The Saturday Morning Newsletter #58
AI’s $1.5B Settlement, Nuclear Stock Surging 500%, and The Illusion of Freedom
This Week I’m Tracking: 14 developments across the sectors shaping our future
Reading Time: 5 minutes of curated insights
Your weekly pulse check: The most important events in venture capital, energy, space, economics, intellectual property, philosophy, and more. I distill the most important developments across sectors I track, saving you hours of research while keeping you ahead of the curve.
New to these updates? They pair with our bi-weekly Brainwave analyses for comprehensive sector coverage. Wednesday’s deep dive explored misconceptions about venture capital - catch up here.
Let’s dive in.
#1: Anode
Description: Anode is a developer of mobile battery microgrids.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Anode recently raised $9M in venture capital funding. Anode is creating microgrids, which are localized sources of energy, specifically for commercial use. Their technology can create flexible alternatives to traditional power grids, enabling providers to have multiple avenues for their short-term energy needs.
#2: Commcrete
Description: Commcrete is a developer of satellite communication systems.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Commcrete recently raised $29M in venture capital funding. Commcrete is delivering critical satellite communications technology to countries around the globe. They enable radio transmitters to relay through satellites and create fully independent satellite receivers. Their technology is helping create the future of satellite tech.
#3: Electroflow
Description: Electroflow is a battery materials developer.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Electroflow recently raised $10M in venture capital funding. Brines in North America alone contain enough lithium to produce over 300 million electric vehicles. We just need a way to tap into that critical source. Electroflow’s proprietary process provides a way to collect critical lithium from these reservoirs, providing a domestic source of the critical material.
#4: OXCCU
Description: OXCCU is a sustainable aviation fuel startup.
Why Is This Company Interesting? OXCCU recently raised $20.8M in venture capital funding. OXCCU’s mission is to develop the lowest cost way to convert waste carbon into sustainable aviation fuel. This is an awesome concept, turning waste into a highly valuable commodity. Given that our abilities to combat climate change haven’t significantly hampered the supply of carbon, this opportunity will be valuable for many years to come.
#5: Cosmoserve
Description: Cosmoserve is a space debris removal company.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Cosmoserve recently raised $3.2M in venture capital funding. They have developed an active debris removal system that can bring end of life satellites out of orbit and remove other high risk debris from paths of space objects. I’ll be interested to see who they get to pay for these services as they’re primarily public goods (subject to shirking).
Goldman Sachs: The New Nuclear Age
You know something is semi-big when the big financial firms of the world write long articles. I think this quote speaks volumes: “As countries now race to secure the massive amounts of energy needed for leadership in artificial intelligence, nuclear energy is newly positioned to meet the moment.” After a long period of stagnation, technological breakthroughs, competition, and increased demand are driving the future of nuclear.
Sustainability Times: Drilling Nuclear Reactors Underground
Deep Fission Nuclear recently secured funding to install a micro nuclear reactor in 2026. Their goal is to put the reactor a mile underground, addressing most of the harsh concerns surrounding nuclear radiation and waste. This, if it works, could potentially revolutionize the energy landscape.
Investopedia: Nuclear Power Stock Oklo Surged 64% Last Week
The Trump administration made nuclear energy a key point in recent trade talks. This caused Oklo’s stock to skyrocket this week. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has gained at least 500%, boosted by growing demand for AI and a key contract with the U.S. Air Force. Investopedia details a technical analysis of the stock movements this year.
New York Times: Energy Department Cancels $7.5B for Hundreds of Projects
The government issued a notice this week, canceling $7.5B in funding for hundreds of energy projects across the country. Crucially, many of these projects were in blue states, leading some to speculate whether this is a move of political retribution. The specific projects terminated weren’t disclosed.
CNN: World’s First Commercial Space Station Plans
Vast, a space startup based out of California, signed a deal with SpaceX to launch the first commercial space station in May 2026. The single module is a minimum viable product meant to orbit for 3 years and support missions from astronauts. If successful, this could be one of a couple of commercial space stations, exponentially growing this portion of the space industry.
Pitchbook: AI Deals Dominating VC Market
AI deals are dominating the VC market like never before. In prior bubbles and hype cycles, the VC market has shifted a moderate portion of funding to them. AI is different, commanding a significant majority of funding. If you don’t believe me, look at the graph in the article. It’s plain as day just how much is being put into AI that hasn’t been in past cycles.
Wilson Sonsini: IP for Climate Technology Developers
This paper outlines key principles related to intellectual property protection for climate tech developers as they shift from R&D to commercialization. This is especially important for climate hardware developers, such as carbon capture technology and energy transmission technology. Developers should read to understand how to maintain control while collaborating with potential partners.
New York Times: Anthropic Agrees to Pay $1.5B to Settle Lawsuit
Anthropic, a leading generative AI developer (Claude), has agreed to pay $1.5B to a group of authors and publishers after a judge ruled it had illegally downloaded and stored millions of copyrighted books. The settlement will pay around $3k per work to 500,000 authors. This is the largest payout in history for a copyright case.
Medium: The Illusion of Freedom: How Modern Society Keeps Us Distracted
I came across this essay earlier this week and thought it deserved highlighting. Many modern societies are built on the idea of “freedom.” Yet, when you dive deeper beneath the proposed layers of unprecedented choice, there’s a system of control that secretly directs everything.
What are the ways it controls?
Distraction through agendas, sexual freedom, herd instincts, and more.
The system prioritizes convenience, but this has pushed us into a place of overwhelming control instead of true freedom.
The author proposes a solution: owning and abiding by your own ideas and worldview. This involves finding your own path that’s authentic to you. The system isn’t absolute.
I think this is an interesting spin on how the world is portrayed and worth a deeper thought. Not saying you have to believe it, I’m not sure I entirely do, but it’s worth at least considering.
That’s a wrap on this week’s roundup.
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Drew Jackson
Founder & Writer
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