Raphael Stevens

Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective has invested in at least 11 AI-related startups since 2022, according to data provided exclusively to CNBC by Fintrx, the private wealth intelligence platform.
Emerson is mainly focused on education, the environment and health care. According to Fintrx, Emerson has made over 130 investments in total, with more than half in technology.
The Emerson Collective has participated in AI funding rounds totaling more than $1 billion, According to Fintrx.

Laurene Powell Jobs speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2017. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)
Steve Jennings

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
News that Laurene Powell Jobs is investing in a new artificial intelligence “computing device” highlights her growing appetite for AI startups, according to fresh data.

The Emerson Collective, Powell Jobs’ family office, investment company and philanthropy, has invested in at least 11 AI-related startups since 2022, according to data provided exclusively to CNBC by Fintrx, the private wealth intelligence platform.
Emerson’s AI bets span the globe and the industry, including a New York-based AI medical company, a San Jose, California-based image analyzer, a French developer of large language models and a Norwegian creator of AI presentations used by teachers.
The dollar amounts of Emerson’s AI investments aren’t disclosed. According to Fintrx, the Emerson Collective has participated in AI funding rounds totaling more than $1 billion.
A representative for the Emerson Collective declined to comment.

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Emerson doesn’t disclose its total assets under management. Powell Jobs, the philanthropist, investor and widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, has a net worth of $11.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Emerson is mainly focused on education, the environment and health care. According to Finxtrx, Emerson has made over 130 investments in total, with more than half in technology, 48 in health care and life sciences, and the rest in energy, agriculture, education and human services, media, and other categories. Raffi Krikorian, former executive at Uber and Twitter, is Emerson’s chief technology officer.
The New York Times reported this week that Jony Ive, the celebrated Apple designer who worked closely with Steve Jobs and left the company in 2019, is teaming up with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to create a new “computing device” for using AI. Their venture aims to raise up to $1 billion by the end of the year, and the Emerson Collective is one of its founding investors along with Ive, according to the report.
AI has become the most popular investment theme for family offices in 2024. According to the UBS Global Family Office Report, 78% of family offices surveyed plan to invest in AI in the next two to three years — the most for any investment category.
Powell Jobs started investing in AI even before OpenAI launched ChatGPT, which kicked off the current AI investment and consumer craze. In June 2022, Emerson invested in an $80 million C-round investment in Proximie, a health tech company whose platform is used to connect operating rooms. In August 2022, it invested in a $14 million Series A round for Atropos Health, which provides physicians with clinical data.
Emerson went on to invest in AI startups around the world, including a $4.6 million seed round for Norway’s Curipod, which helps teachers create interactive lessons, and a $415 million Series A round for Mistral, the French maker of large language models.
Emerson’s two most recent AI investments are Formation Bio, an AI pharma company, which raised $372 million in June, and a $33 million follow-on round for Atropos. 

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Ford aims to boost sales of its electric vehicles by addressing potential customer concerns through a new program that includes free home-charging installation and other benefits.
The “Ford Power Promise” program begins Tuesday for customers who purchase or lease a new Ford EV such as the F-150 Lightning pickup truck or Mustang Mach-E crossover.
Ford was the third-bestselling automaker of EVs through the first half of the year, behind U.S. industry leader Tesla and Hyundai Motor, including its Genesis luxury brand and Kia sibling.

The Mustang Mach-E on display at the New York International Auto Show on March 28, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC

DETROIT — Ford Motor is aiming to boost sales of its electric vehicles by addressing potential customer concerns through a new program that includes free home-charging installation and other benefits.
The “Ford Power Promise” program begins Tuesday for customers who purchase or lease a new Ford EV such as the F-150 Lightning pickup truck or Mustang Mach-E crossover. Part of the goal is to relieve financial burdens of EV ownership such as the need for a home charger. The program also seeks to educate new EV owners about the transition from traditional gas vehicles.

“Absolutely, we’re trying to grow our business but the best way we can grow our business is to serve our customers well,” Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer for Ford’s Model e EV business, told CNBC. “Filling up at home is really key, but so is confidence in the durability and life of the battery.”
The program launches as EV sales grow at a slower rate than many previously expected. Early adopters fled to the vehicles, but automakers have experienced problems expanding sales to mass market buyers due to costs, charging infrastructure and other hurdles.
Ford’s program aims to address many of those concerns, Gjaja said. It was conceived to address what Ford is calling “change anxiety,” a play on the common industry concept of “range anxiety,” which refers to the fear of an electric vehicle losing battery power between charging stations.

“This is something we think is great for our customer, but we also think the way it’s set up, it’ll provide education for shoppers and intenders as well,” Gjaja said. “We’re trying to get people off the fence.”
The program will include standard installation of a $1,310 level-two home charger, complimentary 24-hour advisor service and roadside assistance for five years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first.

If customers do not need a home charger or they opt out of the program, they will instead be provided a $2,000 cash equivalent toward the purchase or lease of the vehicle. The advisor and roadside assistance also will be available for current Ford EV owners.
The free EV charger installation offer is currently only good for the fourth quarter, however Gjaja said the company could extend the time frame of that offer.
The company said it’s also going to ramp up information around its existing 8-year or 100,000-mile battery warranty – an industry standard that Ford found many consumers were unaware of with its EVs.
“We want to make sure people understand we’ve got your back on the battery, and the battery can be serviced,” Gjaja said.
Ford’s EV warranty covers all of a vehicle’s high voltage system in addition to the battery. Other components are covered for three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first.
The company did not disclose a potential expense for the new “Ford Power Promise” program.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 23: A Ford electric F-150 truck is displayed outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 23, 2023 in New York City. 
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Ford was the third-bestselling automaker of EVs through the first half of the year, behind U.S. industry leader Tesla and Hyundai Motor, including its Genesis luxury brand and Kia sibling.
Selling EVs remains a complicated equation for legacy automakers such as Ford. EVs lose money or remain far less profitable than gas-powered models, but they help automakers meet tightening federal fuel economy standards and are a growth area for companies. More

Price gouging has become a buzzword during the presidential race, as consumers remain frustrated by the higher prices of groceries and more.
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris unveiled a plan this week to try to crack down on the practice, though she would face a difficult road to passing and implementing a bill.
The term has different meaning to different people, and the majority of states already have laws that forbid price gouging in emergencies, such as natural disasters.

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, stop at a Sheetz gas station in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 18, 2024.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images

As she unveiled her most detailed economic plan yet this week, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris pledged to fight price gouging in order to rein in voters’ grocery costs.
The vice president first teased the federal ban in mid-August, prompting former President Donald Trump to attack the plan as “Soviet-style” price controls. Although Harris released more detail Wednesday as part of her 82-page economic plan, it’s still unclear what price hikes her administration would see as illegal “price gouging.”

“The bill will set rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers during times of crisis to run up excessive corporate profits on food and groceries,” the Harris-Walz campaign wrote in the policy pitch, released about six weeks before Election Day.
Higher prices — and who or what is to blame for them — have become a central theme in the presidential race, as steep grocery bills frustrate Americans and retailers anticipate a holiday season marked by deal-hunting. Harris and Trump have each proposed their own solutions to combat inflation, as Americans continue to pay more for groceries, energy, housing and other everyday expenses.
In the last year, prices for food at home have risen just 1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But groceries are still 25% more expensive than they were in August 2019, before supply chain snarls and inflation sent prices soaring.
Voters will ultimately weigh in on what role government leaders should play in companies’ pricing. Generally, Republicans support fewer economic regulations, although Trump has suggested limiting food imports as a way to lower grocery prices. Economists have warned that the strategy would likely backfire.
Halting price hikes is a popular idea with voters. Sixty percent of adult U.S. citizens support capping increases on food and grocery prices, according to a poll by The Economist/YouGov conducted from Aug. 25-27.

Still, Harris would face a tough road to passing any price-gouging legislation in Congress, and it’s still not clear how cracking down on price increases would work in practice.

What is price gouging?

One of the challenges around accusing companies of price gouging — and promising to address it — is that the term means different things to different people. Rakeen Mabud, chief economist at progressive thinktank Groundwork Collaborative, said it typically is defined in two major ways.
Economists and lawyers use a technical definition, which refers to when companies hike prices during emergencies, like doubling the price of bottled water during a hurricane, she said. Thirty-seven U.S. states already have laws that forbid price gouging in emergencies.
But some consumers and politicians have embraced a looser definition: the practice of companies charging unfair prices just because those brands or retailers have the market power to do so, Mabud said.

People shop near prices displayed in a supermarket on February 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images

As prices for groceries and other goods soared in 2021 and 2022, a popular explanation emerged: “greedflation,” the notion that companies made inflation worse by raising prices on their products without offering more to customers, such as a larger quantity or new flavor. The once-fringe theory has gained mainstream support, including a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which found that markups contributed “substantially” to inflation.
But many economists — and Fed Chair Jerome Powell — don’t think that corporate profits are to blame for inflation. Instead, they attribute the sharp rise in prices to a variety of other factors, such as the tight labor market and supply chain issues.
And regardless of what the term means, the companies involved have argued they are not to blame for higher grocery prices.
“It’s critical that we get the economic facts right and avoid political rhetoric,” Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy and federal affairs for the Consumer Brands Association, said in a statement in August. “The reality is that there are complex economic factors at play … The industry is supportive of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection mission as well as the Department of Justice’s already established laws that prohibit price gouging and unfair trade practices.”

Some retail leaders, including Target CEO Brian Cornell, have also pushed back against price gouging accusations waged against the industry. In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in August, he said retailers lose customers to competitors if they hike prices too high.
Yet Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research at LSEG, said there are some “red flags” catching politicians’ attention. She analyzed gross profit margins for a cross-section of companies, including grocers, consumer packaged goods companies and restaurants during the years before, during and after the Covid pandemic. The metric measures the percentage of net sales that a company makes compared with its costs.
Some of those companies, including Kroger, Procter & Gamble and Domino’s Pizza, have higher gross profit margins than they did prior to the pandemic. She said that can reflect company-specific moves, such as Domino’s selling more pizza or Kroger customers gravitating to its more profitable private label brands.

A customer shops in a Kroger grocery store on July 15, 2022 in Houston, Texas. 
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

An antitrust challenge to Kroger’s $24.6 billion acquisition of supermarket chain Albertsons has also increased scrutiny of companies’ pricing practices. The Federal Trade Commission is trying to stop the merger in court, and during the trial, Kroger’s top pricing executive testified that the retailer raised prices on milk and eggs more than required to account for higher costs. 
In a company statement, Kroger described accusations of price gouging as “misleading” and said that nearly all costs of running a grocery store, including labor and transportation, have risen significantly since 2020.
“We work relentlessly to keep prices as low as possible for customers in our highly competitive industry,” the statement said.

On the other hand, Arun Sundaram, an equity research analyst at CFRA Research who covers grocers and consumer packaged goods companies, said he sees no evidence of price gouging in the grocery industry. He said price hikes are coming from companies passing on some of their higher production costs to customers.
Higher margins can come from a variety of factors and aren’t necessarily a sign of corporate greed or price gouging, he said. They can rise because companies are operating more efficiently or because the mix of merchandise they sell has changed.
Margins also can reflect the power of a brand and consumers’ willingness to tolerate large markups on fashionable or popular items, such as a unique pair of sneakers or a designer dress.
But Sundaram said there may be some merit to the debate in the meatpacking industry, which has faced some price-fixing lawsuits. For instance, JBS’ Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, one of the country’s largest chicken producers, pleaded guilty in 2021 to conspiring to fix chicken prices and pass on costs to consumers.

A sign saying “Low price!” hangs from a shelf at a Target store in Miami, Florida, on May 20, 2024.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

How shoppers are influencing prices

Even if Harris never passes price-gouging legislation, resistance to high costs has already started to affect prices. So far, pushback from shoppers and grocers has largely moved the needle.
Consumer staples companies such as PepsiCo and Campbell Soup have seen their sales volumes shrink as consumers opt for cheaper alternatives or snack less. And as inflation slows, most have raised their prices less — and less frequently.
“You’ve got a shopper who has seen seven or eight [price hikes] in a year, and you know that they’re frustrated with it,” said Steve Zurek, vice president of thought leadership at market research firm NielsenIQ.
Walmart, the nation’s top retailer and grocer by annual revenue, said it’s cracking down on price hikes by vendors that it carries. On an earnings call last month, CEO Doug McMillon said inflation has been stickier in aisles that carry dry groceries and processed foods. He said the big-box retailer is calling on its suppliers to keep prices stable or cut them.
“We have less upward pressure, but there are some that are still talking about cost increases, and we’re fighting back on that aggressively because we think prices need to come down,” he said on the call.
To address consumers’ frustration and slower sales, many food companies are bringing back discounts, according to Zurek.
During the pandemic, many manufacturers stopped offering deals because they were struggling to keep shelves stocked. They didn’t need to boost demand because customers were already loading their pantries and stockpiling hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Supply chain issues exacerbated the problem, and inflation lifted sales without them needing people to buy more items.
That dynamic has now flipped for many companies. And it isn’t just food companies offering deals.
Target cut prices on thousands of items. Walmart has increased short-term deals on certain products, especially in the grocery department. And this week, Party City announced lower prices on more than 2,000 items such as balloons and candy as shoppers gear up for Halloween.
Even so, shoppers are unlikely to see grocery store prices slashed across the board, Zurek said.
“From an economic standpoint, you never want to be talking about deflation ­­— that’s almost as bad as inflation,” he told CNBC.
But there have been a few examples of companies reversing price hikes. Robert Crane, J.M. Smucker’s vice president of sales and sales commercialization, said the food company has passed on “commodity relief” to consumers when possible, such as with its coffee brands, which include Folgers and Cafe Bustelo. In fiscal 2024, Smucker’s profit margins for its coffee division were 28.1%, down from 31.9% in fiscal 2019.
But in early October, Smucker plans to hike its coffee prices for the second time this year, responding to rising commodity prices.
As it justifies those decisions to top retailers, the company brings in professionals who can explain the green coffee commodity market, according to Crane.
“We would review charts, we would talk about outlooks, and we would talk about what’s driving it — is it weather? Is it speculation driven?” Crane said.
But that doesn’t mean stopping or slowing price increases is simple, said CFRA’s Sundaram.
He said a long list of factors led to inflation, including a spike in supply-chain costs, wage increases stemming from labor shortages and poor weather in regions of the world that produce food such as corn, soybeans and cocoa. He’s skeptical that either administration can bring about a quick fix.
“Because it was a complicated set of factors that led to this, it’s going to be a complicated set of factors that probably gets rid of this as well,” he said. More

The WNBA had record viewership during the 2024 regular season as the league’s popularity soared with rookie stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
Viewership spiked to more than 54 million unique viewers across various networks and platforms, including ESPN, ABC, CBS and Ion.
In addition, game attendance soared to the highest in more than two decades, along with growth across social media and merchandise sales.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, #22, drives to the basket against Atlanta Dream guard Destanni Henderson, #33, during a WNBA preseason game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 9, 2024.
Brian Spurlock | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

The Women’s National Basketball Association’s viewership and attendance boomed during the 2024 season, as the league’s popularity soared due to young stars such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
The league’s games drew more than 54 million unique viewers, an all-time record, across various networks, including Disney’s ABC and ESPN, Paramount Global’s CBS, E.W. Scripps’ Ion and NBA TV, among others, according to data the WNBA released Friday.

In addition, WNBA game attendance hit its highest level in 22 years and grew almost 50% from the 2023 season, according to the league. There were 154 sellout games during the year, more than triple the 45 sellouts in 2023.
The explosive metrics and popularity this season came with a top rookie class, including Clark of the Indiana Fever and Reese of the Chicago Sky, and as the Las Vegas Aces made a bid for their third straight championship. The figures underscore why the league was able to attract a lucrative new media rights deal and is in an expansion phase: The WNBA announced this month it will be adding a 15th team in Portland in the 2026 season.
As attention on the league increased, more players said they experienced online harassment or racism. Asked about the dynamic on CNBC earlier this month, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert did not explicitly condemn the vitriol toward players, sparking criticism from around the league.
She later clarified that she opposes “hate or racism.”

Clark’s impact also showed in the Fever’s attendance numbers. Every WNBA team had a double-digit year-over-year increase in attendance. However, the Fever had more than a fourfold jump, significantly more than the Los Angeles Sparks’ 69% growth, which was second, according to the WNBA.

The WNBA also saw sizable growth across merchandise and social engagement during the season. WNBA social media accounts drew nearly 2 billion video views, more than quadruple the number from the 2023 season.
The heightened attention has led to a $2.2 billion media rights contract for 11 seasons, with a price reevaluation after the 2028 season, CNBC previously reported. WNBA media rights were negotiated within the broader NBA agreement earlier this year.
During the rights negotiations — which led to a $77 billion, 11-year agreement in total — the NBA had pushed to get more money for the WNBA given its rising popularity.
During the 2024 WNBA season, 22 regular season game telecasts averaged at least 1 million viewers.
Several individual games broke records for WNBA viewership on ESPN, and this was the most viewed regular season ever for ESPN, with an average of 1.19 million viewers, up 170% from last season, according to the league. The 2024 season featured the seven most-watched WNBA games of all time on ESPN, as well as the top two on ABC.
It was also the most watched regular season ever for CBS Sports, with CBS Sports’ five most-watched WNBA games ever, including the Sky at Fever game in June that averaged 2.25 million viewers.
The explosive viewership has carried into the postseason, as a Sept. 22 matchup between the Fever and Connecticut Sun attracted a record audience, according to ESPN. Clark’s Fever were eliminated in two games in the first round.
The league’s playoffs are now in the semifinals, which feature a rematch between the Aces and the New York Liberty, last year’s runner-up. More

EchoStar is in advanced talks to sell satellite TV provider Dish Network to rival DirecTV, according to people familiar with the matter.
While the sides hope to complete a deal by Monday, no deal is assured, and the talks may still fall apart, said the people.
The deal is being driven by EchoStar’s desire to pay off $1.98 billion of debt that matures in November, said two of the people familiar with the process. EchoStar had just $521 million in cash and cash equivalents and marketable investment securities as of June 30.

Charlie Ergen, chairman and co-founder of Dish Network Corp.
Jonathan Alcorn | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Charlie Ergen is getting close to selling the pay-TV business he founded more than 40 years ago.
EchoStar is in advanced talks to sell satellite TV provider Dish Network to rival DirecTV, the closely held pay TV operator owned by private-equity firm TPG and AT&T, according to people familiar with the matter. While the sides hope to complete a deal by Monday, no deal is assured, and the talks may still fall apart, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

The combination of Dish and DirecTV has been rumored for years and nearly happened in 2002 until it collapsed under regulatory pressure. This time, the deal is being driven by EchoStar’s desire to pay off $1.98 billion of debt that matures in November, said two of the people familiar with the process. EchoStar had just $521 million in cash and cash equivalents and marketable investment securities as of June 30 and forecast negative cash flows for the remainder of 2024, according to public filings.
The prospect of a future EchoStar bankruptcy and deal approval from creditors make the completion of a deal complicated. Dish attempted to refinance some of its debt earlier this week with bondholders, but the negotiations failed, according to a Sept. 23 filing.
The company said in public filings it remains in discussions with other debtholders.
A potential DirecTV-Dish transaction is being structured as all cash, with DirecTV paying EchoStar for the satellite TV business, its digital business Sling and associated liabilities, said people familiar with the matter. All in, the transaction may be worth more than $9 billion, according to one of the people.
A spokesperson for DirecTV declined to comment. A spokesperson for Dish couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

“The bottom line is that we now see bankruptcy in the next four to six months as the most likely outcome [for EchoStar],” MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett said in a note to clients in August. “They will need to raise new capital.”
EchoStar has a total enterprise value of about $31 billion and a market capitalization of about $7.6 billion. There is no wireless spectrum involved in the proposed deal, which Dish Network has spent the past decade accumulating in its quest to transition into a wireless company, the people said.
Satellite TV, once some of the biggest distributors of the TV bundle, has been declining for years — often at a faster rate than cable competitors — as consumers switch to subscription streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. Dish ended its last quarter with 6.1 million satellite subscribers and 2 million customers for Sling TV, Dish’s over-the-internet package of linear networks.
DirecTV has also felt the pain, losing millions of subscribers since AT&T bought the company in 2015 for $67 billion with debt. AT&T spun it out in 2021 and sold a portion of the company to TPG. At that time, DirecTV had approximately 15.4 million subscribers. It has about 11 million today, CNBC previously reported.
The company has recently been focused on building out its streaming business, centering its latest ad campaign around dispelling the belief that DirecTV is only available through a satellite dish. MoffettNathanson estimates DirecTV added more than 20,000 streaming customers earlier this year. The bulk of its customers still use satellite dishes.
Most recently, DirecTV was in a distribution fight with Disney, which saw networks including ESPN go dark for nearly two weeks for the satellite TV company’s customers. The two companies reached a deal that gives DirecTV the ability to offer skinnier, genre-specific bundles.
— CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report. More