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Authentic Brands Group, a global sports, media, entertainment and lifestyle platform, adopts Google’s Gemini and Google Cloud infrastructure to power Authentic Intelligence

NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today at NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show, Google Cloud and Authentic Brands Group (Authentic), a global brand development and licensing platform, announced a strategic partnership leveraging Google’s Gemini and Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform to supercharge collaboration and creativity across the organization.

As the owner of more than 50 global brands generating over $32 billion in retail sales across 150 countries, Authentic is uniquely positioned to leverage AI to be faster, stronger, and more profitable. To realize that opportunity, Authentic built a proprietary AI platform, Authentic Intelligence, harnessing Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform as a core component of its technology stack.

“Authentic Intelligence empowers our teams to create and grow our business with the entrepreneurial spirit our company was built on: independence, hustle and excellence,” said Adam Kronengold, chief digital officer, Authentic. “Building our Authentic Intelligence toolbox with Google Cloud’s AI capabilities allows our teams to rapidly scale workflows, asset creation and reporting, while maintaining consistency across our brands and organizational processes.”

Currently 80% of Authentic employees across departments—from marketing and creative to finance and business development—use the platform on a weekly basis. In early testing, ad creative for Reebok, enhanced by Authentic Intelligence, delivered up to 60% higher return on ad spend (ROAS) compared to traditional product imagery.

Authentic Intelligence’s 15+ specialized agents power Authentic’s key business functions including:

• In business development, agents build comprehensive profiles of potential partners to accelerate lead generation and unlock new licensing opportunities.
• For brand management and creative, brand-specific agents help maintain authentic brand voice and visual identity across all channels, while integrations with Google Veo generate brand-specific videos from text prompts.
• In licensing and legal, Authentic Intelligence assists with contract review and analysis, ensuring accuracy and accelerating turnaround times.

“In an environment that moves fast, you can’t afford to wait weeks for creative ideas. Authentic is using AI to give its teams their time back,” said Jose Gomes, vice president, Retail & Consumer Goods, Google Cloud. “By using Google Cloud and Gemini, Authentic is working faster and smarter—proving that a spark of inspiration can quickly become a global campaign—all while ensuring every piece of content, from SHAQ to Reebok and Juicy Couture, stays true to the brand’s DNA.”

About Authentic Brands Group
Authentic Brands Group (Authentic) is a leading sports, media, entertainment and lifestyle platform. As the owner of some of the most iconic and beloved intellectual property in the world, Authentic acquires and invests in brands to create long-term value for all of its stakeholders.

A digital-first, asset-light platform, Authentic sits at the intersection of culture, commerce and technology. It brings brands to life and cultivates fandom through powerful storytelling, premium content and unforgettable live experiences. Together with nearly 2,000 best-in-class licensing partners across 150 countries and an expansive distribution network, Authentic’s brands drive more than $32 billion in annual systemwide retail sales worldwide.

Authentic’s diversified portfolio spans more than 50 brands and reaches nearly one billion social media followers. Its roster includes Reebok, Champion, Shaquille O’Neal, David Beckham, Kevin Hart, Sports Illustrated, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Marilyn Monroe, Aéropostale, Nautica, Eddie Bauer, Lucky Brand, Nine West, Brooks Brothers, Juicy Couture, Vince Camuto, Izod, Van Heusen, Dockers, Ted Baker, Hart Schaffner Marx, Vince, Barneys New York, Judith Leiber, Quiksilver, Spyder, Billabong, Volcom, Roxy, RVCA, DC Shoes, Prince, Sperry and Hunter.

For more information, visit authentic.com. Follow Authentic on LinkedIn, Instagram and WeChat.

About Google Cloud
Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

SOURCE Google Cloud

Are mom-and-pop stores going bankrupt at historically high levels? That would seem to be the impression you’d get from recent news reports referencing data released from Epiq Bankruptcy Analytics, a provider of legal services that specializes in bankruptcy services.

Uh-oh! Some have seen this as proof that Donald Trump’s policies are bankrupting Main Street. Well, no, not quite.

It is true that, according Epiq’s data, there were 2,221 filings for bankruptcy protection under a special provision for small businesses of the bankruptcy code – subchapter V – that was created for this purpose back in 2019. And it is true that the number of filings increased last year. But by how much? Ten. No, you’re not misreading this. There were 2,211 filings in 2024, 10 fewer than 2025.

What about prior years? Between 2020 (the first year of inception of subchapter V) and 2023 there were an average of 1,379 filings, so you can make a case that, as the law became more well known, more filings were made by small businesses. However, let’s remember that there are more than 33m small businesses in the US, according to the Small Business Administration. The historically high 2,221 bankruptcies is statistically (and laughably) meaningless.

And even if you consider all the bankruptcies filed for all business sizes, the numbers are still not a cause for concern. Bankruptcy filings by the end of the Biden administration in 2024 had risen more than 25% compared with when Joe Biden took office. Covid didn’t help. And yet those filings were still 25-50% lower than the bankruptcy filings from 2009 to 2019 and remained that way in 2025. The number of US businesses going bankrupt is still at historically low levels.

But should they be this low?

It’s common knowledge that the typical lifespan of a startup is two to five years, with 70% going out of business before reaching their fifth year. The period between 2019 and 2024 saw the largest spike in new business filings in US history, with more than 21m new business applications submitted during that period. Intuit says that side-gig activity is “booming” and “33% of US adults plan to start a business or side hustle next year – a 94% year-over-year increase”. LinkedIn reports that small business creation jumped 69% as “entrepreneurs bet big on growth”.

Good for them. But where are all the busts? Given all these new companies and, given the rate of failure for such companies, shouldn’t there be more going out of business in those subsequent years? Why aren’t bankruptcy filings spiking as a result?

One big reason is that bankruptcy filings are pretty rare for small businesses and startups. I’ve worked directly with hundreds of businesses over the past two decades and have hardly ever encountered one that files for bankruptcy. That’s because when a business goes belly up, many business owners walk away rather than paying the costs of bankruptcy. And because small businesses spend smaller dollars, their suppliers generally write off their losses, lick their wounds and move on. This doesn’t happen in every case, obviously. But for the most part, people know the risks they’re incurring and don’t want to throw money at lawyers to make up for their bad decisions.

The reality is that most small businesses did pretty well in 2025 and a great majority are optimistic about the next year. The National Federation of Independent Businesses reports optimism higher than its 52-year average. Comerica Bank says that 79% of small businesses are expecting revenue growth next year. The US Chamber of Commerce reports a high level of confidence among its members heading into 2026.

Sure, mom-and-pop bankruptcies under a special section of the bankruptcy code are now at a “historic high”. However, the numbers need to be put into a better context. There are plenty of other legitimate reasons to criticize Trump. An increase in mom-and-pop bankruptcies isn’t one of them.