Tag: News

• Alison Brie, 42, says she and her husband, Dave Franco, have a simple way to get through the holidays.
• The key is in acknowledging "all the quirks of each other's families with no judgment," she said.
• Psychologists previously told Business Insider that holiday gatherings can be stressful for the brain.

Alison Brie, 42, says she and her husband, Dave Franco, have a simple fix for making holiday time with each other's families a lot more manageable.

"The holidays are about family in a way that is beautiful, but can also be a little stressful," Brie told People in an interview published on Wednesday. "So I think in a marriage, it's nice to kind of be one another's allies, acknowledge the kookiness of it all."

Brie and Franco first met in 2011 while celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans. They married in 2017 and don't have kids.

"I think the key to a happy marriage during the holiday season is being able to acknowledge privately, together, all the quirks of each other's families with no judgment," Brie said.

The "Community" actor also says there's "more acceptance and a lot of love" in the act of "venting with one another."

To make holiday shopping for family less stressful, Brie says she and Franco try to "divide and conquer."

"I will do the shopping for my family. He will do the shopping for his family, and the gifts are given from both of us," she said.

The couple's commitment to supporting each other extends beyond the holiday season.

Speaking to Marie Claire in August, Franco said they've made a habit of sending each other a "mini love letter" every night before bed whenever they're apart.

"It really makes you focus on the other person and let them know in a unique way, every single night, how much they mean to you," Franco said.

Holiday gatherings can be stressful for the brain, four psychologists told Business Insider in 2019.

"Overall, there's an intensity to the experience that we don't typically have in our day-to-day lives, so often our feelings and interactions feel heightened," Paraskevi Noulas, a psychologist at NYU Langone, said.

Testosterone, cortisol, and other hormone levels can also fluctuate more significantly over the holiday season, in part due to factors like travel stress, Robin Edelstein, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, said.

To manage holiday stress, the psychologists say it's essential to prioritize basic self-care, including getting sufficient sleep and staying physically active.

• Andrew Ng says he talks to and brainstorms with AI while on the road.
• The Google Brain founder said he uses multiple models and has extensive conversations in the car.
• A growing number of executives have shared how they use AI in their day-to-day workflows.

Andrew Ng says he brainstorms work ideas by talking to AI in voice mode while driving.

The Google Brain founder said at the Masters of Scale Summit 2025 in October that he uses AI as a "brainstorming companion much more than even my friends know."

"When I'm driving, I talk to AI quite a lot," he said in the discussion, which was published Wednesday.

Ng said he rarely sticks to a single chatbot. To brainstorm effectively, he rotates across different models and leans into their contrasting strengths. For coding, he prefers tools like Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex.

He added that staying longer in a conversation with the model yields a better response.

"AI is very smart, but getting context in is difficult," Ng said. "A lot of it is not, 'Let me say some stuff, then give me ideas.'"

Rather, it's about engaging in an "extended conversation" with the model: discussing ideas and providing feedback.

Ng said he would "just get work done while driving." Once he reaches his destination, he asks the AI to summarize their exchange and forward it to his team.

Earlier this year, Ng said that there are moments when "lazy prompting" — giving the AI minimal context or instructions — can actually be a more efficient approach.

"It's sometimes faster to be lazy and dash off a quick, imprecise prompt and see what happens," Ng said on X in April. "Most LLMs are smart enough to figure out that you want them to help understand and propose fixes, so you don't need to explicitly tell them."

"We add details to the prompt only when they are needed," he added.

How leaders are using AI at work

A growing number of executives have shared about how they are using AI and weaving it into their day-to-day workflow.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in June that he has been using AI to casually vibe code and build web apps.

"It's exciting to see how casually you can do it now," Pichai said. "Compared to the early days of coding, things have come a long way."

Box CEO Aaron Levie told Business Insider in a September report that he uses a mix of AI tools depending on the task. He turns to ChatGPT or Perplexity for research, switches to Cursor when he needs quick prototypes of new product features, and uses Box AI when he's working directly with data.

Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel told Business Insider in the same report that he has used AI to refine his public speaking skills. Fogel said he uploaded recordings of his keynote speeches to the models, and the LLM provides specific feedback, including flagging distracting hand movements.

• A Ukrainian Mirage 2000 pilot said his fighter has a nearly perfect kill rate against Russian targets.
• The Ukrainian Air Force showed cockpit footage of the French jet destroying aerial targets.
• Its crew said the aircraft has downed at least 12 Kh-101 cruise missiles, as well as attack drones.

A Ukrainian crew operating one of their country's few Dassault Mirage 2000s said their French-built fighter has been nearly 100% effective against Russia's weapons.

The Ukrainian Air Force released a video about the fourth-generation combat jet on Wednesday, in which a Mirage pilot and several technicians discussed the aircraft at a forward airstrip.

"The effectiveness of intercepting enemy drones and missiles on this aircraft is 98%. These are impressive numbers," said the pilot as he sat inside his single-seat Mirage 2000-5. His face was obscured, and he was not named in the video.

Ukraine is expected to receive roughly 20 of the fourth-generation fighters, which the French military is phasing out of its own operations. For now, Kyiv only has a handful of the fighters — previous estimates indicated five or six — after losing one in July.

For Ukraine, precious Western jets like these are primarily reserved for air defense against threats such as cruise missiles.

A technician, identified only as Dmytro, showed the camera one of the main weapons for such missions: a Magic 2 infrared-guided air-to-air missile.

"It has performed exceptionally well," Dmytro said, resting a hand on the weapon. "Its kill probability is practically 100%."

The Ukrainian air force also published several clips of a Mirage 2000 destroying its targets, as filmed from inside the fighter's cockpit.

The crew of the featured Mirage 2000 said they had downed at least 12 Russian Kh-101 cruise missiles, which are long-range subsonic guided missiles launched from the air.

"Right now, there are six on the aircraft, but in reality, there are many more," said Dmytro of stencil kill markings for the Kh-101 on the fighter's frame.

Notably, the fighter crew said their filming location was the third airstrip they flew from in a single week, highlighting how Ukraine has been dispersing its Mirage 2000s as it's done so with many of its other fighters. The tactic makes it harder to track and destroy fighter aircraft, compared to having the planes return to a central airfield each time.

Fighter crew says they still need more options

Despite their praise for the French fighter, the Mirage 2000 crew said they need more long-range options for destroying Russian drones and missiles.

The Magic 2, meant for air-to-air intercepts and dogfights, is a relatively short-range missile and was introduced into operational service in the 1980s.

The Ukrainian pilot said Mirage 2000 operators need "something in the middle ground between efficiency and cost" to fight off the high number of munitions Russia is slinging into Ukraine.

The Kremlin has been launching hundreds-strong salvos of exploding long-range drones and missiles against Ukraine, often pausing or reducing the intensity of attacks on some days to accumulate more weapons for massive assaults on others.

In the Ukrainian air force's video, the pilot floated the possibility of flying the Rafale, the French military's modern fighter.

"Because it is a plane from the same country, retraining on the Rafale will be much faster than on other planes from other countries," he said.

The Rafale is one of the aircraft that Ukraine is eyeing for a revamp of its air force, which will likely unfold over the next decade or even longer. Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country had signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale F4s by the end of 2035.

The agreement would make Ukraine one of Dassault's customers for the aircraft, but does not guarantee that it will buy all 100. Kyiv is also planning to include the American F-16 Fighting Falcon and Swedish Gripen in its new fleet.

• Whether Thanksgiving dinner prices are going up this year depends on which report you read.
• Either way, consumers are prioritizing affordability, seeking deals, and planning to spend less.
• Restaurants and retailers are trying to meet the moment with bundled deals and steep discounts.

Americans are still in affordability mode this Thanksgiving season, whether prices have stabilized or not — and restaurants and retailers are working hard to meet the moment.

Determining if the cost of turkey day dinner has gone up this year depends on which report you read: the consumer price index puts the cost of food at home up 2.7% year over year, and Deloitte suggests prices have held relatively steady with a 0.6% increase. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo's Thanksgiving dinner analysis estimates the cost of the year-end meal is down 2-3%, depending on the shopper's strategy.

No matter what the forecasts say, though, consumers are wary, and what's consistent across the board is that they're looking for a good deal.

Francisco Martin-Rayo, CEO and cofounder of Helios AI, an agritech startup that models food supply chain risks and agricultural prices, told Business Insider that the global food supply is facing a "triple whammy" of inflation, climate concerns, and tariffs all happening at once, resulting in price volatility.

"Our models show modest easing in overall food inflation, yet certain staples are still rising," Martin-Rayo said. "Fresh cranberries are up around 12% year-over-year, while squash and sweet potatoes are trending 5-10% higher. Consumers won't face sticker shock, but the inflation baked into every side dish remains a real pressure point for US households."

Shoppers are seeking deals and planning to spend less

The concerns around affordability extend beyond Thanksgiving dinner into the rest of the holiday spending season, but pinning down exactly how much consumers plan to shell out is another challenge, with inconsistent answers depending on the source.

Eating out is even more expensive than staying in, with the consumer price index showing that the cost of food away from home has increased by 3.7% this year. According to Expert Market's Food & Beverage Report, 62% of US restaurants have increased menu prices to offset wage increases, and 47% of US restaurants increased menu prices due to the effects of import tariffs.

PwC's Holiday Sentiment survey found that some age groups — millennials and Gen Xers, in particular — are planning to curb their spending overall, while others, namely boomers and Gen Z shoppers, plan to spend more than they previously reported when surveyed earlier this year.

Deloitte found that Gen Z is planning to spend 34% less than last year, and planned spending across generations is down 10% overall when compared to 2024 numbers.

Across reports, the thread is that consumers are seeking value wherever possible, with 64% planning to "spend more time looking for deals" this holiday season, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Across all income groups, Deloitte found that 7 out of 10 shoppers are "engaging in value-seeking behaviors" this year, such as joining loyalty programs or shopping at more affordable retailers, to save money.

The National Retail Federation said it expects retail spending, which includes holiday gifts, food, decorations, and other seasonal items, will exceed $1 trillion, though this year's sales growth is expected to be slower than in prior years. And on Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, most shoppers are planning to spend less overall, according to insights shared with Business Insider by the consumer research company GWI.

GWI found there has been a 15.9% decline in the number of shoppers planning to spend more than $650 on Black Friday shopping this year, and an increase of 43.6% in the number of shoppers who plan to spend less than $130.

Retailers are doubling down on deals

With consumers more cost-conscious, retailers are trying to attract every shopper they can, while chains like Home Depot and Target struggle with declining sales, especially among middle-income consumers.

Many, including Walmart, Sam's Club, and Costco, have launched Thanksgiving meal bundles, ranging from $4 to $10 per serving, to try to lure in price-sensitive shoppers. Business Insider previously reported that they're a good value, but the pre-packaged kits don't include pantry staples like spices and seasonings, so preparing the meal may require an additional out-of-pocket expense.

Deloitte found that seven out of 10 consumers say finding the best value for their money matters more than getting the cheapest option. A holiday outlook report from PwC found that internet searches for "discount" and "coupon code" increased by 11% compared to last year, suggesting that holiday purchases remain important, but price point remains a key consideration.

"People are going to keep shopping, but with continuing concerns about tariffs and elevated prices (especially on electronics, apparel, toys, food, and household staples), value-conscious choices are likely to define the season," the report reads.

• Critical Role cofounder Liam O'Brien released "Der Katzenprinz," his first children's book, in April.
• The book comes with 112 fully illustrated pages by artist Charlie Borovsky.
• Borovsky, who spent six months working on the book, explained how he landed his dream gig.

Like most creatives who wind up working for Critical Role, Charlie Borovsky was a fan first.

Borovsky, who's based in Prague, said he started watching Critical Role's "Dungeons and Dragons" campaign on Twitch, a stream that remains a mainstay of the crew's nerdworld business.

Ten years on, as Critical Role sells out stadiums for its live shows and makes Amazon-backed animated series about the stream he watched at home, Borovsky has found himself contributing to it. He is the artist for Critical Role cofounder Liam O'Brien's "Der Katzenprinz," a 112-page children's book.

O'Brien, Borovsky said, had been aware of his work and portfolio from when he began posting fan art of the former's wizard character, Caleb Widogast, in 2018. But it took more than five years before O'Brien approached Borovsky and asked if he'd like to do the art for "Der Katzenprinz."

"In autumn 2023, we started talking in emails, and it wasn't until the winter of 2024 that we started the project," Borovsky said.

"He approached me about it and asked if I wanted to hop on, and I was like, 'Hell yeah, this sounds really up my alley,'" Borovsky added.

Then came a six-month crunch time for Borovsky, where "Der Katzenprinz" was the only art project he worked on. Borovsky also makes art for other tabletop role-playing projects and has been a freelance creative for books and games alike.

"It was like, my life. I wasn't doing anything else," Borovsky said. "I'm also chronically ill, so if I have a job, I have to just do that, and I won't have enough hours in the day to do anything else."

Working with O'Brien was smooth, Borovsky said, and they moved quickly from thumbnails to line art, then finished artwork.

"Honestly, Liam was really nice and easy. I only had a few notes from him, and most of them were just like, 'This looks great, keep on going,'" Borovsky said.

Borovsky said that the early concept work was his favorite part of the process, because he got a lot of creative freedom when conceptualizing how the work would look on the page, in concert with O'Brien's writing.

"It usually gets harder toward the end of the project, where you just have to do the manual work of actually rendering and shading everything," Borovsky said.

The most rewarding part of the project, Borovsky said, was seeing O'Brien promote the book upon its release.

"That made it so worth it. It really warmed my heart after some of the stress of the deadlines, actually seeing him talk about it and genuinely seeming like he's really proud of the project," Borovsky said.

How to get a nerdworld dream job

Borovsky told Business Insider his tips could help artists, whether they hope to get a gig with Critical Role or other businesses.

First, Borovsky says, it's essential to define your personal style as an artist. That means getting better at the fundamentals of art so companies will be convinced that you can deliver what they're asking for.

"I wouldn't say to focus on having an art style that will be so different from everybody else that everybody will remember you," Borovsky said. "That's really not the point. You need to have a style that will be good for all the different publishers, but still unique enough that people can recognize that it's yours."

Secondly, Borovsky says that there's a demand for artists who not only draw characters but also have some versatility.

"Not only focusing on characters, but doing all the other things, creatures, magic items, environments, that's what you get work through, usually," Borovsky said.

Borovsky added that it's important to curate your online portfolio with a diverse array of items that you can draw.

"I definitely say you need to participate in the online things of portfolio day, and just following art directors online," Borovsky said.

"Sometimes, art directors post online, saying, 'We're looking for an artist,' and you can drop your portfolio link under the post," Borovsky said.

If you're hoping to work for Critical Role, Borovsky suggests making more fan art to get noticed by the company's creative team — and to keep honing your skills.

"Critical Role is really good at picking artists from their fan art circles, instead of outsourcing it to somebody totally new," Borovsky said.

• Alvin Tan started a prawn noodles side hustle while working as a software engineer.
• When his job contract ended, he decided to give full-time hawker life a proper shot.
• Being a hawker is hot, tiring, and lonely work, but he said there is a silver lining.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alvin Tan, a 29-year-old software engineer turned prawn noodle hawker from Singapore. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was seven years old, my dad used to drive a cab. He worked until midnight, pulling long hours. But sometimes, when he came home, he would take my mom and me out for supper, and it was always to get a bowl of Hokkien Mee, a prawn noodle dish popular in Singapore.

As I watched the old hawker couple fry up the noodles, I was always intrigued by how it was made, the smoke and drama of it.

Becoming a hawker was not my first choice. I've held several software engineering positions, including a development role at an AI company. I also launched a startup with smart vending machines, which failed due to a lack of funding.

But during the pandemic, when I grew tired of remote work, I started experimenting with making Hokkien Mee. I started a small home-based side hustle selling the dish, but it was a small endeavor. On weekends, I'd sell maybe 20 plates daily.

It was after I ended my two-year contract as a software developer for a global tech company that I thought I could find another job, or maybe I could do something that I was actually interested in.

Going all in on hawker life

Earlier this year, I got selected for Gastrobeats, a local mentorship program that aims to build up local food businesses. At the end of it, I set up my stall in the Gastrobeats weeklong event tent beside Singapore's upscale Marina Bay Sands hotel.

It was my first time cooking outside my house for a full week. Plucking the prawns and simmering 50 kilograms of prawn broth for seven hours under a hot, humid tent was hell.

But the experience gave me the confidence to start my first physical stall.

I opened Umami Bomb in July, setting it up in a small hawker center in Singapore's Geylang district.

My parents were supportive, but they had doubts about how long I could last. They said, "You have worked in air-conditioned spaces all your life. Can you actually handle the heat?"

They predicted that I would quit in three months.

Working 17-hour days behind the wok

More than three months in now, I have a routine. I take the first bus to come to the stall and make the prawn broth at around six a.m. Then I start preparing for the lunch crowd, which starts at around noon and ends around 2 p.m.

After that, I go back home for a bit to rest, then come back around 5 p.m. for the dinner crowd. After dinner, I clean up the stall, and mostly end the day around 11 p.m.

The heat is something else. I want to be frying more plates, but it's so tiring. I have burn marks all over my hands from hot oil.

I've had to downgrade my lifestyle because my earnings are lower than when I was working a software job. I cut back on spending on food and mainly cook at home for myself.

I have way less time for my friends and family, and my social life has been affected because I work every day. If I decide to go on a holiday, I have to sacrifice my revenue.

It's lonely, and it's quite depressing.

The silver lining

Business is slowly picking up. When I first started, I'd maybe sell 20 plates a day, which was quite discouraging. Imagine spending the whole day preparing, only to sell 20 plates.

Now I'm selling about 50 to 60 plates daily. I haven't hit 100 plates yet. I'm waiting for that milestone.

It's also satisfying to see your business grow. The best part is having customers tell you your food is great. It makes me feel pride in my cooking to have people reassure me that I'm good at what I do.

And in the worst-case scenario, I have a backup plan.

I've given myself one year to feel successful. If things don't go well, I'll return to the corporate world.

• Early retirees stress the importance of learning how to invest instead of paying advisors.
• Some FIRE experts also advise against delaying retirement unnecessarily.
• Building strong relationships and hobbies is crucial to avoid loneliness once you hit your number.

I first came across the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement when I spoke to a Big Tech employee who quit her job and retired early, only to regret it days later.

Speaking to her and over 60 other FIREers in the past two years has taught me that this increasingly popular four-letter acronym is a dream come true for many, but it needs to be done right. Otherwise, being untethered to a job or stream of income can lead to loneliness, anxiety, and feeling like you lack purpose.

Even though I'm at the start of my career, I have taken these three pieces of advice that I hear often to heart:

1. Don't use a financial advisor

Alan and Katie Donegan, who are originally from the UK and have been nomadic since hitting financial independence in 2019, have tons of advice — they run a free 10-week seminar about FIRE.

I first met them at a FIRE retreat in Bali, Indonesia, last year, and have caught up with them as they travel through Brazil and the US.

One piece of advice that stuck with me is how they insist on not using financial advisors, after hiring one themselves.

"People fear doing it themselves," Katie told me in one of our calls. "So they pay for a professional advisor, which they don't need, then they pay high fees, and they get poor performance."

The couple calculated that if Katie had stayed with her high-fee advisor instead of switching to low-cost index funds, they would have been over 1 million British pounds worse off.

"If you're still working and have income, I think it's ridiculously conservative to have bonds," Katie said. "So there was that double whammy of what they did with me."

With their nod of approval, I'm happy to bet on index funds instead of a financial advisor.

2. Don't delay retirement

Brad Barrett is the host of ChooseFI, a financial independence podcast that introduced the FIRE movement to a big chunk of people I met in the past year.

In our chat about common mistakes he sees early retirees make, I was surprised that he sees more people quit work too late than too early.

He told me that most people are overly conservative and fall into the "one more year" trap. They delay quitting their jobs or moving onto something new because they're worried their retirement nest egg isn't big enough.

"I think people don't understand the finite nature of their lives," he told me. "If we are really lucky, we get eight or nine decades on this planet," and even fewer healthy years.

"Every day that you work longer than you have to, is a day that you're not doing something with the only resource you can't get back, which is your time," he said.

I'm only two years into my career and don't often think about retirement. But Brad's advice taught me not to delay things that make me happy. There is no perfect time to start a new sport or to take that friend's road trip to Kyrgyzstan — so I'm doing it as soon as I can.

3. Invest in your relationships and hobbies

One theme that sneaks its way into every conversation I have with people who are set to retire early, or those who have already escaped the corporate grind, is the idea of loneliness and isolation.

When you're the only person in your friend group who retired in their 30s, there's no one to brunch or play pickleball with on a Wednesday afternoon. So the relationships and hobbies you build before retiring become even more important.

At the retreat I attended in Bali last year, the most common regret people shared was that they invested too much time on their career and beefing up their brokerage accounts. This often came at the expense of time with their kids and friends, or finding a partner.

A couple with young kids pledged to prioritize their sidelined marriage. The two finance professionals had recently hit nearly $2 million in net worth, but confessed that they had never considered shelling out for household help or a full-time nanny.

Most of the 50 attendees, many of whom were still trying to hit their FIRE number, told me they were learning how to spend on things that make them happy, even if it meant reaching retirement a couple of years later. Some recommended creating a bank account with money solely for experiences with friends and family.

One expert, who led a session called "Financial Independence Next Endeavor," told us one of the best trips he had ever taken was last year's $20,000, 11-day cruise from Greece to Italy, with his mom and his adult daughter. A designated "fun bucket" of money helped him ditch his frugality mindset and book the trip.

Since returning from this retreat, I've been a lot more proactive about making plans. I love my job — something I've wanted since high school — but I've come to understand that it's only one part of me.

• "Stranger Things" has been killing off characters since Barb in season one.
• We ranked all the major deaths in the series so far by their level of sadness.
• Fan-favorite characters like Bob and Eddie suffered some of the most heartbreaking murders.

Spoilers ahead for "Stranger Things" seasons one through four.

Despite the showrunners' aversion to killing main characters, there have been plenty of tragic deaths in "Stranger Things."

As the hit Netflix series heads into its fifth and final season, take a look back at some of the most significant deaths in seasons one through four — from Barb and Benny to Billy and Eddie — ranked from least to most devastating on a scale from 0 to 10.

• Advertising giant Omnicom has completed its acquisition of Interpublic Group.
• The merger creates the largest advertising agency by revenue.
• Agency holding companies face challenges from emerging tech like AI and new competitors.

Madison Avenue's makeover is taking shape.

Omnicom officially completed its acquisition of Interpublic Group on Wednesday, in a $9 billion all-stock deal that creates the largest advertising agency holding company by revenue. The combined company will generate annual revenue exceeding $25 billion, Omnicom said.

The agency mega-merger, first announced in December, creates a portfolio that unites creative networks such as BBDO and McCann, media buying agencies including OMD and Initiative, and the Omni and Acxiom data platforms.

In a statement, Omnicom CEO John Wren, who will lead the merged company, said the acquisition marks a "defining moment for our company and our industry."

"With the completion of the deal, Omnicom is setting a new standard for modern marketing and sales leadership — creating stronger brands, delivering superior business outcomes, and driving sustainable growth," Wren said.

Omnicom said it will announce its full leadership team on December 1.

The deal reflects the changing fortunes of Madison Avenue. The holding company landscape, once referred to as the big six — Omnicom, IPG, WPP, Publicis Groupe, Dentsu, and Havas — has now become five.

One of the theories behind the deal is that being bigger is the best strategy. By merging, Omnicom-IPG can reduce operating costs by consolidating systems, while also leveraging its collective client ad spending from the world's biggest brands to negotiate better deals with media owners and tech platforms.

However, some industry insiders have said that the deal also highlights how the power of holding companies is being challenged by the emergence of new technologies and competitors. Technology such as generative AI has made it easier for marketers to in-house some of the work they used to outsource to agencies. Newer entrants to the space, including consulting firms, private equity-backed ad networks, and independent agencies, are all vying for marketers' budgets. Marketers, facing macroeconomic pressures such as tariffs and high interest rates, are pushing agencies to produce more work at the same or lower budgets.

"The industry in general is under attack because clients are finding more efficient ways to make content at scale," said Greg Paull, president of global growth at the media advisory firm MediaSense.

Even the sector's star performer, Publicis, buoyed by several significant new business wins in recent months, including Mars and Coca-Cola's North American media account, has seen its market value drop by around 19% year-to-date.

Omnicom's share price has also fallen sharply since the IPG deal was first announced late last year, causing the transaction to drop from an initial valuation of roughly $13 billion. Omnicom shareholders will own around 61% of the combined company, with Interpublic shareholders owning about 39%.

Agency layoffs have been a constant at companies across the advertising sector. Steve Boehler of the consulting firm Mercer Island Group expects the Omnicom merger will lead to 20,000 job cuts at the combined company, including the layoffs IPG has already made this year.

Industry analysts anticipate further ad agency consolidation in the coming months.

Japan-based Dentsu is restructuring its international business — everything outside Japan — which could include a potential sale. Speculation has swirled around the future of WPP amid a recent run of poor financial performance, with newly appointed CEO Cindy Rose tasked with bringing about a turnaround. Earlier this month, media reports suggested Havas was eyeing a bid for WPP. Havas CEO Yannick Bolloré later said in an internal memo, "We are not in discussions with WPP." Industry insiders and analysts have also predicted that advertising companies will continue to be a target for private-equity giants and consulting firms.

As Omnicom works through the intricacies of its merger to deliver the margins expected by investors, competitors could look to seize the opportunity.

"It'll look like an interesting time where there are fewer big holding company brands, leaving space in the market for PE-backed and large successful independents to continue to merge and do a better job of attacking that middle-market where there's so much business that isn't getting senior-level attention from the holding companies," Boehler said.

• Google CEO Sundar Pichai talked about the company's AI strategy in a recent podcast interview.
• He said Google's AI-first strategy began in 2016, and now, it's paying off with the release of its Gemini 3 model.
• Pichai said he and Google staffers need "a bit of rest" after the release, which has been well received.

Google's engineers have been on an AI sprint in recent weeks. Now, with a big launch in the rearview mirror, CEO Sundar Pichai says it's time to catch up on some sleep.

"I think some folks need some sleep," Pichai said on the "Google AI: Release Notes" podcast released Wednesday. He added that hopefully he and his teams "get a bit of rest."

On November 18, Google released its latest AI model, Gemini 3, and the company is now edging toward a $4 trillion market cap. Its stock price has surged nearly 70% this year — including a 12% jump following Gemini 3's launch.

Gemini 3 has been well received. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said it marks an "insane" jump in reasoning, speed, and multimodal capabilities in a post on X this week. He added that after spending just "2 hours on Gemini 3," he's "not going back," to ChatGPT.

The launch renewed conversations about Google potentially being the new frontrunner in the AI race, after years of ceding the title to ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

Pichai said Google for years has quietly been laying down the foundation for a long-term AI strategy.

"In 2016, I wanted the whole company to be AI-first," Pichai said.

Between the development of Google Brain in 2012, the acquisition DeepMind in 2014, AlphaGo's victory in the Chinese board game Go, and the unveiling of its first tensor processing unit — its own internal chips, which it used to train Gemini — the stage was set for the tech giant's AI embrace.

"It was clear to me in 2016, seeing all that, we are about to go through another platform shift. That was a full-stack bet on setting up Google to be an AI-first company," the CEO said.

But Pichai said that rapid adoption generative AI presented an even bigger opportunity for the company — and that's when it kicked off Gemini. The company brought together its Google Brain and DeepMind teams, ramped its AI infrastructure, and started moving even faster, he said.

Pichai said the core idea is to embrace a "full-stack" approach to innovation by improving everything from infrastructure to making the models better at pre-training, post-training, and test-time compute.

But that approach to innovation takes time, Pichai said. When Google first tried to meet the generative AI moment, he said, it was short on capacity, and needed to invest in several areas to "get it to the scale," he said.

"If you were on the outside, it would look like we were quiet, or we were behind, but we were putting all the building blocks in place, and then executing on top if it," he said.

The tides have since turned.

"We're on the other side now," he said.