Business
LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman Launches Manas AI, a New Bio Startup

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman became a billionaire when Microsoft bought LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion in cash, and he has also made his fortune on high-return investments in more than 80 tech startups, including Airbnb, Groupon, and Flickr. He famously made $111 million from his initial $37,500 investment in Facebook.
Now Hoffman is turning his attention to AI in healthcare with a new startup he introduced last week with co-founder Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee: Manas AI. And this time Hoffman has deeper hopes than just a high return on investment — he wants to help cure cancer.
Manas is bringing AI to some of the world’s top drug development scientists to deepen their expertise and speed up the rate at which new drugs are discovered. The startup aims to unite researchers with advanced AI systems to more quickly figure out how potentially life-saving drugs could interact with the human body.
Related: LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman: To Scale, Do Things That Don’t Scale
Manas is initially turning its attention to aggressive cancers like breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lymphoma. Its long-term vision is to fundamentally change how the industry discovers and develops new medicines.
“Most people have had friends, family members, etc., who’ve died from cancer or had serious cancer problems,” Hoffman told CNBC on Monday. “If we can make a huge difference on this, and this is the kind of thing that AI can make a huge difference in, it’s the kind of reason why AI can be great for humanity.”
Reid Hoffman The Midway SF on December 05, 2023, in San Francisco, California. Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for WIRED
The startup has raised $24.6 million in seed funding so far, with Hoffman leading the funding round with venture capital firm General Catalyst. It will operate its AI systems in data centers owned by Microsoft.
Related: Reid Hoffman: To Successfully Grow A Business, You Must ‘Expect Chaos’
Mukherjee is a Columbia University professor and author of “The Emperor of All Maladies,” a book about cancer. In 2016, he helped found Vor BioPharma, a cell engineering company, and in 2021 he founded Myeloid Therapeutics, a cancer therapy startup.
Manas currently has four employees including Mukherjee and Hoffman, with Hoffman saying he serves as the company’s “AI guy” and Mukherjee as the “bio guy.” Manas’ goal is to unite the two fields.
“It isn’t just the best of science and it isn’t just the best of AI, because either of those two [is] insufficient,” Hoffman told CNBC. “You need to put those two together.”
The AI healthcare sector saw substantial investments in 2024. According to PitchBook, investors poured $10.5 billion into 511 healthcare AI deals in 2024. Cancer screening AI startup Freenome raised the most money out of the group with a $254 million Series F in February 2024.

A blog which focuses on business, Networth, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement, Celebrities, Top Lists, Travelling, Health, and lifestyle. A source that provides you with each and every top piece of information about the world. We cover various different topics.
Business
4 Huge Reasons Your Brand Values Should Not Change (Even If Laws Do)

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
No matter what field you operate in as an entrepreneur, business manager or marketing executive, it is perfectly normal to feel like we are walking into a “whole new world” which is a little upside down and sideways with a line of vision akin to a being inside a well-shaken snow globe. Add more chaos every time we read that laws are changing to support a new political agenda and that another company has dropped its DEI and/or ESG policies and departments or changed its rules for just being kind to people in general. Yes, even Starbucks has reversed its rule that anyone can hang in their stores and use their bathrooms even if they don’t buy anything.
It’s true. Governing around values takes energy and money, which cuts into profits — but not for much longer. Meta and other corporate giants like Ford, McDonald’s and Walmart are canceling their key diversity, equity and inclusion programs now that the White House is canceling these programs across the Federal government.
So now the big question. Can small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs change their values and corresponding actions toward humanity, the environment and civility and thrive just like big box brands doing so seem to be doing?
Quick answer. A hard no. Never.
Amazon, Ford, John Deere, Harley Davidson, Toyota, Lowe’s and even Molson Coors and others announcing “values” changes will survive when pulling out of social celebrations like Pride Parades, end participation with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index, and axe departments and programs organized around ESG practices. Their brands have stood the test of time, and their sales revenues have remained and will continue to be. But a small company forging through the jungles of whatever industry they seek to break into needs more than a machete to succeed. Small businesses need to appeal to consumers on many levels to capture attention, trial and sales. According to research and consulting firms like PWC and Edelman, a company’s values associated with ESG issues — Environmental, Social and Governance — still matter to consumers.
According to one report, consumers are placing increased importance on ESG compliance when selecting brands in 2025 despite what big brands are doing or what a new administration might do to environmental and social laws serving as guardrails for safety and civility in the world we knew just yesterday.
Here are just three reasons why brand values should still and always be at the top of any entrepreneur’s operational priorities and every marketer’s agenda.
Related: Why Aligning Your Values and Virtues Leads to Entrepreneurial Success
1. Consumers care
Gen Z, Gen X and millenials, in large numbers, care to do business with brands that reflect their own values when it comes to environmental and social issues, and this does not look to change anytime soon. Research shows these consumers are heavily influenced by the values a brand presents and acts upon — for example, Edelman’s 2024 reports state that Gen Z, who make up 40% of consumers worldwide, will even go so far as to judge a person’s social values by the brands they patronize. Businesses in all sectors take note. This is the consumer group spending the most money. Various studies show that Gen Z’s spending power will reach around $12 trillion by 2030, while Gen X and Millenials will represent $6.4 trillion and $8.3 trillion, respectively.
So, while some consumers might begrudgingly go to Lowe’s despite their canceling support for social programs when they need that plunger in a hurry, they are not likely to become lifetime loyalists or advocates, both of which are important for any business. Defining ESG values, acting on them and communicating your impact will set you up to attract and retain the most powerful consumers in the market now and over the next few decades.
Related: Holding True to Your Values Is an Essential Decision-Making Metric
2. Investors remain green
According to Bloomberg Media’s Sustainable Future Study, ESG assets will hit the $50 trillion mark by 2025, showing strong sustainability in “sustainable” investing. This same report shows this trend continuing through at least 2030. Morninsgstar’s report, Emerging Trends in Global Sustainable Funds, shows a surge in EST investing in 2025 as well. Pension fund and asset managers still plan to make ESG investments to help mitigate risks and create sustainable value. Some investors report that companies with high ESG scores are more successful than those with low ESG scores and, therefore, present less risk and more opportunity for portfolio growth.
Regardless of where you are with your funding goals, pay attention. Funding is hard to get in uncertain markets, which will likely continue. Defining and executing ESG values and sustainability programs will help you compete for investment to further product development, staffing, capitalization, and GTM initiatives that can help you grow in any market.
3. Authentic accountability
Brands are constantly tooting their horns about something, but how often is that toot grounded in verifiable results and aligned with meaningful outcomes for others beyond the brand itself? Companies that act on policies for ESG sustainability, employee protocols, responsible sourcing practices and so on have powerful stories to tell. Reporting on how your ESG practices impact environments, elevate social justice for diverse populations, and govern your employees shows your promises and commitments are authentic, not just attempts to align with the times or politics when you really don’t care about the values you project. We are seeing a lack of authenticity for past social justice actions aligned with many brands now dropping support across social spectrums. Customers now and in the future will continue to seek out brands that authentically care to be accountable for promises made.
While the next few years seem to promise many changes across society, some welcome, some not, one thing remains steady for small businesses: values. You need them, you need to act on them and you need to report on how your values impact others, not just you.
More insights and ideas for implementing ESG and other value in your business operations can be found in Entrepreneur’s book, “Market Your Business – Your DIY Guide to Marketing,” released September 2024.

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Business
Meta Layoffs Begin: Inside Meta’s Rankings of Low Performers

Meta has started performance-based layoffs affecting 5% of its 72,000-person workforce or around 3,600 global employees.
Laid-off U.S.-based Meta employees were notified on Monday, February 10 at 5 a.m. PT via an email sent to their work and personal email addresses. Employees in Europe and Asia were notified the day prior.
The Information reports that laid-off employees lost access to Meta’s internal systems within an hour and learned about their severance packages via email. Two sources told Business Insider that U.S. workers received a severance package that includes 16 weeks of pay, plus two weeks for each year at the company. The package is identical to the one received by Google employees in January 2023 when Google eliminated 12,000 positions.
Related: Meta Informs Staff that Layoffs Will Begin Monday Morning in a Now-Leaked Internal Memo
How Does Meta Identify ‘Low Performers’
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the layoffs through an internal memo in January, stating that the cuts would target “low performers.”
Meta’s layoffs target employees who received low scores in their performance reviews after only meeting some or none of their job goals. BI reports that Meta managers have to give 12% to 15% of their team lower rankings and, in some cases, are forced to place team members into lower categories to meet the target.
It’s unclear who was laid off and from which departments.
“Mark is creating fear,” one Meta employee told BI. “He’s creating a culture where you have to be loyal to him or else.”
One Meta employee told BI that labeling the layoffs performance-based could damage the reputations of affected employees.
“Now people have to go back out into the job market with a label that is incredibly unfair,” they stated.
Related: Meta Reminds Staff of Its Strict No-Leaks Policy — That Has Since Been Leaked to the Press
One employee impacted by the layoffs, Brittney Ball, took to X to share the news. She explained that she was let go after five years at Meta and outlined six reasons why companies should hire her, including that she had helped over 3,000 people break into tech.
Justin Allen, a senior user experience designer at Oculus Studios, posted on LinkedIn on Monday that he was impacted by the layoffs while Meta technical recruiter Carl Wheatley posted on the same platform that he knew recruiters and product designers who were let go too.
Unfortunately, after 5 years, I was impacted by the Meta layoffs today. However, here are some reasons why you should hire me:
– Helped over 3,000 individuals break into tech
– Organized the Black Tech Gala with over ten Bay Area tech companies, attracting over 3,500… pic.twitter.com/08jg6OXNaK— Brii (she/her) ????✊??? (@Brii_toe_knee) February 10, 2025

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Business
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s One Rule for Remote, Hybrid Work

Airbnb announced a Live and Work Anywhere remote work policy in April 2022, which allows the company’s global employees to work from home from any location — as long as they meet up in person regularly for team gatherings.
Now Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is clarifying for the first time what he means by “regular” meetups.
“I have a simple rule: we basically ask people to come to San Francisco one week a month,” Chesky told host Bob Safian on a recent episode of the Masters of Scale Rapid Response podcast. “Some people come for just two or three days. Some people come for the full week.”
Brian Chesky. Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for WIRED
Chesky calls the return-to-office week a “gathering week” when Airbnb coordinates everyone being together in San Francisco. The focus is on collaboration, not on getting people to work harder by having them show up to the office, he says.
“I have not found a huge value in people being in the office all the time,” Chesky said, adding, “What I want is, for the most part, people coming to the San Francisco office, but I can’t get everyone to move here to San Francisco, and I can’t get them to fly here every week.”
Most Airbnb employees are based in San Francisco, Chesky says. Airbnb flies out-of-state or out-of-country employees to the San Francisco office once a month for in-person meetups. Chesky says that the cost is worth it and more affordable than thousands of people coming to work in person five days per week. Even if it was more expensive, he says it would still be worth it.
“I think the output for us is superior,” Chesky said.
Since Airbnb introduced its Live and Work Anywhere, about 20% of employees have relocated to states within the U.S. or abroad. According to Forbes, Airbnb has 6,907 employees.
Chesky also stated in the interview that the way to make a team work harder wasn’t by forcing them to work in person from the office but by setting rigorous milestones.
“If you want a team to work harder, don’t make them come to the office, give them a crazy deadline and check on their progress every week,” Chesky said. “That’s how you get them to work harder, not by being in the office.”
Several large companies have issued return-to-office mandates recently. JPMorgan, for example, announced a mandate last month directing its 300,000-person workforce to work from the office every weekday beginning in March. Gap stated a goal earlier this month of having its corporate employees back in the office five days a week by the fall.

A blog which focuses on business, Networth, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement, Celebrities, Top Lists, Travelling, Health, and lifestyle. A source that provides you with each and every top piece of information about the world. We cover various different topics.
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