The Saturday Morning Newsletter #88
The Loneliest People, Amsterdam Outlaws Fossil Fuel Ads, and Plant-Based Plastics
This Week I’m Tracking: 11 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 the proponents of venture capital - catch up here.
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Let’s dive in.
#1: Fasal Bio
Description: Fasal Bio is a plant-based plastics producer.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Fasal Bio recently raised $7M in venture capital. Fasal Bio is developing a proprietary renewable materials formula that uses wood-based materials to replace conventional plastics in manufactured goods. Their product is engineered to work with standard plastic processing methods, including injection molding and extrusion. This enables it to be integrated into existing manufacturing production lines with minimal impact.
Description: NanoTech Materials is a developer of advanced materials.
Why Is This Company Interesting? NanoTech Materials recently raised $29M in venture capital funding. NanoTech Materials has a proprietary, patented coating technology that reduces heat transfer while maintaining structural durability. This helps control energy costs and extend asset lifetimes, saving businesses money in aggregate. Wildfire exposure is also driving this effort, as their product is engineered to protect structures against temperatures of thousands of degrees.
#3: Plume
Description: Plume is a developer of geospatial AI.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Plume recently raised $3.3M in venture capital funding. Plume is a software platform for energy infrastructure intelligence. It enables development teams to identify the best-suited land for renewable energy projects, track risks, and build a strong pipeline of top-tier opportunities. Getting through the permitting and development phases is one of the longest parts of this process, so finding efficiencies like Plume provides developers a leg up on the competition.
#4: Starfish Space
Description: Starfish Space is a developer of robotic spacecraft to service satellites.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Starfish Space recently raised $110M in venture capital funding. Starfish Space is developing an autonomous satellite servicing vehicle (called Otter). It’s smaller and cheaper than alternatives, using solar electricity to dock with satellites to enable life extension and proper disposal. Their technology is actively in space, helping service existing infrastructure.
#5: Xoople
Description: Xoople is building a satellite data platform.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Xoople recently raised $130M in venture capital funding. Xoople is a developer of AI Earth data monitoring. Their infrastructure layer will feed into many other tools, enabling businesses and governments to be more productive in their decision-making regarding Earth-based variables. Their ultimate goal is to build a system of record for Earth data that can be used by many AI agents.
World Nuclear News: TerraPower Begins First U.S. Utility-Scale Advanced Nuclear Plant
TerraPower is developing what will hopefully be the first advanced nuclear plant built at scale in the United States. The company began non-nuclear construction in 2024 and just received its NRC-approved construction permit. It is the first commercial reactor approved for construction in a decade. The project is expected to be completed and operational by 2030.
The New York Times: Amsterdam Outlaws Ads for Fossil Fuel or Meat
Recently, after being characterized as a very open city, Amsterdam outlawed advertising that promotes lifestyles linked to high carbon emissions. This primarily relates to ads surrounding fossil fuels (airlines, cruises, and faraway destinations) and meat (beef, chicken, pork, fish). This is a world first, but it could signal a trend as regions become more aggressive in addressing climate change.
The New York Times: Global Deforestation Slows
In 2025, the total area of trees destroyed was around 63 million acres, around 14% decline from 2024. This was the lowest of any year in the last decade, largely driven by progress in protecting tropical forests. This was especially impactful in tropical rainforests, where declines were 36% compared to 2024.
The New York Times: We Will Be Paying for the Iran War
America’s war with Iran will cause decades of repercussions. The government has entered into many long-term contracts in the face of this war to fund retrofitting equipment, developing new weapons, and creating stockpiles. This war, which many Americans believe should not have happened in the first place, has enduring repercussions that only compound the issue.
U.S. Senate: China Stealing U.S. Intellectual Property
Intellectual property is a vital component of the United States economy, driving extensive innovation and product development and generating many positive externalities. However, it isn’t a perfect system. Foreign actors, China specifically, have been stealing designs to their benefit—leapfrogging current capabilities unethically and illegally. We must protect our intellectual property, but how to do it perfectly isn’t clear yet.
EcoNews: The Loneliest People
The headline is perfect: “Psychology suggests that the loneliest people in life are not usually the outcasts, but rather those kind, competent, and always-available individuals whom everyone values, but whom almost no one calls to ask how they are doing because they seem too strong to need care.”
Loneliness isn’t just a bad mood; it’s been found to be linked with higher risks of disease (29% higher risk of heart disease) and even early death.
This is a quick reminder to check on people in your life—even the ones that seem like they’re all good and have their lives together.
That’s a wrap on this week’s roundup.
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Drew Jackson
Founder & Writer
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Next Deep Dive: Public vs. Private Space - May 13th, 2026
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