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Wonderful, an AI startup founded only last year, has reached a $5 billion valuation and already employs 650 people. The company is now expanding its forward-deployed engineering teams globally as it works toward a workforce of 1,000.
Petrus Palmér, founder and CEO of the Swedish design brand Hem, announced he is eliminating all discounts, including Black Friday and seasonal sales, in favor of consistent pricing. The company, launched in 2014 as a direct-to-consumer furniture brand known for collaborations with leading designers, now generates most of its revenue through trade and wholesale channels rather than direct sales.
Ruba Borno, who leads AWS's Global Specialists and Partners organization, is using AI agents to run her own team's operations while also guiding AWS customers on how to integrate AI into their businesses. Her approach treats internal adoption as a demonstration of the practices she recommends to clients seeking to apply AI advances for measurable business results.
Fast Company has unveiled its Pacesetters list, spotlighting 40 executives who are embedding generative AI, autonomous agents, and machine learning into their companies' operations and customer interactions. The recognition highlights how these leaders are moving beyond basic chatbots toward more dynamic, AI-driven engagement with customers.
Fast Company published an explanation of how it compiled its 2026 Pacesetters ranking, a list of 40 executives recognized for embedding generative AI, autonomous agents, and machine learning into their companies and customer experiences. The selections were made by a mix of internal editors and writers alongside external judges who evaluated candidates across multiple industries.
E.l.f. Beauty's chief technology and AI officer Ekta Chopra has introduced an AI system called E.l.fluencer that helps community managers respond to the huge volume of comments the brand receives on TikTok and Instagram. The tool was trained on the company's stylebook and years of past human-written replies, allowing it to autogenerate answers to common shopper questions about product launches, comparisons, and suitability for different skin or hair types.
Caterpillar CIO Jamie Engstrom, who leads a global IT team of over 2,200 employees across 28 countries, is expanding the company's three-decade use of AI into advanced analytics, automation, and supply chain optimization. Engstrom frames the effort around 'the art of the possible,' emphasizing that AI should augment employees' capabilities rather than replace their jobs.
Delta has completed rollout of Delta Concierge, its generative AI travel assistant, to 100% of SkyMiles members as of August 2026. The tool, first unveiled by CEO Ed Bastian at CES in January 2025, helps travelers with flight disruptions, self-service cancellations, and bag tracking. The expansion has occurred under new chief digital & technology officer Amala Duggirala, who is extending AI beyond this assistant into other airline operations like baggage handling.
Michael Wisler, who became M&T Bank's chief information officer in 2018 after years at Capital One, has shifted the 170-year-old Buffalo-based bank away from outside tech contractors toward an in-house engineering team. The move aims to speed up how quickly the bank can adapt its systems to new technology and customer demands while building more resilient infrastructure.
The Kansas Department of Labor, under Secretary Amber Shultz, has modernized its unemployment insurance technology, replacing software that dated back to the 1970s. Previously, agents juggled five separate screens, some requiring command-line input without mouse support, and the system shut down nightly for batch processing, blocking claims filed in the evening. The agency has now introduced AI-driven tools to streamline the filing process and support staff.
Sony's WH-1000XM5 noise-canceling headphones are currently on sale for $198, a $202 discount that marks one of the lowest prices seen for the model. Several other Sony headphones are also discounted as part of the same sale, though the WH-1000XM5 remains the standout deal despite being one generation behind the newer WH-1000XM6.
Belkin's SoundForm Mini 2 wireless on-ear headphones, designed for children ages 3 and up, are currently discounted 25 percent using the code VERGE25OFF. The base model drops from $29.99 to $22.49, while the version with a zip-up carrying case falls from $39.99 to $29.99 after the code is applied.