• Retailers across the US are gearing up for the peak sales event of the holiday shopping season.
• For Target, this means loading stores up with toys, electronics, apparel, and more.
• Target took Business Insider inside a warehouse where products are sorted and sent to regional stores.

Target really needs a win this holiday season.

The company has struggled in recent years with declining comparable sales, and it has cautious expectations for the all-important fourth quarter of this year.

One aspect of the business that incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke is keenly interested in improving is making sure products are actually available on shelves for shoppers to buy.

"If you've trusted us with a trip to the store, we can't let you down by being out of stock, and we haven't been good enough over the last several years on that front," he said during a November earnings call.

Few days are more unforgiving of out-of-stocks than the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday has changed a lot in recent years, but it's still the marquee sales event of the holiday shopping season.

That means stocking stores with the right quantities of toys, electronics, apparel, and other items.

The bullseye retailer invited Business Insider to take an exclusive look behind the curtain at one of its distribution centers, where merchandise from suppliers gets sorted and sent to individual stores across the region.

Target also fulfills more than 97% of its e-commerce orders from one of its retail stores, so that means almost everything the company sells online or offline must first pass through one of these distribution facilities.

Business Insider visited the warehouse a week before Thanksgiving and saw firsthand the overwhelming volume of items that go into ensuring each Target store has exactly what it needs each day.

Here's how Target is gearing up for the holiday rush.

Target's regional distribution center is located a half hour outside Milwaukee in the town of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

The 1.5 million square foot facility serves 81 stores across four states: Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Senior site director Julie O'Clary started her career with Target as an intern at this facility and has worked at several locations over the years.

O'Clary says her facility typically processes about 600,000 cartons of merchandise in a normal week, but that number balloons to 800,000 a week during the holiday rush.

An additional 300,000 cartons also flow through the facility without active sorting, bringing the holiday volume to well north of a million cartons this week.

The sprawling warehouse could fit nearly 26 football fields and runs like a small city with more than 1,050 employees.

Trucks arrive from suppliers with inventory that must be unloaded and sorted. The warehouse handles roughly 45,000 different product codes.

A shipment of toys is unloaded from the truck onto conveyor belts and scanned with a laser rig.

Here's where pallets of toys like these Cozy Coupe cars from the Little Tikes brand arrive.

The inbound loading docks are a ballet of people and forklifts in the days leading up to Black Friday.

"We see a lot of brown boxes here, but inside that brown box, there's toys or cosmetics — something that our guests want, something that brings them joy — so that's our job," Clary said.

All around the facility, towers of best-selling Black Friday items can be seen — such as these flat-screen TVs.

The warehouse also gives a sneak peek into what could be the next viral toy, like these child-sized Target shopping carts.

Here, pallets of Mario Kart racing toys are stacked next to electric scooters and kid-sized four-wheelers.

Almost everything in the building needs a label, and these printers spool off barcodes nonstop.

The company also routinely tracks all problems — and potential problems — on whiteboards throughout the facility, which are updated hourly.

Though it's not a store, some employees still wear Target's classic red plaid shirts.

This facility is also where Target tailors inventory orders to give each individual store the exact number of items it needs.

For example, each box here is headed to a different store, and each contains different quantities of apparel in the right sizes and colors.

Items are then sent upstairs to a network of conveyor belts that guide each box to the correct truck.

Boxes pass by at high speed, and the system automatically slows down to allow items from multiple belts to merge into one.

As one of Target's higher-volume distribution centers, the flow of goods continues around the clock.

Some shipments take a detour for extra labeling.

An elevated conveyor belt carries sorted merchandise to trucks waiting at the loading docks. Other big and bulky items are stored near the outbound docks for quicker access.

Boxes are automatically tipped onto rollers that feed right into a waiting truck.

The parade of boxes are then loaded into tractor-trailers like a life-size game of Tetris.

More evidence of the holidays is on display in the form of a pallet of Target-branded artificial Christmas trees on the loading docks.

O'Clary says the facility processes about 40 million outbound cartons a year. Some stores receive a truck every day, but during the holiday rush, they may take multiple deliveries a day.

O'Clary says her team is putting in thousands of hours of overtime this week to make sure Target customers have well-stocked shelves for their holiday shopping.

• US Coast Guard helicopter pilots and precision marksmen are constantly training and evolving their strategies.
• The squadrons are instrumental to the drug interdiction process, hunting drug boats from the air.
• They adjust plans on-the-fly, sometimes switching from airborne use of force to search and rescue.

USCG HITRON JACKSONVILLE, Florida — In the eastern Pacific and Caribbean waters, Coast Guard helicopter teams are chasing down suspected drug boats, putting vessels out of action, and setting the stage for boarding.

The elite pilots and precision marksmen of the Helicopter Interdiction Squadron, or HITRON, have to be prepared for drug interdiction operations to go sideways. It could be night, the drug boat could be zigging and zagging everywhere trying to get away, and suspects could be jumping overboard.

No matter what the pilots have to be ready to keep up the chase, and the shooters on board have to be able to make the shot when it matters.

Business Insider had the opportunity recently to see them in action, training for these missions, aimed at curbing the flow of dangerous narcotics into the US.

"It's like running with ankle weights on," Lt. Com. Jamel Choker, a pilot and mission commander at HITRON, told Business Insider, speaking on the intensity of the training that goes into preparing for actual missions. "You want to train as hard as possible so that when you get out in the real world, it's kind of easier."

The Coast Guard formally stood up HITRON in 2003 at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Over the recent decades, it's been involved in over 1,000 interdictions resulting in billions of dollars worth of drugs seized from smugglers.

HITRON's helicopter pilots arrive as trained and experienced aircraft commanders. No matter what they flew before, they learn the ins and outs of Coast Guard helicopters like the MH-65 Dolphin — older airframes that go through a dedicated maintenance pipeline, leaving Cecil Field and returning looking brand new.

Choker described the job as unique because it's both aviation and law enforcement, and the missions can quickly change from hunting drug boats to search and rescue in the water to flagging suspected drug cargo if it goes overboard.

Split-second decisions

Just last week, Choker and his crew received an award for a pursuit in which a drug boat was making "tight turns and zig-zags and everything," he said, before its passengers suddenly started jumping overboard.

"All four of them jumped in the water," Choker said. "They left the throttle engaged, and they left the wheel cut to the right."

Coast Guard personnel then switched to search and rescue mode, deploying life rings. As they were trying to help, they saw the renegade vessel circle around beneath the helicopter out of view. The boat was heading right for one of the smugglers in the water. It would've been a serious hit.

"We made a split-second decision that we were going to use the precision rifle to disable the boat," Choker shared. It took the gunner nine rounds in under five seconds to cut the engines. "It came within five feet of running him over," he said.

At Cecil, Coast Guard pilots and marksmen are constantly flying and training when they're not on deployments, which regularly last months at a time. They practice against a team pretending to be drug traffickers, who will change up tactics based on what's been observed from recent real-world runs.

The actual piloting of the Dolphin is something that's "predictable and intuitive to you when you've been training for thousands of hours," Choker told Business Insider. "It does take a lot of training in order to know that I need the helicopter to do an extreme angle of bank, and I need to only move my hand three-fourths of an inch in order to do that."

Precision marksmen are likewise constantly training to get the perfect shot while maintaining clear communication with the pilots. The training pipeline requires knowledge of what weapons to use for specific purposes.

The mounted machine gun on the Dolphin is for firing warning shots when a suspected drug vessel doesn't stop after initial verbal warnings. Other rifles, like the M107 semi-automatic .50 caliber sniper rifle and M110 Semi Automatic Sniper System chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO-standard rounds, are useful for knocking out vessel engines depending on the size.

The M107 is effective at longer range against harder targets, like enemy vehicles, while the M110 is suited to engaging personnel and lightly protected material targets.

Petty Officer Second Class Phillip McCarty, an avionics electrical technician and precision marksman at HITRON, told Business Insider that training, both on land and in air, is designed to prepare marksmen for the challenges of shooting effectively during interdictions, when a helicopter flies alongside a moving boat and pilots help the marksmen line up their shot.

The pilots have to match speed and attempt to maneuver to provide the best shot, but the shooters have to be prepared to overcome vibrations, jarring movements, and other potential impacts.

While they want to make every shot count, getting a clean hit to disable the vessel is easier said than done, especially when suspected drug boats try to make a run for it.

He said he's had cases where it only took four rounds to stop a smuggling boat, but there have been others where the drug runners were "very erratic and driving all over the place and at nighttime." That took 32 rounds to kill the engine.

Depending on the circumstances, environment, and drug runner tactics, the marksmen find themselves having to embrace HITRON's adapt and overcome strategy. "You've got to change your methodology on the fly out there," McCarty said.

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

• For Love & Money is a column from Business Insider answering your relationship and money questions.
• This week, a reader's girlfriend wants to move in together, but his parents disapprove.
• Our columnist suggests first figuring out what he himself wants, and then communicating with his girlfriend.

Dear For Love & Money,

I've been with my girlfriend for two years. She thinks it's time we take the next step and move in together. My parents, who are old-fashioned and religious, don't think couples should live together before marriage.

They told me I shouldn't expect any support if I move in with my girlfriend, including the substantial down payment they'd always promised to help me buy my first house with. I am not surprised because they have always been clear on their beliefs.

I'm ready to propose and get married, but my girlfriend says she won't even consider marrying someone she hasn't lived with first. I don't care either way about the order we do things, but in this economy, rejecting a 20% down payment just to prove a point seems irresponsible.

Sincerely,

Caught Between Parents & Girlfriend

Dear Caught Between,

From the sound of your letter, you seem to think you have two options before you — move in with your girlfriend against your parents' wishes, or get married and live together the way your parents want you to.

But I'm confused why you think the latter is even an option, because while you may want to please your parents and get your down payment for your future home, you simply cannot make your girlfriend marry you. Breaking up with her doesn't seem to be on the table either, so, as long as you "don't care either way," you really only have one option: do things your girlfriend's way.

If you read that suggestion and thought, "That doesn't seem fair," I don't blame you. This is one of the most significant life decisions you'll make; you should have an opinion. My guess is, deep down, you probably already do. The key is in uncovering it.

I'm familiar with this struggle because I often face it myself. When I feel stuck between two people I love with opposing ideas, picking which one I prefer feels impossible because all I really want is for everyone to be happy — more specifically, happy with me. Even more specifically, I don't want them to be upset with me or blame me for future regret.

But the unfortunate truth is that when I forgo making hard decisions in favor of trying to keep everyone else happy, I'm the one who ends up upset. I'm the one blaming myself for my regrets. Because, just as you do in your case, I also have an opinion, even if I sometimes don't realize what it is until later, when it's too late.

There are a few methods I've found for figuring out what I want that you might try.

The coin toss trick

Assign each option heads or tails, promise yourself you'll abide by the outcome, close your eyes, and toss it into the air. When you open your eyes and see which option won, your sense of disappointment or relief should be a great indication of what you wanted to happen.

Consult a counselor

While going to counseling to help you make a single decision may feel dramatic, not all therapy involves crying about your mother in weekly sessions for the rest of your life. You can find a counselor who practices brief, solution-focused therapy. Your job might even offer a few free therapy sessions through their EAP.

Having a third-party professional who's trained to provide you with a non-judgmental space to explore why you may feel caught between your girlfriend and your parents could help you step back and look at your situation from a new angle.

Talk through the decision with a trusted friend

You could also talk through the decision with a trusted friend. You may wonder why I say "trusted friend" instead of "your girlfriend". This is indeed a major decision that will impact both of you greatly, and it will be essential that you reach a final, mutually agreed-upon decision as a team.

But to be part of that decision, you have to know what you want first; otherwise, it's not your decision at all, is it? Sometimes, when we go around and around issues inside our heads, our true opinions get lost in the internal noise. Processing your situation aloud with a friend will allow you the space to hear your thoughts and feelings. Just make sure you listen to yourself with curiosity and attention.

That said, I wouldn't suggest bringing your parents into this decision-making process at all. Your life with your girlfriend is shared between the two of you. Your actual lived experiences immediately outrank any notions your parents have about propriety and morality.

I'm sure the kind of life-changing money they're offering must feel tempting, but remember, it's a gift, not a prize. You can't earn it, nor should you try. Whether your parents choose to give you that gift is up to them. Any attempt on your part to persuade them to provide you with the down payment will only create a toxic cycle of mutual manipulation, where they treat the money like puppet strings while you treat your own life decisions like they can be exchanged for your parents' approval in the form of cash.

Meanwhile, your girlfriend's wishes don't factor in at all, aside from her free will to leave you and the whole mess behind her if she feels your desire for a down payment is overshadowing your care for her needs and preferences.

If that's not what you want — and it sure sounds like it isn't — keep the decision between the two people affected by it: you and your girlfriend. Once you know what you want, tell your girlfriend what that is, so you can work together to figure out how both of you can be happy.

If, like your girlfriend, you want to move in together before you get married, this conversation will be mostly logistical. Or perhaps you realize that you share your parents' values after all, and you prefer to get married first. If this is the case, one potential compromise could be to live together during your engagement. Or, you could ask your girlfriend if she has any ideas for mutually acceptable compromises.

No matter what you choose to do, remember that a lifetime with the person you love eclipses a five-figure down payment every time. It's far more responsible to attend to your needs and desires, and those of the person you'll share your life with, than to try to pry open your parents' purse strings — even in this economy.

Rooting for you,

For Love & Money

Looking for advice on how your savings, debt, or another financial challenge is affecting your relationships? Write to For Love & Money using this Google form.

• Gregg Salkovitch transitioned from sales to running a sales and recruiting company.
• He reflected on hiring two candidates who bombed their interviews, but ended up as top performers.
• He said it's important to give people a second chance and the opportunity to explain themselves.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gregg Salkovitch, founder of Right Choice Resources, a recruiting company based in Chicago. His identity and employment have been verified by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I used to be a top sales performer, but one day I had a midlife crisis and wanted to try something different.

Sales recruiting combined two things I loved — helping people and being passionate about sales. I wanted to get into it, but it felt like nobody would take a chance on me. I basically had to start my own company because nobody would hire me.

I founded a sales and recruiting company called Right Choice Resources. We focus on hiring anyone from a junior-level salesperson to a sales leader.

I recently reflected on my background and remembered a couple of people who reminded me of myself at my last company. They didn't really have the right background — and they both bombed the interview — but I think they had the right skills.

Poor interviewers

The first candidate had to give a presentation, and he read off notecards the whole time, word for word. It wasn't a good presentation. He just sat there reading. I could have read his note cards just as well.

He also had nothing special about his application. He had no bachelor's degree and was a job-hopper.

When we asked why, he said, "I'm a perfectionist. I really want this job. I don't want to miss anything."

The second candidate was nervous and shaking throughout the entire interview.

But he kept going through the interview process. He showed up early to every interview, acted professionally, took notes, asked questions, and sent thorough thank-you letters. When we said he seemed nervous, he said he really wanted the job.

We decided to take a chance on him. He was a college athlete, which we always like for sales roles because athletes are used to working in teams and tend to be competitive. We figured he just needed some at-bats and he would be fine.

He was still a bit nervous when he started the role, but he was incredibly gritty and did whatever it took to get the job done. If you were going to make 50 sales calls, he would make 100. He was a high performer, and his work ethic was an A+.

Six months after those interviews, both candidates were in the top 10% of sales performers of our company.

Why I gave them a chance

When I see a concern, like job-hopping or reading off of notecards, the most interesting part is asking the candidate, "Why?"

There's usually a good reason. For example, after I got to know the first candidate well enough to ask him why he didn't finish his degree, he told me he had to drop out of school to earn money and take care of his single mom, who got sick.

Everybody has a story.

I also used to be really nervous in interviews. It's nerve-racking to talk to a bunch of people who are 20 years older than you when you're new to the interview process.

We still put a lot of weight in the interview process and use that time to ask about any concerns or reservations that we have. We also have dealbreakers, like swearing on the call, not doing research beforehand, interrupting the hiring manager, or leaving without asking any questions.

In general, though, the interview process is tough, and sometimes people need a second chance.

Somebody might not be a clear fit on paper, but they might still be a great salesperson. I know from personal experience that the biggest challenge is finding somebody who will give you a shot. I like to give others the benefit of the doubt.

• As a first-time flyer on Frontier Airlines, I was hesitant but hopeful.
• The flight to New Jersey was affordable and better than expected, but the seating was uncomfortable.
• Frontier is a decent, budget-friendly option for short trips when saving money is a priority.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. In this economy, my desperation to get from Georgia to New Jersey on a budget led me to Frontier Airlines — and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Frontier has been ranked at the bottom of many lists in terms of comfort. On the other hand, and much to my surprise, WalletHub listed it as the second-safest airline of 2025. With all of the mixed reviews online, I asked the people closest to me about their personal experience before booking my first Frontier flight.

My sister, who primarily flies Delta, took a Frontier flight to Jamaica earlier this year. It was her first time flying with the airline, and she said the seats were small and uncomfortable; however, it was one of the smoothest flights she's been on in a while. I also asked my editorial director about her Frontier experience, and she didn't have anything overwhelmingly negative to add.

With those two insights, I booked a $112 round-trip ticket from Atlanta to Newark Liberty International Airport. I wouldn't choose Frontier over my go-to airline again, but now that I've experienced it for myself, it's an OK last resort when all else fails, and money is tight.

The basic round-trip ticket from Atlanta to Newark was the best deal I could find.

I found my ticket on Google after searching for cheap flights from Atlanta to New York. The $100 deal caught my attention, and I immediately went to Frontier's website to complete my last-minute booking.

However, when I got to the site, reality hit — this wasn't going to be my usual flying experience.

I quickly realized the ticket wasn't a deal; it was a compromise.

As soon as I got on Frontier's webpage, I was bombarded with options to add-on things that I considered basic amenities.

Bringing a carry-on bag costs extra. Choosing an assigned seat costs extra. Even getting a boarding pass from the ticket counter was going to run me an extra $20 each way.

Of course, these were just options. If I wanted to fly cheap, all I had to do was decline the offers.

The bundle package almost convinced me to upgrade until I read the fine print.

Once I learned that bringing a carry-on bag would cost an extra $120, I considered purchasing the bundle package.

For that same $120, Frontier would've allowed me a personal item, carry-on bag, priority boarding, and the option to choose my own seat. That addition would've brought my total ticket to $220, which was about what I would've spent if I booked a Delta flight with my SkyMiles.

A standard seat and a personal item were good enough for me.

I had to remind myself that I was purchasing my ticket for the price, not the comfort. Ultimately, I stuck with my basic seat and personal item.

Luckily, I got a tiny aisle seat when I flew out of Atlanta and a window seat when I returned.

I regret not having paid for the upgraded seats.

As I made my way to the back of the plane, the seats went from cushy and spacious to questionable. I started to wonder if I should've just paid the extra $72 for upfront plus seating.

I shook off my regret and remembered my commitment to the budget.

My sitting area was very tight.

The seats didn't recline, and I didn't have any wiggle room, but it wasn't horrible for a short two-hour flight.

I was nervous about my personal item being accepted.

On the website, Frontier advises passengers to consider personal items to be purses, totes, computer bags, briefcases, diaper bags, or kids' backpacks. At the same time, the website considers large backpacks as carry-ons.

I grabbed the largest kid's book bag I could find from my niece and squeezed 48 hours' worth of clothes and toiletries inside. Then I prayed it would make the cut as a personal item.

Paying for a carry-on at the gate costs more than purchasing it online. I decided, in the spirit of cheapness, that if my bag didn't make the cut, I would go to the restroom, slide my backpack under my hoodie, and either return to the boarding gate with a hunch back or a pregnant belly.

My personal item passed the test, but I noticed the gate agents weren't very strict.

Frontier has bins to test the sizes of carry-ons and personal items. I watched as a couple of people shoved, bent, and folded large-sized duffel bags into the tiny space.

Those gate agents didn't seem to care as long as the item eventually fit. I don't think every agent would let this slide, but it's possible.

Boarding was easy, and the flight was smooth.

I was in the fourth boarding group out of six.

The flight was packed, boarding was easy, and the trip was smooth. When the flight attendants came down the aisle selling snacks, me and my cheap-minded compadres didn't even look their way.

As I sat in my seat, I wondered how much everyone else paid for their tickets.

Flying Frontier wasn't a treat, but it was affordable.

As far as customer service is concerned, the gate agents and flight attendants were friendly and had an unbothered attitude. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

When the plane landed, passengers from the rear rushed to the front. I didn't hear the familiar "please remain seated" instruction or a friendly reminder to deboard by row. Maybe that costs extra, too.

• OpenAI is working on a mysterious AI hardware device with famed iPhone designer Jony Ive.
• We don't know what this device will be, but there are some other AI devices out there that could give us a clue.
• I'm having a hard time getting excited about buying this.

Trust me when I say that I am absolutely thrilled by the chance to blow some money on a new gadget. I really am. I love a gizmo, a device, a widget, or a doohickey. When I see some new electronic thingamabob that might make my life easier or more enjoyable, I want it.

And yet, I am really scratching my head about why I would want or need the new device that OpenAI is working on — whatever it is.

We don't know much about this mysterious piece of hardware — not exactly what it will do, what it will look like, or what new things it's capable of. Legendary former Apple designer Jony Ive is working on it, which is, of course, intriguing. Earlier this year, my colleague Alistair Barr rounded up a bunch of predictions about what the device might look like or do, and the ideas ranged from an iPod Shuffle-sized device to some sort of "companion" wearable.

In a recent interview with Laurene Powell Jobs, Sam Altman and Ive talked about the new device, giving away very little detail other than that they expect it to be ready in two years and they want it to pass a "lick" test (ew, but I get it).

But we still don't really know what it will be. No one knows what might be more useful than your smartphone, which is kind of the most useful thing you can have!

The most boring scenario, which I fear sounds fairly likely, is that it's some sort of audio device that uses ChatGPT, like a small speaker you can talk to as an assistant that listens and learns. (OpenAI did not respond to my request for comment or for more information on the device.)

We've seen some examples of devices like this. The AI Pin was a small clip-on wearable that could see and hear the world around you to give you AI-powered information. (An interesting example was holding up a fruit to it in the grocery store and asking it how much sugar it contained.) The AI Pin crashed and burned, plagued by bad reviews and buggy service. It was, perhaps, just ahead of its time.

I never tested it, but I had a mixed reaction when it launched: I have enormous hesistations about the idea that voice control is the way of the future — I just would be far too embarassed to talk out loud to a device in the grocery store, and I also know my coworkers would ring my neck if I were using it in our open office. And yet … I still kind of wanted it. It looked cool!

More recently, the Friend necklace, another wearable that listened to your conversations and would chat to you as a "friend" (???) had an ignoble launch. The startup bought a massive ad campaign in the New York City subway, and its posters were immediately vandalized by those who found the concept of an AI friend dystopian (whether the backlash was encouraged as part of some 4D chess master marketing plan, that's something I simply don't care to put too many brain cells into considering). The Friend necklace also suffered from bad reviews about its buggy service and unappealing concept.

There are also more low-key and less ambitious AI audio devices that perform straightforward tasks. The Plaud Note is a slim device that listens to your meeting or school lecture and takes notes. This is the kind of task AI is great for — making bullet-point summaries of a larger piece of text or audio. You can imagine how great this is for college students, or for people who have a lot of meetings and sales calls.

And yet, this really still doesn't have a ton of appeal to me. As a journalist, recording and transcribing conversations is an important part of the job, and something that AI tools have helped immensely with (transcriptions especially). But that's a small part of my day, and like people in many other professions, I also have conversations that I absolutely do not want recorded in any sense.

In my personal life, I'm just not sure I want this kind of speaker device. I already have an Alexa — which I do use! And enjoy! And yes, I wish "she" were smarter and better at doing tasks — but I can't imagine expanding my use of a smart audio device that far past asking for reminders, the weather, or how many milliliters are in a cup. And though I look at my phone constantly, I can't imagine vocally chatting with a device — that's just a huge lifestyle change I can't wrap my head around.

Maybe this device will do something far more exciting and amazing than just being a souped-up Siri that takes notes. Two years from now is a long time — perhaps some amazing new thing will happen that will totally blow our minds. Or maybe it's just going to be a really nice version of a souped-up Siri. Which, I'm sad to say, just doesn't really thrill me.

There's too much unknown right now about this to pass any kind of judgment. But I'm pretty skeptical that this is going to be something that delights me. As a gadget lover, I am really hoping to have my mind changed.

Investors have been breaking out their checkbooks this year for healthcare startups, especially when AI is involved.

Digital health startups raised $9.9 billion in the first three quarters of the year, surpassing the sector's fundraising pace from the same period last year, according to Rock Health.

And while AI scribe startups dominated the headlines last year, this year's players are raising venture capital to apply AI to a broader range of healthcare tasks, from remote monitoring to medical coding and billing.

Business Insider has published exclusive pitch decks for 9 healthcare startups grabbing funding so far this year.

Here are those startups, in alphabetical order:

Here's the exclusive pitch deck Ambience Healthcare used to raise $243 million as the AI scribing gold rush hits new highs

Ambience, which automates medical transcription, coding, and payment processing, raised its Series C from Andreessen Horowitz and Oak HC/FT.

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that got an ex-Amazon exec $10 million to bring AI agents to health systems

Ascertain raised its $10 million Series A in April, led by private equity firm Deerfield Management.

Check out the exclusive pitch deck an ex-Uber leader used to raise $10 million to build AI for home healthcare tech

Axle Health raised a $10 million Series A in May, led by F-Prime Capital, for its AI-powered product that simplifies home health logistics.

These engineers raised $8.1 million for a new healthcare AI startup after OpenAI acquired their last company. See the pitch deck they used.

Charta Health raised $8.1 million in a seed round from Bain Capital Ventures in February for its AI that reviews patient charts to automate administrative work.

Check out the exclusive pitch deck startup Doctronic used to raise $5 million for its AI agents to replace 'Dr. Google'

Union Square Ventures led Doctronic's $5 million seed round in April. The startup aims to connect patients with AI agents for fast, anonymous, and personalized healthcare advice.

Here's the pitch deck that Point72-backed Heidi Health used to raise $65 million to battle in the AI scribe race

Heidi's October Series B, led by Steve Cohen's Point72 Private Investments, valued the startup at $465 million post-money. Heidi sells ambient clinical documentation tech.

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that landed healthcare AI copilot Navina $55 million in funding from Goldman Sachs

Navina connects disparate health data to surface clinical insights for providers. The startup announced its $55 million Series C funding round, led by Goldman Sachs' growth equity unit, in March.

Healthcare AI startup Qventus just raised $105 million from private equity giant KKR. Here's the pitch deck it used.

Qventus announced its Series C in January. The startup's latest tech helps automate non-clinical tasks before and after surgeries.

See the exclusive pitch deck Sensi.AI used to raise $45 million to boost home healthcare for seniors with AI

Sensi.AI works with home care agencies to monitor aging patients with its audio-only in-home devices, powered by predictive AI. Qumra Capital led its October Series C.

• Jay Gengelbach quit his $700,000 tech job at Verily in mid-2024, knowing it was a financial risk.
• He says he's now more fulfilled in a new role — and his compensation is creeping up, too.
• This is the third installment of a five-part personal essay series, How to Quit Well.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 41-year-old Jay Gengelbach, a software engineer from Boulder, Colorado, who lives in Canada. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I joined Google as a software engineer straight out of college in 2006.

I loved telling people I worked at Google; it was a badge of honor that made me interesting.

After roughly 12 years there, I joined Verily, another Alphabet-owned company, in 2018, for six years.

At Verily, I earned up to $700,000, but in mid-2024, after growing unhappy in my job, I decided to resign, even if it meant a smaller salary. Making the jump was scary, but more than a year after quitting, the financial and emotional risk is starting to pay off.

Working at Google was fun, but I got bored in the same role for too long

Google was a great place to work. We had wild benefits, nap pods, and free food. It was extravagant. Once, I saw employees having a luau-themed lunch, and it wasn't even a special holiday. On at least a couple of occasions, the company handed out $1,000 holiday bonuses to staff in cash.

Initially, I worked on software that helped keep the site up. After working in California for two years, I relocated to Colorado and stayed in that role for another two years. Even though I loved Google as a company, I became burned out and unsatisfied in my role.

I moved onto the payments team for four years before spending another four on the Google Now team, where I became a manager. I've learned I tend to get bored after doing the same thing after about four years.

Being a manager was very isolating

In 2018, I got the opportunity to work at Verily, an Alphabet company focused on improving people's health with tech. I eventually became an engineering director there.

After six years, I became unhappy in my job. The pandemic and a period of layoffs were stressful. As a manager, I had to motivate my people, which I found challenging.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I didn't have work friends anymore. People used to have lunch with me for fun, but after I became a manager, eating with me was seen as networking. Not having peer relationships was very isolating.

I thought about going back to Google, but I realized it wasn't where I wanted to be. From what I saw and heard, layoffs in 2023 created a tangible shift in tone among employees. Layoffs were also happening at other Big Tech companies, and I was suspicious of working for them.

It was a fork in the road. For a long time, I didn't have to choose between what made me happy and what paid well, but I wasn't happy in my well-paid job, and I had to work out what I was going to do about it.

I worried I'd be miserable in a new job — and making less money

With support from my wife and therapist, I resigned from Verily in mid-2024. The tech market wasn't looking amazing, but I had enough savings to feel like I'd be OK if I were unemployed for one year.

Toward the end of my time at Verily, I was earning a total of around $700,000. I knew that matching that compensation would be really difficult outside Big Tech.

I feared I'd still be miserable in my next job, while making half the money.

When I started job hunting, I made a list describing my dream role, including compensation, location, and title. Ideally, I wanted an individual contributor position, instead of a manager role, and to be in an industry focused on making the world a better place.

In October 2024, I took up a remote position as a distinguished engineer for an insurance company. But in January, I moved to a software engineering job at a company called Vercel, which would allow me to relocate my family to Canada. I'd wanted to leave the US, so we moved to Canada in July 2025.

Vercel helps build hosting infrastructure for websites, which is a mission I feel good about, since excellent infrastructure helps businesses move faster.

After a long stint of feeling like I wasn't doing what I really wanted, I now feel like I'm solving hard problems again. Having an individual contributor role, instead of being a manager, means I get to flex muscles I hadn't used in a while. I'm also enjoying the quicker pace of delivering things at a smaller company.

Leaving Big Tech taught me money can't buy happiness

My Big Tech salary allowed me to save a lot for my retirement, but it also meant my lifestyle inflated over time.

When I moved jobs, I knew that smaller companies often have smaller bonuses and equity than larger companies, so I'd have to make some lifestyle changes. We had a pool in our house, and it was expensive to maintain the property, so we had to get that albatross off our necks. When we moved to Canada, we downsized and scaled back on vacations.

Vercel recently announced a new funding round, which roughly tripled its valuation to $9 billion. This substantially impacts the value of my equity compensation. Although my equity is currently unvested and non-liquid, the decision I made to leave Big Tech has now started to feel less financially crazy than before.

At the same time, I've realized money doesn't buy happiness. I'm in a more fulfilling job and happier than I was when I was earning $700,000.

It wasn't that I needed that much money — there were points where I stuck to an annual budget and still had $100,000 left over — but I was afraid to discover what things were like without it. It was like breaking out of golden handcuffs.

Do you have a story to share about quitting your Big Tech job? Contact this reporter at ccheong@businessinsider.com

• This Thanksgiving, founders face explaining their businesses to friends and family — and proving they're not unemployed.
• Six founders told Business Insider their stories of Thanksgiving awkwardness.
• One founder said that they have to battle AI skeptics at dinner; another said their family didn't get why they had to take calls.

At 11:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving day last year, Kieran White brought his girlfriend's family to a Pasadena parking garage. His goal: prove that he's not a scammer.

White cofounded Curo, a Y Combinator-backed startup focused on electric vehicle charging. His girlfriend's family didn't fully get it, though. White's defense started at the Thanksgiving table, and eventually moved to the living room. While the family played games, White sat with his girlfriend's grandfather explaining his job.

Eventually, he decided to high-tail it to a parking garage to point out his company's logo on a sign to showcase its existence.

"I wouldn't let it drop that I wasn't unemployed," White said. "I always thought that everyone knew what YC was. It was like: 'Picture Harvard, but for startups.' It was a hard message to convey."

How exactly should a founder explain their job? It can be difficult to prove that the work is real — and even more difficult to show that the startup will still be around for a few years. It doesn't help that the work environment is often decidedly non-corporate, or that founders sometimes sleep on couches and air mattresses. Meanwhile, a slew of recent TV shows have framed some founders as scammers and flame-outs.

So, as you gather around the Thanksgiving table, consider lighting a candle for the startup founder, faced with defending their job to doubtful aunts and uncles. Six of them told Business Insider about their Turkey Day tussles.

The startup founder's Thanksgiving awkwardness

Dagobert Renouf said that his ex-wife's family didn't take him seriously.

The French salesman for Comp AI used to run a startup with his former spouse. After years of building, the couple had gotten their first customer. "Finally, we got some traction," he said.

His ex-wife's three siblings were at the Thanksgiving table that year. One was buying a house, another was having a baby, and the third was promoted at a bank. Meanwhile, Renouf and his then-wife were grateful to have made $200.

"It was a bit painful," Renouf said. "People could be excited. It's just that they didn't necessarily get it. It's such a disconnect, when you build your own business, with somebody who'd never done that."

Raechel Lambert knows that "disconnect" well. The New Hampshire-based DNNR founder said that she and her relatives sometimes sound like they're speaking a different language.

"When I say Jason Calacanis, it just sounds like some random name," she said.

Founders have long had difficult explaining their jobs — and proving that they will be successful — to family members. When Brian Chesky founded Airbnb, he told his mother that he was an entrepreneur. His mom's response: "No, you're unemployed."

For Chris Pisarski's family, the rub was that he had to take calls on Thanksgiving.

Pisarski's startup, Crustdata, has a dev team based in Vietnam. There's no Thanksgiving in Vietnam, Pisarski said, so he needed to take calls. "You're doing this now?" he remembered his family saying. "You're not making any money for this."

It didn't help that Pisarski recently moved from a top-floor Chelsea apartment to a basement, or that he had to raise his voice on the call during a "relaxing" holiday, he told Business Insider. He also had to skip out on the family tradition of mall shopping and movie-watching on Black Friday.

"It was a little bit of concern, but mostly confusion," Pisarski said.

The families who get it

Not everyone is so perplexed by the work of being a startup founder. But the clued-in family can prove a different kind of challenge, though — they may start asking hard-hitting questions.

Bond founder Chloe Samaha's parents are both entrepreneurs. Thanksgiving is for "business talk and grilling," she said.

"My dad's favorite question is: How many customers did you close today?" Samaha said.

On the other side of the table are Samaha's aunts and uncles, who she says are critical of AI and believe the tech is taking people's jobs. (Bond, Samaha's company, is an "AI chief of staff.") The San Francisco-based founder uses the example of the calculator with these family members; students continued to learn math even after its advent, after all.

Karun Kaushik remembers when people doubted him. In those pre-revenue days, with less funding to point to, Kaushik found it difficult to justify his work.

He's clearly serious now: Kaushik's startup Delve recently closed $32 million in Series A funding. Over vegetarian turkey — cauliflower with carrot feathers — his family talks about everything but work.

"They love me for who I am, not what I do," Kaushik said. "I try not to talk about it."

Can families learn to respect their founder children's work? It depends. I asked White, who brought his girlfriend's family to the garage on Thanksgiving day, whether he thought the defense worked.

"We'll see this year," he said.

It's been an interesting five years for Americans studying abroad. The pandemic slammed the brakes on many international programs, sending would-be global citizens back to their parents' homes. Now, the pendulum has swung back the other way — the number of American students studying abroad for academic credit is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, and a growing number of students are undertaking their entire college careers outside the US as stateside higher education costs soar. Shorter trips are booming, too, as more students and families try to scratch that international experience itch.

The landscape is not an easy one: Costs are rising, scholarships are uncertain, and the political environment can be hostile. The chaos at home is following American students beyond borders, assuming they can cross them, given colliding economic and political pressures. Counselors, program administrators, and families I spoke with said that study abroad is more important than ever in today's globalized economy. It's also harder than ever to pull off.

The idea of getting an international education — whether for a summer, a semester, or an entire degree — has become increasingly appealing. Nearly 300,000 US students studied abroad for academic credit in the 2023-2024 academic year, a 6% increase from the year before, according to the Open Doors Report released in November by the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit that promotes foreign study. European destinations, namely Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and France, are especially popular. More American students are also choosing to spend their entire college careers outside the United States. The Universities and Colleges Admission Service in the UK reported a 14% increase in undergraduate applications from American students for the 2025 fall semester compared to the previous year. In Canada, the University of British Columbia Vancouver saw a 27% jump in graduate applications from the previous year, and the University of Toronto has seen an increase in US applicants, too.

"We are seeing off-the-charts demand for study abroad," says Melissa Torres, the president and CEO of the Forum on Education Abroad, a nonprofit that sets standards for the study abroad industry.

While more American students are looking beyond their home shores for higher education, making it out of the country is increasingly difficult. Much of the study abroad industry was decimated during the COVID-19 pandemic with programs shuttered and staff laid off. Many programs are now up and running again, especially in Europe, but getting back to full speed has been a struggle, and recent developments are adding new wrinkles.

Different schools and programs have different arrangements for financing study abroad. Some American colleges may waive their tuition for the semester, so students pay their study abroad program fee to the provider or destination institution. This setup can be cheaper, but it may also limit the scholarships students can receive from their "home" college. Alternatively, students may pay tuition to their US university, which then pays the program and/or the foreign school directly. Other US schools charge their tuition and have the student pay the program separately for housing and expenses. There is a raft of scholarships, grants, and loans available to help pick up the tab, but study abroad is often an expensive proposition. College and university budgets are under stress, and as a result, study abroad programs are being squeezed.

Ryan Dye, executive director and senior vice president for AIFS Abroad, tells me that much of the "uptick in financial anxiety" is on the institutional side. Many schools are receiving reduced state and federal funding, and the plunge in international students in the US due to the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies is hitting them where it hurts, because foreign students generally pay full tuition.

"They're being told to do all they can to retain tuition at the home institution — don't let that tuition leave the institution," Dye says. That means encouraging students to stick around the stateside campus, nudging them toward exchange programs where they pay full tuition, and capping the amount of money each student who crosses the border is allowed to receive. Schools are asking third-party study abroad administrators for discounts on the amount they charge per student, Dye says. "They're just saying, 'Look, we cannot pay out what we used to pay out. Our students can't pay out what they used to pay out. Can you help us?'"

Some of the most critical funding for financial aid was thrown into question in February, when the Trump administration paused funding for several international exchange programs, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, which supports research and training abroad, and the Gilman Scholarship, which helps fund undergraduate students studying abroad, as part of a review of federal programs and spending. It left students already thousands of miles from home in a lurch, wondering if the money would come through or their plans would have to be changed or called off. The federal government released the funding after several weeks, although some organizations complained that it was done in a sporadic, trickling manner, and many are still on edge about what the future holds.

"All that money was awarded in the end, so it's kind of hard to know what's going to really happen," says Amy McMillan, executive vice president of marketing and institutional relations at IES Abroad, a study abroad provider. IES awards about $7 million a year in financial aid of its own, and in the fall of 2025, it saw a 16% increase in aid applications compared to the year before.

In August, the Trump administration revoked $100 million of funding from at least 22 international exchange programs run by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which is intended to promote American values through cultural and professional exchanges. The administration reportedly deemed the programs in question lower funding priorities in the current environment. International exchange advocates have warned the cuts will likely lead to furloughs and closures and impact students' ability to go abroad.

In a statement to Business Insider, a State Department spokesperson said that under the Trump administration, the agency "continues to provide opportunities for American students to study abroad through its educational and cultural exchange programs."

Amine Mechaal, the executive director of global engagement at Columbia University's Teachers College, tells me that the environment earlier this year was "crazier" than it is now, but the financial picture remains uncertain for students who want to get away. Some can fall back on their parents, but America's shaky job market, uncertain economy, and the realities of uneven wealth in America mean that's far from guaranteed. "Because of the economic situation right now, there are a lot of concerns about students' ability to pay," he says.

It's a Catch-22 for American schools: Study abroad programs stretch their budgets, and they're useful recruiting tools for the American tuition they need now more than ever as tuition from international students dries up. It's a conundrum for programs and students alike — international students often study abroad during their American degree programs, and if there are fewer of them, organizations may be unable to fill the programs and cancel them.

Even after sorting out the money situation and making it to their far-flung destinations, American students may have to confront the economic and political realities of home. Some students might be relieved to get away, given the country's fraught climate and the chaos on some college campuses. But in today's globalized world, true escape isn't possible.

Jill Madenberg, a college admissions counselor, tells me that finances are still the No. 1 issue on families' minds when they discuss short-term or full-degree study abroad, but politics come into play now more than ever. "For some parents, the beauty of studying abroad and the ability to experience different cultures is very much top of mind," she says. And then there are others who express concerns about "how their child would be perceived as an American studying in a foreign place."

Genevieve Klein, a college junior studying abroad in Paris, says that on her first day of language classes in her program, a classmate from Italy asked her what it is like to live in the US right now. It took her a second to grasp what he was getting at, and even then, she wasn't sure how to answer. Overall, her Paris experience has been a positive one, but negative perceptions of her home country in France have made her feel like she has to change people's minds about Americans. "I think this has made me more aware in general of how people may make assumptions of others based on what is going on politically in the country they're from, now that I myself am on the receiving end of that," she says.

For Mackenzie Halford, who's finishing up a degree with a semester in Seville, it's more than uncomfortable café conversations that are weighing on their experience. They're transgender, and their passport's space for a gender identifier has an X, which the Trump administration is no longer allowing on new passports. When they first caught wind of the change, they called the consulate to see if they could obtain an emergency passport with an "F" on it. Nobody answered, but after doing some research, they think it should be fine to return to the US in December. "It's kind of left up to the discretion of the people who are working at the airport," they say.

Mechaal, from Teachers College, tells me politics are the "elephant in the room" in conversations with students. They don't address it explicitly, but there's an awareness that policies could change at any moment. "With all these shifts and changes, and almost at a certain time, it was like every day there were new updates," he says.

Study abroad used to be a carefree corner of American higher education, marked by Aperol spritzes, art museums, and weekend jaunts across Europe. But the questions facing these programs have become much more salient as the trips abroad have transformed from a luxury experience into one that's increasingly a necessity for the future workforce.

Recent research from the Forum on Education Abroad, conducted in conjunction with four business schools at large, public universities in the US, found that students who studied abroad earned, on average, $4,159 more in their first job after graduation than those who didn't, representing a 6.3% earnings differential.

"If you think about that and multiply that over a lifetime and over the retirement contributions and the increases in bonuses and salaries as a person progresses in their career, the potential financial impact is actually quite high," Torres, from the Forum, says.

A separate survey from the organization of over 8,000 study abroad alumni found that 90% of respondents said study abroad helped them build job skills, and over half said it helped them get their first jobs.

"There's a lot of talk these days about the disconnect and what employers need, and there's all this uncertainty about AI and what's the future workforce going to look like — and employers often say that people coming out of college maybe don't have the exact skills that they're looking for," Torres says. "What we're demonstrating is this is an experience that fills that gap."

International students coming to the US also contribute to the economy, with an estimated $42.9 billion added to US GDP during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Given the impact that study abroad has on individual students, jobs, and the economy, a potential slowdown, although not yet evidenced on the outbound end, is concerning. Moreover, if the opportunity becomes financially out of reach for a growing number of students, it may harm them and their future employers throughout their working lives. The study abroad cohort is already pretty privileged — the students are disproportionately white come from families who can foot the bill.

"There is a disconnect there," says Mirka Martel, the head of research, evaluation, and learning at IEE. "Study abroad should really become more accessible to more students."

Teala Avery, who graduated from Spelman College in 2024, relied on a mix of scholarships, grants, and her own money to do a semester abroad in Tokyo in 2023. It still wasn't enough, and she wound up taking out the first and only loan she needed in college to pull it off. Still, she felt like it was worth it as she ventured into the working world. "Studying abroad during college was just a no-brainer for me, and it was really like I had the dream, and then all of the logistics would come afterward," she says.

The argument is more than economic, too. Study abroad is a way for students to expand their horizons and develop more independence. It can be a transformative experience. It's also one of the rare times in many people's lives when they have the freedom to take off.

Study abroad may not be for everyone, but it's increasingly meaningful on a job application. And as costs rise and politics intrude, the gap between who can and can't swing it is widening — and that gap could shape the future workforce.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.