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Europe’s dropping €220M on a Skeleton energy factory to supercharge AI, Apple might sell you a $2,400 foldable iPhone that finally doesn’t crease, and Supabase just hit a $5B valuation by turning down enterprise whales like it’s a sport.
Meanwhile, every company is scrambling to hire an AI Specialist before 2026 and Anduril’s autonomous weapons are misfiring badly enough to start wildfires.
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🎙 Catch the punchline hidden in this week’s headlines 🎙
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Six bullets of updates
⚡ Skeleton’s €220M Leipzig factory will boost AI growth and grid stability across Europe with next-gen energy storage.
📱 Engineers prep a crease-free foldable iPhone for possible 2025 launch, with a $2,400 price tag in the rumor mill.
🛠️ Backend builder raises eyebrows as Supabase lands $100M at a $5B valuation by turning down lucrative contracts to keep its open-source edge.
🤖 By 2026, every company will need an AI Specialist to drive strategic, scalable and safe AI adoption.
🔫 Anduril’s autonomous weapons hit major setbacks as failed drone boats, damaged jets, and a wildfire-sparking test raise fresh concerns.
🛠️ China orders tech giants to build their own chips and limit reliance on foreign suppliers amid a ramp-up of state-led tech independence.
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America’s AI crisis: everyone wants power, no one wants rules
Photo by Harold Mendoza on Unsplash
As the U.S. inches toward its first major AI regulations, a fierce political battle has erupted—not over how to regulate AI, but over who gets to do it. With no federal consumer-safety standard in place, states have rushed to pass over 100 AI-related laws, prompting tech companies and pro-AI PACs to push aggressively for a single national policy that would override state authority.
House lawmakers and a leaked White House executive order show efforts to block states from regulating AI, though Congress broadly opposes such sweeping preemption, arguing it would leave consumers unprotected. Meanwhile, Rep. Ted Lieu and the bipartisan House AI Task Force are crafting a comprehensive federal AI “megabill,” but it may take years to pass—fueling the contentious fight over whether states should keep regulating AI in the interim or step aside for a future national standard.
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Criminals or Scapegoats? Kim Dotcom and Pavel Durov
Can a platform be held responsible for what its users do? In this video, we explore that question through the stories of two tech founders, Kim Dotcom (Megaupload) and Pavel Durov (Telegram). From jail cells to massive raids, we dive into how legal gray areas have sent people to prison for user-generated content, and why the rules aren't applied equally across companies. Is it fair, or should things change? Let's break it down.
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Rosé Can Have More Sugar Than Donuts?
No wonder 38% of adults prefer health-conscious beverages. AMASS Brands is raking in sales by tapping into this trend. They’ve earned $80M+, including 1,000% year-over-year
growth, thanks to products like their top-selling zero-sugar rosé. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker $AMSS. Join celebs like Adam Levine and Derek Jeter as an AMASS investor and get up to 23% bonus shares today.
This is a paid advertisement for AMASS’s Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.amassbrands.com
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Slidebean Revenue Data
Mistakes were made as we grew Slidebean, but those mistakes shaped the lessons that helped us thrive. The journey wasn’t just about surviving—it was about learning and evolving.
To give you an honest glimpse into what growth really looks like, we’re sharing our actual financial numbers from the formative years of Slidebean. Download them now and see the ups, downs, and everything in between that built the company we are today.
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Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays
Peak streaming time continues after Black Friday on Roku, with the weekend after Thanksgiving and the weeks leading up to Christmas seeing record hours of viewing. Roku Ads Manager makes it simple to launch last-minute campaigns targeting viewers who are ready to shop during the holidays. Use first-party audience insights, segment by demographics, and advertise next to the premium ad-supported content your customers are streaming this holiday season.
Read the guide to get your CTV campaign live in time for the holiday rush.
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OpenAI says you can do more with less
Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash
AI is rapidly transforming how startups build and execute their go-to-market strategies, allowing teams to operate more efficiently and target customers with far greater precision. At TechCrunch Disrupt, GTMfund’s Max Altschuler explained that while AI enables companies to “do more with less,” successful founders still need traditional marketing knowledge and guidance from experienced advisors.
Google Cloud’s Alison Wagonfeld echoed this, noting that AI enhances speed—letting teams launch more messages, test ideas quickly, and focus on meaningful metrics—but doesn’t replace the core craft of marketing, such as understanding customers, doing research, and creating strong creative work. OpenAI’s Marc Manara added that startups are already leveraging AI to refine lead generation and inbound scoring with far more sophistication than before, enabling highly specific prospect targeting. As a result, GTM hiring is shifting away from narrow specialists toward candidates with curiosity, adaptability, and an understanding of both AI tools and fundamental marketing strategy.