Listen to today’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silk-logic-small-business-daily/id1841930957
Small Business Daily Podcast — January 2, 2026
Today’s podcast episode was created from the following stories:
Ermin Marketing reports record-breaking 6,807 leads for US small businesses in Q4 2025
By Sergei Ermin — December 31, 2025
Ermin Marketing says it generated 6,807 verified leads for small businesses in Q4 2025 by combining deep Google Business Profile optimization, localized landing pages, and end-to-end analytics. The data-driven playbook helped clients capture Google’s Local Pack in competitive markets like Manhattan and Miami, boosting calls and foot traffic.
Activating the long tail: How retailers are using digital tools to turn SMBs into scalable growth
By Kunal Shah, Kajal Narasimha and Mrugesh Agarwala — January 1, 2026
The authors outline how digital customer hubs that unify data, AI, and automation can unlock the SMB “long tail,” driving faster time-to-close, personalized engagement, and lower cost-to-serve. Case studies show measurable wins across five pillars—from customer intelligence to customer success—while stressing leadership alignment and the build-vs.-integrate decision.
Why smart CFOs are rethinking how money moves
By PYMNTS — January 1, 2026
B2B payments are shifting from a back-office cost to a strategic lever, with orchestration, embedded finance, and virtual cards optimizing method selection for cost, speed, risk, and supplier preference. CFOs are integrating AP/AR into core systems to boost liquidity and resilience—and with embedded finance now essential for most SMBs, payments data is becoming a competitive asset.
Elevate your marketing with Brand Dev AI solutions
By Greg Kopyltsov — December 30, 2025
Brand Dev AI pitches an all-in-one toolkit that generates logos, brand kits, and ready-to-use social templates, helping small teams launch quickly and consistently. Automation, integrations, and real-time updates aim to keep assets on-brand across channels while offering budget-friendly customization and data-driven personalization.
As Google, Musk, Bezos, Altman back space data centres, can sky really be the next frontier for AI
By Eli Tan and Ryan Mac, NYT News Service — January 1, 2026
Tech leaders are exploring AI data centers in orbit to tap near-constant solar energy and ease land and power constraints on Earth. Supporters anticipate falling launch costs and scalable power; skeptics point to physics, radiation hardening, cooling challenges, and high costs—suggesting meaningful feasibility may be years away.
Elon Musk plans ‘high-volume production’ of Neuralink brain chips and says he wants to automate the surgical procedure
By Polly Thompson — January 1, 2026
Musk says Neuralink will begin high-volume production in 2026 and move to a largely automated implant procedure that threads through the dura without removing it. Initial use cases focus on patients with severe neurological conditions, with a dozen active users by late 2025 and ambitions to scale access significantly.
Year ender 2025: Amazon, Meta and other major tech giants announced massive job cuts. Why 2025 became year of layoffs
By Trending Desk, ET Online — January 1, 2026
2025 saw sweeping layoffs—over 1.1 million in the U.S.—as firms from Amazon and Microsoft to Intel and Salesforce restructured for an AI-first era. Companies cited automation, pandemic-era over-hiring, and cloud/AI investment priorities, signaling a reset in talent mix and operating models heading into 2026.
ETtech State of Startups Survey: Startups expect to pivot to an AI avatar in 2026
By Not specified — January 1, 2026
ETtech’s survey finds 83% of Indian founders and investors expect AI to materially reshape business models or theses in 2026, with many anticipating reduced hiring even as roles adapt. Public-market sentiment looks steady to improving, and investors plan to deploy more into AI, deeptech, and select consumer sectors.
Moonshot AI, one of China’s leading ‘AI Tigers,’ raises $500M to fill its AI infrastructure war chest
By Mike Wheatley — January 1, 2026
Moonshot AI raised $500 million at a $4.3 billion valuation, amassing a reported $1.4 billion cash reserve to fund compute rather than rushing to IPO. Its Kimi K2 Thinking model emphasizes step-by-step reasoning and tool use, accelerating overseas revenue and subscriber growth as China’s AI “Tigers” gear up for listings.
