Inside the Doomer Industrial Complex

Top News

• WaPo on the organized movement against AI: A deep dive from WaPo reporter Nitasha Tiku investigates a high-profile media campaign raising awareness about the “existential risk” posed by AI technology. Groups like British nonprofit ControlAI, the Future of Life Institute, and Seismic Foundation are teaming with influencers and content creators to share anti-AI messaging and warnings across the internet and social media. And these are not “AI is coming for your job” narratives. These messages are specifically about how super-intelligent AI could threaten humanity’s future, potentially subjugating our species or destroying the world. Eliezer Yudkowsky’s widely-read 2025 book “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies” apparently sets the tone for a lot of this discourse.

• Strategy buys $2.54B in Bitcoin: Many have expressed heavy skepticism of Michael Saylor’s strategy regarding… well Strategy, Inc. Friend of the pod Coffeezilla dropped the latest example just last week. But Saylor’s simply not listening. Over the last week, Strategy picked up $2.54 billion in additional Bitcoin, the company’s largest acquisition since November 2024. These purchases were once again financed through shares, both preferred and common, and helped to bolster demand for an already-surging Bitcoin, which hit a two-month high. Strategy now owns about $61 billion in Bitcoin total.

• Deezer finds small audience for AI songs: The French music streaming service announced that 44% of all new music being uploaded to their platform is AI-generated. That’s about 75,000 AI-generated tracks PER DAY, or roughly 2 million per month. The catch? Only 1-3% of the platform’s total streams go to AI songs. There are some practical reasons for this… AI songs aren’t featured in editorial playlists or as algorithmic recommendations on Deezer, limiting their spread. But it seems like Deezer may be facing a variation of the same problem faced by OpenAI’s late Sora app. A lot more people are interested in creating content with AI tools than engaging with other people’s AI content.

TWiST 500

In all my time working on the Ticker newsletter, we’ve yet to have an excuse to talk about the UK’s CuspAI. So now that they’re in talks to raise $200 million in new funding, at a valuation over $1 billion, it’s time to finally break the seal.

Cusp is developing specialized foundation models for chemistry. Consider how a large language model works, by mathematically predicting a sequence of words based on data from its training material. Cusp’s models do the same, but with molecular formulas instead of words.

Currently, when scientists are seeking to develop new materials and compounds, they have to work from scratch, doing a variation of trial and error. The hope is that with Cusp’s “search engine” for molecules, researchers could start with the properties that they are seeking, then reverse engineer a compound that will serve their purposes.

Early potential use cases include developing new kinds of semiconductors, sustainable energy, batteries, or fine-tuning existing processes like carbon capture. Cusp’s models are also “synthesis aware,” meaning that they’re more likely to develop theoretical compounds that can actually be reproduced in a laboratory setting.

The company previously raised a $30 million seed round in June 2024 and followed up with a $100 million Series A in September 2025. The advisory board includes a number of heavy hitters in the AI space, including Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton and former Meta AI scientist Yann LeCun. – Lon

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This Week in Startups

E2277: Jason Ballard of ICON joins the show to talk about how 3D printing homes can not just help us solve the housing crisis, and help humanity colonize the cosmos, but could also lead the way to a more beautiful and aesthetically pleasing future. Plus Jason and Lon chat with Seby Rubino of Resi Labs about designing the “oracle,” which can guess the price of any home with 98% accuracy. Is this a potential Zillow Killer?

E2276: Jason and Lon kick off the show with Albert and Boris for Nanogram, an app that’s essentially TikTok for mobile games. People create casual mini-games with AI and then share them on an endlessly scrolling feed. It’s pretty addictive! Then, Alex chats with 1X Technologies CEO Bernt Børnich about building NEO, a safety-first 66-lb humanoid robot designed specifically for the home. Find out why Bernt says households are an even trickier workspace for robots than a factory floor or warehouse.

E2275: Stillcore Capital partner Mark Jeffrey joins the show once more to pick through the Templar/Covenant-72B scandal and look ahead at how the Bittensor community can prevent future (alleged!) rug pulls. They’re joined by subnet owners Ken Miyachi (of BitMind) and Will Squires & Steffan Cruz (of MacroCosmos) for a full rundown on the specific powers wielded by subnet owners, how investors should divvy up their TAO vs. Alpha Token purchases, and much much more.

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LAUNCH Accelerator 36!

Our 36th LAUNCH Accelerator cohort has kicked off. If you’re an early stage investor and want to take a look at this cohort first-hand during an exclusive pitch session, please email [email protected]!

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