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Happy Saturday and fasten your seatbelts,
Crypto’s rebound fuels a16z’s comeback while GenAI turns coders into conductors. U.S.-backed Falcons push AI warfare in Ukraine, YC bets on a biotech-AI GP, and late retirees risk losing $770K. APIs quietly drain budgets, robotics startups gain momentum, and Apple’s eSIM-only iPhone Air stalls in China. Disruption’s easy—regulation and reality are the real bottlenecks.
🎬 Video Pick of the Day: Jobs vs. Gates: The Real Story Hollywood Got Wrong — because some rivalries never go out of style.
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Six bullets of updates
🚀 Crypto’s rebound helps a16z funds log double-digit returns after wiping out previous losses.
🤖 GenAI is reshaping software teams as engineers shift from coders to orchestrators and architects, now saving up to 30% of dev time.
🛰️ US backing helps Falcons deploy its AI-powered electronic warfare tech across Ukraine's frontlines.
🧬 Y Combinator welcomes a new General Partner with biotech and AI expertise to back future founders.
💰 Workers risk losing up to $770K by retiring late; avoid these costly retirement mistakes to secure your future.
💻 APIs are pricier than they seem; traditional cost monitoring often fails. Non-production spends can hit 30% of tech budgets.
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Robotics startup ecosystem growth driven by lower costs and innovation
Photo by Lenny Kuhne on Unsplash
Robots are moving out of the R&D lab and into the workforce, driven by steadily declining production costs over the past decade. Hardware is catching up to the pace of AI advances, meaning that building a new robot no longer requires burning through an entire runway. A more mature supply chain and the rise of open-source tools are enabling startups to prototype and iterate at a fraction of the previous cost.
For both investors and founders, reduced capital risk could unlock more robotics-as-a-service models across logistics, healthcare, and warehousing—industries where margins are thin and automation can create real value. If current trends continue, robot-staffed factories may become commonplace rather than futuristic, unless broader economic factors intervene.
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Jobs vs. Gates: The Real Story Hollywood Got Wrong
In this video, we explore the tech industry's evolution through the lens of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. We talk about the nuanced narratives behind their innovations and contributions. Watch this video to understand better the profound impact of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs on the world of technology.
🕶️ More videos here 🕶️
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How 433 Investors Unlocked 400X Return Potential
Institutional investors back startups to unlock outsized returns. Regular investors have to wait. But not anymore. Thanks to regulatory updates, some companies are doing things differently.
Take Revolut. In 2016, 433 regular people invested an average of $2,730. Today? They got a 400X buyout offer from the company, as Revolut’s valuation increased 89,900% in the same timeframe.
Founded by a former Zillow exec, Pacaso’s co-ownership tech reshapes the $1.3T vacation home market. They’ve earned $110M+ in gross profit to date, including 41% YoY growth in 2024 alone. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.
The same institutional investors behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay backed Pacaso. And you can join them. But not for long. Pacaso’s investment opportunity ends September 18.
Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.
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🛒 Building ecommerce success starts with mastering four key traits—speed, adaptability, grit, and customer focus—in a $26T market.
Investor Data Room Checklist
An investor data room is a storage space, digital or physical, where companies store information relevant to due diligence. We've compiled a FREE Template/Checklist of all the items your data room should include and resources and tools for obtaining them.
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No SIM, no service: China hits pause on Apple’s iPhone Air
Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash
Apple will launch its iPhone 17 series worldwide on September 19, but the eSIM-only iPhone Air will face delays in China due to pending regulatory approval. While Apple’s website lists China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom as supporting eSIM, the company noted that the phone’s release depends on authorities’ clearance.
Apple told local media it is working with regulators to bring the device to China “as soon as possible.” Meanwhile, China Mobile announced it had enabled eSIM services on Weibo without giving a date, and China Telecom briefly posted about a September 19 launch before removing the notice.