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Emergent cofounders Mukund Jha (left) and Madhav Jha.EmergentEmergent is an AI software creation platform that helps anyone build web and mobile applications.The startup just raised $70 million in Series B funding led by Khosla Ventures and SoftBank.Emergent's ARR grew from $100K to $50 million in seven months, driven by more than 5 million users.It was not long ago that building a sophisticated app required a team of experienced programmers hovering over their keyboards. Now, AI has made it possible for a novice with no coding knowledge to whip up high-quality apps from scratch.Emergent, founded out of Y Combinator's startup class of 2024 by twin brothers Mukund Jha and Madhav Jha, is one of the fastest-growing so-called "vibe coding" platforms, already boasting 5 million users and seeing annual recurring revenue soar from $50 million to $5 million in a little over a year.The company recently raised $70 million in Series B funding from Khosla Ventures and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from Prosus, Lightspeed, Together, and Y Combinator. The valuation was not disclosed."Emergent is growing at a pace we rarely see because it is tapping into a segment that has never been served," Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, said in a statement. "When barriers to software creation fall this quickly, behavior changes across industries, not just within the technology sector. Emergent is early in shaping how software gets created and monetized over the next decade, not just the next product cycle, and its users are quick to share their success."In a sign of how quickly the hottest AI companies are raising funding in this bull market, it was only three months ago that Emergent raised $23 million in Series A funding."There's this huge gap in the market where people are looking for an alternative that can build fast, cheap, and high-quality software, Mukund Jha, Emergent's CEO, said in an interview. "Because the product is really resonating with users, we are seeing this explosive growth."A standard individual subscription is $17 a month, while a Pro account goes for $167 a month.Jha says 80% of users have never seen a line of code before. Most are small business owners, such as a factory owner in Mexico who built a system to manage his plant."They were able to create this whole setup on their own and have 500 factory workers using it on a daily basis," Jha said. "We also had a microbiologist build a whole new audiobook experience where she can import voices from ElevenLabs and create a completely new listening experience to the audiobooks."Vibe coding is a crowded space for startups, and Emergent faces competition from Lovable, a Swedish vibe coding app that raised $330 million in Series B funding at a $6.6 billion valuation in December. There is also Replit, which is reportedly raising funding at a $9 billion valuation.Asked about his competitors, Jha said: "A lot of the other platforms, they're great for prototyping, they're great for demos, but when it comes to really managing the entire lifecycle of software development, they fall short. That's a gap we are trying to fill in the market right now."Read the original article on Business Insider

Young people are increasingly shopping secondhand.NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThe secondhand fashion and luxury market has surged and is forecast to keep growing in 2026.Gen Z is driving some of the growth of resale apps like Depop and Vinted.Fill out our survey to tell us where you like to shop.Secondhand shopping is becoming the first choice for many consumers — especially Gen Z.The trend is reshaping the fashion industry.The secondhand fashion and luxury market is forecast to grow two to three times as fast as the firsthand market through 2027, according to a November report from The Business of Fashion and McKinsey. Online resale is driving a lot of that growth, and is forecast to grow 16% annually in the next two years.Part of that growth is driven by a search for value, but there are also more platforms than ever to shop for secondhand goods.Gen Z has been gravitating toward resale platforms like eBay, Depop, Pickle, and Vinted. Online marketplaces like these accounted for 88% of resale spending in 2024, according to the November report.Shopping for vintage clothes ignites a sense of individuality that fast-fashion can't always achieve, three Gen Zers said at a retail conference in January.President Donald Trump's tariffs also helped boost the US secondhand market in 2025. Negotiations and uncertainty around imported goods pushed some US shoppers towards more stable options, such as thrifting.It's a new year, and the resale market is on track to keep growing. We want to hear where you're shopping in 2026. Please fill out the survey below.Read the original article on Business Insider

Erin Renzas is a former marketing executive.Dina Litovsky for BIErin Renzas spent nearly two decades dutifully climbing the career ladder before she hit a breaking point.She had achieved many of the outward markers of success, like a high-paying tech career, including a stint as marketing lead during Square's IPO. So why wasn't she satisfied?"I decided, like so many women do, the thing I hadn't changed was my body," Renzas said. "I was looking for how I could perfect myself into the point of happiness." That included becoming "the perfect version of what society tells us to be," she said, losing more than 100 pounds through diet and exercise.Rather than finding happiness as she got smaller, her mental health deteriorated. She said she found herself experiencing dissociative episodes. At times, she was convinced she had died.Renzas was working as an operating partner at investment group Prosus in Amsterdam at the time. "I would go into big, huge meetings and then I would go to the gym, and then I would come home and tell my mom I didn't exist — for basically two years," she said.Renzas throws a punch at Gleason's in Brooklyn.Dina Litovsky for BIHer gym had a boxing ring in the back. Sick of running, she decided to give it a try.She was immediately hooked. Boxing was the only time that she "felt whole," Renzas said. Unlike other sports, she found it impossible to dissociate while boxing. "You have to be so grounded in your body."She's now an amateur boxer who has competed in four fights, all wins, and is writing a memoir about how boxing "fixed" her brain.This year, she also co-launched a new retreat for senior executives, encouraging other women to give the sport — and the perspective that boxing can provide — a try."Left hook, left liver," boxing coach Malic Groenberg calls out over the rhythmic din of punches.He and three of Renzas' other coaches have flown out from Amsterdam to Gleason's in Brooklyn. Groenberg talks through a basic combination, watching closely as two women wearing boxing gloves jab at punching bags being held in place by a pair of novice boxers."So we start, 1,2, catch, and then, as soon as you feel the punch here … Yeah, you've got it," he says to them.Most of these women hadn't put boxing gloves on before until 24 hours ago, let alone trained at Gleason's, the longest-operating boxing gym in the country. With its bright red walls and crooked portraits of past heavyweights, the bustling institution is an unusual place for a women's executive retreat.That's exactly the point."Boxing is about operating in the chaos," said Renzas. "It's about finding the clarity and rest and seeing your shots in the midst of everything else going on."Shea O'Neil facilitates a session.Dina Litovsky for BIThe sport gives you a chance to consider: "What do you do when your back is against the corner?" said somatic and executive coach Shea O'Neil, who cofounded the retreat with Renzas. "And how do you pivot and reclaim space?"O'Neil used to be Renzas' executive coach, and the pair discovered that the vocabulary and philosophy surrounding boxing was especially relevant to their work."Shea and I began bringing the language of boxing — what I was learning about fight strategy — into our conversations exploring career, the definition of success, and what was worth fighting for," she said.Renzas said she was having similar conversations with other leaders in her network, and O'Neil was using the same ideas with other executive clients she was working with, too. It "really struck a chord," Renzas said.So, they decided to offer a formal program for women executives, which they named Fight Co.Lab — a hybrid boxing intensive and personal development workshop. Eleven women participated in the inaugural…

DoorDash's H1B visa data for 2025 spans roles from data science to managers overseeing new verticals for the delivery service.Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty ImagesDoorDash wants to expand its delivery business with new technologies, such as autonomous vehicles.CEO Tony Xu has said that DoorDash plans to invest hundreds of millions in key initiatives in 2026.Here's what DoorDash pays its tech workers, from data scientists to engineers.DoorDash, one of the biggest names in delivery, is trying to deliver even more.The company's couriers, known internally as "dashers," are a common sight as they zip around the US delivering food, groceries, and other goods to customers.Now, DoorDash is investing in new tech, including autonomous vehicles, as it looks to the future. CEO Tony Xu said on an earnings call in November that DoorDash would invest hundreds of millions of dollars this year in key initiatives, including a global tech platform for all its brands and autonomous tech.DoorDash employees don't just work on big problems, though. The company requires its corporate workforce to periodically make deliveries themselves through a program called WeDash.Some of the people making all of that happen at DoorDash corporate have joined the company from outside the US, and the company has sponsored H-1B visas.Employers include salary information when submitting applications to the US Department of Labor for H-1B work visas. The publicly available data includes ranges for base pay, but excludes equity or other benefits that companies often offer employees. The filings also include industry average pay rates for US workers in similar roles.Business Insider analyzed how much money companies from Apple to Walmart are paying for tech jobs and other roles. Explore salary data from America's biggest employers.In the year ending September 30, 2025, DoorDash submitted roughly 540 H-1B visa applications, which can offer insight into what the delivery company pays for certain jobs.The H-1B visa application process is changing under President Donald Trump.In September, Trump imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications. He's also proposed changes to work visa rules that could tilt the already competitive visa lottery in favor of the highest-paid applicants, lawyers told Business Insider.Here's a look at some of the jobs for which DoorDash has disclosed salaries in the work visa data. DoorDash did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.Associate Manager, Strategy & Operations: $104,400 to $174,000Associate, Finance & Strategy: $90,272 to $184,800Associate, New Verticals: $65,208 to $111,100Data Scientist: $146,000 to $268,200Data Scientist, Analytics: $131,000 to $271,000Director, Enterprise Strategy & Operations: $284,000 to $426,000Engineering Manager: $201,900 to $342,000Machine Learning Engineer: $126,400 to $302,900Manager, Analytics: $170,373 to $325,200Manager, Finance & Strategy: $176,571 to $236,400Manager, New Verticals: $158,642 to $240,000Product Manager: $141,170 to $342,000Senior Data Scientist: $211,536 to $325,200Senior Data Scientist, Analytics: $191,800 to $325,200Senior Manager, Strategy & Operations: $180,000 to $270,000Senior Salesforce Developer: $155,709 to $242,000Senior Software Engineer: $163,862 to $282,000Software Engineer: $105,560 to $359,000Software Engineer, Data: $148,699 to $282,000Software Engineer, Machine Learning: $126,400 to $255,800Technical Program Manager: $165,610 to $342,000Have a tip? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.Read the original article on Business Insider