Latest / What the Flux / Anthropic’s record-breaking IPO | Myer says goodbye to WFH | Yo-Chi wants plastic gone

Transcript

Anthropic’s record-breaking IPO | Myer says goodbye to WFH | Yo-Chi wants plastic gone · What the Flux

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: This is What The Flux. I'm Brett.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: And I'm Larissa, and it's Wednesday the 28th of October.
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  Speaker 2: Larissa, the price of eggs, postage and insurance has risen 40%
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  Speaker 2: since the pandemic. That is according to new analysis of
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  Speaker 2: Australia's Consumer Price Index. And get this one, the cost
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: of things like coffee and fruit and bread and milk
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  Speaker 2: has gone up by 30%. The RBA will be keeping
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: a close eye on inflation figures like this when it
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  Speaker 2: decides whether to raise interest rates again next week.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: FluxFam, if you've ever nodded along when someone said liquidity
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: or ETF only to Google it later, we've got something
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: for you. Our latest jargon busting series has launched on YouTube,
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: breaking down all the finance terms you've heard but never
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: quite understood. Check it out on the Flux Finance YouTube channel.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Three juicy stories today, Larissa.
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  Speaker 1: Let's do it.
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  Speaker 2: For our first, Anthropic has filed to list on the
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  Speaker 2: NASDAQ with an IPO while warning of AI's catastrophic risk
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  Speaker 2: to humanity.
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  Speaker 1: Nothing screams buy a piece of my company like a
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  Speaker 1: warning of the end times. What's going on here, Brett?
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  Speaker 2: Well, Larissa, Anthropic is the AI research company behind Claude,
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  Speaker 2: founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers. Now, Anthropic has
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  Speaker 2: always positioned itself as the ethical AI company that wants
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  Speaker 2: to develop AI with safety at the forefront.
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  Speaker 1: But Anthropic's also been in the headlines for its more
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  Speaker 1: advanced models going rogue and hacking into other companies.
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  Speaker 2: And just last month, a former Anthropic employee tweeted that
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  Speaker 2: people building AI reckon it could also kill us by
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  Speaker 2: the end of the decade.
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  Speaker 1: Not quite screaming our technology is safe.
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  Speaker 2: Not quite. And Anthropic's been in a race with OpenAI
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  Speaker 2: to be the first AI company to go public.
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  Speaker 1: Anthropic's currently leading the race, revealing plans to officially list
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  Speaker 1: on the NASDAQ the world's second largest stock exchange.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Anthropic's aiming for a valuation of roughly 2 trillion
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  Speaker 2: US dollars, beating Elon Musk's record-breaking SpaceX IPO, which was
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  Speaker 2: earlier this year.
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  Speaker 1: As in thousands of billions. I can't even wrap my
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  Speaker 1: head around that many zeros.
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  Speaker 2: And get this one. Anthropic actually says on page 46
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  Speaker 2: of its IPO filing that its technology could pose, quote,
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  Speaker 2: catastrophic or existential risks to humanity.
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  Speaker 1: But don't worry, that's only if it's, quote, misused, replicated, weaponized,
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  Speaker 1: or allowed to operate with a high degree of autonomy.
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  Speaker 2: So why are they admitting to this right as they're
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  Speaker 2: trying to get investors on board?
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  Speaker 1: Well, Brett, it's actually a pretty standard part of the
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  Speaker 1: IPO filing process called mandatory risk disclosure.
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  Speaker 2: Interesting. So what's the key learning here?
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  Speaker 1: The one thing investors hate more than the apocalypse is surprises.
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  Speaker 2: When a company IPOs, it needs to tell potential investors
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  Speaker 2: everything in its filing paperwork through risk disclosures.
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  Speaker 1: Think financial statements, how they'll spend investors' money, possible risks
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  Speaker 1: to humanity.
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  Speaker 2: We know the risks associated with AI because they've been
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  Speaker 2: all over the news recently.
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  Speaker 1: AI acting on its own, AI hacking government websites, AI
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  Speaker 1: setting off weapons.
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  Speaker 2: Potential investors pay close attention to this info because they
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  Speaker 2: want to know what they're buying into.
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  Speaker 1: And it could impact investor demand for a stock, which
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  Speaker 1: could impact what a company gets valued at.
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  Speaker 2: You value it too high and investors might not buy in,
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  Speaker 2: value it too low and you sell yourself short.
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  Speaker 1: Anthropic has crafted its whole story around being the safe
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  Speaker 1: and transparent AI company.
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  Speaker 2: So it's selling itself and the risks it comes with
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  Speaker 2: right from the beginning.
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  Speaker 1: That way, if another headline about rogue AI agents hits
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  Speaker 1: the news, Anthropic can tell investors you knew this could
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  Speaker 1: happen and hope its stock doesn't tank as hard.
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  Speaker 2: For our second story, Maya is ordering staff in Victoria
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  Speaker 2: back to the office five days a week as new
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  Speaker 2: laws giving people the right to work from home stalls.
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  Speaker 1: That's a whole lot of staff discounts being used on
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  Speaker 1: blazers instead of pyjama pants now. Tell me more.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Larissa, Myer is obviously the department store operator that
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  Speaker 2: opened their first store in Bendigo, Victoria back in 1900.
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  Speaker 1: Fast forward 126 years and Myer's now got 56 department
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  Speaker 1: stores across Australia.
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  Speaker 2: And just last year, Maya bought JJ's, Dottie, Just Jeans,
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  Speaker 2: Portman's and Jackie E to form Maya Group.
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  Speaker 1: Quite the powerhouse.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe. And Maya Group employs 17,000 staff, both in store
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  Speaker 2: and in their corporate team.
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  Speaker 1: And to bring all those corporate staff under the same roof,
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  Speaker 1: Maya's shifting into a new store support office in South Melbourne.
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  Speaker 2: But there's a bit of a catch here. Over 1,000
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  Speaker 2: staff are now being told they'll need to work from
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  Speaker 2: that office in person Monday to Friday.
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  Speaker 1: That wouldn't have made anyone bat an eyelid six years ago.
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  Speaker 2: No, but like most businesses, Myer's been letting staff work
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  Speaker 2: from home since the pandemic.
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  Speaker 1: And flexible work arrangements have become the norm, particularly in Victoria,
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  Speaker 1: where new laws are in the works to make flexible
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  Speaker 1: work a right.
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  Speaker 2: Those laws could pass around the same time Myer's making
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  Speaker 2: staff swap Zoom for meeting rooms.
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  Speaker 1: So what is the key learning here?
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  Speaker 2: Meijer isn't waiting around for the rules to change. They're
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  Speaker 2: setting their own first.
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  Speaker 1: And for big businesses like Meijer, working in the office
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  Speaker 1: has a few perceived perks.
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  Speaker 2: Smoother communication amongst teams, easier integration and onboarding with new colleagues.
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  Speaker 1: Plus, they're actually using a new office they're paying the
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  Speaker 1: lease for.
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  Speaker 2: But taking away the flexibility staff have become used to
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  Speaker 2: could upset the workplace culture.
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  Speaker 1: Yep, get this. 65% of Australian workers would take good
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  Speaker 1: work-life balance over a higher pay.
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  Speaker 2: And people who do have flexible arrangements say the biggest
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  Speaker 2: perk of work from home is having a better balance.
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  Speaker 1: So for Maya, the big risk isn't just that the
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  Speaker 1: laws could change their new in-real-life setup.
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  Speaker 2: It's that their culture could potentially suffer because of it.
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  Speaker 1: Because the one thing that kills productivity more than working
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  Speaker 1: in your PJs is having a team in the office
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  Speaker 1: who just don't want to be there.
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  Speaker 2: For our third and final story, Yochi is handing out
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  Speaker 2: anti-plastic postcards to customers and asking them to send them
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  Speaker 2: to politicians.
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  Speaker 1: Yochi entering its political era. Tell me more.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Yochi is the frozen yogurt chain that has really
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  Speaker 2: blown up over the past couple of years.
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  Speaker 1: The Aussie-owned company opened their first store in Melbourne in
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  Speaker 1: 2012 and now operates 70 Yochi stores around the country.
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  Speaker 2: New Yochi stores have been opening up around the world
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  Speaker 2: as well.
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  Speaker 1: Get this, Yochi's been dubbed Gen Z's nightclub because of
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  Speaker 1: how popular they've become with teens and people in their 20s.
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  Speaker 2: Really making Froyo cool again, old Yochi, isn't it? Yep,
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  Speaker 2: it is.
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  Speaker 1: And Yochi's using that influence to drive political change, with
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  Speaker 1: Yochi launching a campaign against single-use plastic.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Yochi's asking its customers to sign their names to
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  Speaker 2: postcards calling on Australian members of parliament to take a
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  Speaker 2: pledge against plastic use.
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  Speaker 1: And these postcards will be sent out to around 80
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  Speaker 1: politicians around the country.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Yochi's chief brand officer says that staff have been
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  Speaker 2: happy to see Yochi take a stand on environmental issues.
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  Speaker 1: And that their Gen Z and Gen Alpha customers are
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  Speaker 1: very value centric.
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  Speaker 2: He's also said we should expect to see Yochi doing
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  Speaker 2: heaps more brand activism like this over the next few years.
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  Speaker 1: So what is the key learning here?
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  Speaker 2: For brand activism to actually work, the company backing a
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  Speaker 2: cause needs to walk the walk.
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  Speaker 1: Brand activism is when a company takes a public stand
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  Speaker 1: on a social, political or environmental issue and uses their
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  Speaker 1: influence to drive change.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Yochi is already a bit of an eco-warrior, refusing
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  Speaker 2: to sell bottled water, using compostable cups and spoons.
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  Speaker 1: They even went to Brazil in 2024 to switch to
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  Speaker 1: a more ethical acai supplier.
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  Speaker 2: So Yochi's postcard campaign isn't off-brand, but if they start
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  Speaker 2: handing out plastic spoons with their froyo, customers will definitely notice.
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  Speaker 1: Because brand activism only works when it comes from a
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  Speaker 1: genuine place.
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  Speaker 2: Take Ben & Jerry's, for example. They've been mixing activism
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  Speaker 2: with their ice cream since the 80s.
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  Speaker 1: Their founders were also arrested at political protests. They've sold
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  Speaker 1: some flavours like pecan activism, and they even have a
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  Speaker 1: dedicated activism team.
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  Speaker 2: And get this, consumers who know Ben & Jerry's social
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  Speaker 2: mission were supposedly 30% more likely to buy Ben &
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  Speaker 2: Jerry's ice cream.
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  Speaker 1: But when a brand treats activism as a publicity stunt
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  Speaker 1: rather than a long-term business approach, it can come back
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  Speaker 1: to bite them.
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  Speaker 2: In 2023, Target launched an annual pride collection, but very
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  Speaker 2: quickly removed it after facing some backlash, losing support from
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  Speaker 2: all sides in the process.
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  Speaker 1: Because when your activism is a marketing stunt to say,
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  Speaker 1: look how good our brand is, rather than actually just
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  Speaker 1: doing good, customers can get put off.
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  Speaker 2: Because who wants a froyo with some green washing sprinkled
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  Speaker 2: on top?
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  Speaker 1: And FluxFam, just a reminder, our latest jargon busting series
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: is on YouTube. Make sure you watch it. We've got
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: about five episodes ready for you to go.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for listening and we'll see you on Friday.