The week in founders, 24 October 2026
This week
Salesforce is paying $5.66bn in cash for Braze, the customer engagement software firm, at 6.8 times revenue. Rivals were trading at 3x the day before. Braze grew revenue 26% while lifting operating expenses 6%.
Anthropic has cut junior technical hiring from 27% to 9%. The company's own report says its agents log six times the hours its people do, and sit idle 80% of the time waiting for a human to reply.
Siloton, a Bristol medtech company, has won an £8.4m Innovate UK contract to speed up development of a handheld retinal imaging device. The award is a contract, not equity.
Mia Lind posted a TikTok about "hot girl walks" in 2021. Inc. reports the idea now runs as a business with a 57 per cent annualised growth rate, and brand work with Nutella and Spotify.
The lead
Bristol's Siloton wins £8.4m Innovate UK contract for eye scanner
The medtech company will use the money to speed up development of a handheld retinal imaging device. The award is a contract from Innovate UK, not equity.
Startup news
Salesforce pays 6.8x revenue for Braze as rivals trade at 3x
Braze grew revenue 26% while lifting operating expenses 6%. Salesforce valued that gap at $5.66bn in cash, roughly double the multiple public investors were paying the day before.
Anthropic's junior technical hiring falls from 27% to 9%
The company's own report says agents now log six times the hours its people do, and sit idle 80% of the time waiting for a human to reply. The bottleneck has moved, and it is you.
Inspiring stories
One 2021 TikTok now a brand growing 57% a year
Mia Lind posted a video about "hot girl walks" four years ago. Inc. reports the idea now runs as a business with a 57 per cent annualised growth rate and brand work with Nutella and Spotify.
Tips & tricks
Earned media now feeds the machines as well as the buyers
Coverage you did not pay for builds trust with customers and puts your name where AI tools go looking. A US business title argues the two now come as a pair.
Five questions a former processing executive says to ask before signing
US merchants paid $198.25bn to accept cards last year. The networks' headline rates barely moved. Robert L. Day, who spent a decade selling processing, says the gap is markup you can negotiate.
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