Plus: Elon Musk’s Massive Tesla Pay Package Struck Down By Judge—Again |
Good morning,
The Forbes 30 Under 30 class of 2025 is making a splash by inventing new technology to treat tumors, expanding access to electric vehicle charging and making credit cards more secure, just to name a few of their feats.The 14th annual list, released today, honors young leaders in 20 different industries, from artificial intelligence innovators to social media influencers and Grammy-nominated musicians. They’ve collectively raised over $3.6 billion in funding and gained more than 300 million social media followers. Forty-six percent of the listmakers self-identify as a person of color and 43% are female. As the world rapidly changes, these Under 30 honorees see youth as a superpower.
Let’s get into the headlines, |
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| Intel’s CEO abruptly retired Sunday, the latest shakeup as the Silicon Valley stalwart experiences an extended stock market slump. Intel’s stock fell 53% since Pat Gelsinger took over as CEO in February 2021, despite a remarkably strong stretch for chipmaker competitors like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. Analysts at investment firm Stifel raised their outlook for Tesla stock while also expressing skepticism about Tesla’s bread-and-butter electric vehicle business, upping its price target for the company by 43%. But while Stephen Gengaro, who leads the group, said, “Trump’s victory coupled with Elon Musk’s involvement bodes very well for Tesla,” the analysts also said that the company is “clearly significantly overvalued” if it is viewed “as an auto company.” MORE: A judge in Delaware once again struck down a record-breaking pay package for Musk, despite the $50 billion in stock options being approved by Tesla shareholders in June. In a post on X, Tesla said it would appeal the decision, while Musk said that “shareholders should control company votes, not judges.” |
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| | | 30 Under 30 AI 2025: The Young Entrepreneurs Coding The Future |
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| The 2025 Under 30 cohort was just coming into the world when the dot-com boom took the markets by storm. Now, these young founders have their own gold rush: the AI boom. And they’re diving in headfirst, raising billions of dollars to build companies with the potential to, one day, change how the world operates. That’s why, this year, Forbes decided to add a brand new category for AI. It’s necessary. The technology is poised to change how we live, work, build and create—and the global market for artificial intelligence is projected to grow to $631 billion by 2028. Investors, pouring $27 billion into AI startups in the U.S. from April to June alone, are actively pulling out their checkbooks and doling out mind-blowing valuations in hopes of backing the next Microsoft and Apple. Take Demi Guo, 26, and Chenlin Meng, 27 of Pika. The two founders have built tech that uses generative AI to turn plain text into a video. Investors gave the first-time founders $135 million and valued their startup at nearly $470 million. Today, 5 million people are accessing their free app, which allows users to produce and edit videos across a number of cinematic styles. Although it might seem like Pika is out to replace the human touch, this year’s class is steadfast in showing that AI is a tool, not a substitute. “The way I think about AI is really enabling our possibilities,” says Guo. “The human artist is a person to guide AI in the right direction and eventually become a masterpiece.” Guo and Meng join the other listmakers on the inaugural 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 AI list showcasing the talented young entrepreneurs and researchers shaping the new era of technology. |
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| “From Aidan Gomez, the 28-year-old CEO of $5 billion AI company Cohere, to researchers like Jiayi Weng, 26, who contributed to developing ChatGPT, OpenAI's star product, this year's list highlights the brightest innovators building the future of artificial intelligence,” says Forbes reporter Rashi Shrivastava. |
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| Shares of Stellantis, which owns brands like Jeep, Ram and Chrysler, tanked 6.5% Monday after the company announced it had accepted CEO Carlos Tavares’ abrupt resignation. The automaker said it plans to hire a new permanent CEO sometime in the first half of 2025, and its shares are down 46% so far this year. The XRP token linked to Ripple Labs has become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency in the world in terms of market cap, after a weekslong rally triggered by President-elect Donald Trump’s election win. Ripple Labs, which developed the XRP payment protocol and uses the token for its payments platform, was sued in 2020 by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but there’s been recent speculation about the SEC potentially dropping its legal case against the company.
Shares of information technology firm Super Micro Computer closed up nearly 30% on Monday after the company said an independent committee found “no evidence of fraud or misconduct” in its review of the company. The review comes after Ernst & Young resigned as Super Micro’s auditor in October, and said in its resignation letter that it was “unwilling to be associated with the financial statements prepared by management.” |
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| Both Republicans and Democrats criticized President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, for criminal convictions related to gun ownership and tax evasion. President-elect Donald Trump, who himself pardoned dozens while in office, called the decision “an abuse and miscarriage of Justice” in a Truth Social post. Democrats like Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado said the decision “erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” while others in the party warned of its future implications. |
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| Solar farms can only generate energy in daylight, but Ben Nowack and his Reflect Orbital cofounder Tristan Semmelhack have raised $8.7 million to develop what seems like a fantastical solution: Launching a set of mirrored satellites into space to reflect sunlight onto solar farms at night. They’re among dozens of creative innovators on the 30 Under 30 list in Energy and Green Tech, whose members are advancing new battery technologies, reducing waste, removing carbon and harmful materials from the atmosphere and more. |
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| This year’s 30 Under 30 Music class is setting the stage for the next era of music, and some of its members show just how fickle the music world truly is. Country music star Shaboozey, a first-generation Nigerian American with six Grammy nominations this year, spent a decade grinding in the music business before finally breaking through with his 2024 hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” The 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 Sports category features athletic luminaries like Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark. Going against the grain has paid off for the honorees, like rugby sensation Ilona Maher, who pushed her TikTok follower count past 3 million and secured a spot on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars after leading the U.S. to a bronze in Paris this summer. |
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| Cruises to Mexico could get more expensive after the lower house of Mexico’s Congress voted to levy a $42 immigration fee on every passenger on a cruise ship that docks in the country, with two thirds of the revenue earmarked for the Mexican army. If approved by the Senate, the fee would add nearly $170 to the cost of a cruise for a family of four. |
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| A federal court is expected to rule this week whether to uphold the federal ban on TikTok, before the law is scheduled to take effect in January. TikTok sued the federal government, arguing the ban infringes on their First Amendment rights, and Donald Trump’s election has further complicated the law’s fate. More than 170 million people in the U.S. use TikTok, about half the country’s total population. |
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| The number of abortions performed in the U.S. fell just 2% in 2022, the year the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, per the CDC. Data from other agencies also shows the abortion rate rose in 2023, despite a wave of state bans that followed the ruling: |
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