🕶️ Hallucination optional

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Catch the podcast edition of this issue:

Today’s newsletter takes you from teenage founders skipping college to build startups, to Oracle stacking billions for AI bets, to Instagram’s 3B-user milestone.

We’ve also got a deep dive into a startup using AI to re-engineer psychedelics without the trip, plus why pensions are cracking, and how AI workers might patch the system.

-😎

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Seven bullets of updates

🚀 Dropouts in their teens are building companies faster than ever, with some launching startups before age 20.
📱 Nearly 80% of electronics aren’t properly recycled, fueling a global e-waste surge set to hit 80M tonnes by 2030.
📸 Instagram hits 3B users, launching tools to let users filter their algorithmic feeds more easily.
🚗 Waymo is teaming up with Carvana to offer autonomous rides for employee travel in Phoenix, launching with a 50-car fleet.
🚆 Pangyo’s tech hub faces growing pains as transit woes and rising costs challenge its $10 billion ecosystem.
💸 Oracle preps a $15B bond sale weeks after locking in a $300B AI compute deal.
⚡ Stargate aims to ramp US data center capacity to 7 GW, rivaling output from seven nuclear plants.

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Can Psychedelics Work Without the Trip? This Startup Thinks So

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

A startup used AI to craft a “psychedelic tofu”: an oral 5‑MeO‑MiPT that’s the least psychedelic psychedelic. In a 47‑person Phase I in the Netherlands, it was safe, kicked in ~30 minutes, peaked at 1.5–2 hours, and was psychoactive without hallucinations: mood/intensity shifts, brighter colors, familiar brain‑wave signatures.

If efficacy holds, decoupling benefit from the trip could shrink clinic time/costs, broaden eligibility (e.g., anxiety, OCD, phobias), and fit a Spravato‑style delivery sans talk therapy. That said, the FDA’s stance after MDMA shows regulators will demand hard outcomes, not vibes.

For founders: the moat is dataset + models linking chemistry to AI‑mapped trip reports, plus IP on combos. Watch for payer skepticism, definition fights over what counts as “psychedelic,” and competition from non‑hallucinogenic psychoplastogens.

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AI Workers Might Save Your Retirement

Pensions were built like a pyramid—and we’re running out of people to stack on the bottom. In this video, we break down the math behind Social Security, rising retirement ages, and the collapsing pension systems in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Why isn’t the system working anymore? What happens when retirees outnumber workers? And is there any hope for our generation to retire?

😎 More videos here 😎

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🏪 Make your first million: buy sub-$10M ‘gateway‑drug’ businesses posting 15–30% margins and $300K–$500K sales.
🧲 Put customers back at the center—use small service tweaks to lift retention, referrals, and LTV.
🧠 6 leaders show how reframing to resilience, transparency, and imperfect action unlocked faster growth.
🏈 Cuban skipped vacations for 7 years, grew to 80 employees and $30M+ in sales; Parsons backs nonstop hustle as edge.

AI Pitch Deck Reviewer

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YouTube Policy Shift on Misinformation and Account Reinstatement

Photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash

After years of hardline COVID/election rules, the ban hammer gets a soft undo: the platform will reinstate accounts previously terminated under policies it has since retired. In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, Alphabet’s counsel said it values conservative voices and their reach in civic discourse.

Why it matters: returning creators boost inventory and watch time, but invite brand-safety headaches and election-season scrutiny. Expect pressure to clarify appeals, monetization eligibility, and consistency across regions. For startups leaning on creator channels, plan for policy whiplash; assume reversals happen and diversify distribution.