The Saturday Morning Newsletter #76

This Week I’m Tracking: 12 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 the value creation and capture frameworks - catch up here.

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Let’s dive in.

#1: UBEES

Description: UBEES is a developer of beekeeping applications.

Why Is This Company Interesting? UBEES recently raised $8M in venture capital funding. UBEES is striving to bring back regenerative agriculture, powered by bees. In the last 10 years, almost half of the bees on Earth have died. This reduces pollination efforts worldwide, causing cascading effects throughout our lives. We must find ways to sustainably reintroduce bees.

#2: Tomorrow

Description: Tomorrow is a weather intelligence platform.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Tomorrow recently raised $175M in venture capital funding. Tomorrow is the first space-powered AI weather intelligence platform. Other weather intelligence platforms either don’t leverage space at all or have very minimal capabilities. Tomorrow combines space insights with Earth-based observation data to curate a more effective intelligence platform.

#3: CesiumAstro

Description: CesiumAstro is a space communications startup.

Why Is This Company Interesting? CesiumAstro recently raised $270M in venture capital funding. CesiumAstro is carefully crafting the next set of communication devices for global reach. Their technology integrates satellites, ground infrastructure, and aircraft into a comprehensive network that transmits data efficiently.

#4: Avalanche Energy

Description: Avalanche Energy is a fusion energy startup.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Avalanche Energy recently raised $29M in venture capital funding. I try to keep up with nuclear as much as I can, but I missed Avalanche until now. Avalanche is pioneering micro nuclear reactors to create a desktop-sized nuclear power plant that could revolutionize flexible energy supply.

#5: Additive Drives

Description: Additive Drives is an electric motor developer.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Additive Drives recently raised $25M in venture capital funding. Additive Drives has developed a prototype of a new electric motor to further optimize the automotive transition to electric powertrains. They’ve created over 300 projects comprising over 20 patents—they know their stuff.

NPR: The Trump Administration Has Secretly Rewritten Nuclear Safety Rules

The Trump administration has made sweeping changes to nuclear safety rules, with the aim of accelerating the development of next-generation nuclear reactor designs. These changes slashed hundreds of pages of reactor security requirements, loosened protections for groundwater and the environment, and eliminated at least one key safety rule.

International Atomic Energy Agency: 5 Reasons the Clean Energy Transition Needs Nuclear

Nuclear energy is critical to the current clean energy transition for these 5 reasons:

• Nuclear Delivers Large-scale, Low-carbon Power
• Reliable Baseload Power For Growing Needs
• Momentum to Increase Financing for Nuclear Energy is Building
• Nuclear Energy Can Contribute to Decarbonize Hard-to-Abate Sectors
• Technology Evolution and Innovation

The New York Times: NASA Eyes March Launch After Delay

NASA announced that it would not try to launch the next Artemis mission to the Moon until March, citing a hydrogen leak, the next in a series of problems. Currently, no other entities have expressed interest in going to the Moon, so NASA may remain first, but further delays could signal its downfall.

The Wall Street Journal: SpaceX Delays Mars Plans to Focus on Moon

SpaceX initially planned to reach Mars in 2026, but the company is holding off on those initiatives for now. Instead, the company is focusing on a lunar mission in partnership with NASA, aiming to be among the first to return to the Moon. The company will still pursue Mars at a later date.

The New York Times: The Finance Industry Is a Grift

The finance sector commands the largest share of corporate profits and attracts the largest share of talent from top schools by offering the highest compensation. Business has actually declined, however, from 5.2% of GDP in the 1960s to 2.9% of GDP today. These are symptoms of financialization—making the financial markets and transactions ends unto themselves. These fields are disconnected from the societal benefits that support capitalism’s true purpose.

It’s a long, in-depth read, but worth your time.

Psychology Today: Is Metaphysics Useful?

This philosopher argues that much of the metaphysical literature is not useful. This portion is called analytical metaphysics, and some argue it is “trying to discover general truths about reality that are independent of science.” It’s his opinion that this segment represents a weakness of humans, where it’s too easy to dream of things that aren’t “relevant” to most.

The Guardian: Ultra-Processed Foods Should Be Treated More Like Cigarettes Than Food

A new study released found that ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have far more in common with cigarettes than with fruits or vegetables. Let’s dive into the analysis.

Their finding is that UPFs and cigarettes are engineered to encourage addiction and consumption, with parallels in the widespread health effects they cause. UPFs include soft drinks and packaged snacks.

The marketing claims on these products, such as “low-fat” or “sugar-free,” are “health washing” that stalls regulation, even though they offer little meaningful benefit.

Granted, there’s a large gray area around what qualifies as a UPF, but I think the message still stands: we need to consider what our diets consist of.

That's a wrap on this week’s roundup.

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Drew Jackson

Founder & Writer

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• Next Deep Dive: Reincarnation - February 18th, 2026
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