.\nThe report added that of the 70 U.K.-founded, venture-backed tech startups now based in the U.S., nearly a fifth of them were incorporated after 2020.\nThe FT also noted that this trend is happening as the British government is pushing the growing AI sector as a possible engine for growth.\nHowever, young companies warn that trouble in finding capital was hindering British businesses from competing with their global peers. The report also points to the tradition of leading U.K. tech companies being purchased by much larger international investors, like the now-Google-owned-DeepMind.\nMeanwhile, U.S. lawmakers say they want to make it easier for companies to get funded, with the House Financial Services Committee (HSFC) recently taking up 40 bills aimed at that goal.\n\u201cOur capital markets should work for everyone,\u201d HFSC Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., said in a news release. \u201cThat means reducing barriers for startups to access funding, incentivizing investment in regional businesses, and reforming outdated regulations that improve access to growth capital to ensure a public offering is a more viable option again.\u201d\nMembers of the committee argue that most venture capital (VC) funding is concentrated in just a few states, that just 19% of American households were defined as accredited investors in 2022, and that the number of public company listings in the U.S. has declined.\nThe post British Startups Look to US as Homegrown Funding Grows Scarce appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-13T16:49:23-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-13T16:50:30-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ElevenLabs-British-startups.jpg", "tags": [ "deepmind", "ElevenLabs", "Mati Staniszewski", "News", "PYMNTS News", "Silicon Valley", "startup funding", "Startups", "tech funding", "UK Startups", "VC", "Venture Capital", "venture investment", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2683471", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/economy/2025/report-trump-policies-hurting-tourism-as-europeans-stay-home/", "title": "Report: Trump Policies Hurting Tourism as Europeans Stay Home", "content_html": "U.S. immigration policy has reportedly triggered a sharp drop in visitors from Europe.
\nThe number of travelers from western Europe who spent at least one night in the U.S. dropped by 17% year over year in March, the Financial Times (FT) reported Friday (April 11), citing data from the International Trade Administration (ITA).
\nFrom some countries \u2014 Ireland, Germany and Norway among them \u2014 travel declined by more than 20%, the ITA data showed.
\nThis trend, the FT noted, threatens America\u2019s tourism industry, which makes up 2.5% of the country\u2019s gross domestic product. Some airline and hotel companies have warned of cooling demand for transatlantic travel and a \u201cbad buzz\u201d about visiting the U.S.
\nThe number of overseas visitors to the U.S. fell by 12% year over year in March, the sharpest decline since March 2021, the middle of the COVID pandemic.
\n\u201cIn just two months [Trump] has destroyed the reputation of the U.S., shown one way by diminished travel from the EU to the U.S.,\u201d said Paul English, co-founder of travel website Kayak. \u201cThis is not only one more terrible blow to the U.S. economy, it also represents reputation damage that could take generations to repair.\u201d
\nThe report said some of the reluctance is being fueled by U.S. immigration policy amid a rash of incidents in which overseas travelers were detained at the border.
\nReports of those incidents led Gloria Sync, an artist and author in Nottingham, England, to call off a visit to San Francisco planned for next month.
\n\u201cThe borders seem unsafe,\u201d Sync, who is transgender and said she was concerned about the \u201cunwanted attention\u201d her identity could bring at the border, told the FT. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll ever go back, to be honest.\u201d
\nThe decline in EU to U.S. tourism comes as Americans are spending less on travel, with airline fares down 5.3% according to the latest Consumer Price Index figures.
\nMeanwhile, Delta Airlines warned last week of widespread uncertainty as it released its quarterly earnings.
\n\u201cConsistent with our update last month, February and March reflected a much more challenging macro environment than anyone initially planned for,\u201d Delta CEO Ed Bastian said during an earnings call. \u201cComing into 2025, we were positioned for another year of strong growth. However, given broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.\u201d
\nThe post Report: Trump Policies Hurting Tourism as Europeans Stay Home appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "U.S. immigration policy has reportedly triggered a sharp drop in visitors from Europe.\nThe number of travelers from western Europe who spent at least one night in the U.S. dropped by 17% year over year in March, the Financial Times (FT) reported Friday (April 11), citing data from the International Trade Administration (ITA).\nFrom some countries \u2014 Ireland, Germany and Norway among them \u2014 travel declined by more than 20%, the ITA data showed.\nThis trend, the FT noted, threatens America\u2019s tourism industry, which makes up 2.5% of the country\u2019s gross domestic product. Some airline and hotel companies have warned of cooling demand for transatlantic travel and a \u201cbad buzz\u201d about visiting the U.S.\nThe number of overseas visitors to the U.S. fell by 12% year over year in March, the sharpest decline since March 2021, the middle of the COVID pandemic.\n\u201cIn just two months [Trump] has destroyed the reputation of the U.S., shown one way by diminished travel from the EU to the U.S.,\u201d said Paul English, co-founder of travel website Kayak. \u201cThis is not only one more terrible blow to the U.S. economy, it also represents reputation damage that could take generations to repair.\u201d\nThe report said some of the reluctance is being fueled by U.S. immigration policy amid a rash of incidents in which overseas travelers were detained at the border.\nReports of those incidents led Gloria Sync, an artist and author in Nottingham, England, to call off a visit to San Francisco planned for next month.\n\u201cThe borders seem unsafe,\u201d Sync, who is transgender and said she was concerned about the \u201cunwanted attention\u201d her identity could bring at the border, told the FT. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll ever go back, to be honest.\u201d\nThe decline in EU to U.S. tourism comes as Americans are spending less on travel, with airline fares down 5.3% according to the latest Consumer Price Index figures.\nMeanwhile, Delta Airlines warned last week of widespread uncertainty as it released its quarterly earnings.\n\u201cConsistent with our update last month, February and March reflected a much more challenging macro environment than anyone initially planned for,\u201d Delta CEO Ed Bastian said during an earnings call. \u201cComing into 2025, we were positioned for another year of strong growth. However, given broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.\u201d\nThe post Report: Trump Policies Hurting Tourism as Europeans Stay Home appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-13T16:17:40-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-13T16:19:10-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/travel-policy.jpg", "tags": [ "air travel", "Donald Trump", "Economy", "Immigration", "International Trade Administration", "Kayak", "News", "Paul English", "PYMNTS News", "tariffs", "Tourism", "travel", "travel industry", "trump", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2683466", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/economy/2025/tariffs-leave-businesses-constantly-dealing-with-uncertainty/", "title": "Tariffs Leave Businesses \u2018Constantly Dealing With Uncertainty\u2019", "content_html": "President Donald Trump\u2019s 90-day tariff pause is of cold comfort to some U.S. businesses.
\nAs Reuters reported Saturday, businesses ranging from toy stores to lip balm makers to concert halls are all feeling the effect of the levies, whether it means increased service costs or a jump in the price of goods.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re constantly dealing with the uncertainty of the future and of our future supply chains,\u201d said Steve Shriver, the founder and CEO of Eco Lips, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, health and beauty company that sources ingredients from more than 50 countries, selling its products in 40,000 stores around the country.
\nOn the day Trump announced the tariff pause, Shriver wrote to 300 clients, letting them know Eco Lips was raising prices.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t trust it. It\u2019s a 90-day pause. It could change again in 10 days,\u201d Shriver said. \u201cThere are still 10% tariffs across the board, and that\u2019s a substantial addition to our prices.\u201d
\nHe projected that his yearly cost of goods could climb by $5 million, in addition to the $10 million Eco Lops usually spends on things like ingredients that cannot be grown in the U.S., such as vanilla, coconut oil and cacao.
\nOther businesspeople interviewed by Reuters said they were worried about ongoing economic turbulence, saying they have canceled purchase orders, or delayed hiring and expansion plans.
\nAisha Ahmad-Post, the executive director for the Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver, told Reuters the tariffs have crimped her organization\u2019s plans to replace the 971 chairs in one of its concert halls.
\n\u201cThe chairs are already in production, it\u2019s not like we can just pivot,\u201d Ahmad-Post said. \u201cNow we\u2019re stuck trying to figure out how we\u2019ll pay for this.\u201d
\nResearch by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown that close to 20% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are pessimistic about their odds of survival over the next five years.
\nThat research \u2014\u00a0from the report \u201cBrewing Storm: Why 1 in 5 Smaller Businesses Without Financing Fear They May Not Survive Tariffs\u201d \u2014\u00a0found that 7% of all SMBs \u2014 and 13% of SMBs without access to financing \u2014 said they were unlikely to make it through the next two years.
\nThese businesses were surveyed between Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, when the White House had introduced tariffs against Canada, China and Mexico but before many countries announced retaliatory levies and a global trade war kicked off.
\nThe post Tariffs Leave Businesses ‘Constantly Dealing With Uncertainty’ appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "President Donald Trump\u2019s 90-day tariff pause is of cold comfort to some U.S. businesses.\nAs Reuters reported Saturday, businesses ranging from toy stores to lip balm makers to concert halls are all feeling the effect of the levies, whether it means increased service costs or a jump in the price of goods.\n\u201cWe\u2019re constantly dealing with the uncertainty of the future and of our future supply chains,\u201d said Steve Shriver, the founder and CEO of Eco Lips, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, health and beauty company that sources ingredients from more than 50 countries, selling its products in 40,000 stores around the country.\nOn the day Trump announced the tariff pause, Shriver wrote to 300 clients, letting them know Eco Lips was raising prices.\n\u201cI don\u2019t trust it. It\u2019s a 90-day pause. It could change again in 10 days,\u201d Shriver said. \u201cThere are still 10% tariffs across the board, and that\u2019s a substantial addition to our prices.\u201d\nHe projected that his yearly cost of goods could climb by $5 million, in addition to the $10 million Eco Lops usually spends on things like ingredients that cannot be grown in the U.S., such as vanilla, coconut oil and cacao.\nOther businesspeople interviewed by Reuters said they were worried about ongoing economic turbulence, saying they have canceled purchase orders, or delayed hiring and expansion plans.\nAisha Ahmad-Post, the executive director for the Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver, told Reuters the tariffs have crimped her organization\u2019s plans to replace the 971 chairs in one of its concert halls.\n\u201cThe chairs are already in production, it\u2019s not like we can just pivot,\u201d Ahmad-Post said. \u201cNow we\u2019re stuck trying to figure out how we\u2019ll pay for this.\u201d\nResearch by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown that close to 20% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are pessimistic about their odds of survival over the next five years.\nThat research \u2014\u00a0from the report \u201cBrewing Storm: Why 1 in 5 Smaller Businesses Without Financing Fear They May Not Survive Tariffs\u201d \u2014\u00a0found that 7% of all SMBs \u2014 and 13% of SMBs without access to financing \u2014 said they were unlikely to make it through the next two years.\nThese businesses were surveyed between Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, when the White House had introduced tariffs against Canada, China and Mexico but before many countries announced retaliatory levies and a global trade war kicked off.\nThe post Tariffs Leave Businesses ‘Constantly Dealing With Uncertainty’ appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-13T15:55:29-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-13T15:56:45-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tariffs-businesses.jpg", "tags": [ "Donald Trump", "Economy", "News", "politics", "PYMNTS News", "small and medium businesses", "small businesses", "SMBs", "tariffs", "trade war", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2681903", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/technology/2025/microsofts-greatest-hits-and-epic-fails-a-50-year-wild-ride/", "title": "Microsoft\u2019s Greatest Hits and Epic Fails: A 50-Year Wild Ride", "content_html": "It\u2019s hard to believe Microsoft hit the big 5-0 this month.
\nIt\u2019s also equally astounding that we have been fighting Windows bugs and frozen screens for decades \u2014 and yell \u201cCome on!\u201d when it decides to do long software updates just before an important business presentation.
\n
Microsoft is now one of the most valuable companies in the world, but there was a time when things were touch and go. Even Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen on April 4, 1975, wasn\u2019t sure if they\u2019d make it.
\n\u201cI was always running scared,\u201d Gates said in an interview with Geekwire. However, by the late 1990s, \u201cwe were so successful that even I could say, \u2018Ok, we might even make a few mistakes and not disappear.\u201d
\nThen the internet arrived, promising a new era of disruption for a mature Microsoft \u2014 along with an antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. government seeking to break the company up due to its Windows operating system dominance.
\n\u201cWe had this schizophrenic thing \u2014 \u2018Are we so obsolete that nobody should care about us? Or are we so dominant we have to be split into pieces? I mean, which one is it? Just tell me!\u2019\u201d said Gates, throwing his hands up.
\nRead more: Microsoft to Invest $80 Billion in AI-Focused Data Centers Amid \u2018Golden Opportunity\u2019
\n![\"\"](\"https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Microsoft.png\")
Gates, the company\u2019s first CEO, would step down in 2000 to make way for Steve Ballmer, a former Harvard classmate. As CEO, Ballmer made some smart moves, diving into enterprise software and launching the Xbox gaming console and Microsoft\u2019s Azure cloud business. All are big money makers.
\nBut he also had some doozies: acquiring Nokia to boost a failing phone business and launching Bing. Ballmer also famously laughed at the iPhone.
\n\u201c$500, fully subsidized with a (phone) plan? That is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn\u2019t appeal to business customers because it doesn\u2019t have a keyboard,\u201d he said in 2007, the year the iPhone launched.
\nBallmer brought his trademark energy to work: He\u2019s known for running on stage at Microsoft\u2019s conferences screaming, \u201cdevelopers, developers, developers!\u201d
\nIn 2014, Satya Nadella, an Azure executive, took over from Ballmer as CEO. He got rid of the failed phone business \u2014 Windows Phone and Nokia \u2014 changed the culture to be more collaborative and is doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI).
\nToday, Microsoft has a market cap of $2.84 trillion (as of midday on April 9) as the second most valuable company in the world, after Apple.
\nWithout further ado, here are Microsoft\u2019s greatest hits and epic fails as the company celebrates half a century of existence.
\nSee also: Senators Press Microsoft and Google Over AI Cloud Alliances Amid Antitrust Concerns
\nMicrosoft paid the Rolling Stones a reported $3 million to use their song, \u201cStart Me Up,\u201d in the marketing campaign to launch Windows 95. People camped outside stores to get their copy. It was the first Windows with a \u201cstart\u201d button and task bar.
\nBut it also arguably gave birth to a generation of IT guys who are still telling employees with computer problems: \u201cDid you try turning it off and on?\u201d
\n2. Microsoft Office \u2014 the productivity machine that runs the world
\nLove it or hate it, Office has been the backbone of productivity since floppy disks were actually floppy. PowerPoint single-handedly created an entire genre of corporate torture in countless business meetings.
\nWord has processed more college essays, resumes and passive-aggressive office memos than all other software combined. Excel\u2019s ability to calculate complex formulas saved accounting departments from nervous breakdowns.
\nThere\u2019s even a Microsoft Excel Championship \u2014 no, it\u2019s not a marketing gimmick by the company. It\u2019s an esport played by hundreds of Excel fans, created by a financial analyst from Latvia (not making this up).
\n3. Xbox \u2014 from zero to Halo hero
\nWhile Sony PlayStation and Nintendo were duking it out, Microsoft crash-landed into the gaming world with a giant black box and literally changed the game. Xbox Live basically invented online console gaming as we know it.
\nXbox is the exclusive home of one of the biggest gaming hits ever: Halo. It has reportedly made as much as $10 billion for Microsoft. Not bad, Ballmer.
\n4. Azure \u2014 the money printing machine
\nWhile AWS got the early lead, Microsoft came back swinging. Azure is now the cloud platform your CEO pretends to understand and your IT department depends on. Azure transformed Microsoft from a has-been software company into a cloud computing juggernaut. Nadella essentially turned \u201cboring enterprise solutions\u201d into the buzziest part of Microsoft\u2019s business solutions \u2014 like making accounting the most popular major at college.
\n5. OpenAI investment \u2014 bull\u2019s eye on AI
\nMicrosoft first invested in this tiny startup called OpenAI in 2019, with $1 billion. That\u2019s a lot of money to give a startup. But three years later, it looked like a savvy bet when ChatGPT took the world by the proverbial storm. AI became a household word. Microsoft would invest a total of more than $13 billion in OpenAI and enjoy exclusive access to its pre-AGI foundation AI models as competitors scrambled to match them.
\nIt’s Microsoft\u2019s shrewdest move since coming up with CTRL+ALT+Delete.
\nRead more: Microsoft\u2019s Q2 AI Business Soars but Cloud, Guidance Disappoint
\n![\"Clippy\"](\"https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Clippy.png?w=145\")
1. Cippy \u2014 the annoying sidekick
\u201cIt looks like you’re writing a letter. Would you like help?\u201d NO, CLIPPY, WE WOULD NOT.
\nMicrosoft\u2019s early, bumbling version of a digital assistant in the form of an overeager animated paperclip invaded our documents with the persistence of a telemarketer. Clippy was so disliked that Microsoft killed him off in 2001 \u2014 the only office supply that was both famous and infamous.\u00a0One headline: \u201cThe Tragic Life of Clippy, the World\u2019s Most Hated Virtual Assistant.\u201d
\n2. Zune: The iPod killer that became a meme
\nRemember Zune? No? Exactly. Microsoft\u2019s answer to the iPod arrived with a resounding thud. It wasn\u2019t actually bad, but Zune landed at exactly the wrong time, launched in 2006 just as everyone was switching to smartphones. Now, it\u2019s a meme.
\nYet there still exists an enclave of Zune diehards \u2014 on Reddit.
\n3. Windows Vista: The OS that made everyone miss Windows XP
\nAmong Microsoft\u2019s Windows releases, Windows Vista is often considered the most reviled operating system version for business and home users \u2014 verified by an online vote. (Windows Millennium Edition was actually more hated, but it\u2019s meant only for home users.)
\n\u201cAfter the great success of Windows XP, Windows Vista was a fiasco,\u201d according to a Howtogeek.com blog post. It not only came in six \u201cconfusing\u201d editions \u2014 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate \u2014 but \u201cran sluggishly\u201d on PCs and was a \u201cmemory hog.\u201d
\nWho could forget the \u201cdreaded\u201d User Account Control prompts that would \u201cpop up every few minutes to cover the screen\u201d when using the computer? Thankfully, Windows 7 fixed Vista\u2019s problems, according to the blog post.
\n4. Nokia acquisition \u2014 the $7.2 billion dumpster fire
\nIn 2013, Microsoft bought Nokia\u2019s phone division for $7.2 billion as it tried to revive its own handset ambitions. At the time, it had the Windows Phone mobile operating system and its Lumia line of Microsoft phones. But by then, mobile was a two-horse race between Apple\u2019s iOS and Google\u2019s Android.
\nNadella ended Microsoft\u2019s foray into mobile phones in 2017, which he later told Business Insider as something he regrets.
\n5. Bing \u2014 is an explanation even needed?
\nAs Zune was Microsoft\u2019s answer to the iPod, Bing was its rebuttal to Google Search. The results were similar: Microsoft fell flat. Google has an 89.7% global market share compared to Bing\u2019s 4%, according to Statcounter.
\nLet Eddy Cue, Apple\u2019s senior vice president of services, express how consumers feel about Bing.
\nDuring a deposition in the U.S. government\u2019s antitrust lawsuit against Google, Cue was asked about the decision to choose Google Search over Bing to power iPhones and other iOS devices.
\nCue said they wanted a revenue-sharing arrangement and Google had the best search engine while Bing was \u201cinferior.\u201d Google would bring more money to Apple over time.
\nBut even if Microsoft matched Google, Apple would never switch. \u201cI don\u2019t believe there\u2019s a price in the world that Microsoft could offer us,\u201d Cue said.
\nThe post Microsoft\u2019s Greatest Hits and Epic Fails: A 50-Year Wild Ride appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "It\u2019s hard to believe Microsoft hit the big 5-0 this month.\nIt\u2019s also equally astounding that we have been fighting Windows bugs and frozen screens for decades \u2014 and yell \u201cCome on!\u201d when it decides to do long software updates just before an important business presentation.\n\nMicrosoft is now one of the most valuable companies in the world, but there was a time when things were touch and go. Even Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen on April 4, 1975, wasn\u2019t sure if they\u2019d make it.\n\u201cI was always running scared,\u201d Gates said in an interview with Geekwire. However, by the late 1990s, \u201cwe were so successful that even I could say, \u2018Ok, we might even make a few mistakes and not disappear.\u201d\nThen the internet arrived, promising a new era of disruption for a mature Microsoft \u2014 along with an antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. government seeking to break the company up due to its Windows operating system dominance.\n\u201cWe had this schizophrenic thing \u2014 \u2018Are we so obsolete that nobody should care about us? Or are we so dominant we have to be split into pieces? I mean, which one is it? Just tell me!\u2019\u201d said Gates, throwing his hands up.\nRead more: Microsoft to Invest $80 Billion in AI-Focused Data Centers Amid \u2018Golden Opportunity\u2019\n\u2018Developers, Developers, Developers!\u2019\n\nGates, the company\u2019s first CEO, would step down in 2000 to make way for Steve Ballmer, a former Harvard classmate. As CEO, Ballmer made some smart moves, diving into enterprise software and launching the Xbox gaming console and Microsoft\u2019s Azure cloud business. All are big money makers.\nBut he also had some doozies: acquiring Nokia to boost a failing phone business and launching Bing. Ballmer also famously laughed at the iPhone.\n\u201c$500, fully subsidized with a (phone) plan? That is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn\u2019t appeal to business customers because it doesn\u2019t have a keyboard,\u201d he said in 2007, the year the iPhone launched.\nBallmer brought his trademark energy to work: He\u2019s known for running on stage at Microsoft\u2019s conferences screaming, \u201cdevelopers, developers, developers!\u201d\nIn 2014, Satya Nadella, an Azure executive, took over from Ballmer as CEO. He got rid of the failed phone business \u2014 Windows Phone and Nokia \u2014 changed the culture to be more collaborative and is doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI).\nToday, Microsoft has a market cap of $2.84 trillion (as of midday on April 9) as the second most valuable company in the world, after Apple.\nWithout further ado, here are Microsoft\u2019s greatest hits and epic fails as the company celebrates half a century of existence.\nSee also: Senators Press Microsoft and Google Over AI Cloud Alliances Amid Antitrust Concerns\nThe Magnificent 5\n1. Windows 95 \u2014 the launch heard around the world (literally a six-second chiming sound)\nMicrosoft paid the Rolling Stones a reported $3 million to use their song, \u201cStart Me Up,\u201d in the marketing campaign to launch Windows 95. People camped outside stores to get their copy. It was the first Windows with a \u201cstart\u201d button and task bar.\nBut it also arguably gave birth to a generation of IT guys who are still telling employees with computer problems: \u201cDid you try turning it off and on?\u201d\n2. Microsoft Office \u2014 the productivity machine that runs the world\nLove it or hate it, Office has been the backbone of productivity since floppy disks were actually floppy. PowerPoint single-handedly created an entire genre of corporate torture in countless business meetings.\nWord has processed more college essays, resumes and passive-aggressive office memos than all other software combined. Excel\u2019s ability to calculate complex formulas saved accounting departments from nervous breakdowns.\nThere\u2019s even a Microsoft Excel Championship \u2014 no, it\u2019s not a marketing gimmick by the company. It\u2019s an esport played by hundreds of Excel fans, created by a financial analyst from Latvia (not making this up).\n3. Xbox \u2014 from zero to Halo hero\nWhile Sony PlayStation and Nintendo were duking it out, Microsoft crash-landed into the gaming world with a giant black box and literally changed the game. Xbox Live basically invented online console gaming as we know it.\nXbox is the exclusive home of one of the biggest gaming hits ever: Halo. It has reportedly made as much as $10 billion for Microsoft. Not bad, Ballmer.\n4. Azure \u2014 the money printing machine\nWhile AWS got the early lead, Microsoft came back swinging. Azure is now the cloud platform your CEO pretends to understand and your IT department depends on. Azure transformed Microsoft from a has-been software company into a cloud computing juggernaut. Nadella essentially turned \u201cboring enterprise solutions\u201d into the buzziest part of Microsoft\u2019s business solutions \u2014 like making accounting the most popular major at college.\n5. OpenAI investment \u2014 bull\u2019s eye on AI\nMicrosoft first invested in this tiny startup called OpenAI in 2019, with $1 billion. That\u2019s a lot of money to give a startup. But three years later, it looked like a savvy bet when ChatGPT took the world by the proverbial storm. AI became a household word. Microsoft would invest a total of more than $13 billion in OpenAI and enjoy exclusive access to its pre-AGI foundation AI models as competitors scrambled to match them.\nIt’s Microsoft\u2019s shrewdest move since coming up with CTRL+ALT+Delete.\nRead more: Microsoft\u2019s Q2 AI Business Soars but Cloud, Guidance Disappoint\nThe \u2018What Were They Thinking\u2019 Flops\n1. Cippy \u2014 the annoying sidekick\n\u201cIt looks like you’re writing a letter. Would you like help?\u201d NO, CLIPPY, WE WOULD NOT.\nMicrosoft\u2019s early, bumbling version of a digital assistant in the form of an overeager animated paperclip invaded our documents with the persistence of a telemarketer. Clippy was so disliked that Microsoft killed him off in 2001 \u2014 the only office supply that was both famous and infamous.\u00a0One headline: \u201cThe Tragic Life of Clippy, the World\u2019s Most Hated Virtual Assistant.\u201d\n2. Zune: The iPod killer that became a meme\nRemember Zune? No? Exactly. Microsoft\u2019s answer to the iPod arrived with a resounding thud. It wasn\u2019t actually bad, but Zune landed at exactly the wrong time, launched in 2006 just as everyone was switching to smartphones. Now, it\u2019s a meme.\nYet there still exists an enclave of Zune diehards \u2014 on Reddit.\n3. Windows Vista: The OS that made everyone miss Windows XP\nAmong Microsoft\u2019s Windows releases, Windows Vista is often considered the most reviled operating system version for business and home users \u2014 verified by an online vote. (Windows Millennium Edition was actually more hated, but it\u2019s meant only for home users.)\n\u201cAfter the great success of Windows XP, Windows Vista was a fiasco,\u201d according to a Howtogeek.com blog post. It not only came in six \u201cconfusing\u201d editions \u2014 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate \u2014 but \u201cran sluggishly\u201d on PCs and was a \u201cmemory hog.\u201d\nWho could forget the \u201cdreaded\u201d User Account Control prompts that would \u201cpop up every few minutes to cover the screen\u201d when using the computer? Thankfully, Windows 7 fixed Vista\u2019s problems, according to the blog post.\n4. Nokia acquisition \u2014 the $7.2 billion dumpster fire\nIn 2013, Microsoft bought Nokia\u2019s phone division for $7.2 billion as it tried to revive its own handset ambitions. At the time, it had the Windows Phone mobile operating system and its Lumia line of Microsoft phones. But by then, mobile was a two-horse race between Apple\u2019s iOS and Google\u2019s Android.\nNadella ended Microsoft\u2019s foray into mobile phones in 2017, which he later told Business Insider as something he regrets.\n5. Bing \u2014 is an explanation even needed?\nAs Zune was Microsoft\u2019s answer to the iPod, Bing was its rebuttal to Google Search. The results were similar: Microsoft fell flat. Google has an 89.7% global market share compared to Bing\u2019s 4%, according to Statcounter.\nLet Eddy Cue, Apple\u2019s senior vice president of services, express how consumers feel about Bing.\nDuring a deposition in the U.S. government\u2019s antitrust lawsuit against Google, Cue was asked about the decision to choose Google Search over Bing to power iPhones and other iOS devices.\nCue said they wanted a revenue-sharing arrangement and Google had the best search engine while Bing was \u201cinferior.\u201d Google would bring more money to Apple over time.\nBut even if Microsoft matched Google, Apple would never switch. \u201cI don\u2019t believe there\u2019s a price in the world that Microsoft could offer us,\u201d Cue said.\nThe post Microsoft\u2019s Greatest Hits and Epic Fails: A 50-Year Wild Ride appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2025-04-12T04:00:22-04:00", "date_modified": "2025-04-10T15:33:14-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Microsoft-50-hits.jpg", "tags": [ "Bill Gates", "Main Feature", "Microsoft", "Microsoft Excel", "Microsoft Windows", "News", "PYMNTS News", "PYMNTS Weekender", "Saturday Feature", "Satya Nadella", "software", "Technology", "Weekender", "Xbox" ] } ] }