Good Morning!
Word on the street is that 2026 is the new 2016 and that led me down the rabbit hole on my camera roll. Take it one step further and search what the biggest headlines of 2016 were for a real throwback 👀
What You Missed This Week:
1. 🤖 AI cloud startup hits $120M ARR after starting on Reddit
What began as a Reddit post has grown into a $120M ARR business as RunPod scales demand for GPU cloud infrastructure. The startup focuses on affordable, on-demand compute for AI workloads, attracting developers priced out of hyperscalers. Its growth reflects surging demand for alternative AI cloud providers as model training and inference costs rise. (TechCrunch)
2. 🥫 Are you using the wrong ingredients in your marketing strategy?
Most B2B teams are mixing the wrong marketing ingredients and praying they work. My team has helped 60+ B2B companies generate low-cost, qualified leads by following a proven recipe that blends LinkedIn (for targeting), Google Ads (for demand capture), Meta (for amplification), & newsletters (for nurturing).
Don’t just take my word for it:
“Their process is strategic and focused on real outcomes, and they brought in over 100 qualified leads for us at just $66 per lead while targeting a notoriously challenging ICP. It’s rare that I come across lead acquisition services worth recommending, and I will happily recommend Max’s team.”
– Jacob McMillen
If your marketing feels expensive, inconsistent, or underwhelming, there’s a good chance you’re just using the wrong ingredients.
3. 💰 Alphabet Joined the $4T Market Cap Club
Round of applause for the newest member of the $4T club! Now this is a club we’d like to be a part of. Google parent company Alphabet has become the fourth member of the $4 trillion club after Apple said it would use Google’s Gemini for the foundation of its artificial intelligence models and the next generation of Siri. The other members of the $4T club include Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple. (CNBC)
4. 👀 ClickHouse reaches $15B valuation in late-stage round
A fresh funding round has pushed ClickHouse to a $15B valuation as it challenges Snowflake and Databricks in real-time analytics. The company’s column-oriented database is increasingly used for high-speed queries and AI-driven workloads. Investor appetite signals continued confidence in infrastructure players powering modern data and AI stacks. (TechCrunch)
5. 📈 Set it & Forget it, SHOCKINGLY Affordable SEO
Most SEO agencies will charge you $5,000 a month, promise the world, and deliver nothing but a confusing report and disappointment. Ranked is the exact opposite.
These guys are almost too good to be true, but they’re actually amazing. We use them ourselves, and the results speak for themselves:
Real SEO that works — weekly content, site optimization, and quality backlinks
Full transparency — clear deliverables and easy-to-read reports
No BS contracts — all plans are month-to-month, starting at just $99/month
I know what you’re thinking: “$99? Is it a scam?” Nope. Just a team that figured out how to make SEO actually affordable and effective.
6. 🤑 OpenAI is Testing Ads on ChatGPT
Enjoy the last few weeks of ad-free ChatGPT because we can’t have nice things in this day and age. OpenAI announced it’s finally beginning testing ads within ChatGPT in the coming weeks. Plus, Pro, and Enterprise subscriptions will not include ads, but testing will begin with adult free users in the U.S. The company is also making its low-cost Go offering available in the U.S. and users who opt for that plan will begin to see ads. (CNBC)
Bonus. 🤖 Level Up Your AI Game
Join hundreds of my readers who have become more proficient in AI with one of HubSpot's easy-to-follow free guides:
⚔️ CEOs’ New Secret Weapons ⚔️
📳 Want more sales calls? We built the trust engine that warms leads up and books calls on autopilot. Get More Quality Leads & Calls Here →
🙏🏼 Learn how Alex Hormozi... stole Martha Stewart's cult-building playbook, and how you can too, on the newest episode of The 10 Minute Marketer, now streaming on Spotify, Apple & YouTube →
📈 Weekly blogs + backlinks for $99/mo — this SEO team is my go-to for every project → 👉🏼 Start your free trial here
🙏🏼 Real-time IMPACTFUL analytics made for eComm — behavior, attribution, heatmaps, and more → Get set up in just a few minutes, here!
Want more leads, clients, customers, or users? Advertise with us here →
😭 Subscribed to too many newsletters? Meco fixed this, now I read all my newsletters in one clean 100% free app! Get to inbox zero here →
(Don’t click here, it’s just a test for our filters, here)
This newsletter may include paid promotions or affiliate links. We may earn compensation if you sign up through them. See our Privacy Policy here.