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Businesses have spent the past decade or more amassing vast amounts of data on customers, sales, and nearly everything else measurable. Yet everyday employeesand even C-suite leadersoften struggle to work directly with these datasets, which typically require specialized technical skills to access, analyze, and query. Julius AI, a startup founded in 2022, claims to have a solution. It offers AI that allows users to ask questions in plain English, like Why is our revenue going up? or Can I see a pie chart of sales by region? The system then automatically generates code in languages like Python to deliver the required answer or data visualization, often within seconds, along with a written explanation of the process. Previously users would have needed to submit questions to their companys data science team, wait for clarifying questions, and then receive a response or link to a chart. Now they can simply talk to Julius. “They can just ask questions and get instant insights, says founder and CEO Rahul Sonwalkar. And then they [can] ask a lot of follow-up questions. So far, the tool has generated roughly 10 million data visualizations for users and produced an additional 4 million lines of code every day, Sonwalkar says. Its also the tool of choice in Harvard Business Schools Data Science and AI for Leaders class, now required for every incoming MBA student. [Image: Courtesy of Julius] For data scientists, Julius allows more time to focus on long-term projects, rather than handling a constant stream of ad hoc questions (and follow-ups) from colleagues. And when needed, they can use Julius themselves. The interface resembles a Jupyter notebook (commonly used by analysts for step-by-step workflows and visualizations) but with the added ability to input plain English, alongside code in Python, SQL, or R. This saves even experienced programmers the effort of looking up obscure syntax or remembering exact database table and column names. While those familiar with coding can edit the AI-generated code, most users dontand thats okay. [Image: Courtesy of Julius] Most of our users dont know what Python is, Sonwalkar says. Julius recently raised $10 million in a funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and now has nearly 2 million users. The company is continuously expanding its capabilities to better handle sprawling enterprise data. Initially, users had to upload files like spreadsheets, but the tool can now connect to popular database and data warehouse platforms such as PostgreSQL and Snowflake. The AI can analyze database layouts to understand whats stored where, share that information with users, and build deeper contextual knowledge over time, Sonwalkar says. Julius is currently preparing integrations with other key business data sources, like Googles advertising tools, as well as working toward compatibility with established business intelligence platforms, aiming to replicate and enhance analyses already in use. The company is also working on enhanced support for visualization dashboards, along with scheduled queries that automatically refresh with new data on a regular basis, both common features of business intelligence software. And for users weary of checking dashboards to see whether any numbers have gone up or down unexpectedly, Julius expects to add notifications that can let users know if something noteworthy appears in the data. [Image: Courtesy of Julius] Theres a dashboard fatigue in companies, Sonwalkar says. There are 50 dashboards that each team monitors every week, and most dashboards honestly dont change. But when they do, users will be able to ask Julius for an explanation and direct it to explore the underlying metrics, which traditional dashboards dont allow without manual coding. Julius isnt alone in pursuing AI-driven data science. Many data providers, from polling giant Morning Consult to various sales and marketing platforms, have added AI to help customers explore their datasets more intelligently. Established business intelligence tools are also layering in AI interfaces, while leading AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have launched their own data analysis tools. Still, Sonwalkar contends that Julius offers more robust features and deeper data source integrations than the AI tools from the big labsand is built from the ground up to help everyday users interact intelligently with data, rather than layering AI onto existing legacy systems. Were rebuilding the experience from scratch, he says.
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E-Commerce
Director James Gunn got an ovation from thousands for “Superman” in the most fitting place of all Comic-Con.Among the highlights of day three of the San Diego pop culture spectacular was a sincere tribute to the director who’s now helming Warner Bros.’ DC Comics screen universe, even if John Cena played it for laughs.It came at a panel on the forthcoming Season 2 of DC’s HBO series “The Peacemaker,” and Cena appeared in the title character’s full comic costume and grand helmet, leading the legions in the kind of exaggerated drama he was perfect at provoking in his wrestling days.It was Gunn’s first time in front of a crowd in the weeks since “Superman” was released and has earned more than $200 million in North America.“Today has been the most fun day I’ve had in a year,” Gunn told the crowd at the end of the session.“Superman” was his first film as captain of the DC ship, but his first foray was in 2021’s “The Suicide Squad,” which spawned the “Peacemaker” TV series.The crowd saw scenes from Season 2, which arrives in August and sees Cena entering another dimension where he gets to be a cool version of the hero instead of the often pained and pathetic version that’s typical of the character. Some characters from “Superman” will make appearances.That panel followed another rousing showcase in Hall H, where star Ryan Gosling and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller showed scenes from their forthcoming science-comedy space adventure “Project Hail Mary.”The scenes from the film set for release in March included a look at Rocky, a faceless, stone-shaped alien who becomes Gosling’s unlikely partner in an attempt to save the universe from ecological disaster. Saturday morning cartoons in Hall H Wile E. Coyote is getting his day in court and theaters.The stars of “Coyote vs. Acme” delivered a rousing presentation Saturday morning of a movie that at one point wasn’t going to be released but is now bound for theaters in August 2026. The underdog story both of the movie and Coyote was a running theme of the panel. But rather than direct ire at Warner Bros., the real-world studio that shelved the project, the panel focused on the fictional Acme Corp.“This is purely an Acme decision and I am saying this for legal purposes,” moderator Paul Scheer said at the start of the panel.The movie is a hybrid of animation and live action and is based on a 1990 New Yorker article that satirized a legal complaint filed by Coyote against Acme, the maker of the TNT, detonators, rocket shoes, catapults and other products that consistently backfire during the Coyote’s fruitless attempts to catch the Roadrunner.Laughter filled Hall H as some 6,000 watched a montage of Coyote being blown up, flattened and falling into chasms in a scene set to Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt.” Coyote is replaying the moments in his lair when an ad for a personal injury lawyer appears on TV.They also played six minutes of the movie, including a scene of opening statements in the case in which Coyote’s lawyer, Will Forte, accidentally unleashes a rocket skate into the courtroom, setting Coyote and the judge’s robes on fire. Cena plays a slick Acme lawyer who wins over the jury, which includes a cartoon character, quickly.Forte said he didn’t think the movie would ever get to audiences.“I’m pretty speechless. You think back to the journey that this movie has taken. I had kind of given up hope at a certain point,” Forte said. At one point, his comments were interrupted by a man playing an Acme lawyer who stormed into Hall H with cease-and-desist letters.Director Dave Green said the movie conforms to famed animator Chuck Jones’ rules for the struggle between the Coyote and Roadrunner, which include the bird always staying on the road and the Coyote being ultimately more humiliated than hurt when he falls, is crushed or gets blown up by TNT.The movie, which features cameos from numerous Looney Tunes characters like Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety and Bugs Bunny, will be released on Aug. 28, 2026. Ketchup Entertainment teamed up with Warner Bros. on the film and in the release of “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.”Also on Saturday morning, the cast of “Bad Guys 2” teasing new footage from the movie and describing how they recorded their characters.Marc Maron, who plays Snake, joked he asked to be tied up as he performed his lines on the floor. “The depth of the character should read a little more this time,” he said.The film, based on the graphic novel series by Aaron Blabey, introduces a new crew of animal criminals, the Bad Girls played by Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne and Maria Bakalova. ‘Star Trek’ ventures to new places Paramount showed off its first footage from a new series, “Starfleet Academy,” which stars Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti.The show follows cadets as they go through training, with Hunter serving as chancellor of the academy.It will arrive in 2026, the 60th anniversary year of the original “Star Trek” series.Paramount+’s other “Star Trek” series, “Strange New Worlds,” also shared updates.The crew of the USS Enterprise are being turned into puppets for an upcoming “Strange New Worlds” episode, Paramount announced Saturday. The puppets will be created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.Season 3, which follows the adventures of the Enterprise under the command of Capt. Christopher Pike, is being released on Paramount+. What’s happened at Comic-Con 2025 so far An estimated 135,000 people many in costumes are expected to attend Comic-Con 2025, which runs through Sunday in downtown San Diego.So far, fans have gotten previews of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,”the upcoming FX series “Alien: Earth,””Tron: Ares” and “Predator: Badlands,” which will be in theaters in November. Associated Press
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E-Commerce
The U.S. central bank, to President Donald Trump’s chagrin, will likely leave interest rates unchanged at a policy meeting this week, but that’s not to say there won’t be a vigorous debate, with one if not two Federal Reserve governors possibly casting a rare dissent in support of lower borrowing costs. The majority of Fed policymakers, though, remain concerned that Trump’s tariffs could undo progress on bringing inflation back to the central bank’s 2% goal, outweighing for now worries about the labor market. The trade deal struck between the U.S. and Japan last week, with tariffs set at 15%, and reported progress for a similar rate in talks with the European Union make it more likely that import duties overall will end up well below the punishing levels Trump announced on his April 2 “Liberation Day.” Even so, U.S. tariffs are at their highest level in 90 years, and the effects are starting to show up in household purchases. A surge in prices of goods like furnishings and apparel helped drive overall consumer inflation to an annualized 3.5% pace in June. So soon after a bout of 40-year-high inflation, policymakers fear fast-rising prices could “freak out” households, as Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee sometimes phrases it, triggering a wider inflationary spiral. While Fed Chair Jerome Powell says that is only one of many possible scenarios, he has argued the central bank can wait to learn more before adjusting rates, especially with a 4.1% unemployment rate near or below estimates of full employment. Other data and the outlook amid Trump’s broader economic program, including tax cuts and deregulation, invite differing views on the central bank’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee. “Considering the clear divergence in the near-term policy outlook between (Fed Governor Christopher) Waller and (Fed Vice Chair of Supervision Michelle) Bowman and the other FOMC participants, we expect both Waller and Bowman to dissent in favor of a 25-bp (basis-point) cut,” wrote analysts at Nomura Securities, one of several Wall Street firms predicting the first double dissent from Fed governors since 1993. Both Waller and Bowman were appointed to the Board of Governors by Trump, who has excoriated Powell for resisting the White House’s demand for an immediate rate cut and broached the idea of firing the Fed chief before his term expires next May. Last week, during a rare but tense visit to the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, Trump once again pressed the case for lower rates, though he also said he didn’t think it was necessary to fire Powell. Waller, who has been mentioned as a possible successor to Powell, sees private-sector job growth nearing stall speed and fears companies could turn to layoffs in the absence of easier credit conditions. Private-sector hiring accounted for just half of the gain of 147,000 U.S. jobs in June, and Waller says other data suggests even that reading overestimates the true increase. Bowman has also expressed worries about labor market deterioration and feels a rate cut may be needed to prevent it. Both are skeptical tariffs will lead to persistent inflation. Several others, including Boston Fed President Susan Collins, also see recent muted price increases as suggesting tariffs may not push up inflation as much as earlier thought. RECORD-BREAKING ECONOMY Ahead of the scheduled release on Wednesday of the Fed’s policy statement, the Commerce Department is widely expected to report that economic activity reaccelerated in the second quarter, pushing total output above $30 trillion in non-inflation-adjusted terms for the first time. That may shore up Trump’s bragging rights to what he says is a U.S. economy that would take off like a rocket if only the Fed cut rates. But central bankers will see it as more ambiguous. The expected increase follows a first-quarter drop in GDP from a historic rush to front-run Trump’s tariffs on imports from U.S. trading partners. “While a sharp reversal in imports will mechanically boost Q2 GDP, tariff-induced cost pressures, persistent policy uncertainty, severely curtailed immigration, and elevated interest rates are collectively dampening employment, business investment and household consumption,” wrote Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon. “The U.S. economy continues to navigate a complex set of cross-currents, obscuring a clear reading of its underlying momentum.” Consumer spending, accounting for two-thirds of economic output, has been reasonably strong, with retail sales rising more than expected last month. Though household bank account balances are lower on a year-over-year basis, data from the JPMorganChase Institute last week suggests overall cash reserves are in better shape. Bank credit extended to consumers and businesses is up from the prior year for the first time in more than two years, Fed data shows. Similarly, loan volume and demand rose beginning in late May after sluggish or no growth since the year began, a Dallas Fed survey shows, and bankers expect increased economic activity and rising credit demand through the end of this year. In another sign the economy isn’t rolling over, Fed data shows manufacturing output grew last quarter, albeit by a slower 2.1% annualized pace than the first quarter’s 3.7% pace. A measure of how fully firms are using their resources edged up to 77.6% in June from 77.5% in May. Still, business investment may be faltering. Data on Friday showed non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft unexpectedly dropped 0.7% in June as firms grew more cautious about spending. Other data points to a weakening economy, bolstering the minority argument for rate cuts soon. Employment growth has slowed and hiring breadth is narrowing, led by just a few service-providing sectors. Finding a job after losing one is getting harder. Half of those collecting unemployment benefits remain on the jobless rolls for at least two-and-a-half months. And the housing and construction sectors are clearly on the back foot, feeling the drag of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hovering near 7%. Overall construction spending has fallen for nine straight months a streak unseen since the 2007-2009 financial crisis and new single-family home starts were the lowest in nearly a year in June. Sales of new and existing homes remain anemic. “Weak housing demand is convincng evidence that rates are still restrictive, with factors like a softening labor market and high uncertainty possibly also weighing on demand,” Citi economists wrote. Ann Saphir, Reuters
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E-Commerce
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