Top of Stack: AI Acceleration, Regulatory Pressure, and the Fight for Trust

Each week, Avenue Z surfaces the headlines shaping influence, from AI breakthroughs and regulatory overhauls to shifting investor sentiment and cultural flashpoints. This week’s “Top of Stack” reveals a clear message: media, money, and momentum are all being redefined. Whether you’re in tech, healthcare, finance, or politics, knowing where attention is moving next isn’t optional. Let’s break down what matters right now.

News Trends to Watch

AI & Tech 

• Axios: Tech giants ramp up spending as AI starts to deliver
• NPR: Online news publishers face ‘extinction-level event’ from Google’s AI-powered search
• The New York Times: OpenAI to Give Away Some of the Technology That Powers ChatGPT
• The New York Times: Silicon Valley Is in Its ‘Hard Tech’ Era

Politics and Regulation:

• AInvest: The SEC’s AI Task Force: A Strategic Shift in Financial Regulation and the Rise of AI-Driven Compliance Technologies
• Forbes: How U.S. Trade Policy Is Reshaping VC And Funding In Europe
• Reuters: US securities regulator lays out sweeping plans to accommodate crypto
• The New York Times: A ‘Dagger in the Heart’ of Climate Change Regulation
• The Wall Street Journal: White House Preps Order to Punish Banks That Discriminate Against Conservatives

Finance & Investment

• Axios: Corporate VCs retreat from risk
• Forbes: Founder Poaching: 3 Major Impacts On Entrepreneurs & Venture Capital
• The Wall Street Journal: There Are No Easy A’s in Venture Capital These Days
• The Wall Street Journal: Private Equity Worries That Trump Might Bundle Crypto Into 401(k) Order

Healthcare

• KFF: New Medicaid Federal Work Requirements Mean Less Leeway for States
• NPR: Public health experts dismayed by RFK Jr.’s defunding of mRNA vaccine research
• The New York Times: Could Dementia Patients Benefit from an A.I. Companion?
• The Wall Street Journal: Insurance Companies’ Medicare Pullback Is Here
• The Washington Post: Medicare, Medicaid to experiment with covering weight loss drugs

Clients in the News

• American Banker: BankThink We’re in a financial revolution. Latin America must meet the moment (Prometeo)
• Bloomberg: Crypto Firms Adopt Wall Street’s Financial Tactics in New Era (Republic Technologies)
• Carta: GPs are raising more small VC funds than ever (Innovating Capital)
• LA Examiner: Trust, Strategy, and Right Channels: How Smart Brands Are Winning Customers in 2025 (Avenue Z)
• PYMNTS: Agentic AI: What It Will Take to Move From Rhetoric to Reality (Core Innovation Capital)
• The Block: Market makers, OTC desks, others join digital asset settlement network Lynq as first institutional clients (Lynq)
• Wall Street Journal: A Weak Jobs Report and Revised Tariff Plans Send Markets Reeling (Easterly Asset Management)

Be where the story breaks. Shape what comes next.

Attention is shifting. Whether it’s AI reshaping how people search, regulators redrawing compliance lines, or culture accelerating around health, finance, and tech, brands can’t afford to play catch-up. The companies that win tomorrow are the ones that respond today. If you’re ready to move from awareness to action, Avenue Z is built to help. Our media, marketing, and influence experts are here to turn insight into advantage.Let’s build what’s next. Talk to our experts today.