2026 continues the bro-IPOs, plus OpenAI’s curious sexual discrimination firing

What this episode covers

The 2026 IPO Quiz: Since January 1, 2026 How many companies? 20 How many total founders? 34 How many female founders? 2: Cassandra Curtis and Jennifer Garner How many companies have female founders? 1: Once Upon a Farm How many companies with only female founders? 0 Once Upon a Farm: J. Garner, J. Foraker, C. Curtis, A. Raz Co-founded in 2015 by Cassandra Curtis and Ari Raz In 2017, Jennifer Garner joined as a co-founder and “Chief Brand Officer”, alongside CEO John Foraker Most represented industry? Healthcare (5), including Pharma, Biotech, and AI Biotech How many are already down from their offer price (as of 10:45am)? 17 How many female chairs? 1: Shoushana Ohanessian: VenHub Global How many female CFOs? 1: Cantor Equity VI: Jane Novak (F) How many female CEOs Zero How many directly associated with Epstein Island? 1: Cantor Equity VI: Cantor was founded over 75 years ago and was led by Howard W. Lutnick from 1992 until February 2025 when he became the United States Secretary of Commerce Son Brandon G. Lutnick CEO/Chair Trump Commerce Sec. Lutnick admits visiting Epstein island during family vacation How many boards have ZERO male directors? ZERO How many boards of zero female directors? Only six! How many with one? Only six! How many boards with at least 30% women? 4 AgomAb Therapeutics 2/6 33% Green Circle Tech 2/5 40% Once Upon a Farm 4/9 44% (CEO/Chair, CFO, Nominating Committee chair, Compensation Committee chair = MEN) VenHub Global Total percentage of women? 18% BONUS HEADLINES QUIZ Kraft Heinz pauses work to split the company as new CEO says ‘challenges are fixable’ What were the two new companies? Strategic Flavor Holdings Co. and North Atlantic Provisions Co. Global Taste Elevation Co. and North American Grocery Co. North Atlantic Snack Holdings and Strategic Grocery Development Group International Flavor Solutions Co. and United Continental Grocery Co. Universal Taste Logistics Co. and North American Food Alignment Co. Proxy Voting: Asset Managers Increased Their Support for Management in 2025 What percentage of management resolutions did the Big Three index managers support in the 2025 proxy year? Hint, it’s up 3% since 2023. 99% (98.7%), up from 96% in 2023 Top 10 U.S. asset managers in 2025? 98% Top 50 U.S. asset managers in 2025? 96% What percentage of shareholder resolutions did the Big Three index managers support in the 2025 proxy year? Hint, it’s down 1.5%. 7.5% True or False: in a landmark social media case that seeks to hold tech companies responsible for harms to children, A google lawyer said this to Jurors yesterday: “It’s not social media addiction when it’s not social media and it’s not an addiction.” True or False: xAI cofounder Jimmy Ba, the second cofounder [Tony Wu] to depart xAI in less than 48 hours, said this yesterday: "It's time to recalibrate my gradient on the big picture. 2026 is gonna be insane and likely the busiest (and most consequential) year for the future of our species." According to a new report from the WSJ, why did OpenAI fire Executive Ryan Beiermeister? sexual discrimination What’s the story behind the story? Ryan Beiermeister, one of OpenAI’s top safety executives, a vice president leading OpenAI’s product policy team, was accused of sexual discrimination against a male employee after she voiced opposition to the controversial rollout of AI erotica in its ChatGPT product saying that she opposed adult mode, worried it would have harmful effects for users, and that she believed OpenAI’s mechanisms to stop child-exploitation content weren’t effective enough, and that the company couldn’t sufficiently wall off adult content from teens. Beiermeister started a peer-mentorship program for women at OpenAI in early 2025.