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A growing number of retailers are retooling their supply chains to handle returns with surgical precision—transforming warehouses and reverse logistics into engines of value. Unsplash+

For a long time, retailers have seen returns and the logistics needed to deal with them as a burden—a necessary inconvenience for handling excess stock. Managing these logistics, known as reverse logistics or the reverse supply chain, requires different skills because most manufacturers design their infrastructure only to distribute products one way: out into the market. But reverse logistics is no longer just about managing returns. Instead, it’s a strategic advantage, reshaping retail and sustainability and an essential part of the circular economy. Retailers that embrace recommerce (the practice of reselling previously owned or used products) are cutting waste, lowering costs and tapping into a secondary market projected to reach $4.04 trillion by 2034. The only challenge is mastering the logistics.

The Overstock Opportunity

Returns are an important customer service experience, but ultimately, a disposal task. They can be costly and, frankly, a headache. That has prompted more companies to want to deal with them more efficiently and profitably. Because we mostly buy online, we return more. According to IHL Group, overstock (which includes unsold products, returned items that can’t be sold as new and warranty-covered products) costs retail businesses $562 billion. This is just one number that shows how expensive and wasteful the old ways of handling returns are. But it also shows there’s a big opportunity.

Many brands and retailers are sitting on a goldmine of surplus products (or overstock) that can be refurbished, remarketed and sold again. This turns unwanted products from liabilities into profitable revenue streams while also giving products a new life and offering more sustainable shopping options. It is what many of us know to be a circular economy. The key here is that the infrastructure, not the product itself, is circular. That’s why reverse logistics are key to making it a reality.

Logistical Challenges of Recommerce

A true circular offering means providing customers with the means to return pre-owned products, usually in exchange for credit towards their next purchase. The products are then refurbished and sold back to customers. As the more sustainable choice, it gives consumers an option beyond buying new stuff. The consumer technology industry has been doing this for a while. Brands like Apple and Samsung make it easy to ‘trade in’ your old device when buying a new one. It’s a slick experience that keeps customers in the ecosystem. It also feeds the secondary market, capturing buyers who might have otherwise bought a cheaper device from another brand. But it has taken years for those brands to get to this point.

Managing reverse logistics isn’t a simple plug-and-play activity—it requires constant monitoring and improvement. Processing returns can cost retailers up to 15 percent of their revenue. It’s expensive, so retailers need to be efficient. That’s why 75 percent of retailers plan to invest in reverse logistics automation in 2025, and for good reason. Reverse Logistics is growing by about 9.4 percent per year.

Brands need to do a few key things or invest in them to get this right. The first is investing in inventory-tracking tools. This is crucial for spotting patterns in return trends and making predictions for the secondary market. Similarly, brands must follow the resale market closely to anticipate shifts and proactively manage inventory, pricing and supply. The next step is to partner with reverse logistics specialists in the market. These companies have helped other brands while remaining focused on their core objectives. They also tend to understand regional regulatory complexities and potential legal restrictions around refurbished goods, which are crucial to know when scaling.

Another area that needs addressing is frequent sales and discount promotions. This can be a hard sell for brands that rely on seasonal sales. However, consumers will not buy a refurbished product if it’s the same price as a new one on sale. For the circular economy to work, and the investment in reverse logistics to be justified, brands need to work towards structured pricing and certified, high-quality refurbished goods to attract new customers who want to spend less.

From Burden to Breakthrough

All this talk of investment in reverse logistics to support the circular economy is excellent news for both businesses and the planet. Every pre-owned, refurbished or reused product sold means less landfill waste and less pressure on natural resources. For example, refurbishing a smartphone (instead of manufacturing a new one) directly saves 64kg of CO2, 244kg of raw materials and nearly 76,000 litres of water. Brands that handle returns well can help the environment and create lasting value for their business and customers. Getting it right is a commercial and circular win.

James Murdock is Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Alchemy, the world’s fastest-growing circular technology company. With over 20 years of experience delivering marketing and business operations across leading tech markets, he is a leader in driving innovative solutions to reduce e-waste and carbon emissions.

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The 11 Key Executives Running Tesla Behind Elon Musk’s Spotlight

May 28, 2025 Tarun

Omead Afshar, vice president of North American and European operations

Afshar joined Tesla in 2017 as a project manager in the CEO’s office after working in the medical device industry. He later became project director and, in 2020, was promoted to senior director of Tesla’s Austin Gigafactory—a role he cheekily sums up on LinkedIn with a cowboy emoji.

In 2022, Afshar stepped back from day-to-day Tesla operations following an internal investigation into Project 42, a glass-walled structure allegedly intended as a residence for Musk—an allegation the CEO has denied. During this period, Afshar became more involved in other Musk ventures, including SpaceX and X.

His Tesla profile has since rebounded, now overseeing the company’s operations in North America and Europe. Known for his close rapport with Musk, he’s reportedly earned the nickname “the Musk whisperer.”

Lars Moravy, vice president of vehicle engineering

Moravy has served as Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering for the past six years, leading a team of over 2,000 engineers responsible for hardware design, development, testing, automation and manufacturing. He has worked on every major Tesla model, including the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck and the upcoming Robotaxi.

Moravy joined Tesla more than 15 years ago, contributing to vehicle frame development. Prior to that, he spent eight years at Honda R&D. On a recent episode of the Ride the Lightning podcast, he said he made the leap to Tesla because it combined his passion for automobiles and environmental impact.

Brandon Ehrhart, general counsel and corporate secretary

Tesla appointed Ehrhart as general counsel and corporate secretary in 2023. He previously spent two decades in the telecommunications industry, most notably at DISH Network, where he served as general counsel for DISH Wireless. His legal background also includes roles at EchoStar Corporation and as an associate at DLA Piper.

At Tesla, Ehrhart leads a legal team that, according to a past LinkedIn post, aims to manage “all aspects of litigation and trial work, including briefings, hearings, discovery, depositions and trials, completely in-house.”

Franz von Holzhausen, senior design executive

Von Holzhausen brings decades of experience in automotive design to Tesla. Before joining the company, he worked on high-profile projects such as the Volkswagen New Beetle and held design positions at General Motors and Mazda. He became Tesla’s senior design executive in 2008 and has since led design efforts for every major model, including the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck and the second-generation Roadster.

Ashok Elluswamy, vice president of A.I. software

Elluswamy leads Tesla’s A.I. software division, a key area the company expects to expand. He has headed the team since October 2024 and, according to his LinkedIn, is focused on “anything and everything required to get self-driving 4-wheeled robots driving widely.” His previous work includes developing Tesla’s in-house computer vision system and applying A.I. to tackle complex autonomous driving challenges.

Elluswamy joined Tesla in 2014 and was later praised by Musk as the company’s first official hire for the A.I. and Autopilot team. “Without him and our awesome team, we would just be another car company looking for an autonomy supplier that doesn’t exist,” Musk wrote on X last year.

Michael Snyder, vice president of energy and charging

Snyder began his Tesla career in 2014 as a staff electrical engineer and steadily rose through the ranks of the company’s energy division. He previously served as senior director of megapack production and business before being promoted in 2024 to vice president of energy and charging. In this role, he oversees Tesla’s integrated sustainable energy ecosystem, which includes solar, storage and charging infrastructure.

Before joining Tesla, Snyder worked at engineering and energy companies including HDR, SunPower Corporation and Flack + Kurtz.

Laurie Shelby, vice president of environment, health and safety

Shelby has led Tesla’s environment, health and safety (EHS) operations since 2017, overseeing workplace safety and compliance efforts for more than 100,000 employees across automotive, energy and delivery divisions. One of Tesla’s most senior female executives, she brings decades of experience in industrial safety. Prior to Tesla, she spent 17 years at Alcoa and held key roles at Reynold Metals, Radian Corporation and Dominion Virginia Power.

Karn Budhiraj and Roshan Thomas, vice presidents of supply chain

Tesla’s vast and complex global supply chain is co-managed by two executives: Budhiraj and Thomas. Budhiraj joined Tesla in 2014, bringing prior experience from Apple’s supply chain team and a consulting background at Deloitte. He initially oversaw powertrain and electronics programs before being promoted to vice president of supply chain in 2018. He now manages key areas such as batteries, electronics, construction, manufacturing and distribution.

Thomas, who reports directly to Musk, was appointed vice president in 2020. He is responsible for vehicle and solar sourcing and other critical supply functions. Thomas joined Tesla in 2019 as a purchasing manager for propulsion, thermal and climate systems, following earlier roles in supply operations at Tellabs and Sanmina.

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How American Retailers Are Navigating Trump’s Volatile Trade Policy

May 25, 2025 Tarun

The warehouse of REBEL, which works with over 2,500 baby products. Courtesy of REBEL

In retail, crisis planning once meant preparing for wildfires, hurricanes, floods—or more recently, a pandemic. But in 2025, a different kind of force majeure has emerged—not from nature, but from politics: tariffs. For American retailers large and small, the erratic tariff policy tied to Trump’s second-term agenda feels less like economic strategy and more like an act of divine upheaval.

Navigating pricing, planning and logistics has become a high-stakes guessing game. When policy shifts are announced via Trump’s social media account, trade alliances can dissolve overnight and tariff schedules flip faster than a quarterly budget cycle. Businesses aren’t operating under a stable set of rules—they’re flying blind while the rules keep changing.

When Trump reemerged as the Republican front-runner in 2024, many saw the renewed tariff threats coming from a distance as trade protectionism has remained one of the few ideological throughlines in Trump’s career in the public spotlight. Still, the speed of the threats—and the improvisational style of their rollout—has caught many executives off guard. (Trump’s stance on tariffs has already shifted several times since this article began taking shape.)

If Trump’s first term taught global business leaders anything, it’s that constant recalibration—not the policies themselves—poses the greatest threat to commercial stability. Observer spoke with dozens of retail CEOs and founders, consumer experts and supply chain strategists, and one message came through loud and clear: preserving optionality is no longer just a strategic advantage—it’s a survival skill.

Tariff threats reshape risk planning

From Wall Street to Main Street, companies aren’t just bracing for impact—they’re actively reengineering operations and supply chains to withstand what many now call a “Trump majeure.” The phrase hasn’t yet made its way into legal or contractual language, but it’s already become industry shorthand for the mounting volatility businesses face across sectors.

“I’m seeing related conversations pop up,” Bill London, an international attorney at Kimura London & White, told Observer. “The term ‘Trump majeure’ may be informal, but the disruption is real. Businesses are revisiting contracts to insert renegotiation clauses and price adjustment mechanisms triggered by tariff shifts. It’s a more secure strategy than hoping ‘force majeure’ language will cover them.”

That reality was underscored in a recent conversation with Charlie Youakim, CEO and co-founder of Sezzle, a publicly traded buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform serving tens of thousands of retailers. With a window into broad consumer behavior and merchant activity, Youakim has become something of a bellwether for the retail sector.

“We sit in a position where we can see patterns emerge before they hit the headlines,” Youakim told Observer. “From what we’re hearing, a lot of pure e-commerce retailers—especially those reliant on Chinese manufacturing—are scrambling right now. Some are reworking logistics, others are repricing inventory on the fly.”

While Sezzle itself may be somewhat insulated, Youakim doesn’t yet see signs of broad-based distress. “There’s no panic, but there is urgency. Everyone’s adjusting—some quietly, some aggressively. It’s a moment of recalibration more than crisis,” he said.

He also offered a pointed reminder about who feels economic shifts first. “The media calls it a recession when the upper middle class cancels vacations or cuts back on luxury. But our users—gig workers, blue-collar families, recent grads—they live in a recession every day,” he said.

Small brands scramble while insulated players seize advantage

At Minnesota’s Faribault Mill, CEO Ross Widmoyer has embraced a hyper-local model—one that, through a combination of history and serendipity, has proved remarkably resilient. Nearly all inputs, from wool to labor, are sourced domestically—the lion’s share of their workforce lives within a 15-mile radius of the factory.

“We didn’t design the business with tariffs or global instability in mind,” Widmoyer told Observer. “But because so much of what we do—our materials, labor, supply chain—happens to be domestic, we’ve found ourselves unusually insulated and incredibly agile in this moment.”

Faribault Mill employs around 100 people and brings in nearly $20 million in annual revenue. It has expanded its offerings to include apparel, accessories and high-profile design collaborations—with partners ranging from major sports brands to pop culture icons like the Peanuts characters. The company owns and operates its entire production infrastructure, including looms and finishing equipment, making it less vulnerable to supply chain shocks. And this level of insulation has allowed the company to do what’s virtually unthinkable for most retail brands: lower prices in the midst of economic upheaval.

Faribault Mill founder Ross Widmoyer. Courtesy of Faribault Mill

Contrast that with entrepreneurs like Steve Skillings in South Carolina, founder of BusyBox, a small manufacturer of smart-home gadgets. Facing skyrocketing component costs due to tariffs, Skillings is on the verge of shutting down. “I’ve stopped advertising. I’m laying off contractors. There’s no capital, no SBA [Small Business Administration] help and no roadmap,” he told Observer.

The underlying truth: most retail businesses—especially those under $25 million in annual revenue—don’t have the luxury of time or the necessary resources to overhaul supply chains on short notice. They lack lobbyists and legal firepower. What they have instead is a daily survival calculus.

Jason Wingate, co-founder of Zlumber, a top-selling bed accessory brand on Amazon, put it bluntly, “You can’t just be reactive anymore. You have to build structural flexibility into the way you operate. That means diversified suppliers, agile freight partners and a deep bench of manufacturing options.”

The China dilemma

For many companies that have relied on foreign sourcing, China has long been the go-to—an unrivaled hub of scale, efficiency and manufacturing sophistication. It’s no exaggeration to say China has served as the backbone of global retail supply chains. But now that Beijing is once again squarely in Trump’s crosshairs, that reliance is looking increasingly precarious.

The problem? Moving away isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds. These supply chains were built over decades, and unwinding them brings higher costs, inconsistent regulatory regimes and fragile infrastructure. Alternatives like Vietnam, India and Mexico may be rising, but they come with their own serious constraints.

Lee Mayer, CEO of Havenly Brands, an online interior décor store with creative design services, is skeptical of rapid re-shoring. “There’s this myth that we can just onshore everything overnight,” she told Observer. “It’s not realistic. We’re already seeing price hikes of over 30 percent. Will people still buy $2,000 sofas if they know half that cost is tariffs?”

Contrast that with David’s Bridal, America’s largest bridal retailer, which has proactively restructured its global supply chain in anticipation of tariff volatility. Under the leadership of newly minted CEO Kelly Cook, the retailer shifted its China-based production from over 50 percent to just 30 percent well ahead of the most recent tariff announcement, rerouting production to facilities in Vietnam, India, the Philippines and beyond. So has Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, which has reduced its manufacturing reliance on China to 40 percent in recent years, compared with the industry-average 80 percent.

Ben Koren, CEO of Brooklyn-based Frameology, an online picture framing store, took even more dramatic steps well before Trump was sworn in for a second term, embarking on an effort to re-shore production years ago. “Now, over 90 percent of our costs are U.S.-based. It’s more expensive, yes—but far more predictable,” he told Observer.

From lobbying to redesigns, businesses build for instability

Across the board, companies are responding in different ways: some are shifting production, others are building structural flexibility into their operations, leaning into innovation, or even engaging in policy advocacy.

Emily Hosie, founder of REBEL—an online platform that resells open-box and overstock baby gear and home essentials—is lobbying for tariff exemptions on baby products. “These aren’t luxury goods. They’re required by law. Families are already stretched—this is just punitive,” Hosie told Observer. “As a retailer, we have a responsibility to collaborate, push for exemptions and stand up for our community.”

Emily Hosie, founder of REBEL. Courtesy of REBEL

Keegan Nesvacil, CEO of Woodland Tools, which manufactures gardening and cutting tools, describes a “design-for-resilience” model. The company, which manufactures a broad range of gardening and cutting tools, integrates customer feedback and supply chain data to pivot quickly. “With recent tariffs creating complex supply chain demands, we’ve re-engineered several products to use alternative materials that aren’t tariffed, shifted component sourcing closer to home, and modularized designs so we can swap parts in or out based on availability,” he told Observer.

Many large brands have opted to stock up on inventory to get it in before more onerous tariffs take effect. Still, frontloading inventory only works for some. Shelf-stable products can be stockpiled; seasonal goods and perishables cannot. What companies need is clarity, and that remains elusive.

There’s no single path forward—just a growing recognition that navigating “Trump majeure” requires a mix of foresight, adaptability and the willingness to rethink old playbooks. Call it “Trump majeure” or just the new normal—resilience now depends on agility, optionality and the recognition that there’s no cookie-cutter playbook. The businesses that endure will be those built to bend, not break.

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The Five Pillars of the Global Digital Economy

May 24, 2025 Tarun

A view from orbit: Digital power may be invisible, but its infrastructure is now as critical as any territory on Earth. Unsplash+

In 2024, the world’s digital economies constituted about 15 percent of global GDP in nominal terms, and there are rising elements of emerging digital economies in almost every nation, according to the International Data Center Authority’s Global Digital Economy Report 2025. With data being the most expensive commodity in the world, the capability to process and transact data becomes vital to the prosperity of nations. This is an era where GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) or HPCs (High Performance Computing) have the potential to be used alternatively with GDP as a measurable economic indicator. The digital economy represents all economic activities reliant on or significantly enhanced by digital technologies, including digital infrastructure, digital services and data. In essence, a digital economy uses technology to create, deliver and transact goods and services. With its importance to our modern lives, the global digital economy stands on five pillars that define its existence, growth and sustainability.

The Five Pillars of the Digital Economy

Pillar 1: Strategy

Strategy is the foremost fundamental pillar of building digital economies. Without an overarching strategy defining the digital economy goals and objectives, the journey will be random and insecure for all stakeholders. The U.S., as the world’s largest digital economy, has reached its status due to the sheer size of its technology and investment base. However, to date, the nation lacks a strategic plan at the macro level to harness the key targets and decipher measurable milestones for building and operating a sustainable digital economy. This is while smaller nations are becoming fierce competitors by not only learning from the lessons learned by the world’s leading nations, namely the U.S., but also planning for shortcuts and strategizing to optimize results. Like any other form of economy, digital economies can also be vulnerable and face potent catastrophes if they are not well-planned and clearly understood. All world nations need a coherent, comprehensive digital economy strategy that will maintain their consistent growth over the long term.

There have been attempts to put forward such plans throughout the most recent administrations. However, all these plans partially tackled the grander scheme of the digital economy and merely focused on transforming the business functions of the government. Barack Obama Administration tried to codify this culture by enabling the nation’s first national CIO, who developed a Cloud First strategy that continues to be followed to some extent throughout U.S. government agencies today. Donald Trump’s first administration unleashed the Cloud Smart strategy in an amplifying continuation. Due to the predicted shortages of energy and liquidity, the current administration started its international economic campaigns by visiting energy and cash-rich nations of the Middle East to secure investments with a key focus on A.I. and digital infrastructure. However, all of these are responsive measures and not proactive by any stretch of the imagination. Most days in the tenures of any administration are spent on familiar geopolitical and domestic concerns, and there appears to be no national call for creating a robust digital economy model for the world, similar to the 1960s call for landing people on the moon.

Meanwhile, the world’s second-largest economic power, China, is clearly focusing on A.I. development given the recent appearance of the DeepSeek generative A.I. platform, and unmistakable activity in building out its data center infrastructure and the electricity to power it. Though not transparent in their thinking, China’s leaders seem determined to continue the country’s superpower status. Similarly, Saudi Arabia is emerging as a noted leader in this area, with its Vision 2030, which focuses on A.I., smart cities, increased cloud services and e-government services. In parallel, a recent announcement of a sprawling A.I. campus that would consume several gigawatts of power in the United Arab Emirates is a clear indicator of the UAE’s vision for this sector as well. In India, Narendra Modi’s Administration, recently reelected for a third term, remains focused on turning what is now the world’s most populous country into a developed nation by 2047. India has accomplished a heavy economic lift in recent decades, and its people seem determined to keep this momentum alive.

Pillar 2: Policy

Subsequent to strategy, policy is paramount to the success of digital economies. Even the best strategies would be infertile if they were not accompanied by effective policies that mandate change and maintain order. In the absence of effective policies, even if there are short-term gains in sight, long-term credentials remain volatile. Government policy functions as a reach of a nation’s executive arm to encourage the development of digital economies and the legal framework to do so. In this context, the role of policy is to legalize the phase-by-phase deployment of the overarching national digital economy strategies and render a predictable business and investment environment that fosters stability and growth.

Many pieces of recent legislation around the world focus on what not to do. For example, the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) focuses on illegal content, A.I. platform accountability and individual user rights. The companion Digital Markets Act (DMA) seeks to regulate fair-minded competition. The more recent EU A.I. Act follows these precedents. Similarly, laws in the United States, such as the E-Sign Act, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and California Consumer Privacy Act, focus on legal issues and regulatory control. India, Singapore, Australia, Nigeria, and others have similar new regulations.

But where is the legislation for upgraded “interstate highway” networks, massive A.I. center development and government support of modern software development? While we are busy being proud of our immense global edge, other nations are bringing their bright minds to set the right policies that make digital economy sense, given their nations’ natural strengths and vulnerabilities. For instance, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recently announced lifting all taxes related to data centers in hopes of attracting $2T of digital infrastructure investments to the country. As technology evolves, policies must change. Without the right policies, the world’s greatest economies will suffer the gravest impacts. The first policy required for any nation, state or organization is to make sure all policies are regularly revisited and revised.

Pillar 3: Energy

With the exponential rate of A.I. growth, the demand for building massive data centers has never been greater. These data centers need energy to fuel their processing capabilities and fulfill their function. Currently projected to need at least 300 gigawatts of energy for data centers by 2023, the world is under pressure to meet this demand, and the attention on the global scarcity of energy is unlike any other time in the history of humankind. This is another area of concern to the United States, which has already seen electricity shortages in its most highly developed data center hubs. Loudoun County, VA, famously has the world’s largest concentration of data centers and has been combating this shortage to meet its data center market demand over the past several months. Concerns over the consumption of electricity by data centers have also been raised in Singapore, South Korea, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and many developing nations that have underdeveloped, struggling electricity grids. Seemingly, sustainability has been front and center in any discussions of energy and has now been built out to deliver 30 percent of the world’s electricity. Though not renewable, nuclear energy is sustainable and was given a new life with its endorsement at the United Nations’ COP28 summit in December 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Encouraging the development of sustainable energy weighs heavily in determining the best performers in the IDCA’s Global Digital Readiness of Nations ranking. The United States is not a leader in this area, even as significant amounts of solar and wind energy continue to be developed, and large amounts of hydropower are imported from Canada.

Pillar 4: Human Capital

Educating and empowering the necessary human capital is critical to developing and growing global digital economies. Possessing a skilled and capable workforce is a key success factor for any nation on the digital economy front. The IDCA’s Global Digital Economy Report 2025 found a need for slightly more than 100 million new IT-related jobs throughout the world by 2030 if the global workforce is going to keep pace with the massive buildout of A.I. data centers. China and India both face serious demands for new tech job creation, but the rest of the developing world sees a need for at least 25 million of these jobs. To combat this challenge, effective and tactical professional training (such as certified training programs) plays a vital role here. Even the world’s highly developed nations face daunting tasks of retraining and upskilling existing tech workforces to meet the demands of today and the near-term future. This makes it incumbent upon nations to plan carefully and effectively for their human capital and ensure that human resource shortages are overcome with speed and care so that their digital economies do not tremble.

Pillar 5: Digital Infrastructure

The digital economy is just a term without the data centers, as the data factories that process and turn a nation’s modern economic wheel. Digital infrastructure density actually varies by magnitudes throughout the developed world, even as many nations are concerned about provisioning new infrastructure. This disparity is magnified by at least 1,000 times in the developing world, much of which is utterly lacking in the digital infrastructure required to bring life to strategies and policies. The underlying digital infrastructure and data center “footprint,” as it’s called in the data center industry, sets the foundation for any nation’s digital economy. The United States currently has more than 40 percent of the entire world’s footprint, but must modernize many of its existing facilities and think on a grand scale if it wishes to establish and maintain leadership with A.I.. Numerous highly ambitious plans have been announced for the U.S. this year, including the $500 billion StarGate plan. But it behooves the U.S. leadership to think of a more organized, thought-out plan to develop on this scale and to work with the business leaders who plan to make it happen. With the ever-expanding densities, devising and building the right set of digital infrastructure gear is key to ensuring that the needs of the new A.I. workloads are met.

It is perceived that the most significant projects can remain the province of the world’s largest nations. However, in a world where nations need to share knowledge and resources, the development of digital economies does not have to be a winner-takes-all competition. If some measure of coordinated strategy and collaborative policy can be worked out, the entire world will benefit. The U.S., still the world’s largest economy by a significant amount, can lead the way in continuing to develop its digital economy and setting examples to be followed. The world’s other major economic powers can do the same, including China, India, the largest EU nations, the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Smaller nations such as Switzerland, Singapore and Malaysia can continue to attract business and credible momentum.

Beyond the world’s largest nations, several others leap out with promising prospects for rapid development in A.I. and digital infrastructure to boost their digital economies. However, it is in every nation’s interest, including that of the United States, to address their concerns successfully through global collaboration and resource-sharing. Accomplishing real digital economy progress requires thoughtful commitment. To harvest the rewards of digital economies, it is absolutely essential for all nations to become inclusive and agile. At the core of this inclusive agility, the five digital economy pillars of strategy, policy, energy, human capital and digital infrastructure must work together and in an integrated fashion to render digital services and economic outputs.

Mehdi Paryavi is the Chairman and CEO of the International Data Center Authority (IDCA), the world’s leading Digital Economy think tank and prime consortium of policymakers, investors, and developers in AI, data centers, and cloud.

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Ray Dalio Says Trump Tariffs Are Fueling a New Global Order Without US

May 23, 2025 Tarun

Ray Dalio speaks at the Paley Center for Media on May 22. Courtesy of The Paley Center for Media

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, is sounding the alarm over the Trump administration’s global tariff policies, warning they could reshape the world economy to America’s disadvantage. Beyond reducing economic efficiency, Dalio said the tariffs are accelerating international dealmaking that increasingly bypasses the U.S.

“That’s not to say that reasonable tariffs, in certain ways, couldn’t achieve some beneficial outcome,” the hedge fund billionaire said during a Paley Media Council event in New York City on May 22. “But by and large, it’s changing the world order in a way which is making it more inefficient and actually causing growth around the United States.”

Dalio, who has long warned about the ripple effects of protectionist trade policy, noted a rising trend in cross-border agreements that exclude the U.S. “You’re seeing more countries adapting and finding out how they can do business with each other, and sort of almost isolating the United States,” he said.

The billionaire investor founded Bridgewater Associates nearly 50 years ago and built it into one of the largest hedge funds globally, managing $92.1 billion in assets as of last year. He stepped down as CEO in 2017 but remains a prominent voice in finance, with an estimated net worth of $14 billion.

A national debt crisis

Dalio’s concerns extend beyond trade policy to America’s fiscal health, particularly the ballooning federal deficit. “We will have a deficit of about 6.5 percent of GDP—that is more than the market can bear,” he said, pointing to rising long-term bond yields as a red flag. “I think we should be afraid of the bond market,” he added, likening it to a patient in a “critical situation.”

The national debt is set to rise further following the passage of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut bill, dubbed the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act,’ which cleared the House on May 22. According to Dalio, meaningful deficit reduction won’t be addressed until after the 2026 midterm elections, when a bipartisan committee is expected to take up the issue. He cited recent conversations with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Although Dalio said there is broad consensus that reducing the deficit is essential, he remains skeptical that political gridlock can be overcome. “It’s like being on a boat that’s headed for rocks,” he said. “They agree that they should turn, but they can’t agree on how to turn.”

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Futurist Ray Kurzweil’s Humanoid Robotics Startup Eyes a $500M Valuation

May 22, 2025 Tarun

Futurist and tech inventor Ray Kurzweil is the co-founder of Beyond Imagination. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League

Ray Kurzweil, a renowned inventor and futurist, has long envisioned a future where humans and A.I. work in tandem. Now, he’s edging closer to that reality with Beyond Imagination, a robotics startup reportedly seeking to raise $100 million in a Series B funding round, according to Reuters.

Kurzweil co-founded Beyond Imagination in 2018 with Harry Floor, a scientist and film producer, to develop autonomous A.I. systems capable of physical labor. The company is building humanoid robots aimed at addressing labor shortages in sectors such as health care and agriculture. Its advisory board includes motivational speaker Tony Robbins, former Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, and former Paramount Pictures CEO James Gianopulos.

Between 2018 and 2019, the startup raised $4.2 million in seed funding and was most recently valued at $25 million, per Crunchbase. Reuters reported that its upcoming valuation could reach $500 million, with Gauntlet Ventures—a Dallas-based venture capital firm—expected to be the sole investor in the new round.

Humans and technology meld together in the ‘Singularity’

Kurzweil, a pioneer in fields ranging from A.I. and health to music technology, has received numerous accolades including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and a Technical Grammy Award. Yet he’s best known as a futurist who believes in the concept of the “Singularity”—a moment when machines surpass human intelligence and humans merge with technology. While this notion seemed distant when Kurzweil published The Singularity Is Near in 2005, it now feels more plausible in the wake of A.I. advances like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

In an interview last year, Kurzweil predicted that the kind of rapid progress seen in large language models (LLMs) will soon extend to robotics. He claimed that humanoid robots will eventually “do everything humans can do with our hands and bodies.”

Beyond Imagination’s robots, for instance, are designed to improve efficiency in physical labor and take on dangerous or undesirable jobs. The company has suggested possible roles ranging from surgical assistants to ghost kitchen staff. According to Reuters, it is also building an operating system to enable collaboration between humans, robots and other machines.

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23andMe Has Found a Buyer—Here’s What Might Happen to Your Genetic Data

May 21, 2025 Tarun

A biotech future built on data: Regeneron’s acquisition of 23andMe blurs the line between pharmaceutical innovation and genetic surveillance. Unsplash+

It’s been a turbulent stretch for 23andMe, the consumer DNA testing company once famous for its saliva-based ancestry kits. After grappling with financial losses, data breaches, lawsuits and a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the company—and its vast genetic database of roughly 15 million users—is now being acquired by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a Tarrytown, N.Y.-based biotech firm known for developing treatments for a wide range of diseases, both companies announced yesterday (May 19). The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025. Regeneron emphasized that it will uphold all relevant privacy laws and consumer protections regarding the handling of genetic data.

“We are pleased to have reached a transaction that maximizes the value of the business and enables the mission of 23andMe to live on, while maintaining critical protections around customer privacy, choice and consent with respect to their genetic data,” said Mark Jensen, chair of the special committee of 23andMe’s board of directors, in a statement.

The acquisition marks the end of a volatile chapter for 23andMe, which was co-founded in 2006 by Anne Wojcicki and quickly gained traction with its consumer-focused genetic health and ancestry tests. After going public in 2021, the company hit a peak valuation of $6 billion.

But the business model proved fragile. Most customers only needed to purchase a single test, limiting opportunities for recurring revenue. The situation worsened after a 2023 data breach compromised information from about 7 million users, triggering a class action lawsuit and further eroding trust.

Tensions escalated in September 2024 when 23andMe’s independent board members resigned, citing conflicts with Wojcicki. By March, the company filed for bankruptcy protection, and Wojcicki stepped down as CEO while signaling her intention to buy the business at auction. Her bid was ultimately topped by Regeneron.

Regeneron has developed and commercialized treatments for conditions including cancer, asthma, blindness, Ebola and Covid-19. “We believe we can help 23andMe deliver and build upon its mission to help those interested in learning about their own DNA and how to improve their personal health, while furthering Regeneron’s efforts to use large-scale genetics research to improve the way society treats and prevents illness overall,” said George Yancopoulos, the company’s president and chief scientific officer.

What will happen your genetic data?

As part of the acquisition, Regeneron will not only obtain 23andMe’s genetic database but also assume control of its health and business service divisions, offering continued employment to staff within those units. One exception is Lemonaid Health, 23andMe’s telehealth subsidiary, which will not be included in the deal and is set to be wound down.

Regeneron plans to share more details about its use of customer data once the acquisition is finalized. The company has already analyzed the genetic information of nearly 3 million consenting individuals through its Regeneron Genetics Center, an initiative to accelerate medical research. “The subsidiary has a proven track record of safeguarding personal genetic data, and we assure 23andMe customers that we will apply our high standards for safety and integrity to their data and ongoing consumer genetic services,” said George Yancopoulos.

Regeneron has stated that it will honor 23andMe’s existing privacy policies. In addition, its data security and privacy practices will undergo review by a court-appointed ombudsman and other stakeholders, with findings to be presented to the bankruptcy court in June.

Of the roughly 15 million people who submitted genetic data to 23andMe, approximately 84 percent consented to having their information used for research, according to the company. However, those permissions can be revoked or updated at any time by customers. Following public warnings from the attorneys general of California and New York encouraging users to delete their data, some have likely already taken steps to erase their genetic information from the platform.

“We share 23andMe’s founding vision of the power of genetics and data and the health benefits to individuals and society in understanding the human genome,” said Aris Baras, head of the Regeneron Genetics Center, in a statement. “We believe we are uniquely suited to be responsible and effective stewards of 23andMe’s future.”

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Jamie Dimon Reaffirms Retirement Timeline as JPMorgan Eyes Successors

May 20, 2025 Tarun

Jamie Dimon has headed JPMorgan Chase for nearly two decades. Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

Jamie Dimon, one of Wall Street’s most influential figures and the longstanding leader of JPMorgan Chase, surprised the finance world in 2024 when he announced plans to step down as the bank’s CEO within five years. That timeline remains unchanged, Dimon confirmed today (May 19) during JPMorgan’s investor day event in New York.

“The intent is the same as last year,” Dimon said when asked about succession plans. “Nothing has changed at all.”

After years of sidestepping retirement questions, Dimon acknowledged last year that JPMorgan was “on the way” to preparing for a leadership transition expected before the end of the decade. He reiterated that message today, emphasizing the strength of the company’s leadership pipeline. The bank has “built a very deep bench” of executives, he said, and it’s “prudent to be thinking about succession.”

Preserving JPMorgan’s internal culture and discipline will be a key focus as the company prepares for new leadership. “To me, the most important thing when it gets handed over is you have real teams, real cultures and hopefully they keep on building it,” said Dimon. “If you look at the best companies in the world, that’s what they had. They continue going forward regardless of who the CEO was.”

Replacing Dimon, who turns 70 next year, will be a formidable challenge. Since becoming CEO in 2006, he has guided JPMorgan through crises like the 2008 Financial Crisis and has become one of the most respected voices in global finance. Under his leadership, the bank has grown into the largest in the U.S. by both assets and market capitalization.

Who might succeed Dimon?

Dimon has declined to name potential successors, but several top executives are reportedly in the running. Marianne Lake, CEO of JPMorgan’s consumer and community banking division, is seen as a leading candidate. Other names in circulation include Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh, the co-CEOs of the bank’s commercial and investment banking arm.

Jennifer Piepszak, formerly a key figure in the commercial and investment bank, was once viewed as a front-runner in the succession race. However, she removed herself from consideration earlier this year by stepping into the role of chief operating officer. “Piepszak has made clear her preference for a senior operating role, working closely with Jamie and in support of the top leadership,” the bank said in a statement, adding that she does not currently “want to be considered for the CEO position.”

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Hedge Fund Billionaire Ken Griffin Loans Rare US Founding Documents for Public Display

May 19, 2025 Tarun

The hedge fund manager’s cumulative philanthropy totals at more than $2 billion. John Parra/Getty Images for Pérez Art Museum Miami

Ken Griffin isn’t just CEO of hedge fund behemoth Citadel. He’s also an avid American history buff who has spent millions acquiring rare documents like first printings of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Now, the billionaire is donating $15 million and lending several of his prized first editions to a Philadelphia nonprofit ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration next year.

“The remarkable prosperity of America over the past 250 years is a testament to the genius of the republic, as enshrined in our Constitution,” said Griffin in a statement. “The authors of the Constitution had incredible foresight in designing a system of government that has withstood the test of time and now, more than ever, protects the American dream.”

Griffin’s gift to the National Constitution Center (NCC)—a museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution that opened in 2003—is the largest in the institution’s history. The funding will support the launch of two new galleries: one focused on America’s founding principles and another exploring the separation of powers and federalism, scheduled to open in February and May of next year, respectively.

In addition to the donation, Griffin is temporarily loaning his copy of the U.S. Constitution, one of only 14 known first-edition printings of the historic text. He purchased the document for $43.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction in 2021, outbidding a crypto collective known as ConstitutionDAO and setting a record for the most expensive book, manuscript or printed text ever sold at auction.

At the time, Griffin stated the document would “be available for all Americans and visitors to view and appreciate in our museums and other public spaces.” He later loaned it to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., where it was exhibited in 2022.

The United States Constitution is displayed at the offices of Sotheby’s on Sept. 17, 2021. ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images

In addition to his first-edition printing of the U.S. Constitution, Griffin will also loan the NCC another rare document: a first-edition copy of the proposed constitutional amendments passed by the House of Representatives in 1789 for Senate consideration—amendments that would later become the U.S. Bill of Rights. Griffin reportedly purchased the document for $1.5 million at a Sotheby’s auction held shortly after his acquisition of the Constitution, and it was also previously loaned to the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art.

Both documents will be on public display at the NCC through 2026. In recognition of Griffin’s gift, the institution will name its central welcoming space the Kenneth C. Griffin Great Hall. “All of us at the National Constitution Center are honored to tell the story of America’s founding in such a meaningful way thanks to the generosity of Ken Griffin,” said Jeffrey Rosen, CEO and president of the nonprofit, adding that its new galleries “will engage and inspire millions.”

This isn’t the first time Griffin—who has donated more than $2 billion to philanthropic causes—has put his fortune toward patriotic initiatives. He previously gave $30 million to a Texas museum honoring recipients of the U.S. Armed Forces’ Medal of Honor, funded the civic education video series The Constitution EXPLAINED, and supported efforts including the Navy SEAL Foundation, the restoration of the Lincoln Memorial, and FIRE, a nonprofit that defends free speech on college campuses.

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