The Saturday Morning Newsletter #89
How to Fix Democracy, Why Gas Prices Differ, and How Fast the Universe is Expanding
This Week I’m Tracking: 13 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 proponents of venture capital - catch up here.
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Let’s dive in.
#1: True Anomaly
Description: True Anomaly is a developer of space technology.
Why Is This Company Interesting? True Anomaly recently raised $650M in venture capital funding. True Anomaly is developing software that enables operators to orient, decide, and act in orbit. Additionally, they’re developing a tactical fighter-interceptor to operate within contested space environments. Their goal is to curate a suite of space-based solutions for the modern government and/or commercial use cases.
#2: CMBlu Energy
Description: CMBlu Energy is a developer of long-duration batteries.
Why Is This Company Interesting? CMBlu Energy recently raised $50M in venture capital funding. CMBlu Energy is developing a water-based battery that provides long-duration power without needing lithium. These batteries are modular and can be deployed when needed. They’ve recently repositioned their business model to serve AI and data centers. These batteries are reliable, with an extensive engineering team helping scale long-duration energy storage solutions easily.
#3: Fermeate
Description: Fermeate is a precision fermentation startup.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Fermeate recently raised $2M in venture capital funding. Fermentation is a complex art that requires sophisticated equipment and know-how. Fermeate is developing a new hardware module that delivers timed pulses of light to switch your production organisms genetically. This further optimizes existing infrastructure, increases yields, and provides greater stability in genetic variation.
#4: Panthalassa
Description: Panthalassa is a generator of energy from waves.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Panthalassa recently raised $140M in venture capital funding. Global energy demand is rapidly accelerating, outpacing current supply growth. Panthalassa is developing autonomous ocean-based systems that generate wave power, capturing a natural source of movement as energy. Their devices are easy to create and deploy and can be scaled efficiently as the world demands more flexible energy sources.
#5: Moment Energy
Description: Moment Energy is an EV battery repurposing company.
Why Is This Company Interesting? Moment Energy recently raised $40M in venture capital funding. Moment Energy is recycling existing EV batteries to create commercial-scale energy storage plants. They create public good by recycling old batteries while purchasing their supplies at a lower cost than new batteries. Interesting model as they’ll be working with technology that is always 5+ years behind current market innovations, so that lag may hurt them.
The New York Times: America Will Pay Dearly for Its Energy Arrogance
Under Trump, America has embraced fossil fuels, moving further away from other sources and increasing concentrations and potential harms. In the short term, this may be fine, but in the long run, it will create significant uncertainty and instability, potentially leading to long-term consequences on a geopolitical scale.
The New York Times: A Strong El Niño May Be Coming
Forecasters say a powerful El Niño weather pattern could form later this year. This could be one of the strongest in three decades. There’s roughly a 60% chance, with scientists saying next year could be the warmest year on record yet.
Spaceflight Now: ULA Launches 29 Amazon Leo Satellites
This week, ULA launched 29 more Amazon Leo satellites into orbit. This is ULA’s sixth flight, delivering the internet satellites into orbit. This brings the total number of Amazon satellites in orbit to 270 as Amazon seeks to compete with SpaceX for next-gen space-based internet capabilities.
The Wall Street Journal: How Fast the Universe is Expanding
Scientists are beginning to know how fast our universe is expanding. Experts found that objects in our universe recede faster as they become more distant. This rate is the most precise ever calculated. This is contrary to what the theory of everything predicts, causing ripples in the scientific community.
Pitchbook: VC’s Future is Anyone’s Guess
Venture capital’s 2030 forecast is very broad - it all depends on whether AI firms can exit their investments. The base case estimates very modest growth, whereas the upside could result in a 50%+ increase in global AUM. AI now accounts for around 65% of total VC deal value, with the money highly concentrated among a small group of top-tier companies.
The New York Times: Why Gasoline Prices Vary So Much
The price of gasoline varies dramatically by city and state. Around 50% of gasoline prices are driven by oil prices. Since the United States attacked Iran, the price of oil has risen by more than 50%. The variance between states and cities stems from the location of oil refineries, logistics, state taxes, and competition.
Psyche: Why It’s So Hard to Agree on What Counts as True
Everyone pretty much agrees on the facts. However, recent studies have shown that people view “truth” differently. Truth can be understood in different ways. From a social angle, truth is tied to authenticity, so calling someone’s statement true means we think they were honest and transparent. Maybe it’s time to be more conscious about how and when we use the word “truth.”
The Conversation: How to Fix Democracy?
Plato argued that governing a state is a skilled trade, no different from piloting a ship or practicing medicine. In his view, leadership is not a birthright or a popularity contest, but a craft requiring a specific, rigorous expertise.
The first hurdle is defining the “skill” of ruling. Plato defines it as a rule that possesses knowledge of “that which is truly good.” Unlike flying a plane, where a safe landing measures success, the “true good” is subjective and difficult to quantify.
This isn’t to say that only a small subset of the population has a monopoly on these skills - leadership isn’t confined to just government; anyone can have these skills in any facet of life.
Additionally, there is a strong case for the wisdom of the crowd. Collective decision-making often proves better than those of a single expert.
No system can perfectly guarantee a skilled leader. Democracy doesn’t always produce the best leader, but neither does any other system. It’s a complicated process that no one has yet figured out perfectly.
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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