How AI is helping one-person companies scale to $1 million—and beyond

1. FROM MY DESK

Once upon a time, running a successful business required a team. AI is turning that assumption upside down as more entrepreneurs go it alone, with a growing class generating over $1 million in revenue without hiring a single employee. We spoke with these solopreneurs to see how they’re building their empires and what their rise could mean for the broader job market.

Also this morning: We’re tracking the latest escalations in the Iran war, and deciphering what Microsoft’s and Meta’s ballooning AI spending—revealed in yesterday’s earnings—means for their bottom lines and futures.

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2. TODAY’S HEADLINES

The U.S. carried out strikes against Iran in what it called a “powerful response” to missile attacks on American forces in Jordan. The question is how long the new air campaign will last.ExxonMobil, Chevron and other major oil companies trying to get into Venezuela have hit a wall.Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathryn Ruemmlerr, during questioning in Congress about her links to Jeffrey Epstein, said Virginia Giuffre lacked credibility—here are the key takeaways from her appearance.The University of Michigan left out key details in a recent summary of the probe into its athletic department.France is trying to contain wildfires with water-bombing planes that are decades old, prompting debate over whether the country was prepared.

3. LIVE FROM THE MARKETS

📈 Follow our live financial coverage all day.

Kevin Warsh has staked his chairmanship on the premise that a quieter Federal Reserve gets a cleaner read on what investors think. Yesterday, he said it was working.Speaking of the Fed: Here’s the problem with Warsh’s deference to markets.Meta’s case for its AI spending keeps getting weaker, writes Asa Fitch.

4. READ IT HERE FIRST

More founders are building million-dollar companies with just one employee.

Ben Broca launched a company last December offering AI tools to entrepreneurs. He has 10,000 paying customers and is on track to bring in $10 million in revenue this year. One thing he hasn’t added: any other employees. AI tools answer Broca’s emails and tackle other administrative tasks. More aspiring entrepreneurs are striking out on their own, reports Te-Ping Chen. An analysis by the payments company Stripe shows there are thousands of solo operators on the company’s platform that are generating over $1 million in revenue, with their ranks doubling between 2023 and 2025.

Speaking of work: Wall Street and Silicon Valley are vying to hire the same tiny pool of genius graduates.

5.

Inside the daring mission to recover World War II POWs from the bottom of the ocean.

A Japanese ship sank off the Philippines in 1944 with hundreds of American prisoners of war on board. Recovering their remains has been impossible—until now. The mission at the Oryoku Maru, whose crumpled frame lies on the ocean floor about 500 feet off the coast, is among the most complex ever attempted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the Pentagon arm tasked with finding missing U.S. servicemembers. But as one POW’s descendant told Mike Cherney, it’s also the best hope yet to close a wound that has afflicted his family for three generations.

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6. SEE THE STORY

We mapped out the new fronts of the Iran war erupting across the Middle East.

The Middle East enjoyed a respite from violence after the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to pause their war in mid-June. Now, it looks like the calm before the storm. Fresh theaters of war have sprung up across the Middle East since the beginning of July, when Iran returned to threatening ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

7. HAPPENING TODAY

Economic data: The Commerce Department releases the PCE index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its first estimate of second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product. The Bank of England is due to make an interest-rate announcement.Earnings: Apple, Amazon📰 Today’s paper

8. THE NUMBER

That’s roughly how many zippers Japanese brand YKK sells a year. The zippers are everywhere, from jeans and jackets to NASA spacesuits. Watch this video to learn how the company built its business through obsessive control over manufacturing and quality.

9. AND FINALLY…

These drivers are taking extreme measures to avoid new car technology.

Call them curmudgeonly roadblocks to progress, or the last beacons of sanity on the road. Either way, they’re pushing back. Meet the car owners disabling alarms and reconfiguring dashboards in search of low-tech bliss.

10. BEYOND THE NEWSROOM

Opinion: Dr. Fauci’s recently released diaries reveal how much the media abandoned its skepticism and curiosity to elevate him as the oracle who couldn’t be doubted on Covid.WSJ | Buy Side: This coffee grinder gives the at-home barista an opportunity to perfect their espresso routine.

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Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Morgan Smith and Bryony Watson in collaboration with Editor in Chief Emma Tucker. Got a tip for us? Here’s how to submit.