Upon selling his scholarship search startup Scholly, backed by Shark Tank, to Sallie Mae in 2023, Chris Gray felt he had achieved everything. Currently, he is taking legal action against the student loan company for wrongful dismissal and claims it is improperly disclosing his app’s collected data, which includes sensitive information regarding minors, without properly notifying users. 

Gray co-founded the enterprise a decade earlier with the intention of aiding students in finding unclaimed college scholarships more efficiently. Within two years, he secured investments from sharks Daymond John and Lori Greiner after his appearance on the program. 

With the buyout, Gray became one of the rare Black fintech founders with venture backing to exit their business, despite facing criticism for “selling out.” “Being one of the first Black tech companies acquired by a bank is a significant achievement,” he expressed at the time. 

He accepted a vice president position at Sallie Mae and anticipated a smooth transition into his new role, intending to scale Scholly and make it complimentary, as he mentioned in a unique interview with TechCrunch.

The events that followed are outlined in Gray’s lawsuit against Sallie Mae, filed in Delaware Superior Court, and a whistleblower report he submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, both filed earlier this month. 

He accuses Sallie Mae of laying off his staff, including co-founders, and reneging on its commitment not to sell user data, according to a TechCrunch examination of both documents. Gray asserts he was dismissed a year post-acquisition after voicing concerns over data privacy matters. He seeks back wages and punitive damages in the lawsuit, in addition to legal fees. 

Gray revealed to TechCrunch that before he agreed to sell, he believed Sallie Mae would be unable to share or sell non-public personal information regarding Scholly customers to outside parties, as it is a federally regulated financial entity.  

He now claims that his acquirer circumvented such regulations by creating a subsidiary for Scholly that is selling data — including age, gender, race, and other indicators of financial need — to entities like universities and advertisers, potentially without students being fully informed.  

“I sold Scholly to a regulated bank because I believed it would safeguard the students who relied on us,” Gray told TechCrunch. “Instead, I witnessed the company forming a non-bank subsidiary to do things the bank itself cannot legally execute: sell student information. That’s not the company I thought I was becoming a part of.”  

Sallie Mae has rejected Gray’s accusations, labeling them as “without merit” and chose not to address TechCrunch’s inquiries regarding its data privacy policies. 

“While we don’t comment on ongoing litigation, it’s unfortunate a former employee is making unfounded allegations about our company following his exit nearly two years ago. We intend to defend ourselves vigorously against these meritless claims,” stated Rick Castellano, the company’s vice president of corporate communications, in an email.  

When asked which specific claims were “false,” Castellano opted not to respond. 

From Alabama to Shark Tank

Gray was raised in a low-income household in Birmingham, Alabama, alongside his single mother and two siblings. He perceived the obstacles to obtaining higher education as “real and immediate” for someone of his background.  

In addition to the high costs, he felt he lacked the necessary information to make informed choices regarding education and affordability, a strain that intensified when his mother lost her job during the 2008 recession.  

“This experience influenced my perspective on the scholarship system later,” he recalled, stating that he began to see education and scholarships as “an access issue rather than a merit issue.”  

As a teenager, when it was time for him to pursue scholarships, he found the process disjointed and impractical. There was no centralized search available for him to identify opportunities, and when he located a site with scholarship options, it presented thousands of listings without any dependable way to filter what he could qualify for. Plus, there were numerous scams and outdated listings on certain sites.  

Regardless, he applied for approximately 75 scholarships over a span of seven months utilizing public computers and library internet access, ultimately securing around $1.3 million in scholarships, including from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.  

He pursued economics and entrepreneurship at Drexel University, encountering students facing similar hurdles. “Students were continually requesting assistance in finding scholarships,” he informed TechCrunch. “The funding was available, with hundreds of millions of dollars going unclaimed each year, yet the search process was flawed.”  

He began outlining the eight primary criteria that dictated scholarship eligibility — age, location, major, GPA, race, gender, field of study, and financial need. 

“These criteria formed the basis of Scholly’s matching algorithm,” he stated.  

During his final year, Gray, together with Nick Pirollo and Bryson Alef, whom he met as Coca-Cola Scholars, officially launched Scholly in 2013. For merely $0.99 a month, students could access the platform and filter based on eligibility requirements. “That pricing model ensured the business’s sustainability without needing to sell data or run advertisements,” he noted.  

Scholly transitioned to a freemium model after Gray proposed the concept on Shark Tank. The sharks competed over his idea in what has been named the “worst fight in Shark Tank history,” according to one host who invested. Scholly expanded to 5 million users and generated over $30 million in total revenue, Gray stated.

In March 2023, Sallie Mae’s corporate development team reached out to Scholly. The bank had just acquired the scholarship organization Nitro College the previous year and was looking to enhance its footing in scholarship and college planning. “It was a logical alignment,” Gray remarked, explaining why the student loan company was interested in Scholly.  

Sallie Mae purchased Scholly in July 2023, hiring Gray and his co-founders as employees, with Gray taking on the role of vice president of product management. 

In addition to its commitment to “make Scholly free for all students, families, and additional users,” Sallie Mae CEO Jon Witter remarked in 2023 that the acquisition “enables us to leverage and develop Scholly’s innovative technology to unlock future strategic growth potentials.” 

Sallie Mae vs. “Sallie” 

For Gray, the warning sign appeared a year after the acquisition of Scholly. 

He claims in his lawsuit that Sallie Mae dismissed the Scholly founding team, including his co-founders, in July 2024. Around this time, Gray alleges he overheard Sallie Mae executives discussing intentions to sell Scholly user data during meetings.  

Gray asserts that executives assured him his job was secure and that it was merely a restructuring process. However, when he raised concerns regarding the potential sale of Scholly data, he states in his suit that he was terminated before a scheduled meeting with Witter, the CEO, to address these issues.  

After his exit, around December 2024, Sallie Mae launched “Sallie.com.” This platform describes itself as an “education solutions company,” and serves as the new home for the Scholly platform. It operates separately from the Sallie Mae website, which is dedicated to student loans. 

The Sallie.com site indicates it is operated by an entity called SLM Education Services, LLC. Gray argues in his lawsuit and whistleblower report that Sallie Mae is utilizing SLM Education Services to sell the personal data collected by Scholly, as it does not face the same stringent regulations as the Sallie Mae banking division. 

Sallie.com’s privacy policy reveals it sells various customer data to third parties, including names, phone numbers, email addresses, ages, races, genders, education records, and geolocation data. The third parties identified for receiving this data include advertising networks, educational institutions, brands, and firms focused on reselling consumer data.  

Sallie Mae compensates Sallie “for the referral of student loan customers,” according to the “About” page on Sallie.com. 

Gray contends in his complaints that the Sallie.com website is easily mistaken for the official Sallie Mae website due to similar designs and “sallie” branding, raising the risk that students may inadvertently provide personal information to what they assume is a bank.  

Gray’s suit further claims that in March, Sallie Mae utilized Scholly user data to develop something known as Backpack Media, which it markets as a “first-to-market education media network” that “provides brands effective, scalable access to highly sought-after, elusive audiences – Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and those influencing their purchasing choices,” according to a press release from Sallie.  

Castellano refused to comment on the data sources for Backpack Media.

This would not mark the first instance where a Sallie Mae-associated company has faced allegations of deceptive or misleading practices.  

Navient, a company that spun off from Sallie Mae in 2014, has encountered restitution orders from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education for overcharging. It faced lawsuits from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and reached a $1.85 billion settlement with 39 state attorneys general over accusations of predatory student loans, according to the attorneys general.

Gray acknowledges being aware of these prior legal troubles but asserts he does not regret the sale of Scholly as it enabled the platform to be accessible free of charge to every student. In fact, he mentions that if given the chance, he would make the same decision to sell again.

“Yet I would also voice the same concerns once more,” he remarked. “Because I believe we should exist in a system where an executive can speak up and guide the direction of a company in accordance with the law and ethical business practices.”

Apple is providing App Store developers with an innovative method to entice subscribers through discounted plans associated with a one-year commitment. The company revealed on Monday a new subscription alternative that allows customers to handle their auto-renewing subscriptions on a monthly payment schedule while agreeing to a 12-month contract. This approach will enable developers to present reduced prices to clients in exchange for steadier long-term revenue.

This aligns with the ways numerous developers have been promoting their annual subscriptions within their applications. Typically, app creators showcase the reduced monthly fees to emphasize the savings customers benefit from when opting for the annual subscription as opposed to the monthly plan. If a customer is uncertain about committing long-term, the idea of obtaining a better offer can encourage them towards the annual selection.

At this stage, Apple is essentially legitimizing what these developers were already implementing, which provides the opportunity to establish a framework of guidelines concerning how these subscription promotions should be presented to avoid misleading customers regarding the actual cost of the offers.

Nonetheless, the option will not be accessible to developers in the United States or Singapore at the outset. Although Apple did not clarify this decision, it is still embroiled in App Store legal disputes in the U.S. concerning the details of the court’s verdict in its case against Epic Games regarding subscription charges. Apple likely prefers to keep matters uncomplicated until that situation is resolved.

In Singapore, there is also a mature payments ecosystem alongside rigorous consumer protection regulations, which could explain its exclusion from the initial rollout.

Customers will be able to access detailed information concerning the subscription prior to making a commitment, including the structure of their payments and cancellation policies. Since they are agreeing to a 12-month service, they can terminate the subscription at any time; however, monthly charges will continue to be deducted from their Apple account until the subscription period concludes.

Additionally, as highlighted in Apple’s announcement, customers can easily track how many payments have been completed and how many remain on any given subscription by checking this information under their Apple Account. Apple will also send reminder emails and, if customers opt in, push notifications to alert them ahead of their renewal dates regarding upcoming charges.

Although this option simplifies the process for customers to secure better deals on subscriptions, it can also potentially bind them to extended plans if they are attentive to cancellations. Because these subscriptions renew automatically, a customer might inadvertently agree to another 12-month term if they miss the cancellation deadline prior to the renewal.

Developers will have the ability to set up this new subscription model in App Store Connect and test it using Xcode. The fresh monthly subscriptions linked to a 12-month commitment will be available to customers globally on iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4, or newer, with the release of iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and visionOS 26.5 in May.

On Tuesday, Snapchat revealed it is launching “AI Sponsored Snaps,” enabling users to engage directly with the AI representatives of brands. Sponsored Snaps are the advertisements positioned within the app’s main Chat section. Previously, users were unable to interact with these advertisements, but with the introduction of AI Sponsored Ads, they will now have the capability to ask questions and receive suggestions.

Naturally, not everyone may appreciate AI-sponsored ads, as they bring AI into yet another aspect of the Snapchat platform. Moreover, there are those not enthusiastic about more sophisticated advertising techniques.

Nonetheless, Snapchat stated in a blog post that its “community isn’t just receptive to AI in discussions, they’re already welcoming it,” considering that over 500 million users have communicated with its AI chatbot since its debut in 2023.

“Conversation is becoming the most coveted space in advertising,” stated Ajit Mohan, Chief Business Officer at Snap, in the blog post. “AI is hastening that transformation, converting chat into the venue where consumers discover products, pose queries, and make decisions in real-time. The genuine opportunity isn’t merely placing ads in those spaces; it’s crafting formats that feel intrinsic to the way people already converse.”

For brands, the new AI Sponsored Snaps provide access to Snapchat’s almost one billion monthly active users. They can introduce their own AI representatives on the platform to enhance engagement and drive sales.

Snapchat claims that the new format builds on the success of Sponsored Snaps, which already achieve 22% more conversions at nearly 20% lower cost per action. With the new format, they can interact with users through personalized, AI-driven conversations precisely where they are already chatting.

The company asserts that 85% of users are actively engaging within the Chat feed, having sent over 950 billion chats in Q1 2026 alone. Additionally, 57% of teenage Snapchat users message others on a daily basis, with 4 in 10 doing so multiple times each day.

Individuals frequently look for recipes and travel itineraries on YouTube to locate videos pertinent to their inquiries. Now, the video platform is set to launch a new tool designed to meet those users’ demands with the rollout of an AI-driven interactive search feature that provides step-by-step outcomes alongside a blend of text and video.

With the new “Ask YouTube” feature, users can pose queries such as “organize a 3-day road trip from San Francisco to Santa Barbara” and receive step-by-step responses, which will include a mix of text, brief videos, and longer clips rather than solely video results. The company asserts it will display videos and pertinent video snippets with titles and channel information to aid users in discovering new creators.

Additionally, users can ask follow-up questions like “Where can I find good coffee?” and receive recommendations in a similar format.

This feature is accessible to Premium members in the U.S. who are 18 years or older. (Those interested will need to join this experiment via the provided URL.) Google has mentioned that it is working on making this feature available for non-Premium users as well.

Google has been advancing its AI mode-styled search across various platforms beyond YouTube. Last year, the company revealed AI mode, allowing users to ask multi-part inquiries and follow-up questions. This year, it introduced side-by-side web browsing and product price inquiry features for AI mode. The company also launched Gemini’s Canvas feature last month to organize projects within AI mode.

With this new feature trial on YouTube, Google could later investigate the possibility of showcasing different types of videos and incorporating sponsored placements.

BCI (brain-computer interface) technology — where neural signals are transmitted from a person’s brain to a computer — was previously confined to the realm of science fiction, but now this technology signifies a thriving segment of the tech industry. One of the frontrunners in the BCI commercialization race is Neurable, which recently declared its intent to license its “mind-reading” technology for consumer wearables.

Neurable focuses on “non-invasive” BCI, setting itself apart from companies like Neuralink—the startup founded by Elon Musk known for implanting computer chips directly into individuals’ skulls—by offering a product that does not necessitate users to undergo brain surgery to reap its advantages.

Neurable’s innovation utilizes a mix of EEG sensors and signal processing to scan a user’s brain activity, interpret it with AI, and deliver insights regarding an individual’s cognitive capabilities.

In December, Neurable secured $35 million in a series A funding round, which it aims to utilize to enhance the commercialization of its technology. This week, the enterprise revealed its plans to license its technology to a range of consumer-oriented companies as part of its growth strategy.

The concept is that mind-reading technology (which can yield comprehensive data about a person’s cerebral functions while they engage in different activities) could be incorporated into wearables across various sectors—including health, sports, productivity, and gaming products. “Through Neurable’s licensing framework, OEMs can seamlessly integrate its AI-driven brain-sensing technology into current hardware, such as headphones, hats, glasses, and headbands, while retaining full oversight of product design, user experience, and distribution,” the company stated in a press announcement on Tuesday.

Neurable has already formed alliances with several companies to evaluate its efficacy. This includes HP Inc.’s HyperX, a gaming label, with which it developed a headset intended to assist gamers in enhancing their gameplay by optimizing focus and performance. Additionally, it has teamed up with a firm called iMotions, a software platform focused on human behavior research, to support the company’s research endeavors.

In a recent interview, Neurable’s CEO Ramses Alcaide refrained from disclosing details about new partnerships in development, but mentioned that the company is aiming to broaden its horizons across multiple sectors.

“In the past, we were very selective about our partnerships,” Alcaide stated, emphasizing that Neurable concentrated on a specific company to demonstrate that a distinctive commercial application was viable. With awareness that expectations can be met across numerous aspects, the startup is now focused on scaling, he noted.

“What we’re doing now is basically saying, ‘Hey, we’ve shown that we’re gaining significant traction’,” Alcaide remarked. “Let’s aim to make this as universal as heart rate monitors on your wrist, right?”

Despite the “non-invasive” designation, data about the brain is arguably more sensitive than information gathered from a heart rate monitor, leading to the question of what privacy safeguards a company like Neurable implements.

Alcaide mentioned that the company guarantees that user data is “secured and anonymized.” The firm’s privacy policy outlines various guidelines about when and how user data might be accessed and utilized. “We ensure compliance with HIPAA standards, going beyond what many startups would implement at our stage to guarantee data safety, encryption, and anonymization,” Alcaide explained.

Does Neurable use a user’s neural data to train its AI software?, we inquired. “We can do so with user consent, right?” Alcaide responded. “But we approach this in a very particular manner.” This distinct approach involves seeking consent from users regarding whether their data can be utilized for specific experiments, Alcaide clarified. “We’re not indiscriminately collecting data; it’s very targeted,” he added.

Alcaide expressed that his industry is at an “inflection point”—one at which there finally exists “a genuine business model in neuro-technology that can scale.” What follows this inflection point remains the pressing question.