Sponsored by
✦
Tech had a week: the EU is grilling Google for allegedly shoving publishers down the rankings, Apple is pretending to be generous with a 15% mini-app commission, and beehiiv is handing creators real-time analytics like candy. Cash App now wants you roaming your city like a Bitcoin treasure hunter, Google’s new personalized Images tab is here to fuel your midnight scrolling habit, and a former journalist is trying to fix real estate’s £60B chaos.
[Watch] New podcast episode out! Zuck opens a school, AI opens your soul, and Google opens a lawsuit.
-🕶️
✦
Eight bullets of updates
🔎 EU probes if Google's anti-spam rules unfairly downgrade publisher rankings, hitting sites with third-party content.
🍏 App developers can now benefit from a reduced 15% commission on qualifying mini app transactions under Apple’s new program.
📈 Creators can now enjoy real-time analytics and AI website building as beehiiv expands its platform to boost growth.
🪖 US defense labs test open-weight AI with military files as some warn it still lags rivals in speed and accuracy.
🗺️ Discover local spots accepting bitcoin with Cash App’s new map feature, now available to its 20 million monthly users.
🖼️ Google introduces a new "Images" tab surfacing personalized visual inspo to iOS and Android users based on their interests.
🏘️ Ex-journalist Monty Munford targets property tech’s £60B gap by tackling transaction inefficiencies with new startup HomeTruth.
🏢 Microsoft’s AI boss wants employees in-office at least 3 days a week, pushing strict in-person collaboration at the tech giant.
✦
AI powered by hot rocks?
A new solar-thermal startup is ditching panels and instead heating bricks inside insulated boxes. The stored heat drives a Stirling engine to generate electricity—aiming for one-cent power for AI data centers. Think massive fields of “hot-rock batteries” that can hold heat for up to five days and run continuously.
The company just added $50M to its earlier $70M Series A and claims a 10 million-unit backlog (about 90 GWh of storage). To get costs low enough, it needs to scale manufacturing to 1 million units a year, betting that modular, factory-built hardware will finally give solar-thermal tech the cost curve it never had.
If it works, data centers get cheap, firm, on-site power without waiting for new transmission lines. If it doesn’t, solar PV + lithium-ion will keep dominating.
✦
Zuck opens a school, AI opens your soul, and Google opens a lawsuit.
Tune in every week for startup news, rants, and comedy.
✦
Find your customers on Roku this Black Friday
As with any digital ad campaign, the important thing is to reach streaming audiences who will convert. To that end, Roku’s self-service Ads Manager stands ready with powerful segmentation and targeting options. After all, you know your customers, and we know our streaming audience.
Worried it’s too late to spin up new Black Friday creative? With Roku Ads Manager, you can easily import and augment existing creative assets from your social channels. We also have AI-assisted upscaling, so every ad is primed for CTV.
Once you’ve done this, then you can easily set up A/B tests to flight different creative variants and Black Friday offers. If you’re a Shopify brand, you can even run shoppable ads directly on-screen so viewers can purchase with just a click of their Roku remote.
Bonus: we’re gifting you $5K in ad credits when you spend your first $5K on Roku Ads Manager. Just sign up and use code GET5K. Terms apply.
✦
🤖 Vibe coding hits 2025—tests crown 3 AI tools to help you ship faster with fewer keystrokes —no heavy setup.
🔑 IP isn't paperwork—it's survival: 3 steps to secure early, license smart, enforce with purpose to protect growth.
AI Pitch Deck Reviewer
Slidebean has been helping startups craft pitch decks for over 10 years. We recently built an AI Pitch Deck Review tool, that processes the text and visuals on your presentation, and provides actionable feedback on the story, potential missing items, and recommendations on how to improve each slide.
✦
Revolutionize Learning with AI-Powered Video Guides
Upgrade your organization training with engaging, interactive video content powered by Guidde.
Here’s what you’ll love about it:
1️⃣ Fast & Simple Creation: AI transforms text into video in moments.
2️⃣ Easily Editable: Update videos as fast as your processes evolve.
3️⃣ Language-Ready: Reach every learner with guides in their native tongue.
Bring your training materials to life.
The best part? The browser extension is 100% free.
✦
LinkedIn integrates AI features to enhance user experience
Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash
LinkedIn is launching AI-powered people search for U.S. Premium users. Instead of clicking through filters, you can now just type something like “find investors with FDA experience.” The search bar even starts with “I’m looking for…” to encourage natural language queries.
Why it matters: this move could reshape how professionals find people for hiring, partnerships, or fundraising. By making advanced search a paid feature, LinkedIn tightens control over talent discovery and business development—putting new pressure on recruiting tools and sales intelligence platforms. It also means users can uncover connections faster through their existing social networks.
The fine print: results aren’t perfect yet—shortcuts like “YC” might not match “Y Combinator.” Some user badges may appear incorrectly, and more search volume could lead to spammy outreach. The next steps include expanding the rollout, improving how LinkedIn understands names and entities, and clarifying whether AI agents or bots can use the feature.
✦
Startup Events and Deadlines
Talent TechWalk l Nov 16 l Chicago
Crash Course on Startup Fundraising with Caya (Slidebean CEO) l Nov 17 l Webinar
Crash Course in Financial Modeling l Nov 20 l Webinar