AI data labeling company AfterQuery is now valued at $3.2 billion, making it the fastest YC company to go from inception -> unicorn, and 10xing its valuation since April. Oh, and its founders are 22 and 23 years old.
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
AfterQuery Becomes YC’s Fastest Unicorn At $3.2 Billion
Twenty three year-old Spencer Mateega pivoted his YC startup into the fastest unicorn in the accelerator’s history, fueling AI's shift toward human reasoning data.
www.forbes.com
September 1, 2026 at 5:06 PM
AI data labeling company AfterQuery is now valued at $3.2 billion, making it the fastest YC company to go from inception -> unicorn, and 10xing its valuation since April. Oh, and its founders are 22 and 23 years old.
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Burning Man is this week, and its latest battlefront is AI. Is it okay to use AI to make your theme camp flyer or help you design your art piece -- or is that an egregious violation of the Burning Man Principles?
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Anna Tong (@annatonger) on X
Burning Man is this week, and its latest battlefront is AI. Is it okay to use AI to make your theme camp flyer or help you design your art piece -- or is that an egregious violation of the Burning Man...
x.com
September 1, 2026 at 2:33 AM
Burning Man is this week, and its latest battlefront is AI. Is it okay to use AI to make your theme camp flyer or help you design your art piece -- or is that an egregious violation of the Burning Man Principles?
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
The AI arms race isn’t just being fought over Nvidia chips. Chinese labs are matching OpenAI and Anthropic by purchasing the exact same data from US vendors like
Mercor and Surge AI (who also work with the US federal govt) www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Mercor and Surge AI (who also work with the US federal govt) www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
August 5, 2026 at 4:36 PM
The AI arms race isn’t just being fought over Nvidia chips. Chinese labs are matching OpenAI and Anthropic by purchasing the exact same data from US vendors like
Mercor and Surge AI (who also work with the US federal govt) www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Mercor and Surge AI (who also work with the US federal govt) www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
AI may create a philanthropy boom, and some are already having success influencing where giving is going. Here's the story of how anti factory-farming advocates like have already directed $40 million to help chickens and pigs. www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Chickens Could Be Big Winners From AI’s $300 Billion Philanthropy Wave
An army of newly wealthy AI workers is searching for causes worthy of its money. Animal advocates think they may also be sitting on the future of philanthropy.
www.forbes.com
July 27, 2026 at 7:51 PM
AI may create a philanthropy boom, and some are already having success influencing where giving is going. Here's the story of how anti factory-farming advocates like have already directed $40 million to help chickens and pigs. www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
People can't get OpenAI or Anthropic shares. Instead, they're buying used OpenAI employee sweatshirts on eBay for $250. Or used Anthropic t-shirts for $120. Inside the secondary market for AI swag. It's a bubble inside of a bubble. www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
The Booming Secondary Market For Used OpenAI and Anthropic Swag
You might not be able to get in on the IPO, but you can still get the hoodie. With AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic in private hands, people are paying $250 for used sweatshirts on eBay to cospla...
www.forbes.com
July 16, 2026 at 7:06 PM
People can't get OpenAI or Anthropic shares. Instead, they're buying used OpenAI employee sweatshirts on eBay for $250. Or used Anthropic t-shirts for $120. Inside the secondary market for AI swag. It's a bubble inside of a bubble. www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
What's a way to make a killing in the AI boom if you're not an AI researcher or early Anthropic employee? Becoming a "nerd-first" escort. Read my story to find out more about the shifting economics of intimacy in Silicon Valley: www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
The Nerdy Escorts Cashing In On Silicon Valley’s AI Boom
A small group of high-end companions are charging time-poor technorati thousands an hour by offering a blend of sex, attention and genuine intellectual rapport.
www.forbes.com
June 7, 2026 at 10:19 PM
What's a way to make a killing in the AI boom if you're not an AI researcher or early Anthropic employee? Becoming a "nerd-first" escort. Read my story to find out more about the shifting economics of intimacy in Silicon Valley: www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Reposted by Anna Tong
Someone finally answered the question of “why are there no major AI boyfriend apps?”
The hook was romantasy which is now a major subgenre for women.
The hook was romantasy which is now a major subgenre for women.
Three Dudes Run The Biggest AI Romantic Fantasy Site For Women
Three Dudes Run The Biggest AI Romantic Fantasy Site For Women
www.forbes.com
May 11, 2026 at 2:43 AM
Someone finally answered the question of “why are there no major AI boyfriend apps?”
The hook was romantasy which is now a major subgenre for women.
The hook was romantasy which is now a major subgenre for women.
The #10 consumer AI app isn't a coding tool; it’s an erotic chatbot for women.
Riding off the romantasy wave, the 3 guys who run Janitor AI serve 100M monthly visitors (80% women) -- for 130k a month. Inside the R-rated Roblox: www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Riding off the romantasy wave, the 3 guys who run Janitor AI serve 100M monthly visitors (80% women) -- for 130k a month. Inside the R-rated Roblox: www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Three Dudes Run The Biggest AI Romantic Fantasy Site For Women
Three Dudes Run The Biggest AI Romantic Fantasy Site For Women
www.forbes.com
May 7, 2026 at 6:01 PM
The #10 consumer AI app isn't a coding tool; it’s an erotic chatbot for women.
Riding off the romantasy wave, the 3 guys who run Janitor AI serve 100M monthly visitors (80% women) -- for 130k a month. Inside the R-rated Roblox: www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Riding off the romantasy wave, the 3 guys who run Janitor AI serve 100M monthly visitors (80% women) -- for 130k a month. Inside the R-rated Roblox: www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Your 2021 Slack vent-session could be helping a future AI agent learn to "act professional."
My latest @forbes.com story dives into how AI labs are clamoring to buy email, Slack and Jira data from defunct companies, to use as fuel for training AI.
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
My latest @forbes.com story dives into how AI labs are clamoring to buy email, Slack and Jira data from defunct companies, to use as fuel for training AI.
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
AI’s New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks And Emails
AI’s New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks And Emails
www.forbes.com
April 16, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Your 2021 Slack vent-session could be helping a future AI agent learn to "act professional."
My latest @forbes.com story dives into how AI labs are clamoring to buy email, Slack and Jira data from defunct companies, to use as fuel for training AI.
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
My latest @forbes.com story dives into how AI labs are clamoring to buy email, Slack and Jira data from defunct companies, to use as fuel for training AI.
www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
Reposted by Anna Tong
Excited to reveal the 2026 Forbes AI 50 List, which spotlights the most promising privately-held AI companies in the world.
forbes.com/lists/ai50/
forbes.com/lists/ai50/
Forbes 2026 AI 50 List | Top Artificial Intelligence Companies
The Forbes 2026 AI 50 List spotlights the most promising artificial intelligence businesses. See the leaders driving the future of AI.
forbes.com
April 16, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Excited to reveal the 2026 Forbes AI 50 List, which spotlights the most promising privately-held AI companies in the world.
forbes.com/lists/ai50/
forbes.com/lists/ai50/
Reposted by Anna Tong
Mercor reached $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate earlier this year. Run by the youngest-ever self made billionaires, the startup is facing a wave of challenges: employee fraud, North Korean infiltration and cultural growing pains.
With Anna Tong.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
With Anna Tong.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
Inside Messy, Fast-Growing Mercor, Run By Youngest-Ever Self-Made Billionaires
Founded in 2023 by 20-somethings, data labeling startup Mercor exploded to $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate earlier this year. Now it's confronting a wave of challenges, including an employee...
www.forbes.com
April 15, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Mercor reached $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate earlier this year. Run by the youngest-ever self made billionaires, the startup is facing a wave of challenges: employee fraud, North Korean infiltration and cultural growing pains.
With Anna Tong.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
With Anna Tong.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...