Listen to today’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silk-logic-small-business-daily/id1841930957
Small Business Daily Podcast 01/25/2026
Today’s podcast episode was created from the following stories:
AI scheduling startup Blockit AI raises $5 million in round led by Sequoia
Source: The Economic Times
Author: Unknown | Published: Jan 24, 2026
Blockit AI, founded by former Sequoia partner Kais Khimji, raised a $5 million seed round led by Sequoia’s Pat Grady to scale its AI-powered scheduling agent. With pricing at $1,000 per user annually (and $5,000 for teams) and early adoption across 200+ companies, Blockit is pitching itself as a productivity platform that replaces manual coordination. The company enters a crowded market alongside Calendly and Reclaim.ai, signaling intensifying competition in AI-driven time management.
Legal AI giant Harvey acquires Hexus as competition heats up in legal tech
Source: TechCrunch
Author: Connie Loizos | Published: Jan 23, 2026
Harvey acquired product-demo startup Hexus to accelerate its offerings for in-house legal teams, continuing its rapid expansion amid heavyweight funding and a reported $8 billion valuation. The deal brings Hexus founder Sakshi Pratap and team into Harvey, with India-based engineers joining after a Bangalore office opens. Consolidation in legal AI is accelerating as Harvey touts 1,000+ clients and deep investor backing from Andreessen Horowitz, T. Rowe Price, Sequoia, and others.
Hotel software maker Mews nabs $300M at $2.5B valuation
Source: SiliconANGLE
Author: Maria Deutscher | Published: Jan 23, 2026
Mews raised $300 million led by EQT Growth, valuing the hotel software platform at $2.5 billion after processing $19 billion in transactions last year. Its platform streamlines bookings, unifies charges into a single bill, and unlocks new revenue via Mews Spaces, which reportedly generated $537 million for customers. The company plans to expand internationally and invest in AI and payments capabilities, while continuing strategic acquisitions.
Tesla Austin doubles robotaxi fleet to 72 from 3 weeks ago
Source: NextBigFuture
Author: Brian Wang | Published: Jan 24, 2026
Tesla is rapidly expanding its Austin robotaxi fleet, reportedly adding about 10 vehicles per day and doubling to 72 in three weeks. At this pace, Tesla could surpass the number of Waymo vehicles observed operating locally within a week and approach 500 units in roughly one to two months. The acceleration underscores a fast-moving race in autonomous ride services and signals a potential step-change in on-the-ground testing and deployment.
Dora – Code Context CLI for AI agents
Source: GitHub
Author: Unknown | Published: Not specified
Dora is a developer-focused CLI that gives AI agents fast, structured code intelligence via pre-indexed SCIP data, enabling instant symbol lookups, dependency graphs, and architectural analysis across languages. By avoiding costly token-intensive file reads and slow greps, teams can speed up code navigation and agent integrations in tools like Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf. For engineering leaders, Dora offers measurable efficiency gains in large codebases and a consistent JSON output for automation.
A practical blueprint for scaling AI in financial services
Source: TechRadar Pro
Author: Cyril Cymbler | Published: Jan 24, 2026
This piece argues that enterprise AI success in finance hinges on unified data platforms, robust governance, explainability, and a “start small, scale fast” approach. It highlights how AI agents are reshaping risk operations—fraud, AML, and cybersecurity—while emphasizing ROI-driven use cases and continuous model refinement. The core takeaway: disciplined data architecture and controls are prerequisites for safe, scalable impact.
Leo Coupe: the electric flying car that fits in your garage and promises 250 mph commutes
Source: Bit Rebels
Author: Ryan Mitchell | Published: Not specified
The Leo Coupe concept proposes a compact, VTOL personal aircraft powered by 100 small electric jet turbines, targeting 200–250 mph speeds and roughly 250 miles of range. While the design emphasizes redundancy and semi-autonomous controls, real-world adoption will hinge on battery limits, maintenance complexity, certification, and noise and infrastructure constraints. If hurdles are cleared, it could shift urban mobility thinking toward personal eVTOL ownership.
