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👋 Welcome, Jobseekers

This week’s tape is clear: AI still has the oxygen. Humans& just pulled a $480M seed at a $4.48B valuation, Parloa jumped to $350M at $3B, and Runpod hit $120M ARR after starting from a Reddit post, which is exactly what “we need infra that works” looks like. On the flip side, the market is still cutting where conviction is weaker: Ericsson is proposing 1,600 layoffs in Sweden. Layer on the bigger shift and you get the playbook for 2026: companies want results fast, which is why fractional leadership is rising and why you should pitch yourself like an operator with a 30-day plan, not a résumé with vibes. Let’s dive in 🏊️ 

• 🧑‍✈️ Career CoPilot: Fractional Leadership Is Rising as Full-Time Stability Fades

• 🔈️ Signals of the Week: Humans& reportedly raised a $480M seed round at a $4.48B valuation

• 📉 Layoff Report: Ericsson to layoff 1,600 jobs in Sweden

• 📈 Trends & Data: The job “bundle” is the new battleground (and you should interview for it)

Top Signals of the Week

AI is still where the oxygen is, and the numbers this week were loud.

• Humans& reportedly raised a $480M seed round at a $4.48B valuation (yes, seed). That’s “build a real company fast” money, with heavyweight investors like Nvidia and Jeff Bezos involved.

• Parloa raised $350M at a $3B valuation, just 8 months after raising $120M at a $1B valuation. That kind of step-function jump usually means big enterprise demand and urgent hiring.

• On the consumer side, Higgsfield claims 15M+ users and a $200M annual revenue run rate, doubling from a $100M trajectory in about two months. That’s rapid scaling pressure across product + infra.

• And on the “boring but durable” end of the market, Runpod hit $120M ARR after starting from a Reddit post. Infrastructure companies that reach that scale tend to hire steadily because reliability becomes existential.

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Ericsson to layoff 1,600 jobs in Sweden

Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications-equipment company said the proposal to cut around 12% of its workforce in the country forms part of its global plans to improve its cost base while maintaining investments in technology and executing its strategy.

• Vega Cloud enters receivership, with millions in debt 

• Vimeo begins winding down its Israeli operations after broad layoffs 

• Polygon Labs said to have laid off 60 staff following new $250 million acquisition 

• Ericsson to shed 1600 jobs in Sweden 

• Meta layoffs hit Seattle-area VR studio Camouflaj, developer behind ‘Batman’ game 

• Private-equity Buy Leads to Layoffs at Jepp ForeFlight 

• Tipalti laying off dozens of employees 

• Informatica lays off workers, including CEO, after Salesforce acquisition 

• Ericsson lays off hundreds of employees in Spain 

• MANTRA cuts staff amid restructuring as OM token remains 99% below peak 

• Aleph Alpha cuts around 50 jobs 

Fractional Leadership Is Rising as Full-Time Stability Fades

Overview

A growing number of companies are shifting away from traditional, full-time executive hires and toward fractional leaders—senior operators brought in for a defined scope, timeline, and outcome. The logic is simple: businesses want top-tier expertise without long-term fixed costs, and leaders want more control after seeing how quickly “stable” roles can disappear in a reorg.

Key Points

• Executive stability is shrinking. Tenures are shorter, and leadership roles are increasingly treated as outcome-based engagements rather than long careers.

• Fractional turns fixed cost into variable cost. Instead of paying a full C-suite package year-round, companies pay for the leadership capacity they need, when they need it.

• Business problems are more specialized—and urgent. Companies often need deep expertise for discrete moments: fundraising prep, a product launch, market expansion, a turnaround, or building go-to-market.

• Speed beats hiring cycles. Fractional leaders can start in weeks, while full-time executive searches can take months.

• Leaders diversify for security. Fractional work spreads risk across multiple clients, replacing “job security” with “demand security.”

Why This Matters (for tech jobseekers)

This is a preview of how more roles will be hired: shorter time horizons, clearer deliverables, and faster proof of impact. Even if you’re aiming for full-time, you’ll win more interviews by presenting yourself like a fractional operator: “Here’s the problem I solve, the 30-day plan, and the metrics I’ll move.”

The job “bundle” is the new battleground (and you should interview for it)

1) Pay is still #1… but it’s not the only lever

Yes, compensation leads: 69% of US/Canada jobseekers say higher pay is their top reason for searching.
But the bigger shift is how people judge roles now: as a package deal that includes pay plus benefits, flexibility, stability, and meaning.

2) Benefits are the underrated negotiation win

“Better benefits” ranked #2 motivator in 6 of 8 countries — and 49% of employed US jobseekers said it’s a key reason they look.

In the US, the most valued benefits are basic but decisive:

• Health insurance: 63%

• Vacation days: 63%

• Paid sick days: 59%

• Flexible hours: 47%

• Remote work: 39%

Jobseeker takeaway: if salary bands are tight, benefits are often where companies still have room to move. Negotiate them like comp.

3) Flexibility is in demand — but getting harder to find

Flexibility matters more than ever (especially for women, per the report), yet the supply is stalling. In US job postings, mentions of “flexible schedules” peaked at 14.4% (Nov 2023) and dipped to 13.7% by Oct 2025.

Jobseeker takeaway: don’t treat “flexible” as a vibe. Treat it as a feature you verify.

4) The smartest screening question in 2026: “How do you support AI?”

The report describes a widening split between workers who are supported and trained in AI (and gain productivity) vs. those who are disengaged — and employer encouragement is strongly tied to adoption.

Ask early:

• “What AI tools are approved internally?”

• “What training or enablement do you provide?”

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