The tech industry is undergoing a massive and ruthless reset. Founders are slashing headcounts while deploying autonomous AI workers to handle the heavy lifting. The age of bloated corporate payrolls is officially dead.

Meanwhile, legacy financial giants are suddenly looking like acquisition targets for private upstarts. Billions of dollars are also shifting into sovereign computing hubs right here in our region. The speed of innovation is accelerating far past the old standards.

We gathered the absolute most critical updates you need to stay ahead of the curve this week. Grab your coffee and let us dive straight into the madness.

Jack Dorsey Cuts 4,000 Jobs: Block slashed its workforce by half in a single day. Dorsey claims AI enables smaller teams to move much faster.

Perplexity Builds a Digital Employee: Perplexity Computer uses an orchestra of 19 AI models to run complex business workflows autonomously. It costs $167 per month and directly targets administrative departments.

Silicon Valley Bans Screens: Tech billionaires are actively shielding their children from the addictive platforms they helped create. They are prioritizing physical books over smartphones.

Stripe Explores PayPal Buyout: Stripe is exploring an acquisition of PayPal that could completely rewrite the digital economy. The deal would combine modern backend dominance with massive consumer reach.

Serbia Bets Big on AI: Orion Telekom is pouring 200 million euros into sovereign computing infrastructure. The telecom provider is evolving into a foundational AI hub for the region.

Podim 2026 Deadlines: The exclusive Alpine startup conference closes applications on March 15. Regional founders have a rare window to secure direct meetings with international investors.

Major AI Upgrades: Google just dropped Nano Banana 2 for lightning-fast, production-ready image generation. Claude also introduced a new memory feature to recall your specific project context across sessions.

Jack Dorsey executed yesterday a massive restructuring at Block. He slashed the company headcount by half and eliminated 4,000 jobs in a single day. This aggressive reduction signals a drastic shift in how tech giants operate, although he claimed that the company is profitable and this wasn’t related to financials, but more into how AI is enabling smaller teams to be more productive.

The cuts go far beyond standard cost savings. Dorsey issued a stark warning to the broader industry stating that other companies will inevitably follow suit. He strongly believes massive teams actually slow down innovation and kill agility.

This move forces every tech executive to look in the mirror. Bloated payrolls are no longer a status symbol in Silicon Valley. Extreme efficiency is the new absolute standard for corporate survival.

Perplexity is moving far beyond the standard chatbot. The company just launched Perplexity Computer, a digital employee designed to autonomously run complex workflows for months at a time. It completely abandons the single-model approach favored by its rivals.

Instead of relying on one system, this new platform conducts an orchestra of 19 specialized AI models. It uses Opus 4.6 for core reasoning, Gemini for deep research, and Grok for rapid tasks. The system automatically creates sub-agents to write documents, manage files, and execute API calls.

This strategy marks a massive shift in artificial intelligence development. Users simply describe a desired business outcome and let the software handle the execution. At $167 per month, this platform aims to replace entire administrative departments.

The people who built our digital world do not want their own children living in it. Tech titans like Peter Thiel, Bill Gates, and Steve Chen are publicly shielding their kids from social media. They are adopting strict rules to block the very products that made them billionaires.

This trend among the Silicon Valley elite sends a loud message. They understand the addictive nature of endless scrolling better than anyone else. Instead of handing over smartphones, they prioritize physical books and offline play.

The creators of our most popular platforms treat them like hazardous materials around their own families. This reality serves as a major wake-up call for consumers. We should probably audit our own daily screen habits.

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In a move that could redefine the digital economy, Stripe has reportedly expressed preliminary interest in acquiring all or parts of PayPal. This news, first reported by Bloomberg on February 24, 2026, sent shockwaves through the market, causing PayPal’s stock ($PYPL) to jump nearly 7%.

While deliberations are in the very early stages, the potential deal highlights a massive shift in the fintech hierarchy.

On the same day as the rumor, Stripe announced a new valuation of $159 billion following an employee tender offer. Meanwhile, PayPal, a pioneer of the industry, currently holds a market cap of roughly $43 billion.

Why Now? PayPal has struggled recently with slowing growth and leadership changes. Stripe, though still private, is seeing record transaction volumes and is looking to expand its consumer reach.

If a deal happens, it would combine two giants with very different strengths: Stripe’s Infrastructure: Known for having the "cleanest" developer tools and modern backend for internet businesses.

PayPal boasts a massive consumer network, including Venmo and a global user base of over 400 million active accounts.

PayPal helped define online payments in the 90s, but Stripe is currently building the financial operating system for the future.

Serbia is quietly positioning itself as a major player in the Balkan Artificial Intelligence scene. Orion Telekom just announced a massive 200 million euro investment to build sovereign AI infrastructure in Belgrade. The provider is entirely rethinking its business model to support heavy computing demands.

The company recently launched an advanced computing hub powered by Nvidia software. This facility gives local organizations highly secure control over their private data. Orion wants to provide the foundational hardware for businesses rushing to adopt machine learning.

This huge capital injection signals a major shift in regional tech strategy. Telecommunication companies no longer just sell internet access, they are rapidly evolving into the critical backbone of the artificial intelligence economy.

Applications for Podim 2026 are officially closing on March 15. The prestigious conference in Maribor, Slovenia limits attendance to just 150 carefully selected startups. This tight cap guarantees founders get actual face time with serious international investors.

The entire event is engineered around highly curated, one-on-one business meetings. Selected founders will pitch directly to corporate decision-makers and active venture capitalists. It is a rare chance to build strategic partnerships in a highly focused environment and this is an amazing opportunity from the startups of our region, including Kosovo

The selection process is already moving quickly behind closed doors. If you want to expand your footprint across the European tech ecosystem, you need to apply immediately. Secure your spot at podim.org/startups before the window shuts entirely.

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