This is an extremely good episode! Go listen to it!

One mildly contrian opinion I have is that I love ugly houses. I'm glad that there are people with atrocious taste who are allowed to live exactly how they please. Relatedly, there's nothing anyone could do or say to convince me to move somewhere with an HOA.

It’s time to mine. @a16z is proud to invest in @MarianaMinerals. LFG 🚀🇺🇸💪

Intelligent Logistics, American Refining Capacity, and Auto Parts Delivered via Drones. Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - @BoozAllen venture arm has upsized its new fund to $300 million from $100 million, aiming to invest in 20–25 companies over the next five years. The fund will focus on defense tech, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, broader deep tech, and startups supporting B2G markets and U.S. manufacturing, according to Yahoo Finance. - Rune Technologies has raised a $24 million Series A led by HUMAN CAPITAL. Rune develops logistics tools like TyrOS, which brings intelligence to manual logistics by forecasting needs, optimizing assets, and enabling distributed operations at the edge in mission-critical environments. Additional investors include @PaxVentures_ and @WashingHarbour, with continued support from @a16z, @p72vc, @xyz_vc, and @forward_deploy. - @MarianaMinerals has launched. The startup is a "software-first, vertically integrated minerals company" focused on owning and operating mines and metal refineries in sectors such as lithium, copper, and nickel. The company raised its Series A led by @a16z, with total capital raised now at $85 million. - As part of Michigan’s new AAM Initiative, the state awarded $4.1M to four projects: $1.5M to CVS Health for drone medication delivery in Troy, $949K to Traverse Connect for rural medical transport, $740K to Jack Demmer for drone auto parts delivery, and $1M to the University of Michigan to launch “M-Air,” a drone R&D and corridor hub. - Nexxa AI has announced a $4.4 million pre-seed raise with investors including @speedrun, Augment Ventures, Propeller Ventures, @PlugandPlayTC, and others. Nexxa develops AI agents for industrial engineering. - Poland has announced the discovery of its largest-ever oil and gas field, containing an estimated 33 million tonnes of oil and 27 billion cubic meters of natural gas. - PermaCold Logistics has broken ground on a next-gen cold storage facility in Brunswick, GA, enhancing cold chain capacity for protein exports via the Port of Savannah. The site will play a key role in securing temperature-sensitive supply chains, especially seafood. - Grand Valley State University is launching a fund to invest in early-stage startups, supported by a $1.6 million grant from the Michigan Innovation Fund. - @HydrosatI secured a Stage II National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) contract, giving the agency access to its thermal and EO satellite data - @ursamajortech has completed its second successful test of a 10” solid rocket motor using highly loaded grain. - @SkyfiApp has launched global AIS vessel tracking, fusing satellite, coastal, and onboard data into one stream. Users can monitor ship movements in key zones like the Strait of Hormuz. - Sibanye-Stillwater is acquiring U.S.-based Metallix Refining Inc. for $82M to expand its recycling footprint. Metallix operates two precious metals recycling plants in North Carolina.

Honored to partner with @tbc415 and @MarianaMinerals as they build America's Mining Company! It's time to mine ⛏️

energy underpins almost everything we do in the digital and physical world so we spend a lot of time talking about it @a16z be a fly on the wall for one of our conversations on the latest pod episode! @rmcentush @davidu @eriktorenberg

People who idolize Mediterranean beach vacations haven’t spent enough time in coastal New England in July 🦞🍦🌭🇺🇸

Congrats to all 100 companies on @SVDG_official's 2025 #NATSEC100 list! 🚀 We @a16z salute you and thank you! Here the first six in the ranking 😎:

The Texas grid collapsed in 2021 during a big storm and everyone said it was proof that deregulation doesn't work. Since then, the private markets have flooded the Texas grid with solar and batteries, and the opposite seems to be true. Technology heals, capitalism wins ❤️‍🩹

america inventing solar cells & lithium-ion batteries but failing to scale production or deployment is our own version of the ming burning zheng he’s fleet. china will race ahead while america remains behind. genuinely insane lack of industrial policy or foresight on display.