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World’s first enhanced geothermal power plant completed in just 23 months; plus, turning idle car inventory into rental revenue Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

Fervo Energy completed its first power plant in less than two years. The next phases promise to connect to the grid even quicker.

Also, MyMonthlyCar is a platform that lets dealers rent out their idle used cars month to month (with an option to buy), and it's now one of the startups showing off at this year's TechCrunch Disrupt, running October 13 to 15 in San Francisco.

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Factory CEO just accused his VC board adviser of spying for Cognition Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

VC Chris Degnan and former board advisor to Factory AI has taken a job as chief revenue officer for Cognition.

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Ex-Tesla team raises $12.5M to put supply chains on autopilot; plus, EliseAI raises $350M, doubles valuation to $4B Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

Atomic's agentic supply chain software is now being used by companies like DoorDash and HelloFresh.

EliseAI raises $350M, doubles valuation in a year.

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AMD will acquire Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs for $8.2 billion; Physical AI chip developer SiMa AI hits $1.45B valuation Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

The acquisition will see World Labs founder Fei-Fei Li join AMD as executive vice president and chief scientist.

Also, SiMa.AI, the edge computing startup, raised a $150 million Series C led by Fidelity and Amplify.

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Ocean surveillance startup Quartermaster raises another $140M Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

The tech enables real-time awareness for what Quartermaster calls the “largest blind spot on Earth.”

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Nexterity wants to automate the hard, dangerous part of pipefitting; plus, Feather is building the ‘Android of robotics’ for developers Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Nexterity's robot can tighten or loosen four bolts at a time, and it fits in a Pelican case.

Feather is betting on a customizable, $30,000 platform built for software developers.

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Modal Motors is trying to cut China out of electric motors entirely; plus, PitPro’s first tire-changing robot goes live in Canada Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

Modal Motors is working on small, light motors with no rare earth magnets that are suited for drones, fans, and robots.

Also, PitPro says its automated system can change four tires in under 15 minutes.

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a16z is challenging Silicon Valley’s love for drop-outs by launching a school; plus, AstroForge is putting AI in command of its next spacecraft Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

This academy for promising high school grads is somewhere between a trade-school, Y Combinator and Peter Thiel's Fellowship Program.

Autonomy-1 will have a small, transformer-based AI model taking charge of a space probe.

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A small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Brynn Putnam and Tristan Walker have already done something that most founders only dream about: created companies so compelling that bigger outfits bought them. And now they're both at it again with the same north star; bringing people together, offline, in the same room.

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Comp AI sets eyes on a continuously agentic future for security and compliance Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

Comp AI, a cybersecurity and compliance startup, announced a $34 million Series A round led by Roo Capital and Grand Ventures.

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