Anthropic IPO or BUST!

Golden Handshakes, Digital Paperclips, and a Very Expensive Extinction Chad Sowash, a rain-soaked Stephen McGrath, and Lieven Van Nieuwenhuizen log on for a dose of HR tech absurdity, corporate passive-aggression, and high-stakes market delusion. The HR Stack Trap: Stephen takes pity on the hundreds of corporate talent leaders weeping on LinkedIn after hoarding dozens of shiny SaaS tools they have no idea how to operate. The "Please Quit" Playbook: Microsoft casually offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 workers, while Skydance goes with the classic combo of buyouts mixed with a forced march back to physical cubicles. Who’d You Rather: Tech Edition: Faced with a hypothetical 2:00 AM closing-time dilemma, the hosts choose between two software suitors. ZenZapp pitches a private messaging fortress with rigid boundaries for your sanity, while Town rolls out $108M in backing and automated “Townie” bots designed to chat with each other so human employees can stay home. Dayforce Goes Shopping: Dayforce finally emerges from its quiet era to swallow Ribbon, an AI video and voice screening startup. Anthropic's 80-Billion-Dollar Bar Tab: The episode wraps with Anthropic gearing up for an IPO. Revenue rocketed past $16B, but it comes hitched to an eye-watering $80 billion net loss in the first half of 2026 alone. Cue Chad retreating into the fetal position with a cold pint of Guinness to ponder the financial apocalypse.