The Saturday Morning Newsletter #75
Doomsday Clock Ticks Closer, Amazing Ocean Cleanup Project Results, and A Moon Landing Soon
This Week I’m Tracking: 15 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 a special edition interview about mental health - catch up here.
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Let’s dive in.
#1: Tradespace
Description: Tradespace is an intellectual property management platform.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Tradespace recently raised $15M in venture capital funding. Their press release says it best, “The traditional IP law firm model is broken. In-house IP teams are being asked to support faster innovation cycles without increasing costs, despite law firm fees for drafting and prosecution reaching record levels. Today, Tradespace is dismantling that model.”
#2: Gigablue
Description: Gigablue is a marine carbon removal startup.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Gigablue recently raised $20M in venture capital funding. Gigablue harnesses phytoplankton’s carbon-sequestration capabilities to enable carbon capture at scale. Phytoplankton convert carbon dioxide into biomass, which then sinks to the ocean floor; however, they rarely reach it. Gigablue has a method that increases this chance by orders of magnitude (10x+).
#3: Northwood Space
Description: Northwood Space is a satellite infrastructure provider.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Northwood Space recently raised $100M in venture capital funding. Northwood Space is developing ground infrastructure to support next-generation commercial space efforts. They also inked a $50M contract with the Space Force to help track satellites, signaling their intent and large potential in the industry.
#4: Standard Nuclear
Description: Standard Nuclear is a producer of TRISO nuclear fuel.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Standard Nuclear recently raised $140M in venture capital funding. Standard Nuclear is a frontrunner in developing TRISO nuclear fuel. Most nuclear startups raising significant capital have indicated their interest in using TRISO fuel in their reactors, creating a large market opportunity.
#5: Terra Energy
Description: Terra Energy is a provider of short-term home solar subscriptions.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Terra Energy recently raised $105M in venture capital funding. If you’ve never considered solar, this might be the way to go. Terra offers all of the benefits of residential solar without any of the drawbacks: no deposit, no lengthy loan, no lien. You can get solar panels through an easy subscription that still lowers your electricity cost.
World Nuclear News: On Pace to Exceed Goal of Tripling Global Nuclear Capacity
The recent Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy set the goal at 1,200 GW of global nuclear energy by 2050. As currently projected, if all governments meet their new nuclear goals, the world could exceed 1,400 GW, with goals and projects expanding weekly to further exceed that number.
The New York Times: Doomsday Clock Ticks Closer to Apocalypse
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has set the clock each year since 1947. This year, they’ve decided we’re 85 seconds to the stroke of doom. Why? Nuclear tensions, failures in climate action, AI, and the rise of autocracy are among the reasons cited. The clock has been on a perilous decline since the 90s, signalling that humanity must change its behavior or face dire consequences.
The Ocean Cleanup Project now estimates it captures 2-5% of global plastic pollution, with the potential to double that share again this year. Their goal is to remove 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040, a significant target that now seems even more attainable.
NBC: NASA Preparatory Rollout For Moon Journey
NASA moved its new rocket out onto the launchpad this week. This will enable NASA to conduct a series of tests and rehearsals as the final preparations for the first crewed flight to the Moon. If successful, the mission could lift off sometime in the next week or two.
The New York Times: Blue Origin Pauses Space Tourism to Focus on the Moon
The New Shepard rocket, which has carried 92 people to space, will be reprioritized to fulfill key NASA contracts. NASA continues to pursue its goal of returning astronauts to the Moon, and Blue Origin hopes to capitalize on this momentum, demonstrating that its rockets can make the round-trip easily.
The New York Times: How to Bring Back the American Dream
A new study suggests there is an easy way to overcome intergenerational poverty. They found that adults living in new public housing units did not benefit economically; however, children benefited, even while their parents weren’t positively affected. These students were 17% more likely to attend college and 20% less likely to be incarcerated, with estimated lifetime earnings 50% higher.
The New York Times: Rewriting the International Order
One of the biggest forces shaping politics is the deep energy problems. Oil production has been increasingly volatile, pipelines are dangerous, environmental concerns have upended the current world order, and many more issues persist. These will shape foreign policy in the years to come, with countries increasingly nearshoring to provide security and less vulnerability to exploitation.
Psychology Today: What’s the Point of Philosophy?
As much as we hate to admit it, it’s often great to get back to the basics. I also love a good theoretical battle, especially when it comes to philosophy. This article covers the pros and cons of philosophical views and ultimately presents a strong opinion. I’d highly recommend it if you want to dive deeper into these concepts in a metaphilosophical context.
Alliance Magazine: Forget Predicting the Future: Start Rehearsing It
Throughout January, I’ve been seeing a lot of 2026 prediction posts (and I’m partially responsible for the problem). We often focus on crises, and once we enter that mindset, it’s hard to exit.
When we get stuck, we stop imagining the futures we’re trying to create through our purposeful actions. We focus on the immediate rather than the long-term investments.
One research found that rehearsing (through detailed simulations) futures, this builds mental muscles that help us navigate these disruptions (when real) or other disruptions in our lives more easily.
Most scenario planning doesn’t account for this. They end up producing endless reports that aren’t structured for imagination and insight.
The best type of learning in this field is through experimentation: reflection, imagination, community, and finding space for your mind to process everything.
The takeaway: Maybe add some scenario thought to your list of New Year’s Resolutions.
That’s a wrap on this week’s roundup.
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Drew Jackson
Founder & Writer
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Next Deep Dive: Revisiting Value Creation & Capture - February 4th, 2026
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