Vista Raises $5.6 Billion for Cloud Software Continuation Fund
Vista raised a record $2.7 billion of fresh capital for the deal, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the transaction is private. It turned to other vintages of its flagship private equity funds — Vista Equity Partners VII and Vista Equity Partners VIII — to commit about $2.2 billion to the continuation fund, some of the people said.
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Amazon Slashes 25% Apple's Latest M3 iPad Air in Every Color Just in Time for Back to School
Apple's iPad Air M3 tablet is the latest one in the iPad Air collection. Plus it ranks as the best tablet for students. And luckily, it's often the subject of a discount at various retailers. But this current round of deals slashes it to its lowest price yet -- and we don't expect it to go much lower any time soon. What better way to kick off the back-to-school season? Amazon is now offering the entry-level 128GB 11-inch M3 iPad Air for just $449, down from the usual $599. That's a respectable $150 discount, as long as you choose the space gray model. Other colors are discounted but not as significantly on Amazon. Need a bigger display? The same $150 discount applies to the 13-inch model as well, with all the colors on sale. Both Walmart and Best Buy are currently matching Amazon's prices and they have all colors marked down. The latest iPad Air comes with the fast M3 chip, so it won't struggle to play all the latest games or run the most capable apps. It features a gorgeous Liquid Retina display in 11- and 13-inch size options, just like the eye-wateringly priced M4 iPad Pro. Other specs worth noting include fast Wi-Fi 6E support for streaming content and downloading apps, while storage options go all the way to 1TB. To learn more, check out our full review of the iPad Air M3. Need to take your iPad on the road? Models with cellular connectivity are also offered, again with a $50 discount. Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money. Why this deal matters This is the best iPad Air that Apple has ever made, and it's a very viable alternative to the iPad Pro for people who want a great tablet without spending laptop-like sums of cash. It comes in multiple colors and will be a great tablet for years to come.
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Top 5 Planning Opportunities for Entrepreneurs After the New Tax Law
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"The factors that influence planning may have changed, which can open up new possibilities." Here are five areas where business owners can benefit from a fresh look at their tax planning. 1. Enhancing itemized deductions options The new law temporarily raises the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap to $40,000 for those with adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $500,000, beginning in 2025. At the same time, higher earners should be aware of new limitations on itemized deductions and changes to charitable giving rules coming in 2026. Wisnicki explains, "There's a new overall limitation on itemized deductions, and that will typically affect the higher-income taxpayers." She adds, "People who don't typically think of themselves as being in that 37% bracket because they have a significant number of itemized deductions may still be impacted." Another new provision affects charitable giving: "There's a new floor placed on charitable contributions where the first 0.5% of the taxpayer's AGI is deducted from their charitable contributions," Wisnicki says. "If the taxpayer has a high AGI, that could be a significant reduction in the benefit." Because these changes are not effective until 2026, they create a window of opportunity. CLA advisors are helping clients consider options such as accelerating charitable gifts or using donor-advised funds in 2025. 2. Business deductions encourage growth and innovation The revised tax law brings new flexibility to business deductions, especially for companies that are investing in their future. The ability to immediately deduct domestic research and development (R&D) expenses, take advantage of expanded business interest deductions, and claim 100% bonus depreciation on qualifying property after January 19, 2025, are all significant changes. 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"There are still opportunities available concerning clean energy projects, in particular if you are a C corporation... there is still the opportunity to look at credits out there available to purchase, and that's a planning opportunity," Boyd says. CLA assists clients in finding the right timing and approach to make their projects as beneficial as possible. A collaborative approach to growth Several provisions in the updated tax law are intended to encourage growth, reinvestment, and innovation. "There's so much more than just the numbers," Boyd observes. "And that's where I think CLA offers a valuable perspective on how we help clients." Working with experienced advisors allows entrepreneurs to approach these changes confidently, knowing their tax planning supports immediate results and future success. Click here to learn more about how CLA can help you navigate the new tax law and grow your business. 1 On July 4, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law following swift passage by both the House and Senate.
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First SEO, now 'GEO'. Generative AI is changing how brands are discovered and trusted, making Generative Engine Optimization essential for visibility in AI-generated content. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Generative AI is changing how audiences discover, consume and trust information — and with it, the rules of PR and marketing. As tools like Google's AI Overviews and ChatGPT become the front door to content, a new discipline is emerging: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Companies must understand how GEO is reshaping brand visibility, why earned and owned content must evolve, and what businesses should be doing to prepare for a generative-first future. Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success. What is GEO, and how does it differ from traditional SEO? 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They are reshaping discovery by delivering instant, synthesized answers instead of directing users to multiple sources. They're also shifting trust from traditional websites to AI-generated summaries making the model the new gatekeeper of credible information. Related: AI Can Burn Out Your Team — Or Save It. Here's the Difference "Visibility" has acquired new meaning with the advent of GEO. Here's how I define visibility in a generative-first content landscape: it means being recognized and trusted in a noisy space that is saturated with content. It also means showing up consistently and meaningfully in the right communication channels and conversations and standing out with credibility. Earned media placements and PR-driven content create greater visibility, influencing generative AI outputs. When your company is featured in respected media outlets, it shapes how AI systems "learn" about you. 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Related: How AI Is Transforming the SEO Playbook — and What Businesses Must Do to Ensure Long-Term Relevance and Visibility Recommendations for remaining relevant Business leaders must take a broader view of content strategy to serve both human audiences and AI systems. PR can no longer focus solely on generating buzz. It must evolve to engineer discoverability, ensuring your brand appears accurately and consistently in both media coverage and AI-generated content. Focus on securing high-quality earned media coverage. Amplify expert-driven content that positions your brand as a credible authority in the space. Generative AI pulls from high-quality, trusted sources. And make sure to use clean headlines, consistent messaging and well-tagged digital assets (like FAQs, explainer blogs or press releases) that can be easily indexed and understood by machines, not just people. AI models value clarity and context. Be intentional with keywords, brand voice and accuracy. Everything you publish feeds the AI ecosystem. From a podcast quote to a bylined article, assume it could be surfaced, summarized or cited in future outputs. How GEO will reshape the relationship between PR, marketing and search I predict that in the next two to three years, GEO will collapse the silos between PR, marketing and search. PR will become a core visibility driver for AI-based discovery. As generative engines replace traditional search for many users, PR will shape machine understanding. Media placements, quotes and thought leadership will become ever more critical data inputs that influence how AI summarizes and represents your brand. SEO will evolve into narrative optimization. Marketers will need to ensure brand messaging is consistently structured, credible and reinforced across all public touchpoints. GEO will require optimization not just for ranking but for inference, context and coherence in AI-generated content. Marketing will shift from campaigns to context-building. Brands must feed the AI ecosystem with high-quality, high-context materials that can be surfaced across any platform or prompt. That means marketing will spend more time on source authority, content integrity and long-term discoverability. No company survives by doing what it's always done and ignoring innovation. GEO is a powerful new branch of SEO, and you need to capitalize on it to be seen by decision-makers now that AI summaries dominate search queries. Use the strategy and recommendations discussed above to chart your own course to getting the visibility your brand deserves.
