It looks like you may soon be able to change that old email address you made in high school.
Google account users have long been unable to change their email addresses without creating a whole new account, but Google seems to be quietly rolling out an option to update them. That’s according to a support page published by the company, which outlines a new process to change the email or username used to identify your account.
The update on Google’s account help page says certain account holders can now change their @gmail.com address without losing access to their data or services. The feature was first reported in the Google Pixel Hub Telegram group in a message that said the update is being gradually rolled out to users. As of Friday morning, the modified instructions were available on the Hindi version of Google’s support page.
The support page suggests this option is currently only available in some regions, including Hindi-speaking areas.
According to a translated version of the Hindi support page, the new email must end in @gmail.com, and it can only be changed up to three times. Once the address has been changed, it’s irreversible.
To make the change, you would visit your Google Account page, click “Personal Info,” and go to the “Email” section, according to the Telegram message.
It’s unclear when it will roll out more widely, and Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. As of Friday morning, the English support page said usernames ending in @gmail.com usually can’t be changed.
Once the change is made, the Hindi page said, your old Gmail address will be used as an alias to receive emails. You can reuse your old Google account email address at any time, but you can’t create a new Gmail address for the next 12 months.
You can sign in to Google services like Gmail, YouTube, Google Play, or Drive with your old or new email address.
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I traveled by train through four European countries for two weeks with just a backpack.
I packed light, but there were some items I could have skipped to save room for souvenirs.
I was glad I brought a tote and quick-dry clothing, but I wish I had brought fewer pairs of socks.
Two weeks, six cities, four countries, and one backpack.
In 2022, I spent two weeks living out of a backpack while traveling from NYC to Europe by plane and train.
I flew from NYC to Berlin and traveled by train from Berlin to Vienna, Rome, Milan, Venice, Italy, and Zurich.
I explored cities in each country on foot, taking photos and notes along the way. I also stayed in a variety of accommodations, from train bunks to unique Airbnbs and luxury hotels.
Packing for this trip was hard for me. It was the lightest I’d ever packed for the longest trip I’d ever taken. However, after a few practice packs, I was surprised to find that I could fit everything I truly needed in a single 32-liter backpack.
For this trip, I used a 32-liter backpack, the largest one I own, to hold everything I needed for two weeks.
Everything the author packed for her two-week trip to Europe. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I packed my work computer, camera, and chargers; snacks, toiletries, and medications; one packing cube stuffed with clothing; and additional necessities, including a raincoat, a tote, and a pair of shower shoes.
While I longed for more outfit variety, I was glad I packed so little. I didn’t feel as weighed down by my backpack as I have on previous trips, so I had more energy throughout the day.
One of the most important things I packed was an all-in-one soap that cleans everything from clothes to bodies.
The author washed clothing in her accommodations. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
When I pack light, I usually bring laundry sheets, which are small, dry, scented squares that resemble dryer sheets but are actually pads of laundry detergent that turn into a bubbly soap when mixed with water.
But I wanted to save more space on this trip, so I brought a 2-ounce bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castille soap, which is an all-in-one soap that cleans everything from dishes to bodies. It also works as laundry soap.
I plan to travel with it from now on instead of laundry sheets and a separate container of body wash.
Aside from Dr. Bronner’s soap, the most essential toiletries I made room for were my electric toothbrush and sea salt hairspray.
The author’s packed toiletries. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
No matter how lightly I’m packing, I always make room for my electric toothbrush. Although I find it bulky, with a battery, charger, and case, maintaining my usual hygiene routine away from home makes me feel more comfortable while traveling.
Another necessity I packed was for my hair: the Sea Spray from Lush. I hate doing my hair. I like to just let it do what it wants, avoiding heat products and gels, but this hair product has my heart. Made from mostly natural ingredients, according to the Lush website, the spray adds texture and shine. I find that this product is easy for me to apply with just a few spritzes, and I think it always makes my hair look good with minimal effort. That’s why I never travel without it.
I think I did a great job packing versatile clothing pieces that work well for travel.
The author wears versatile pieces in Italy. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I brought quick-dry shirts and pants made of thin, moisture-wicking materials, designed to dry quickly in the sun.
Most of my quick-drying clothes are from Under Armour or Prana and are good for exercise, but I thought they’d serve a dual purpose on this trip, considering my laundry strategy. I dried these articles on the balconies of hotel rooms and the porches of Airbnbs, and it never took longer than 20 minutes.
I was also satisfied with the versatility of the clothing I selected. With mostly neutral tones, like my gray T-shirt and navy sweater, as well as pops of color, every article I brought paired well with everything else.
I wore every combination of pieces to have as many different outfits as possible. While I still longed for more variety in my style abroad, I was impressed by how many outfits I was able to make with such a small selection.
I was happy with the single pair of shoes I packed, which were black and gray sneakers.
The author wears her black sneakers in Milan. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I find that shoes take up quite a bit of room in my backpack, so I try to travel with just one pair. I thought these black and gray New Balance sneakers were the perfect everyday shoes for this trip because they were comfortable enough to walk around in all day without hurting my feet. And with a neutral color scheme, I think they looked good with every outfit.
I found that my slides were crucial for showers throughout my trip.
The author brought slides for showering. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Besides my pair of sneakers, I also brought a pair of rubber slides to wear in the shower.
Unless I’m at a nice hotel, I prefer to wear shoes in the shower when I’m traveling. I can be a bit of a germaphobe, so having a layer of protection between my feet and the floor makes me feel at ease in places like the outdoor shower at my Airbnb in Switzerland or the tiny home hotel in Germany, where the toilet and shower shared the same floor.
The weather on my trip ranged from 40 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, so I was glad I brought a windbreaker.
The author wears her windbreaker in Switzerland. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
My Members Only jacket is my go-to travel jacket in the fall, and I thought it was the perfect pick for this trip, as it’s comfortable in various temperatures. Since this jacket is a little big on me, I was able to fit long-sleeved layers underneath on cooler days. And it’s black, so I think it goes with everything.
It also has four pockets, one of which is hidden on the inside. I used that pocket to hold essentials, such as my phone, while walking around each city.
I packed a rain jacket, too, which came in handy when it rained in Vienna and Switzerland.
The author wears a rain jacket in Vienna. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I checked the forecast during the week leading up to my trip and saw that some locations were expecting rain. I packed my smallest rain jacket so I could wear it alone on warmer rainy days and layer it underneath my windbreaker on cooler days.
I caught the most rain of the trip during my second day in Vienna. Although it was pouring, I was able to walk around the city all day and stay relatively dry thanks to the jacket. When it cooled down at night, I wore my windbreaker over the rain jacket and felt cozy.
I also packed a tote bag in my backpack to separate some items for easier access during my travels, like my notebook and camera.
The author carries her tote bag in Rome. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
On travel days, I used a tote to separate and hold personal belongings I wanted quick access to, so I could stuff my backpack into the overhead bins of planes and trains.
This made it easy to quickly find items I needed, such as my headphones, while keeping my bulky backpack out of the way. By stowing my backpack on the shelf above me, I was able to maximize legroom, too.
On non-travel days, I left my backpack at my hotel or Airbnb and explored with a lighter load in the tote. The tote was large enough to fit all the essentials for a day out on the town, including my camera.
Having an outlet adapter was essential for charging my devices.
European plug to US plug converter. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Different countries have different outlet ports, so my outlet adapter was one of the most important items in my backpack. One side has a European plug, and the other has a US outlet port. On the bottom, there are four USB ports.
I brought my iPad, phone, laptop, and camera on this trip, and I was able to charge all of them at once with this device.
To keep myself entertained during flights and train rides, I brought my iPad for reading, watching TV, and drawing.
The author watches TV on her iPad on an overnight train. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I bought several e-books on my iPad to read as much as I wanted during the trip, and to avoid bringing physical books that would take up too much space.
Before my trip, I downloaded some guidebooks for each country I visited. As I made my way to each destination, I read about the sights that awaited me. These books helped me decide how to spend my time in each location and built up my excitement for my coming adventures.
During my trip, I downloaded a few episodes of my favorite TV shows to bring me comfort when I felt homesick, which was usually around bedtime. I also used my iPad to draw cover art for my band with the Procreate app, so I spent some time sketching designs for our coming singles. Watching TV and engaging in hobbies that I enjoy at home made me feel more grounded while traveling.
I packed my film camera and my digital camera. I was glad I made room for both.
The author’s film camera (left) and a photo she took with it in Switzerland (right). Joey Hadden/Business Insider
While I take photos digitally for work, I shoot and develop film as a hobby. For me, this includes manually loading film into a mechanical camera and taking my time with each shot before developing the negatives in my kitchen using a combination of chemicals.
I hadn’t brought my film camera on previous work trips, but since Europe was my longest adventure yet, I packed my Minolta Autocord to help me find a work-life balance by taking film photos just for myself.
When I was in work mode, I shot digitally, and during my breaks, I took pictures with my film camera. This made me feel so much more creative during my trip, and I think I got some great photos. Although this camera is quite heavy for its size, I thought it was worth bringing to feel inspired and maintain an artistic mindset throughout my European adventure.
Bringing snacks and meal bars helped me save money while traveling.
The author recommends packing your own snacks for long trips. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Packing meal bars and snacks for travel days helped me save money I would have spent on munchies in airports and train stations.
During my 8-hour flight from NYC to Berlin, I saved money on an in-flight meal by consuming an entire bag of Combos. On busy days spent exploring, I often had RX bars for breakfast or lunch to save money and keep me energized.
However, I also think it’s important to try local cuisines while traveling to new places, so I maintained a balance of meal bars and dining out during my trip.
There were a few items I could have left behind to make my bag even lighter. For my next work trip, I’ll leave some camera gear at home.
The author could have left some gear at home. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I brought way too much film for this trip. I packed eight rolls and only shot four of them due to some rainy days. I was also surprised by how easily I could buy film in Europe. If I’d needed more, I could have stopped at one of the many film stores I passed in Vienna and Berlin. In Vienna, I even spotted a film vending machine on the street.
Because I overestimated the number of film pictures I’d take, next time, especially if I’m traveling to Europe, I’ll bring half the film I think I’ll use.
I find that rolls of film feel bulky in my bag if I have too many, but my camera lenses feel even bulkier. I brought two lenses for my digital camera: a zoom lens and a fixed wide-angle lens. I think I could have just brought the zoom lens.
I brought a maxi dress for more formal settings, but found it wasn’t very versatile.
The author wears a dress in Rome. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I brought a maxi dress for days when I wanted to dress formally. But apart from different jackets over top, my dress looked the same to me every time I wore it. And since it was so long, I thought it took up the amount of space in my packing cube that a pair of shorts and a couple more shirts could have taken.
Replacing the dress with a pair of nice shorts and some blouses would have provided me with more versatile outfits.
Since I spent two nights in most of the locations I visited, I had ample time to dry my socks after washing them, so I wish I’d brought fewer pairs.
The author’s 10 pairs of socks she brought to Europe. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I brought 10 pairs of socks for my two-week trip since I’d had trouble drying my socks in just one night on previous trips, leaving me wishing I had packed more.
But since I booked two nights in most of the cities I visited in Europe, I found I had plenty of time to dry my socks. I probably could have done with six pairs to leave more room in my bag for small souvenirs.
Packing so lightly allowed me to bring home some small souvenirs, like 3D puzzles and tiny sculptures. Next time, I’ll save even more space for treasures I find along the way.
The author brought home a few souvenirs. Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Apart from having less stuff to keep track of and less weight on my back, the best part of packing so lightly was saving room for trinkets to remind me of my trip.
In Vienna and Zurich, I bought tiny framed paintings of landscapes to display on my desk at home. In Venice, I purchased three 3D puzzles, which came in small, flat packs, to put together and display once I got home. I also picked up a few other flat items I like to collect that slid easily into my backpack, like bookmarks and a thin, paperback photo book.
With so many reminders of my European adventure scattered around my apartment in NYC, I think having fewer belongings during my journey was worth gaining extra space to bring a piece of each place home with me. And next time, I’ll pack even lighter.
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TikTokers have been debating two jobs: $120,000 for fully virtual work, or $240,000 for five days in-person.
The debate between virtual, in-person, and hybrid work rages on as more employers make return-to-office mandates.
Which job would you choose? Answer our poll below.
A debate over remote versus in-person work has been shaking up the internet in recent weeks — and we want you to weigh in.
It started when the influencer Tinx lit up TikTok with a job-related question she’d received: Which is better, a $240,000 in-office job or a $120,000 virtual one?
Commenters chimed in to take their sides. Some said that virtual work protects their mental health, while others said that the doubled salary was an easy choice. In a variety of spin-off TikToks, commentators made their case for one vs. the other.
It’s the latest round of the return-to-office debate that has raged since the COVID-19 pandemic. While companies place return-to-office mandates, some employees have realized that they prefer to skip the commute — even if it means a pay cut. Others need virtual work for at-home responsibilities, such as childcare.
We’re asking readers which they’d prefer. As of Friday at 10 a.m. in New York, the $120K remote job had a narrow lead, but we’ll keep the poll open until next week — so stay tuned for the final result!
Lively college towns are pinnacles of American higher education.
The communities immediately surrounding college campuses can define what a student’s college experience looks like, from having access to restaurants and bars to meeting students from nearby institutions.
When it comes to choosing a college or university to attend, location can be just as important as academics for some students.
In a recent study, WalletHub analyzed over 400 cities across the US and ranked them based on affordability, social scene, and academic prospects in 2025.
To analyze the cost of living (or “wallet friendliness”), WalletHub researchers examined data such as average housing costs, the cost of higher education, the share of rental units, and the average cost of pizza and burgers in each city.
Its social rank was determined by factors like the share of the population aged 18-35, the share of single people, the student gender balance, and cafes, breweries, food trucks, and nightlife per capita, among other factors.
WalletHub also looked at the quality of higher education, job-growth rate, earning potential for college graduates, and unemployment rate, among other factors, to determine each city’s academic and economic opportunity rank.
The study used data from federal agencies including the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Center for Education Statistics, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as data from companies like TransUnion, TripAdvisor, and Yelp, along with other WalletHub research.
The list of top college towns — defined by WalletHub as cities with a college student population of over 7,500 students — includes a range of major cities and small education hubs.
While some locations are major education hubs and house big universities alongside small private and public community colleges, we’ve listed the main flagship institution for each location.
See which college towns and cities made it to the top 20.
20. New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut, is home to Yale University and was ranked as the 20th best college town. Jon Bilous/Shutterstock
School: Yale University
The home of Yale University, New Haven was ranked 38th in the study’s academic and economic opportunities list, and it came second overall for quality of higher education, only behind Princeton, New Jersey.
However, it also had the lowest rank out of top 20 cities in the study’s social environment rank, and WalletHub noted it had one of the highest costs for higher education.
19. Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina, was ranked as the 19th-best college town in the US. Kevin Ruck/Shutterstock
School: College of Charleston
Ranked as the ninth-highest city in the study’s social environment ranking, Charleston had the sixth-highest social ranking out of the top 20 cities.
18. Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin, was named the 18th-best college town in the US by WalletHub. Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock
School: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin, home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was ranked as the 42nd-best city in terms of social environment in the study, which looked at 415 towns and cities.
17. Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the home of the University of Utah and was ranked as the 17th-best college town. Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock
School: University of Utah
Salt Lake City, home to the University of Utah, was ranked as the 17th best college town in America.
Out of the top 20 cities, it had the lowest ranking on the study’s economic and academic opportunity rank, which considered factors such as job-growth rate, earning potential for college graduates, and unemployment rate.
16. Seattle
Seattle houses the University of Washington and was ranked as the 16th-best college town. Cascade Creatives/Shutterstock
School: University of Washington
Despite its overall high ranking, Seattle was ranked as the lowest city in the top 20 in the wallet friendliness category, coming 360th out of the 415 places in the study.
15. Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida, is the home of Florida State University and the state capitol. Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock
School: Florida State University
The capital city of Florida and home to Florida State University, Tallahassee, was the second-highest ranked city for wallet friendliness within the top 20, although it also had the second-lowest social rank out of the cities in the top 20.
14. Miami
Miami, Florida, is home to the private University of Miami and public Florida International University. Cassanas Photography/Shutterstock
Schools: University of Miami, Florida International University
Miami was ranked as the 14th best college town in the country, and the city also received the third-highest social rank in the top 20, ranking fourth overall out of all cities in the study.
13. Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona, houses the Scottsdale Community College and was ranked the 13th best college town. Tim Roberts Photography/Shutterstock
School: Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, Arizona, which houses the Scottsdale Community College and was ranked as the 13th best college town in the US, had the second-lowest ranking for wallet friendliness out of the top 20 cities.
WalletHub also noted it had the second fewest students per capita of all the 415 cities in the study, behind only Cape Coral, Florida.
12. Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is home to Grand Canyon University and was ranked as the 12th-best college town. Matthew James Ferguson/Shutterstock
Schools: Grand Canyon University
Phoenix was ranked the 12th best college town in the US. The city is home to Grand Canyon University and is near other major universities in nearby towns.
11. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is home to schools like the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock
School: University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University
Home to the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University among other institutions, Pittsburgh received the second-highest social rank out of top 20 cities, ranking third overall. The city was also ranked as the lowest out of the top 20 in the economic and academic opportunity rank.
10. Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida, is the home of the University of Florida. Felix Mizioznikov/Shutterstock
School: University of Florida
The home of the University of Florida was the highest-ranked for wallet friendliness within the top 20 college towns.
It also had the fourth-lowest cost of higher education out of the 415 cities studied by WalletHub.
9. Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia, is home to the University of Virginia. Bryan Pollard/Shutterstock
School: University of Virginia
Home to the University of Virginia, Charlottesville was ranked the third highest for academic and economic opportunity out of the top 20 college towns.
8. Reno, Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno, is the flagship university of Reno, which was ranked as the eighth-best college town. Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock
School: University of Nevada, Reno
Ranked as the eighth-best college town in the US, Reno is home to the University of Nevada, Reno.
7. Atlanta
Atlanta is home to over a dozen major colleges and universities. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Schools: Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Emory University, Spelman College, Morehouse College
Atlanta is home to over a dozen major universities and over 50 higher education institutions. The city received the highest social rank out of all the cities in the top 20, ranking second overall for all cities in the study.
6. Tempe, Arizona
Home to Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, ranked as the sixth-best college town. Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock
School: Arizona State University
Tempe, home to Arizona State University, was the fourth-highest ranking city within the top 20 in the academic and economic opportunity category.
5. Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina was ranked as the fifth-best college town. Real Window Creative/Shutterstock
School: North Carolina State University
The home of North Carolina State University was ranked as the fifth-highest out of the top 20 college towns for academic and economic opportunity.
4. Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida, is home to the University of South Florida. Ramunas Bruzas/Shutterstock
School: University of South Florida, University of Tampa
Out of the top 20 college towns in the US, Tampa was the third-highest ranking for wallet friendliness and fourth-highest for social environment — where it ranked fifth overall out of all cities in the study.
3. Orlando, Florida
Orlando is home to the University of Central Florida Noah Densmore/Shutterstock
School: University of Central Florida
Orlando had the fifth-highest social rank out of the top 20 cities.
WalletHub reported that at $24,668 per year, Orlando also has the 14th-lowest tuition, including room and board, for in-state students.
2. Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, was ranked as the second-best college town in the US. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
School: University of Michigan
Home to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor was the second-highest ranking out of the top 20 college towns for academic and economic opportunities.
It provides opportunities for social connections too, with 348 out of every 1,000 residents being students, per WalletHub.
1. Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas, was ranked as the best college town in America. Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock
School: University of Texas at Austin
Austin is ranked as having the 10th-best academic and economic opportunities in the US — WalletHub noted the city has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
Pizza prices are low, and there are plenty of attractions in the city to help students unwind, the report added.
Chief marketing officers at many of the world’s biggest brands made artificial intelligence a centerpiece of their strategies this year.
For some brands, the enthusiasm ran into risky territory. From AI-generated ads that veered into the “uncanny valley” to backlash over replacing human models and advertising creatives, AI’s growing role in advertising fueled a string of controversial marketing moments. The AI backlash even led to its own marketing trend: brands hating on AI.
A survey of more than 6,000 US consumers conducted by the brand-tracking platform Tracksuit in November found that overall sentiment toward AI-generated advertising skewed negative (39%). Neutrality was also strong among respondents, at 36%, while only 18% felt positive about brands using AI-generated content in their ads.
Matt Barash, chief commercial officer of the adtech platform Nova, said that while AI can be a useful tool for buying and placing ads, brands should be cautious when attempting to automate the creative process.
“When brands ask AI to invent stories from scratch, they don’t get innovation — they get an approximation of human emotion, and the result can make headlines for all of the wrong reasons,” Barash said.
Indeed, several major marketers did make the news for their AI-related mishaps this year. Take a look at some of the most notable AI advertising controversies of the year, below.
McDonald’s ‘most terrible’ AI holiday ad
McDonald’s Netherlands cooked up an AI-generated holiday ad this month — and quickly sent it back to the kitchen when it became clear that viewers weren’t lovin’ it.
The “most terrible time of the year” ad was intended to be a satirical take on Christmas calamities that could occur over the festive period. The 45-second spot featured a quickfire montage of cooking mishaps, broken bones at the ice rink, and Santa’s sleigh getting stuck in a traffic jam. The brand suggested its restaurants could act as a shelter from the chaos. “Hide out in McDonald’s ’til January’s here,” the ad’s narrator said.
Some social media commentators denounced the fast-food chain as a McGrinch, complaining the ad had a cynical sentiment and “creepy” characters. After initially turning off the comments on the ad’s YouTube video, McDonald’s later removed the ad from the site altogether.
In a statement, McDonald’s Netherlands said that while the ad was intended to reflect some of the stressful moments that the holidays can bring, it recognized that many of its customers feel the season is “the most wonderful time of the year.”
“We respect that and remain committed to creating experiences that offer Good Times and Good Food for everyone,” the statement said.
Coca-Cola’s metamorphosing holiday trucks
Coca-Cola already had one AI-generated holiday ad misfire under its belt, after last year’s “Holidays are Coming” rendition was criticized as “dystopian” and “soulless.” Despite that, this year it released three AI-generated holiday ads.
One of the ads, another AI rendition of the classic “Holidays are Coming” spot, caught the attention of the eagle-eyed creative community due to its lack of consistency. Sure, the wheels on the trucks went round and round — a criticism of last year’s ad was that they appeared to glide across the road — but they also appeared to change in quantity as the ad rolled on.
In the spirit of Christmas, Dino Burbidge, an independent innovation specialist, shared the gift of this handy graphic to help everyone follow along:
Dino Burbidge
PJ Pereira, cofounder of Silverside AI, the production company behind the ad, defended Coca-Cola’s use of AI in a statement.
“Coca-Cola became a pioneer in this space because, once they recognized AI as the future, they stopped debating whether it’s perfect or not — and instead focused on how to use it in the best, most creative way possible,” Pereira said.
Pereira also said that the ad performed well with consumers in testing. System1, which rates ads on a scale from 1 to 5.9 stars on their potential to drive long-term growth for brands, gave the 2025 “Holidays are Coming” ads the highest possible score: 5.9. A separate creative testing company, DAIVID, said the ad generated higher-than-average attention and brand recall scores.
Take that, haters!
Meta’s AI granny ad: a true classic of the genre
Apparel brand True Classic is a poster child of digital performance marketing, honing platforms like Facebook and Instagram to build a community of devoted customers — typically men ages 30 to 45.
So imagine its marketing chief’s shock when he realized Meta’s ad platform had swapped out his top-performing ad — a millennial man in a matching fleece set, casually posing on a stool — with that of a cheerful, yet clearly AI-generated granny sitting in an armchair.
Advertisers told Business Insider earlier this year that settings within Meta’s Advantage+ suite of AI-powered ad products had led to the platform automatically generating ad creatives on their behalf.
In a statement, Meta said that advertisers who use its full image generation feature can review the images before running their ads.
But three advertisers also told Business Insider they’d encountered a problem where Meta automatically switched those toggles to “on,” even when they’d explicitly turned them off — meaning they inadvertently spent some of their budgets on AI-generated ads they didn’t intend to run.
H&M’s attack of the clones
AI has helped take airbrushing to the next level. Some brands are experimenting with using generative AI to eliminate photo shoots altogether — with mixed results.
Take fast-fashion retailer H&M. In March, the company announced a plan to create “digital twins” of 30 models whose images could be used for social media posts and ad campaigns. H&M said the models would own the rights to their twins, which would include the ability to allow other brands to use them.
H&M released images of its “digital twins” in July.
H&M
H&M was aware that the move would be controversial.
“People will be divided. You know, ‘Is this good? Is this bad?'” Jörgen Andersson, H&M chief creative officer, told Business of Fashion at the time.
H&M certainly got chins wagging. American fashion influencer Morgan Riddle described the plan as “shameful.” Sara Ziff, founder of Model Alliance, a nonprofit that focuses on workers’ rights in the fashion industry, said the plan raised “serious concerns.”
“In an industry that has historically been a backwater for workers’ rights, H&M’s new initiative raises critical questions about consent and compensation, and has the potential to replace a host of fashion workers — including make-up artists, hair stylists, and other creative artists in our community,” Ziff said in a statement.
In a statement sent to Business Insider for this article, an H&M spokesperson said that the brand was exploring how generative AI can support the creative process in thoughtful and responsible ways.
“We recognize that generative AI raises important questions and concerns, and we want to be transparent in acknowledging that we do not yet have all the answers, but are continuing to learn and evolve,” the H&M spokesperson said.
Strike a pose, Vogue
H&M wasn’t the only fashion brand to give AI models a twirl this year.
Readers flicking through the August 2025 issue of Vogue noticed ads for Guess carried a small label/disclaimer: “Produced by Seraphinne Vallora on AI.” The models, “Vivienne” and “Anastasia,” were created using AI by a London-based AI marketing agency.
Social media users slammed the ad, saying the images pushed unrealistic beauty standards and that the use of AI imagery portended bad news for creative industry jobs. Some online commenters said they would cancel their Vogue subscriptions in protest. (Vogue publisher Condé Nast said at the time that an AI model had never appeared “editorially” in Vogue.)
The cofounders of Seraphinne Vallora said in an interview with “Good Morning America” that they were looking to supplement the modeling industry, not replace it.
“We are here to co-exist together, and we will always see photography, stylists, and everyone involved in a photo shoot as incredibly important,” said Valentina Gonzalez, one of the cofounders.
AI models and the controversies surrounding them weren’t a new advertising phenomenon for 2025. Brands such as Mango and Levi’s have also faced a similar backlash for featuring AI-generated models in their marketing in recent years. A new trend does appear to be emerging, though. Brand partnerships with AI social accounts dropped by around 30% in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to transaction data from hundreds of campaigns provided by the influencer-marketing platform Collabstr.
Could AI models be the latest fast-fashion casualty?
I’ve listened to and interviewed more than 50 tech leaders this year, from executives running trillion-dollar firms to young founders betting their futures on AI.
Across boardrooms, conferences, and podcast interviews, the people building our AI future kept returning to the same four themes:
1. Use AI, because someone who understands AI better might replace you
This is the line I heard most often. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said it multiple times this year.
“Every job will be affected, and immediately. It is unquestionable. You’re not going to lose your job to an AI, but you’re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI,” he said at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference in May.
Other tech leaders echoed his view, with some saying that younger workers may actually have an edge because they are already comfortable using AI tools.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on Cleo Abram’s “Huge Conversations” YouTube show in August that while AI will inevitably wipe out some roles, college graduates are better equipped to adjust.
“If I were 22 right now and graduating college, I would feel like the luckiest kid in all of history,” Altman said, adding that his bigger concern is how older workers will cope as AI reshapes work.
Fei-Fei Li, the Stanford professor known as the “godmother of AI,” said in an interview on “The Tim Ferriss Show” published earlier this month that resistance to AI is a dealbreaker. She said she won’t hire engineers who refuse to use AI tools at her startup, World Labs.
This shift is already showing up in everyday roles. An accountant and an HR professional told me they’re using AI tools, including vibe coding, to level up their skills and stay relevant.
2. Soft skills matter more in the AI era
Another consensus I’ve heard among tech leaders is that AI makes soft skills more valuable.
Salesforce’s chief futures officer, Peter Schwartz, told me in an interview in May that “the most important skill is empathy, working with other people,” not coding knowledge.
“Parents ask me what should my kids study, shall they be coders? I said, ‘Learn how to work with others,'” he said.
I interviewed Salesforce’s chief futures officer, Peter Schwartz, in May.
Lee Chong Ming/Business Insider
LinkedIn’s head economist for Asia Pacific, Chua Pei Ying, also told me in July that she sees soft skills like communication and collaboration becoming increasingly important for experienced workers and fresh graduates.
As AI automates parts of our job and makes teams leaner, the human part of the job is starting to matter more.
3. AI is evolving fast — and superintelligence is coming
As the year went on, the stakes around AI’s future began to feel bigger and more real. Tech leaders increasingly spoke about chasing artificial general intelligence, or AGI, and eventually superintelligence.
AGI refers to AI systems that can match human intelligence across a range of tasks, while superintelligence describes systems that surpass human capabilities.
Altman said in September that society needs to be prepared for superintelligence, which could arrive by 2030. Mark Zuckerberg established Meta’s Superintelligence Labs in June and said that the company is pushing toward superintelligence.
These leaders don’t want to miss the AI moment. Zuckerberg underscored that urgency in September, saying he would rather risk “misspending a couple of hundred billion dollars” than be late to superintelligence.
Some tech leaders, such as Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi, argued that the industry has already achieved AGI. Others are more cautious. Google DeepMind’s cofounder, Demis Hassabis, said in April that AGI could arrive “in the next five to 10 years.”
Even when tech leaders disagree on timelines, they tend to agree on one thing: AI progress is compounding.
I saw this acceleration from the outside as a user. New tools are rolling out at a dizzying pace — from ChatGPT adding shopping features and image generation to China’s “AGI cameras.”
Things that would have felt magical in January now feel normal.
I tried Ant Group’s vibe coding app LingGuang’s AGI camera last month.
Lee Chong Ming/LingGuang
4. The human needs to be at the center of AI
Many leaders also circled back to the need for human control amid AI acceleration.
Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman said superintelligence must support human agency, not override it. He said on an episode of the “Silicon Valley Girl Podcast” published in Novemberthathis team is “trying to build a humanist superintelligence,” warning that systems smarter than humans will be difficult to contain or align with human interests.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has been blunt about the risks AI poses if it’s misused.
While advanced AI can lower the barrier to knowledge work, the risks scale alongside the rewards, Amodei said on an episode of the New York Times’ “Hard Fork” published in February.
“If you look at our responsible scaling policy, it’s nothing but AI, autonomy, and CBRN — chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear,” Amodei said.
“It is about hardcore misuse in AI autonomy that could be threats to the lives of millions of people,” he added.
Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the “godfather of AI,” said in August that as AI systems surpass human intelligence, safeguarding humanity becomes the central challenge.
“We have to make it so that when they’re more powerful than us and smarter than us, they still care about us,” Hinton said at the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas.
The US economy continues to surprise on the upside — except when it comes to jobs.
Hot growth, as seen in this week’s GDP report, typically corresponds to stronger hiring and personal earnings, which then enable consumers to continue spending. However, this year, the trend has been the opposite. Spending is driving the economy, but the job market is stuck in a “Great Freeze.”
As KPMG’s chief economist Diane Swonk wrote on Tuesday, “Growth and labor market outcomes have decoupled.”
It’s shaping up to be the story of 2026. The US has found itself in what some are calling a “jobless boom.” Money is flowing in and out of the economy at a healthy clip, but it’s not going toward creating a new job for you.
Instead, all eyes are on artificial intelligence, investment in which drove much of the year’s economic growth, along with still-strong consumer spending.The big AI investors were larger companies, including those that have led white-collar job cuts. In some cases, their profits have skyrocketed, and “do more with less” has been the mantra of the year.
“Firms are doing more with fewer workers,” Swonk wrote. “Many overshot on staffing during the hiring frenzy and are now using attrition or layoffs to bring staffing levels more in line with demand. Others are offsetting the squeeze on profit margins due to tariffs with layoffs and hiring freezes.”
Spend on essentials powered growth
Economists are still grappling with how the US ended up in this rare scenario. This year, although overall layoffs have crept up, they remain relatively low. Corporate America and Big Tech were the exceptions, with companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Tesla announcing big cuts.
Business Insider has heard from dozens of white-collar job seekers who said that finding a new role has felt “impossible,” and those with jobs have, in many cases, held onto them for dear life.
In addition to a tough job market, consumers had no income growth last quarter. However, spending held strong — despite tariff uncertainty and stubborn inflation still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. A large percentage of this spending uptick was in healthcare and medical services, as costs for hospital and nursing services climbed. This year marks the most Americans have spent on healthcare services since 2022, when the Omicron wave of COVID-19 spread.
This suggests that, despite strong spending by affluent households, much of this rise in consumer spending wasn’t necessarily powered by confidence. In fact, consumer sentiment levels are among the lowest they have ever been, and many Americans have been cautious about spendingbecause of tariff uncertainty.
The tough job marketisn’t helping. Unemployment is at 4.6%, the highest since 2021. Total job growth has stayed slow.
Dozens of job seekers across generations told Business Insider this year that they were frustrated about suspected ageism, cumbersome hiring processes, competition with hundreds of others for a single role, and the suspected role of AI in screening out their applications. Some told reporters they’ve applied for thousands of roles with no interviews, while others said it took well over a year to get a single offer, often at a lower pay than their previous job.
2026 could be the year we see AI payoff — which may fuel an even bigger jobless boom
In his 2026 wish list for the business world, Business Insider’s Dan DeFrancesco asked for “ROI for AI.”
“I just want to see some noticeable returns on all these massive AI projects,” he wrote, referring to the eye-popping AI spending from Big Tech — and their plans for even more next year.
If that does come, the jobless boom may only grow.Companies want to use AI to boost productivity without hiring more people, which wouldonly exacerbate a sluggish job market.
Although it’s difficult to determine if this year’s investments in AI have yielded results, the GDP’s spike to 4.3% in the third quarter is an encouraging sign overall. The largest growth since the third quarter of 2023 prompted President Donald Trump to say that the “Trump Economic Golden Age is FULL steam ahead.”
Still, many Americans may worry about what this means for their jobs. Some companies have cited the need to be efficient in an AI-driven future as justification for layoffs. The US already operates with fewer jobs than it had pre-COVID, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has recently said that the grim jobs data may be overstating this year’s deflated gains.
Get your masks ready: Season four of “Bridgerton” is coming to Netflix in 2026. Part one premieres on January 29, and part two will come a month later on February 26.
This season will follow the story of Benedict Bridgerton and Sophie Baek in a “Cinderella”-esque tale.
Season three of the Netflix series, which centered on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington’s (Nicola Coughlan) relationship, concluded with the release of part two in June 2024.
In giving Polin a happy ending, “Bridgerton” also teased that Benedict (Luke Thompson), the second-eldest sibling, would get the main character treatment next season. His status as the lead has officially been confirmed, and new details are slowly being announced — and now, fans are able to watch the first trailer for season four as a Christmas present from the streamer.
Here’s everything we know about season four of “Bridgerton” so far.
Benedict’s love story will be the focus of season 4
Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek and Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton in season four of “Bridgerton.”
Liam Daniel/Netflix
An official announcement about Benedict being the season four lead was made in July 2024. In a video posted by Netflix, Thompson is handed a suit for the masquerade ball. But eagle-eyed fans weren’t surprised, because this was all teased in the season three finale that aired in June.
As Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie) prepared to head off to Scotland with Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd), John Stirling (Victor Alli), and Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) in the episode, she assured Benedict that she’d only be gone until next year.
“Do you think Mama would ever let me miss her Masquerade Ball?” she said.
Benedict, still not ready to settle down, replied, “I will be there, hiding out behind a mask, avoiding eligible ladies like the plague.”
That not-so-subtle moment was a nod to Benedict’s novel “An Offer from a Gentleman,” which is part of Julia Quinn’s “Bridgerton” book series.
In the third “Cinderella”-inspired book, Benedict meets a woman named Sophie Beckett at a masquerade ball. Unbeknownst to him, Sophie is a servant to a rude stepmother named Araminta Gunningworth. By the end of the novel, they express their love for each other and get married.
The show has changed Sophie’s last name from Beckett to Baek to reflect actor Yerin Ha’s Korean heritage.
“A name is the first bit of identity that you share with the world, and that’s why changing a name can be so powerful,” Ha told Tudum. “To make Sophie’s name fit someone who looks like me is really empowering. All credit to Jess Brownell, our showrunner.”
Netflix’s official logline for next season reads: “The fourth season of ‘Bridgerton’ turns its focus to bohemian second son Benedict (Luke Thompson). Despite his elder and younger brothers both being happily married, Benedict is loath to settle down — until he meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball.”
Here’s the first full official trailer for the fourth season.
‘Dune: Prophecy’ actor Yerin Ha will play Sophie Baek, Benedict’s love interest
Ha was most recently seen on the Paramount+ TV series adaptation of the “Halo” video game franchise and HBO’s “Dune” spin-off series “Dune: Prophecy.”
Despite the character being based on Cinderella, Brownell assured fans that Sophie is “no damsel in distress.”
Yerin Ha as Sophie.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
“She is someone who has chess moves and is always thinking two, three steps ahead,” Brownell said at the “Bridgerton” virtual fan event called “Season of Love” in February 2025. “So she’s absolutely gonna throw Benedict for a loop.”
‘Harry Potter’ actor Katie Leung is among the new cast members
Katie Leung, who played Cho Chang in the “Harry Potter” film series, will portray Lady Araminta Gao.
Her character description reads: “Twice-married and twice-widowed, Araminta has two daughters debuting on the marriage mart this season and she’s feeling the pressure to get at least one of her girls married off. Fabulous, discerning, and blunt, Araminta does not respond well when anything — or anyone — threatens her standing in society.”
Isabella Wei, Katie Leung, and Michelle Mao in “Bridgerton.”
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Michelle Mao will play Rosamund Li, Araminta’s eldest daughter who’s “beautiful, vain, and eager to please her mother.” According to her official description, Rosamund will be vying for Benedict’s heart when she hits the marriage mart.
Isabella Wei will play Posy Li, Araminta’s youngest daughter, who’s described as kind and chatty.
Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan are back as Colin and Penelope Bridgerton in season 4
Colin and Penelope in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
At the “Season of Love” event, Brownell said that the new installment will show Colin as a “wife guy” and the couple raising their baby, whose name has yet to be revealed.
Brownell previously told TheWrap that she’d like the pair to continue on the show beyond season four because she thinks there are more stories to be told. Newton similarly told Teen Vogue that he’s committed to staying on the show indefinitely.
Brownell elaborated on Polin’s place in season four in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying that the couple will shift to being part of the larger ensemble.
“I do think that there is a bit more to tell story-wise with Whistledown,” she said. “Whistledown has been the narrative glue of every season. Now that Penelope’s out publicly as Whistledown, I want to see more of what that’s like. So, we will continue with them next season for sure.”
On December 21, the “Bridgerton” X account announced that Colin and Penelope’s newborn son, Elliot, would be part of the season’s story.
In addition to the confirmed returns of Coughlan and Newton, Julie Andrews will also be back as the voice of Lady Whistledown.
Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley will also appear as Anthony and Kate Bridgerton
Simone Ashley as Kate and Jonathan Bailey as Anthony in season three, episode seven of “Bridgerton.”
Netflix
Kanthony fans have been wondering how long Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) will stay on the show after leading season two.
Previous season leads have largely stepped away after their story arcs concluded, but Anthony and Kate are the new heads of the Bridgerton household, which means they have to stick around.
In season three, Anthony and Kate show up in four episodes, often disappearing on trips around the world. The show writers likely did this to explain the characters’ disappearance so Ashley and Bailey could film other projects (Bailey, in particular, was pulling triple duty, also working on “Wicked” and “Fellow Travelers”).
In season three, episode seven, Anthony and Kate leave for a trip to India so Kate can visit her home and give birth to their first child. Though this looks like a convenient way to write the couple off the show entirely, that’s not the case.
Brownell told Entertainment Weekly in June that Anthony and Kate heading to India allows the two actors to work on other projects “while still leaving the door open for them to return when and if they’re able.”
“So the India send-off is a plot device in certain ways that allows us to leave the door open,” she said.
Fans will see “more of their marital bliss and seeing their baby as well,” Brownell said.
However, fans didn’t get a glimpse of them in the first trailer.
Hannah Dodd and Victor Alli will be back as Francesca and John, too
Francesca and John in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
After tying the knot at the end of season three — and meeting her husband’s intriguing cousin, Michaela — Francesca and John will be back for at least the beginning of season four before heading back to Scotland.
Fans of the book series know that Francesca’s time as the series’ main character is coming. Her book, the sixth in the series, is called “When He Was Wicked.”
We won’t spoil the story for anyone who hasn’t read Julia Quinn’s books (though you can read about Francesca’s book here), but it’s safe to say that the show made one of its biggest departures from the book series when it introduced John’s cousin, Michaela. In the novel, John’s beloved cousin is named Michael.
Season 4 will expand the storylines of other ‘Bridgerton’ characters
Eloise in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
At the virtual event, Brownell teased where fans will see the “Bridgerton” characters at the start of season four.
The showrunner alluded to Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) continuing her flirtations with Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis) and moving beyond the giggling that defined their season three interactions.
Lady Violet and Lord Anderson in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Violet will also be busy trying to prepare her unmarried kids for the future. While Francesca got married last season, her siblings Eloise and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) haven’t reached that milestone yet.
“Violet is once again trying to put Eloise on the marriage mart and she’s absolutely dreading it,” Brownell said.
On the flip side, Hyacinth “is desperate to pre-debut early. And the two of them get paired together this season for comedic results.”
Meanwhile, Gregory (Will Tilston), the youngest son, is “going to get sent off to Eton for a little while, but that gives him time to come back no longer a gangly teenager but a young man.”
As for the rest of the Ton, Brownell said that fans will see more of Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), who has a new dynamic with Penelope now that she knows who Lady Whistledown is. Additionally, season four will expand on Queen Charlotte and Lady Agatha Danbury’s (Adjoa Andoh) relationship.
Brimsley, Queen Charlotte, and Lady Danbury in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Lady Danbury, who often vacillates between meddling and advising other characters, will help Will (Martins Imhangbe) and Alice Mondrich (Emma Naomi) navigate a new challenge as they settle into being members of society.
This isn’t the last we’ve seen of Cressida Cowper
Jessica Madsen as Cressida Cowper in season three, episode seven of “Bridgerton.”
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Season three of “Bridgerton” gives more insight into Cressida’s (Jessica Madsen) difficult home life and the lengths she’ll go to in order to get out of her situation.
During the season, she attempts to take credit for Lady Whistledown so she can receive the reward money and avoid marrying an older man, but the plan backfires. Then, when she learns that Penelope is Lady Whistledown, she attempts to blackmail her with the intention of using the money to escape town and avoid being sent off to live with her aunt in Wales.
But Cressida is outsmarted and is last seen being sent away in a carriage to live with her relative after tarnishing the Cowper family’s reputation.
“It felt a little early in this season for her to get a happily ever after just because we’ve watched two seasons of her being a real bully to Penelope. She has a little bit more growth to do, but I do want to give her a happy ending eventually,” she told EW.
“We want to see more from Jessica Madsen,” Brownell told THR. “So we wanted to leave her story a little bit more open-ended so that we can craft an ending for her in future seasons.”
Showrunner Jess Brownell said the season 4 theme is ‘forbidden love’
Yerin Ha as Sophie Beckett in season four of “Bridgerton.”
Liam Daniel/Netflix
At the virtual event, Brownell said that every season follows a romantic trope, and season four is all about “forbidden love.”
“That class clash gives us a very serious obstacle and the stakes could not be higher this year, so it’s really a juicy one,” she said.
“The theme of the season is really about true love being somewhere in between fantasy and reality,” Brownell added.
The new season will delve into Benedict’s status as a member of high society and Sophie’s role as a maid. And after spending three seasons focusing on the happenings of the wealthy characters, season four will broaden the world to follow the working-class characters below them.
“Because you are now so familiar with the upstairs, I think viewers know just how difficult a pairing between a gentleman and a maid will be,” Brownell said.
Ha said that Sophie’s job as a maid at Penwood House, where she works for Lady Araminta, is high stakes.
“Living under that Penwood House is a mode of survival for her because if she doesn’t, then she has nowhere else to go,” Ha said. “I think it also highlights just how hard it was being a maid in that era. You mess up and your life can turn upside down in a second, and I think we’re trying really hard to portray those dynamics.”
Brownell said that the all-important masquerade ball where Benedict and Sophie meet will be “a very large chunk of the first episode.” She also said that the aesthetic of the ball was inspired by William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and the vibe is “dark and mysterious and fairytale-like.”
Fans can see a glimpse of Benedict looking enamored by Sophie at the masquerade ball in a sneak peek clip posted by Netflix in May.
Aside from the masquerade ball, season four will pull additional elements from the book, like My Cottage — which is Benedict’s countryside home — and a nearby lake that fans of the novel will be familiar with.
“I do think that this season is the most faithful to the book,” Brownell said. “It really lends itself to adaptation plot-wise. It’s very similar.”
Still, some aspects were changed for the Netflix adaptation, like character motivations.
“Benedict is quite different from the book just in that Luke Thompson brings this wonderful sensitivity and self-awareness to the character,” Brownell said. “So in Benedict’s story of trying to woo Sophie, I think the character is a bit more delicate and thoughtful, perhaps, about the way he goes about it.”
Season 4 of ‘Bridgerton’ premieres on January 29
Sophie and Benedict in season four.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Brownell told the Los Angeles Times that they chose to film the season during the fall partly for storytelling purposes, but also out of practicality.
“It’s still going to be just as lush and colorful, but just more in those warm fall colors instead of the pastels,” she said. “There will still be some pastels, so it won’t look like a totally different show.”
Netflix confirmed that season four will consist of episodes, just like the past installments. The two parts will air on January 29 and February 26.
The creator economy has bred a generation of startups — from influencer-marketing companies to new social-media experiences.
These startups have captured the attention and wallets of influential venture capitalists and angel investors over the last several years, giving rise to several unicorn valuations in the space.
Check out16 VC firms investing in creator economy startups
Even as the economy has weathered changing tides and investments have cooled across industries, some startups in this sector are still raising money.
In 2024, three trends drove some of the largest deals in the creator economy: AI, social commerce, and newsletters. Several startups raised at least $10 million in new funding last year, such as AI startup Captions or newsletter platform Beehiiv.
Here are17 creator-economy startups that raised more than $10 million in 2024
AI is continuing to fuel investor interest in the creator economy in 2025, too. For instance, Hedra, a generative AI startup used by some creators to make viral content, announced a $32 million Series A led by A16z in May.
Creators themselves, like Emma Chamberlain and MrBeast, are also raising venture capital for their businesses.
See the leaked pitch deck Chamberlain Coffee used
So, how do creator-economy startups land those investments? Often, it starts with a pitch deck.
Lumanu, a creator-focused financial startup, uses a simple pitch deck that’s more of a “conversation guider,” its cofounder and CEO, Tony Tran, told Business Insider.
“My pitch is always why, what, how, and why now?” Tran said. (Read the full pitch deck here.)
Skye, a career-coaching startup, had different pitch decks depending on the type of investor or fund they pitched to.
“I had two different versions, depending on the fund,” said Jessica Wolf, Skye’s CEO and one of its cofounders. “If I knew a fund was more into pre-seed, all about the founder, I had one deck. But if I knew that they were a numbers person, I would use another one.”
Every startup has a different approach.
Some, such as Throne, even ditch the pitch deck altogether and opt for an email or Notion document.
Read theemail template creator-economy startup Throne used to secure its seed investment.
We talked with founders who’ve pitched their startups to investors about their process. They broke down the pitch decks they used to secure millions of dollars in funding.
Read the pitch decks that helped 46 creator-focused startups fundraise millions of dollars:
Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.
Series A
Restream, a livestreaming alternative to platforms like the Amazon-owned Twitch: $50 million Series A (14 pages)
Hedra, a generative AI video platform: $32 million Series A (9 pages)
Dub, a fintech startup that lets people copy influencers’ stock trades: $30 million Series A (15 pages)
ShopMy, an affiliate platform that lets creators earn commissions through shoppable landing pages: $26.5 million Series A (23 pages)
Posh, an IRL events startup: $22 million Series A (12 pages)
Pearpop, a creator-marketing platform: $18 million Series A (18 pages)
Spoon Radio, a social-audio startup: $17 million Series A (15 pages)
Kyra, a content studio, talent-management firm, and influencer-marketing platform: $15 million Series A (20 pages)
Allstar, a startup helping gamers become social-media creators: $12 million Series A (6 pages)
Lumanu, a business-solutions platform for creators: $12 million Series A (8 pages)
Hype, a platform for link-in-bio and other creator-monetization tools: $10 million Series A (13 pages)
Catch+Release, a startup that helps creators and everyday social-media users license their content to brands: $8.8 million Series A (12 pages)
Slip.stream, a music startup focused on gamers: $7.5 million Series A (13 pages)
Brag House, an esports startup: $5 million Series A (24 pages)
CreatorDB, an influencer marketing company: $4.7 million Series A (13 pages)
Seed
Linguana, an AI video translation startup that is targeting YouTubers: $8.5 million (13 pages)
AvatarOS, a startup building virtual avatars for social media, gaming, and other immersive experiences: $7 million (11 pages)
Hypernatural, a generative AI startup that wants to be the Canva for video: $6.8 million (14 pages)
Scenario, a generative AI startup to create gaming art and assets: $6 million seed (8 pages)
Sesh, a music startup that connects artists and fans using their mobile wallets: $5 million seed (13 pages)
Authoritive, an online course-development startup: $5 million seed (11 pages)
Dstlry, a comic-book creator startup: $5 million seed (26 pages)
Dharma, a travel startup for creators and brands: $4.7 million pre-Series A (17 pages)
Glystn, an AI-powered community-management platform: $4 million seed (15 pages)
Daisy, an influencer marketing startup that launched in 2024: $3.9 million (9 pages)
Anima, an augmented-reality startup: $3 million (15 pages)
Grandstand, a sports startup working with athlete creators: $2.75 million
Seam Social, a new Web3 social-media platform: $2.5 million (10 pages)
Spark, a digital art platform from the YouTuber Moriah Elizabeth: $2.5 million seed (9 pages)
Insense, a startup helping e-commerce brands get low-cost ads: $2.5 million pre-Series A (9 pages)
Supercast, a podcast subscriptions startup: $2 million seed (20 pages)
Chartmetric, a music-data and -measurement company: $2 million seed (46 pages)
Ultimate Playlist, a music-marketing startup: $2 million round (9 pages)
Magroove, a music-distribution and -discovery platform: $1.6 million seed (21 pages)
Stagetime, a professional-networking startup for performing artists: $1.5 million seed (13 pages)
Jubilee Media, a content studio looking to expand beyond YouTube and TikTok: $1.1 million seed-plus (12 pages)
Tourists love Kyoto for its ancient temples, pagodas, and its cherry blossoms. But from early next year, staying in the Japanese city will become more expensive.
After March 1, visitors in Kyoto will face higher overnight taxes on accommodation across the city.
The tax is tiered according to the nightly cost of accommodation: rooms under 6,000 yen, about $38, a night will remain taxed at 200 yen, or $1.28, while the tax on rooms priced between 6,000 and 20,000 yen a night will double to 400 yen.
The steepest increases will be applied to high-end accommodations. Rooms costing 50,000 to 100,000 yen a night will see the tax jump from 1,000 to 4,000 yen, and those over 100,000 yen will rise tenfold to 10,000 yen.
Kyoto’s government estimates the revised tax will generate 12.6 billion yen a year, about $81 million.
