The consulting industry is on track to get upended, and we’ll all have to deal with the consequences

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Welcome back! The older you get, the tougher it can be to bounce back from the weekend. But if Sam Altman’s startup gets its way, aging doesn’t necessarily mean decline. BI’s Hilary Brueck looked at how Retro Biosciences is developing a pill to clear out the “gunk” in your brain.

In today’s big story, the consulting industry is on the cusp of a big overhaul, and the rest of the business world is likely to feel it.

What’s on deck:

Markets: Forget equity, this hedge fund just wants a cut of revenue from the tech companies it backs.

Tech: It’s tech news, but treat it like a spectator sport. Why people love “TBPN.”

Business: A Real Housewives star and former Netflix exec walks us through her daily routine.

But first, the synergies are no longer synergizing.

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The big story

Culling in consulting

A key pipeline for funneling talent into white-collar work has sprung a big leak that won’t be easy to fix.

A combination of AI, shifting customer demands, and tougher paths to promotions means the consulting industry is on the cusp of being completely reshaped, writes Business Insider’s Jennifer Sor.

Consultants are no strangers to volatility. In fact, a big part of their business is advising clients on the best ways to navigate change.

But the current trends giving consultants plenty of work — operating more slimmed-down workforces and leveraging AI — are also impacting their own ranks. Analysts told Jennifer that the end result isn’t clear, but early signs point to a tightening of senior and junior roles in the industry.

BI’s Polly Thompson, our resident consulting expert, has extensively reported on these trends. PwC, for example, plans to cut college graduate hiring over the next three years, with AI cited as a primary reason.

That’s also trickling upward as senior employees head for the exits, with several unhappy about dwindling pay and a shrinking window to reach the profession’s pinnacle: partner.

The rest of the business world will likely feel the effects of an upheaval within consulting.

Love them or hate them, consultants are undeniably a part of the fabric of corporate America.

One direct impact is the work they do with clients across the globe.

Got a big business decision to make? Chances are you’re going to bring in a consultant for some advice. As those firms reshape themselves, the way companies interact with, or even pay for, consultants could change.

But it goes beyond that. Consulting often represents young people’s foot in the white-collar workforce door. Work on a project for a few years for a client and then eventually go in-house. As the number of junior consultants dwindles, that could disrupt how countless companies stock their ranks.

Those converts can also go on to do big things. Sheryl Sandberg, Sundar Pichai, and Jamie Dimon are just a few examples of high-profile consulting alums.

But if anyone is well-suited to navigate a quickly moving landscape, it’s consultants. After all, that’s what the rest of us all pay them so much for.

And if all else fails, they could always hire … a consultant.

3 things in markets

Commercial real estate is going Hollywood. You’ve heard of “Selling Sunset.” Now get ready for “The Real Estate Commission,” A&E’s upcoming show about the epic highs and lows of being a commercial real estate dealmaker. Its star, Todd Drowlette, gave BI a behind-the-scenes look at the first season.

A new fund wants to give tech companies the royal(ty) treatment. Althera42 wants to invest in Europe’s digital infrastructure, like data centers and cloud computing, with a slight twist. Instead of getting equity, Althera42 provides capital upfront for a fixed percentage of future revenues. The idea is to bring the investing playbook behind music royalties to tech.

Beware of the gigantic price bubble. David Rosenberg, founder of Rosenberg Research and a stock-market bear, warns of negative S&P 500 returns due to high valuations. The Shiller CAPE is at its third-highest level of all time. That’s not the only reason Rosenberg is skeptical.

3 things in tech

Want to become fluent in tech bro? Watch “TBPN.” For three hours, five days a week, hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays of the online show Technology Business Programming discuss tech industry drama like a spectator sport and chat with investors, founders, and sometimes journalists. BI’s Julia Hornstein tuned in for a week to understand why it’s become a must-watch for the chronically online tech crowd.

Polymarket is about to cash in on a US expansion. The betting site, known for predicting Trump’s presidential win in 2024, is raising another funding round that would sharply increase its valuation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Investor demand has risen as Polymarket appears ready to launch in the US.

Big cuts at Musk’s xAI. Elon Musk’s AI startup laid off at least 500 workers from its data annotation team. xAI is now prioritzing specialist AI tutors over generalists, according to multiple messages viewed by BI’s Grace Kay.

3 things in business

How Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Bozoma Saint John does it all. At 5:30 am every morning, the former Netflix CMO is already meditating and praying. For BI’s Power Hour series, Saint John shared her daily routine, from running a hair-care company and hosting a new Jimmy Fallon show to being a single mom.

The world’s richest men are buying huge media companies because they can. In 2022, Elon Musk bought what we used to call Twitter. That’s what Larry Ellison is considering today by financing his son David’s plan to buy Warner Bros. Discovery weeks after buying Paramount. It’s unlikely anyone will stand in the way, BI’s Peter Kafka writes.

Breaking up is hard to do. Especially when you’re trying to break up with your employer of many years. The job market is tough enough already, but those who haven’t had to job search in decades face age-related biases and other unique challenges.

In other news

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Meet Silicon Valley’s new AI startup whisperer.

‘I like not-working better’: A millennial who once made $300,000 secretly juggling jobs tells us why he scaled back.

What’s happening today

• Senate votes on President Trump’s nomination of Stephen Miran to Fed board.
• Pretrial conference in US government’s antitrust suit against Google.

Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York.

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