• AI startups raised $60 billion last year and investors have continued to pile in on the tech in 2023.
• The frenzy around AI comes after the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot.
• Below are 37 pitch decks used by startups deploying AI in everything from health to property.

There's an AI gold rush right now.

Investment into startups using or creating artificial intelligence hit an all-time high in 2021, with $113.3 billion poured into the sector, per Dealroom data. This fell to $60 billion in 2022 but that figure is likely to be exceeded this year with $57 billion already invested by venture capitalists.

The investor rush is down, in part, to the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 by US startup OpenAI, cofounded by Sam Altman and Elon Musk. The chatbot became the fastest-growing app in internet history, and almost immediately disrupted education, copywriting, consultancy, and other sectors.

It's possible that it's just another bubble, akin to the short-lived Web3 fad of 2022. But proponents say AI has broader use cases and few similarities to crypto's "cynical business models". AI was also alive and well long before the current hype around generative AI.

Recent, high-profile rounds include Andreessen Horowitz and ex-GitHub CEO Nat Friedman leading an anticipated $18 million round into voice intelligence startup ElevenLabs, at a possible valuation of $100 million. Venture capitalists are also eyeing startups in the vector-database sector, where valuations are hitting up to $700 million. 

These are some of the pitch decks that founders have recently used to raise millions for their AI startups, from top investors such as Temasek, Insight Partners, Alven, Index Ventures, and more.

Generative AI, media, and design

This startup uses generative AI to speed up the property-buying process. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck Orbital Witness used to raise $9 million.

Wondercraft wants to be the AI-driven 'Canva of audio.' Check out the 9-slide pitch deck it used to raise $3 million.

Kinnu helps users improve their long-term memory and their rate of learning. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck it used to raise $6.5 million.

Portkey.ai makes it easier to build generative AI apps. Check out the 14-slide deck it used to raise $3 million from Lightspeed.

Aindo uses generative AI to develop synthetic data. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck used to secured $6 million.

Supernormal, a generative AI startup that automates meeting notes, just raised $10 million. Check out the 17-slide pitch deck it used to bag the seed round.

This startup, founded by ex-Google and Palantir staffers, uses AI to generate realistic voiceovers. Here's the 14-slide pitch deck ElevenLabs used to raise $2 million.

Creative Fabrica raised $61 million after launching AI design tools based on GPT-3 and Stable Diffusion. Check out its 19-slide pitch deck.

Checkstep uses AI to moderate online platforms. Here's the 7-slide pitch deck it used to raise $5 million in seed funding.

This AI startup helps Big Tech firms compress videos while maintaining quality. Check out the 50-slide pitch deck Deep Render used to raise $9 million.

Health tech

This former Googler's stealth startup helps scientists design proteins using AI. Check out the 16-slide deck Cradle used to raise $5.4 million in seed funding.

Thymia uses AI to assess and track patients' mental health conditions. Check out the 9-slide deck it used to secure $2.7 million.

These 3 founders are using AI to analyze patients' biological profiles and recommend drugs. Here's the 15-slide pitch deck they used to raise $5 million backed by Microsoft.

This startup using AI to help nurses manage their workflow just landed $5.3 million. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck Teton.AI used to raise the funds.

Cradle uses generative AI to design proteins more efficiently. See the 17-slide deck it used to secure $24 million from Index Ventures.

Enterprise

RagaAI tests AI models. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck it used to raise $4.7 million.

Check out the 11-slide pitch deck these ex-DeepMind staffers used to raise $5.5 million for their large language model startup Glyphic AI

This ex-Googler's startup makes implementing AI simpler. Check out the 9-slide pitch deck RapidCanvas used to raise $7.5 million.

This startup helps Fortune 500 companies build computer vision AI models. Check out the 44-slide animated pitch deck V7 used to raise a $33 million Series A.

This startup uses AI to help fashion companies cut waste. Check out the 9-slide pitch deck Hakio used to raise $4.3 million.

AI startup Kaikaku has launched a robot-powered restaurant. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck it used to raise $1.8 million.

This Yahoo spinout uses AI to help companies store and search data instantly. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck Vespa.ai used to raise $31 million.

Check out the pitch decks AI startups Viso, Weav.ai, Dashtoon, and Frenetic used to raise a collective $31.2 million

ScorePlay, a sports media platform using AI, just raised $5 million in a round led by Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six

Voxel uses AI and computer vision to improve workplace safety. Check out the 8-slide pitch deck it used to raise $12 million.

Opus uses AI to help train up deskless workers. Check out the 19-slide pitch deck it used to raise $6.8 million.

This startup combines neuroscience and AI to predict consumer spending for the likes of Google and Ikea. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck Neurons used to raise $6 million.

Buynomics uses behavioral economics to help predict customer behavior. Here's the 14-slide deck it used to raise $13 million led by Twitter-backers Insight Partners.

This startup wants to remove unconscious bias in recruitment through AI. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Screenloop used to raise $7 million in seed funding.

Fetch.ai helps companies build and deploy autonomous smart agents. Check out the 19-slide pitch deck it used to raise $40 million.

This AI startup helps firms like TrueLayer and CurrencyCloud meet their revenue targets. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Kluster used to raise $5 million.

Iris Audio, a startup that uses AI to isolate voices and remove background noise from calls, just raised $7 million with this 13-slide pitch deck

Centuro Global becomes the latest AI startup to tap up investors in 2023. Check out the 16-slide pitch deck it used to raise $4 million.

This startup deploys AI in restaurants to make them operate more efficiently. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck Nory used to raise $7.6 million.

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• Iran's attack on Israel could impact Russia's war in Ukraine.
• Iran is a key arms supplier and economic partner to Russia.
• A broader Middle East conflict could also boost China's regional influence at Russia's expense.

Iran's attack on Israel on Saturday is bad not only for the Middle East, but also for Russia's war in Ukraine as new fault lines emerge between Moscow and Tehran.

Michelle Grisé, a senior policy researcher at RAND, an American think tank, described in a commentary how a broader conflict in the Middle East could impact Russia. The commentary was first published in The National Interest magazine on April 11 — days before Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel on April 13.

Grisé's piece followed a strike on Iran's embassy in Damascus, Syria, on April 1. Israel did not claim responsibility for the strike, but Iran held it accountable and vowed retaliation.

"Although it has been argued that Moscow benefits from chaos in the Middle East — diverting Western attention and resources from Ukraine — it stands to lose a great deal if the Israel-Hamas conflict escalates into a wider war," Grisé wrote.

Russia has been installing itself as a military and diplomatic player in the Middle East for years.

Moscow has capitalized on instability in Syria and Libya to establish itself as a regional security guarantor, but an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East would not have the same effect, Grisé wrote.

This is in part due to Moscow's preoccupation with its war in Ukraine, Grisé wrote. Russia's partnership with Iran has also deepened in the last two years as Russia's heavily sanctioned economy became increasingly isolated.

Iran is now a critical military supplier to Russia. An Iranian "ghost fleet" has also been carrying Russian oil around the world since the war in Ukraine started, keeping Moscow's oil revenue flowing.

However, should Iran become embroiled in a wider conflict, it would not be able to provide the same level of support to Russia.

"A broader regional conflict, particularly if it involves direct conflict between Israel and Iran, would limit Iran's ability to continue serving as a military supplier to Russia," wrote Grisé.

Furthermore, "Tehran may demand more support when Russia has limited capacity to provide it," she added.

The Group of Seven, or G7, nations is already considering additional sanctions against Iran following its attack on Israel — which could spill over to Russia.

"We will reflect on additional sanctions against Iran in close cooperation with our partners, specifically on its drone and missile programs," Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said in a statement on Sunday.

A broader Middle East conflict could boost China's clout in the region at Moscow's expense

Even though Russia is preoccupied with the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has still managed to position himself as a potential power broker in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.

But Putin's plan could fall apart should the war spill over regionally, since Beijing is also jostling to play peacemaker.

"Russia would be especially sensitive to Chinese attempts to encroach on its influence in the Middle East," Grisé wrote in her commentary.

This is especially so since Beijing managed to deliver results in March 2023, brokering a détente between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Grisé added.

Since Russia's heavily sanctioned economy is already reliant on China, it would be even more exposed to Beijing's whims should Moscow not be able to hang onto any shred of global influence it still has.

In a statement on Sunday, Russia's foreign ministry expressed "extreme concern" at what it called "yet another dangerous escalation" in the region.

Calling for restraint, Russia's foreign ministry said it expects regional states "to resolve the existing problems through political and diplomatic means."

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• Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez aren't the only couple that's stepping it up in the fashion arena.
• Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan were seen trying out the "mob chic" look at Saturday's UFC event. 
• Zuckerberg rocked a fit straight out of Eminem's rapper-swag playbook, while Chan went for an all-black number.

Step aside Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez; there's a new it couple in town, and they're coming for the "mob chic" crown.

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, debuted some fashionable fits at Saturday's UFC 300 event.

"What an epic night," the tech billionaire wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

While this isn't the first time Zuckerberg, a known martial arts enthusiast, has taken his wife to a UFC event, the couple has had a major fashion glow-up.

In October 2022, Zuckerberg and Chan attended a UFC Fight Night event together. At the time, Zuckerberg wore an army-green T-shirt, while Chan wore a floral print dress.

Now, it seems they have majorly stepped up their ringside fits.

Zuckerberg rocked what looked a lot like an Eminem-inspired outfit on Saturday, donning a simple white t-shirt and black pants. He also wore a chain to complete the look, leaning into some rapper swag straight out of the 2000s.

Chan, meanwhile, appeared to be trying her hand at the "mob wife" aesthetic that's gone viral on social media. Besides donning sunglasses, Chan wore a gold necklace and paired it with a slick all-black outfit.

Zuckerberg and Chan may be taking a leaf out of Bezos' and Sánchez's playbook.

In January, Bezos and Sánchez were spotted channeling the "mob chic" look when they attended the Dolce & Gabbana Party at the Milan Fashion Week.

Both glow-ups appear to mark an intentional, choreographed shift in fashion choices by tech billionaires like Zuckerberg and Bezos. Both men have abandoned low-effort, casual dressing in favor of louder luxury, with a lot more bling.

And nowhere has that shift been clearer with Zuckerberg. The now-shredded Meta founder has ditched his once-standard array of gray t-shirts and hoodies for shearling brown jackets and other statement pieces.

Zuckerberg has also been down to trade fits with his fellow billionaires.

In March, Zuckerberg said he did a "jersey swap" with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The pair were photographed swapping jackets, with Huang wearing Zuckerberg's brown coat while Zuckerberg wore Huang's iconic black leather jacket.

Zuckerberg even had major watch envy when he saw Anant Ambani's Richard Mille watch during the latter's pre-wedding celebrations in March.

"You know, I never really wanted to get a watch. But after seeing that, I was like, watches are cool," Zuckerberg said then.

Representatives for Zuckerberg at Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

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• David Petraeus told CNN that Israel could mount a covert response against Iran's drone strikes.
• "They can pursue asymmetric attacks, cyberspace, and so forth," Petraeus said.
• Saturday's drone strikes mark the first time Iran has directly attacked Israel. 

A former CIA director says Israel could take a covert, rather than an overt, response against the Iranian drone strikes that took place on Saturday.

"There's a whole menu of actions that they can take, not all of which are necessarily overt. They can pursue covert. They can pursue asymmetric attacks, cyberspace, and so forth," former CIA director and retired general David Petraeus told CNN on Sunday.

"And keep in mind that, of course, Washington is meeting with the other G7 countries to determine what kind of diplomatic and economic responses should follow in a coordinated effort as well," Petraeus added.

On Saturday, Iran launched an airborne attack against Israel and fired off more than 300 drones and missiles. Israel's military said it was able to intercept 99% of the munitions with the support of the US, UK, French, and Jordanian militaries.

The attack, Iran said, was an act of retaliation for Israel's bombing of an Iranian diplomatic facility in Syria on April 1. The airstrike had reportedly killed several top Iranian military commanders. Saturday's attack marks the first time Iran has directly attacked Israel.

"The matter can be deemed concluded. However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran's response will be considerably more severe," the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations wrote on X on Saturday.

However, experts believe that it is unlikely that Israel won't respond to Iran's attack.

"While Iran may now say that the issue is closed, it would be very surprising to see the Israelis not feel the need to respond, given the extent of the escalation," Carmiel Arbit, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, told BI's Rebecca Rommen.

To be sure, Israel is no stranger to covert operations in Iran.

Back in 2018, Israel deployed agents from its intelligence agency, Mossad, to Tehran, where they took files from Iran's nuclear archive, per The New York Times.

The same goes for Iran, who in January said they had attacked Mossad's headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region with ballistic missiles.

The risk of a continued tit-for-tat between Israel and Iran has rattled investors, who fear that further escalation could disrupt the supply of oil.

And that, Petraeus told CNN on Sunday, isn't something that Iran wants to see.

"Iran, I don't think, wants to have that disrupted either because they export about 1.6 or 1.7 million barrels a day themselves," Petraeus said.

"So, keep your eye on that. Brent Crude is already above $90 a barrel, and it would really spike if there was something that interfered with freedom of navigation," he continued.

Representatives for Petraeus did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

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• Apple's global iPhone shipments dropped by nearly 10% this quarter, a new research report said. 
• Global smartphone shipments rose by 7.8%, as Chinese smartphone makers shipped more.
• Samsung surpassed Apple's shipments by 10 million units in the first three months of the year.

In another blow to Apple, iPhone shipments fell nearly 10% in the first three months of the year, even as global smartphone shipments increased.

South Korea-based Samsung beat its American counterpart by 10 million units in the first quarter, according to a report released on Monday by market researcher International Data Corporation. Samsung regained its top spot as the smartphone maker with the highest shipments, a title it lost in the last three months of 2023.

iPhone shipments are a closely watched metric because the devices comprise the bulk of the company's sales. The company sold $69.7 billion of iPhones in the three months ending December 31, according to the company's most recent quarterly report. Services came in second, at $23.1 billion.

Apple is facing a slew of challenges this year. iPhone sales fell in China, a key market. In recent months, the company abandoned an expensive and decade-long electric vehicle project, and like other Big Tech companies, Apple was recently hit with an antitrust lawsuit by the US Justice Department.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Global smartphone shipments rose for a third straight quarter, up 7.8% year-over-year, signaling a rebound in the overall industry. Last year, annual shipments rose 8.1% from 2022, when they fell lower than 2013 levels due to weak demand and inflation.

"There is a shift in power among the Top 5 companies, which will likely continue as market players adjust their strategies in a post-recovery world," Nabila Popal, an IDC research director, wrote in Monday's report. Apple and Samsung "both saw negative growth in the first quarter, it seems Samsung is in a stronger position overall than they were in recent quarters."

Both Apple and Samsung saw a drop in year-on-year shipments, while Chinese manufacturers Xiaomi and Transsion saw close to a 34% and 85% rise, respectively, from the first quarter last year, per the IDC report.

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• Mark Cuban says he'll be paying $288 million in taxes to the IRS.
• "I pay what I owe," Cuban wrote on X. 
• The billionaire says he's "proud to pay my taxes every single year," unlike one ex-president.

Billionaire Mark Cuban says he's happy to pay his fair share of taxes — unlike one former president.

"I pay what I owe. Tomorrow I will wire transfer to the IRS $288,000,000.00," Cuban wrote on X on Sunday.

"This country has done so much for me, I'm proud to pay my taxes every single year. Tag a former president that you know doesn't," Cuban added, in what appeared to be a jab at former President Donald Trump.

This isn't the first time Cuban has taken a swipe at Trump. Last month, Cuban told Axios that he would vote for President Joe Biden over Trump "all day every day."

"I don't want a snake oil salesperson as president," Cuban said of Trump.

"Trump voters are happy with their snake oil whether it works or not," he told Axios.

All things said, Trump hasn't been the biggest fan of Cuban either.

"I know Mark Cuban well. He backed me big-time but I wasn't interested in taking all of his calls. He's not smart enough to run for president!" Trump said of Cuban back in February 2017.

Cuban said he had nothing further to add when BI approached him for comment.

Trump has been evasive when it comes to talking about his tax returns. When he was first elected in 2016, Trump claimed that he was under audit and would release his tax returns when it was complete.

But the former president didn't disclose his tax returns until 2022, long after he left office.

Parts of Trump's past tax returns were also obtained by media outlets like The New York Times. In 2021, The Times reported that it had obtained more than two decades' worth of tax returns for Trump and his businesses.

According to The Times, Trump did not pay any federal income taxes for 10 years. The former president paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, per the outlet.

Trump's finances have come under intense scrutiny, particularly as his legal debts continue to pile up.

On April 1, Trump posted a $175 million bond for his New York civil fraud case after an appeals court slashed the amount he was required to pay. Trump was originally ordered to pay a bond of $454 million.

Besides the civil fraud case, Trump also owes $83.3 million in defamation damages to writer E. Jean Carroll. Last year, a jury had ruled that he'd sexually abused Carroll.

Trump experienced a brief turn in fortunes last month when shares for his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, skyrocketed after it went public.

According to Bloomberg, Trump's net worth went up by more than $4 billion when Trump Media's shares rallied.

Trump Media's stock prices, however, have since fallen. Trump also got bumped from Forbes' list of the world's 500 wealthiest people after the stock plunged.

Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

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• In 2016, Amazon launched a private-label brand, Wickedly Prime, to compete with Trader Joe's.
• The company hired a former senior manager at Trader Joe's snack division, per WSJ.
• The employee was hounded for data on Trader Joe's best-selling snacks and margins for each product.

An Amazon team that was developing the online giant's private-label food brand, Wickedly Prime, repeatedly pressured an ex-Trader Joe's senior manager for data that could help the company compete with the popular grocer, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In 2016, Amazon launched Wickedly Prime, which sells an assortment of food and snacks like roasted cashews and garlic mustard aioli. The project was just one of a few ways Amazon was entering the food space.

According to the Journal, Amazon appeared to have a model it wanted to replicate for Wickedly Prime: Trader Joe's.

So the company hired a former senior manager from the grocery store's snack foods division. The Journal reported that she was told only after being recruited that her role was to help create a product line for Amazon's private label.

According to the report, Amazon wanted to replicate the top 200 items sold at Trader Joe's. Because this data is not readily available, an Amazon manager repeatedly hounded the ex-Trader Joe's employee — who is not named in the Journal's article — for six months over data on the store's top products.

Eventually, according to the report, the former Trader Joe's employee gave up the requested data after the manager demanded that she hand over any emails and documents she preserved from her time with the grocer.

The Amazon manager also pressed the ex-Trader Joe's employee for data on the margins for each product. She refused, and the manager resorted to yelling at the employee, according to the Journal.

"You just have to give us the data!" the manager yelled, according to a source who saw the interaction and recalled it to the newspaper.

The Amazon team soon distributed the data on Trader Joe's top-selling products and thought about how it could take advantage of it, the Journal reported. But another employee soon reported the use of Trader Joe's data to Amazon's legal department.

According to the report, the employees who accessed the data were eventually fired.

A spokesperson for Amazon did not respond to a request for comment sent during the weekend.

"We do not condone the misuse of proprietary confidential information, and thoroughly investigate any reports of employees doing so and take action, which may include termination," an Amazon spokesperson told the Journal.

The former Trader Joe's employee's experience gives an inside look at Amazon's broader, aggressive efforts to compete with other grocers.

When Amazon was preparing to launch its own line of food and household products around 2015, it filed for trademark protection in more than 20 product categories, from coffee and pasta to razors and cleaners.

Amazon also acquired Whole Foods in 2017 and quickly cut costs at the grocery store, causing almost 10% of Trader Joe's customers to defect to Whole Foods.

The online retailer opened its first brick-and-mortar Amazon Fresh grocery store three years later.

Trader Joe's established a cult following with its customers partly by developing snacks and foods through its private label. But a recent investigation from Taste, a food publication, alleged that the popular grocer may be copying products from small food brands.

A Trader Joe's spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment sent during the weekend.

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• CEOs are often known for having extreme sleep schedules. One takes this further by rising at 3:30 a.m.
• Stress management methods can range from strict workouts to long hours of meditation.
• "It's what makes me superhuman," a CEO said of his morning routine. 

Running a company is a stressful job, especially if you're running one of the biggest firms in the world.

That high stress can lead to some intense and unconventional daily habits. Here are some of the most unusual routines of CEOs:

1. Waking up at 3:30 a.m. and launching into a 90-minute workout

CEOs are known for waking up early: Tim Cook and Richard Branson both rise around 5 a.m.

But Josh York, the 40-year-old CEO of in-home personal training company Gymguyz, takes it a step further and starts his mornings at 3:29 a.m., he told Fortune.

After having a cold rinse in the shower, he launches into an hour-and-a-half workout followed by a three-minute ice bath.

"It's what makes me superhuman," he told the outlet.

2. Bob Iger prefers to work out in a dark room with the TV on mute

The CEO of Disney works out first thing in the morning in a darkened room, he says in his Masterclass on 'Using your time effectively.'

He keeps a TV on silent during his workout so he can watch it against the backdrop of his own choice of music.

"It's my most creative time in many ways," Iger said.

3. A teaspoon of Icelandic cod liver oil washed down with black coffee to start the day

Mikael Berner, CEO of email software company Edison Software, starts his day with a dose of cod liver oil, a source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and vitamin D.

It's meant to have benefits like promoting heart health and benefiting cells. Experts warn against taking more than one tablespoon daily to avoid consuming too much vitamin A.

4. Or if you're Elon Musk, your morning routine includes eating a doughnut

Tesla CEO Elon Musk opts for a sugary start to the day.

A post on X declared that sugar is poison. Musk replied: "I eat a donut every morning. Still alive."

5. Mark Zuckerberg's diet requires eating 4,000 calories a day

The Meta CEO previously said on Threads that he eats roughly 4,000 calories to offset his intensive MMA and jiujitsu training.

Another popular diet with successful CEOs is only eating within specific time windows — intermittent fasting.

6. Taking an afternoon nap in the office

Robin Zeng, whose role as CEO of the world's largest EV battery manufacturing firm CATL makes him known as China's "Battery King," takes a daily nap at noon in the office, according to an interview with the FT.

Some experts recommend short naps of between 20 and 30 minutes to improve focus and combat fatigue.

7. Two hours of meditation a day

Jack Dorsey, who runs financial services company Block, adhered to a strict wellness schedule that allowed him "just to stay above water," when he was also CEO of Twitter. Each day involved walking five miles, meditating for two hours, and only eating one meal.

Dorsey is a big proponent of mediation. For his birthday in 2018, he took part in a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat where he meditated for nearly 17 hours each day

"It's extremely painful and demanding physical and mental work," he said on a thread on Twitter at the time.

8. "Eyes-open" meditation

Another fan of meditation is Gwyneth Paltrow, CEO of wellness brand Goop.

She advocates "eyes-open" meditation, which involves being mindful at any moment in everyday life.

"Once you learn how to do eyes-open meditation — something you can literally incorporate at any time — you can be engaged with the world but still very connected to yourself," said previously told Business Insider. "I rely on it to feel more whole."

9. A massage just before midnight

If reading a book and meditating isn't relaxing enough, Steven Barlett, a former CEO and founder famed for his Diary of A CEO podcast, calls for an 11 p.m. massage.

"I often get massages in the evening — it sounds crazy, but usually my masseuse comes over at 11 p.m," he told The Telegraph.

10. A more unusual habit among CEOs, Tobias Lutke says he never works later than 5:30 p.m.

While some CEOs brag about their long hours in the office and spending nights sleeping on the office floor, Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke previously said he never works later than 5:30 p.m.

"The only times I worked more than 40 hours in a week was when I had the burning desire to do so. I need 8ish hours of sleep a night," he said in a thread on Twitter, now X.

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• Fast-food franchisees in California fear diners will flock to Chili's and Applebee's to avoid price hikes.
• Limited-service restaurants are raising prices to offset the state's $20 wage for fast-food workers.
• As a result, the price gap between fast-food and casual dining restaurants could narrow.

California recently raised its minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20, and franchisees raising prices to offset this fear they could send some diners into the arms of casual dining chains like Chili's and Applebee's.

These chains aren't subject to the new minimum wage and, therefore, aren't expected to raise prices as much. This could potentially cause the price difference between fast-food and casual dining restaurants to shrink.

The $20 wage applies to workers at limited-service restaurant chains — those where diners typically don't get table service and pay for their food before eating it — with at least 60 locations nationwide.

Fast-food restaurants in California have been hiking prices to offset the wage, which is 25% above the state's general minimum wage.

Though the legislation was enacted on April 1, some restaurants gradually raised prices to avoid the sticker shock of dramatically hiking prices from one day to the next.

Shane Paul, who owns seven Jack in the Box restaurants in San Diego, told BI he'd raised the prices at his restaurants by about 10% or 11% over the past six to 12 months in anticipation of the higher wages. In previous years, he generally put prices up by around 3.5% to 4%, he said.

Transactions at his restaurants "are already trending down," he said.

Paul speculated some of the diners could be going to casual dining restaurants like Chili's or Applebee's instead, which he said had deals that meant diners could have a sit-down meal for "a dollar or two more than us."

Harsh Ghai, who said he owns about 180 Burger King, Taco Bell, and Popeyes restaurants in California, expressed similar concerns.

He told BI that his price increases were already impacting restaurant sales and that he expected more diners to turn to grocery stores and Chili's and Applebee's instead.

"We're gonna start to compete with them," Ghai said, speaking about the casual dining restaurants.

In a typical year, Ghai's restaurants put up their prices by between 2% and 3%, he said. But in the last 12 months, he's raised prices by between 8% and 10% — largely just to reflect food inflation, he said. He can't raise prices any further to absorb the higher wages because customers wouldn't come back, he said.

Scott Rodrick, who owns 18 McDonald's in northern California, told BI he had a "deep concern" that the new minimum wage "narrows the competitive gap" between different types of restaurants.

Rodrick said he'd increased prices at his restaurants by between 5% and 7% in the three months of 2024.

Executives at Kura Sushi, a sit-down Japanese chain with about 60 locations in the US, told analysts in early April that they thought the $20 wage would increase their value proposition as other chains keep increasing prices.

CEO Hajime Uba noted that Kura Sushi's prices were getting "closer and closer and closer" to fast-food pricing.

Diners generally go to fast-food and casual dining restaurants for different occasions, Brian Vaccaro, a restaurant analyst at Raymond James, told BI.

Sit-down restaurants typically attract diners who want to "relax and rewind" with family and friends. In contrast, people generally go to limited-service restaurants for the speed and convenience, he said.

Wages could soar across the entire restaurant industry

Analysts say that it's hard to predict exactly how diners' habits will change in response to the price increases at fast-food chains. People could buy more groceries, choose fast-food value deals, or switch to different restaurants.

Still, some analysts do expect other employers in the state — like full-service restaurants and retailers — to start paying workers more so that they can stay competitive, which could ultimately mean other restaurants increase their menu prices, too.

Sal Vitalie, who owns The Garden Club, a restaurant in South San Francisco, told BI that he will "absolutely" have to raise his wages to compete with local fast-food chains.

Still, in some cases, Vaccaro noted that servers at mid-priced, full-service restaurant chains are likely to already make $30 or more an hour, including tips, so price hikes may just be a way off.

"If casual dining can hold prices and doesn't see the upward labor pressure, it could receive some benefit as the gap between casual dining and limited service prices narrow," Sharon Zackfia, a restaurant analyst at William Blair, told BI over email.

"But limited service will still be cheaper, and the key tenets of fast and convenient will remain a positive factor for demand at limited service for customers on the go," she said.

Are you a fast-food worker excited about the new minimum wage? Or a franchisee or restaurant manager worried about how it will affect your business? Email this reporter at gdean@insider.com.

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• Ezra Gershanok was a business analyst at McKinsey & Company. 
• He said he was forced out as the firm grappled with declining client demand and too many hires.
• Post-McKinsey, Gershanok co-founded Ohana, a sublet startup backed by Zillow and Airbnb's execs.

This is an as-told-to conversation with Ezra Gershanok, a former Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company and the cofounder of sublet startup Ohana.

Long story short, I don't regret my time at McKinsey & Company.

I was hired straight out of college as a Business Analyst, an entry-level consultant role at the firm. I'm glad I had the opportunity, and I appreciated the firm's high expectations and learned a lot from my colleagues.

However, several aspects of my job frustrated me.

There was an expectation that everything needed to be done immediately. I felt a constant sense of urgency even though we weren't building anything. My work output was always a PowerPoint deck, and its biggest impact was making whoever paid for us to be there look good.

In such an environment, you quickly realize that everything is political. Your ability to get on good projects, and even your performance goals, boil down to how well-liked you are by colleagues. Everyone at the firm can do the work so well that the higher-ups ultimately build teams of people they like working with.

The firm had clearly over-hired

My biggest issue was that McKinsey over-predicted how much work I would have.

I started at the firm in June 2021 as one among a class of pandemic hires. I left in March 2023.

During that time, McKinsey secured many government and private sector contracts and hired extensively, assuming there would be a steady workflow. Then, interest rates started rising, companies started tightening their budgets, and several realized they could automate much of their work. So, client demand began to dry up.

For me, the pace of the work started to slow down in the second half of 2021 and into 2022. Several jobs at the firm started to be seen as redundant. The pressure to cut down the workforce was palpable.

McKinsey doesn't normally conduct layoffs. Instead they push employees out by marking them down on performance. But the communication channels aren't clear when you're an entry-level employee. So, it's possible to get positive feedback from the clients you're working with and your direct manager, even when the higher-ups are trying to push you out.

And that's not a pleasant experience.

It would have been easier if they just laid me off

I remember getting a call in mid-February 2023. Things had gone pretty well on the project I was working on that week, which was on semiconductors, an pretty competitive to get staffed on. On Saturday, I got a call out of the blue from an Associate Partner who told me I was no longer on the project, even though I was supposed to go to Seattle that Monday to continue work. I received another call on Sunday and was told to talk to my Senior Partner because there was some hope I could get back on the project. But he flat-out said there was no way I was getting back on the project.

I had a meeting put on my calendar a week later and was told that senior managers would be present at the meeting to decide my fate at the firm. In the days leading up to the meeting, I kept receiving warnings that it wouldn't go well and that I was better off just quitting. I told them that I refused to quit before going through with the meeting.

At the meeting, they complained about my performance, even though it was clear that the real reason they wanted me out was because the firm had over-hired. It would have been easier if they said, "We're letting you go" or "We're firing you." Instead, they told me that the senior partners had met and decided that my next step was "search." I'd be paid for six weeks and given a guidance counselor who would help me look for another role.

I could have fought it, but I was pretty frustrated with my work by then. My biggest gripe is that McKinsey preys on people who are status-insecure. Everyone the firm hires is an overachiever. We want to do well, and what people care more about than money, honestly, is the gratification of our bosses.

Life after McKinsey

By then I was already thinking about solving this other problem I had experienced as an intern — the struggle of subletting. So my good friend, who was working at Apple at the time, quit his job, and we both bit the ground running, building a new startup called Ohana.

Ohana fills the gap between short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and long-term housing sites like Zillow. We provide an efficient way to sublease in NYC. We've found that the average host on Ohana saves $5,969 per sublease, and in the last month, Ohana has saved New Yorkers over $238,000 in rent. We've also brought on some heavy-weight backers, including Zillow's cofounder and former CEO, Spencer Rascoff, and Airbnb's former director of Engineering, Surabhi Gupta.

I'm passionate about the work I'm doing now. Looking back, the irony of my time at McKinsey is that they're constantly giving right-sizing advice to their clients, but completely miss the mark themselves.

Are you a consultant in a tough work environment? We would like to hear from you. Contact reporter Lakshmi Varanasi at lvaranasi@businessinsider.com.

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