During his nearly six-year stint at EV maker Rivian, Marco Batra experienced firsthand an enduring challenge for manufacturing startups: getting from zero to one.

Keep reading here.—JG

AI-native go-to-market platform Apollo.io has announced that, after years of working together, Matt Curl is stepping up to take the CEO role from founder Tim Zheng. The change is effective immediately, with Zheng sticking around as board chair.

Keep reading here.—BS

If you did your Valentine’s Day shopping last minute, worry not—you aren’t alone. Walmart says 75% of its Valentine’s Day sales occur on February 13 and 14.

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How important is retail as a proving ground for AI? (Retail Brew)

The AI hype train hit a prominent bump last month when Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed concern that the sector could be dangerously overvalued if—and here’s the caveat—a wider set of companies don’t start benefitting from the technology soon.

Salesforce employees respond to CEO Marc Benioff’s insensitive ICE comment. Here’s what HR needs to know. (HR Brew)

Over 1,400 Salesforce employees signed a letter last week demanding that CEO Marc Benioff cease business operations with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), sources told CNBC.

CFOs are slowing headcount growth, survey says. (CFO Brew)

The obvious story is the obvious story: CFOs are ready and eager to keep spending on tech. That’s one takeaway—the obvious one—from Gartner’s latest budget benchmarks report, released in early February.