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Anna Tong

@annatonger.bsky.social
31 followers 11 following 10 posts

Covering AI for Forbes

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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
AI data labeling company AfterQuery is now valued at $3.2 billion, making it the fastest YC company to go from inception -> unicorn, and 10xing its valuation since April. Oh, and its founders are 22 and 23 years old. www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
forbes.com
AfterQuery Becomes YC’s Fastest Unicorn At $3.2 Billion
Twenty three year-old Spencer Mateega pivoted his YC startup into the fastest unicorn in the accelerator’s history, fueling AI's shift toward human reasoning data.
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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Burning Man is this week, and its latest battlefront is AI. Is it okay to use AI to make your theme camp flyer or help you design your art piece -- or is that an egregious violation of the Burning Man Principles? www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
x.com
Anna Tong (@annatonger) on X
Burning Man is this week, and its latest battlefront is AI. Is it okay to use AI to make your theme camp flyer or help you design your art piece -- or is that an egregious violation of the Burning Man...
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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The AI arms race isn’t just being fought over Nvidia chips. Chinese labs are matching OpenAI and Anthropic by purchasing the exact same data from US vendors like Mercor and Surge AI (who also work with the US federal govt) www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
AI may create a philanthropy boom, and some are already having success influencing where giving is going. Here's the story of how anti factory-farming advocates like have already directed $40 million to help chickens and pigs. www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
forbes.com
Chickens Could Be Big Winners From AI’s $300 Billion Philanthropy Wave
An army of newly wealthy AI workers is searching for causes worthy of its money. Animal advocates think they may also be sitting on the future of philanthropy.
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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
People can't get OpenAI or Anthropic shares. Instead, they're buying used OpenAI employee sweatshirts on eBay for $250. Or used Anthropic t-shirts for $120. Inside the secondary market for AI swag. It's a bubble inside of a bubble. www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
forbes.com
The Booming Secondary Market For Used OpenAI and Anthropic Swag
You might not be able to get in on the IPO, but you can still get the hoodie. With AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic in private hands, people are paying $250 for used sweatshirts on eBay to cospla...
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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
What's a way to make a killing in the AI boom if you're not an AI researcher or early Anthropic employee? Becoming a "nerd-first" escort. Read my story to find out more about the shifting economics of intimacy in Silicon Valley: www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
forbes.com
The Nerdy Escorts Cashing In On Silicon Valley’s AI Boom
A small group of high-end companions are charging time-poor technorati thousands an hour by offering a blend of sex, attention and genuine intellectual rapport.
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Reposted by Anna Tong
Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Someone finally answered the question of “why are there no major AI boyfriend apps?” The hook was romantasy which is now a major subgenre for women.
forbes.com
Three Dudes Run The Biggest AI Romantic Fantasy Site For Women
Three Dudes Run The Biggest AI Romantic Fantasy Site For Women
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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
The #10 consumer AI app isn't a coding tool; it’s an erotic chatbot for women. Riding off the romantasy wave, the 3 guys who run Janitor AI serve 100M monthly visitors (80% women) -- for 130k a month. Inside the R-rated Roblox: www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
forbes.com
Three Dudes Run The Biggest AI Romantic Fantasy Site For Women
Three Dudes Run The Biggest AI Romantic Fantasy Site For Women
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Anna Tong @annatonger.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Your 2021 Slack vent-session could be helping a future AI agent learn to "act professional." My latest @forbes.com story dives into how AI labs are clamoring to buy email, Slack and Jira data from defunct companies, to use as fuel for training AI. www.forbes.com/sites/annato...
forbes.com
AI’s New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks And Emails
AI’s New Training Data: Your Old Work Slacks And Emails
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Reposted by Anna Tong
Rashi Shrivastava @rashis.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Excited to reveal the 2026 Forbes AI 50 List, which spotlights the most promising privately-held AI companies in the world. forbes.com/lists/ai50/
forbes.com
Forbes 2026 AI 50 List | Top Artificial Intelligence Companies
The Forbes 2026 AI 50 List spotlights the most promising artificial intelligence businesses. See the leaders driving the future of AI.
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Reposted by Anna Tong
Rashi Shrivastava @rashis.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Mercor reached $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate earlier this year. Run by the youngest-ever self made billionaires, the startup is facing a wave of challenges: employee fraud, North Korean infiltration and cultural growing pains. With Anna Tong. www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
forbes.com
Inside Messy, Fast-Growing Mercor, Run By Youngest-Ever Self-Made Billionaires
Founded in 2023 by 20-somethings, data labeling startup Mercor exploded to $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate earlier this year. Now it's confronting a wave of challenges, including an employee...
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