Block Lays Off 50% of Workforce (4,000 Jobs) Citing AI Productivity Gains
Block Lays Off 50% of Workforce (4,000 Jobs) Citing AI Productivity Gains. Perplexity AI Deeply Integrated into Samsung Galaxy S26 Phones.
Block Lays Off 50% of Workforce (4,000 Jobs) Citing AI Productivity Gains
Jack Dorsey's Block slashed nearly half its staff—around 4,000 jobs—on February 26, dropping headcount from over 10,000 to under 6,000, thanks to AI tools like "Goose" that let smaller teams outperform.[4] The company boosted its 2026 profit guidance by 54%, sending shares up 22% in after-hours trading. Dorsey warned other firms will follow within a year.
X lit up with employee backlash and Hacker News/Reddit threads on AI job displacement, though investors cheered the efficiency play. This is one of the biggest AI-driven layoffs yet, signaling a shift where productivity trumps headcount.
Perplexity AI Deeply Integrated into Samsung Galaxy S26 Phones
Samsung's Galaxy S26, announced around February 25-26, ships with Perplexity AI baked in at the system level—activated by "Hey Plex" or side button—powering a revamped Bixby, browser agents, and multi-model Galaxy AI.[5][6][7] It's the first third-party AI integrated at this scale on major Android devices, pushing Samsung toward a multi-agent ecosystem.
Reddit and LinkedIn buzzed positively about daily multi-AI interactions, underscoring how consumers will soon juggle agents seamlessly. This move democratizes advanced search and orchestration on billions of devices.
Axelera AI Secures €250M+ in Europe's Largest AI Chip Funding Round
Dutch startup Axelera AI raised over €250 million ($250M+) on February 24, led by Innovation Industries with BlackRock and EU backers joining, pushing total funding past $450M.[8][9][10] The round funds energy-efficient edge AI inference chips to rival Nvidia in hardware independence.
X hailed it as Europe's biggest AI chip win, boosting optimism for sovereign tech stacks amid global chip wars.
Encord Raises $60M Series C for Universal AI Data Layer
UK-based Encord scored $60M in Series C funding on February 26, led by Wellington Management, hitting $110M total at a $550M valuation.[11][12] Its platform handles data management, curation, annotation, and alignment for physical AI like robots and drones, serving hundreds of firms.
Founders and VCs congratulated the raise on X/LinkedIn, eyeing it as key infrastructure for scaling embodied AI.
What This Means For Your Business
Anthropic's defiance and Block's massive AI-fueled layoffs underscore the urgency of AI quality & trust review—safeguards aren't optional, and productivity gains demand agent workforce design to redeploy talent effectively. Enterprises ignoring ethics risk regulatory backlash or talent exodus, while those leveraging tools like Goose can reengineer outcomes without ballooning headcount. Up North AI's judgment here separates hype from deployable systems.
Samsung's Perplexity integration and Nordic raises like Axelera and Encord point to multi-agent orchestration (MCP/A2A) as the new normal—edge chips, data layers, and phone agents mean your ops will span hardware, data pipelines, and consumer-grade swarms. Physical AI funding signals robotics/drone booms, where outcome engineering ensures reliable agent fleets.
Key takeaway: Prioritize trust-reviewed multi-agent stacks now—code is free, but judgment on safety, efficiency, and orchestration isn't. Contact Up North AI to audit your setup.
Sources
- https://www.anthropic.com/news/statement-department-of-war
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg3vlzzkqeo
- https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/26/anthropic-rejects-pentagons-ai-demands-00802554
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-26/jack-dorsey-s-block-slashes-nearly-half-of-workforce-in-ai-bet
- https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/perplexity-apis-deliver-powerful-ai-to-the-world%E2%80%99s-largest-android-device-maker
- https://news.samsung.com/global/galaxy-ai-expands-multi-agent-ecosystem-to-give-users-more-choice-and-flexibility
- https://www.theverge.com/tech/882921/samsung-is-adding-perplexity-to-galaxy-ai
- https://axelera.ai/news/axelera-ai-secures-more-than-250-million-funding-on-global-commercial-growth
- https://www.reuters.com/business/european-ai-chip-startup-axelera-raises-additional-250-million-2026-02-24
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-24/blackrock-backs-dutch-chipmaker-axelera-ai-in-250-million-round
- https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/encord-secures-60m-series-c-170000866.html
- https://siliconangle.com/2026/02/26/physical-ai-data-infrastructure-startup-encord-lands-60m-accelerate-intelligent-robot-drone-development
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