Robots Are Making Burrito Bowls Now 🌯🤖

Biz Analyst Club Newsletter

by The Business Model Analyst

Hello, Biz Enthusiasts!
AI is learning to drive, Satya Nadella is blogging like a philosopher, and kids are demanding $28 face creams because... TikTok. Meanwhile, CES 2026 just dropped the world’s thinnest TV and a fridge that can text you a grocery list. Even the burrito assembly line is now fully automated. It’s all wild. Let’s dive in.

Hot Takes 🚀

1. AI Burrito Bots Are Now a Thing – Thanks to Chipotle and Cava 🌯⚙️
Startup Hyphen raised $25M to roll out automated makelines that prep salads and bowls in 15 seconds. Chipotle and Cava are backing it big time. Robots now make lunch while your manager debates sandwich orders in Slack.
👉 See the robot chefs speeding up your lunch break

2. CES 2026 Is Here – And It Brought a Foldable Tablet-Phone Hybrid + a Fridge That Makes Shopping Lists 🛒📱
Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold is a phone that folds into a tablet and runs desktop-style DeX mode, while GE’s new $4,899 smart fridge scans your empty food packages and emails you a grocery list. CES just reminded us that yes, your fridge is now smarter than your uncle.
👉 Check out the weirdest and coolest CES tech so far

3. Meta Buys the “Next DeepSeek” – And It’s Not Even Based in China Anymore 🧠 
Meta is acquiring Manus, the Chinese-founded AI startup that claimed to build the world’s first autonomous general AI agent. The deal, rumored at $2–3B, gives Meta an edge in agent-based AI just as Manus expands globally (HQ now in Singapore, not China). Washington's watching, Alibaba’s already partnered, and Zuck’s loading this into WhatsApp and Meta AI.
👉 Is this the start of the Agent Wars?

4. Nvidia Just Dropped $20B on Groq – And Didn’t Even Buy the Whole Company 💸
In its biggest deal ever, Nvidia is acquiring the assets (not the company) of Groq, the AI chip startup known for ultra-fast inference. The twist? GroqCloud stays independent, and Groq execs join Nvidia to scale the tech. With $60B in cash and a thirst for speed, Nvidia’s staking a claim on AI’s next performance frontier.
👉 The AI chip race just went full throttle

5. Post-Holiday Boom: People Are Now Hiring Others to Return Their Gifts 🎁📦
A startup called ReturnQueen and gig platforms like TaskRabbit are booming with people outsourcing gift returns. One driver is hauling boxes door to door like Santa in reverse.
👉 Read how “returners-for-hire” became a legit job

Strategy Deep Dive

Quick Hits 📰

• 🧱 Lego Goes Smart: New Smart Bricks light up and make sound based on what you build. No screens required.
  👉 Lego's future is interactive — and still analog

• ⚡ Britain Built Too Much Green Energy – But Can’t Deliver It: A grid bottleneck is wasting billions in wind power.
  👉 See how old infrastructure is holding back the AI future

• 👧 Skincare for 9-Year-Olds?: A booming industry is selling serums and sheet masks to TikTok-fueled tweens.
  👉 Inside the $1.6B kids skincare craze

• 🧍‍♀️ $120K Remote or $240K In-Office?: The vote was nearly 50/50 in a viral job preference poll.
  👉 See why some workers are choosing freedom over paychecks

• 🎬 Hollywood Inches Back to Normal: The box office rose 2% in 2025. Still miles from pre-COVID levels, but Minecraft saved the day.
  👉 How repeat moviegoers are saving theaters

• 👔 Buffett Out, Abel In: Warren Buffett has officially stepped down as Berkshire CEO. His successor now manages a $350B cash pile.
  👉 See the three big challenges facing Greg Abel

• 📈 GM Sales Up 5.5% in 2025: GM crushed it last year, selling 2.85M vehicles. Jeep saw its first gain since 2018.
  👉 Who won the auto sales war in 2025?

• 📉 The Boredom Trend Is Real: Gen Z is now filming themselves… doing nothing. It’s the new mindfulness.
  👉 Welcome to the viral “do-nothing” challenge

• 🧘 Introverts Are Thriving in January: Companies are finally building quiet rooms and flexible work plans.
  👉 Why introverts love this time of year

• 🌕 Voyager 2 Turns 40: NASA’s Voyager passed Uranus (don’t laugh) in 1986. Also, a plane circled the globe nonstop that year.
  👉 Throwback to six game-changing science milestones

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