The Saturday Morning Newsletter #37

👋 Hello friends,

Thank you for joining this week's edition of The Saturday Morning Newsletter. I'm Drew Jackson, and today we're exploring 11 articles, essays, companies, ideas, podcasts, videos, or thoughts that caught my attention this week for their potential to significantly impact our future.

#1: mPower Technology

Description: mPower Technology is a space solar company.

Why Is This Company Interesting?? mPower Technology recently raised $21M in venture capital funding. Their solar panels are built for stand-alone space applications, meaning solar energy satellites transporting energy down to earth, and integrated applications, where solar panels power existing infrastructure in space, such as transportation or telecommunications satellites.

#2: Rainmaker

Description: Rainmaker is a cloud-seeding startup.

Why Is This Company Interesting?? Rainmaker recently raised $25M in venture capital funding. They use drones to help with cloud-seeding in countries that need more frequent rainfall. This increases precipitation to support agriculture, maintain water supply, and stabilize hydroelectric power sources. In addition, it can help decrease the severity of storms, fog, and other natural weather events.

#3: Apex

Description: Apex is a developer of “space buses.”

Why Is This Company Interesting?? Apex recently raised $200M in venture capital funding. Their technology allows you to select the base module and stack your space apparatuses onto it in a flexible, modular way. By leveraging the base flight platform, there are many more efficiencies in the long term, from design to launch to maintenance and more.

#4: CNaught

Description: CNaught is a carbon credit marketplace.

Why Is This Company Interesting?? CNaught recently raised $4.5M in venture capital funding. Many companies are reluctant to buy voluntary carbon credits A) because they are voluntary, and B) because they don’t know what and how to buy. They are afraid of purchasing credits that underperform and leave them open to lawsuits. Platforms like CNaught help these companies by providing reliable solutions to these issues.

#5: AltaResource Technologies

Description: AltaResource Technologies is a developer of mineral separation technology.

Why Is This Company Interesting?? AltaResource Technologies recently raised $4.4M in venture capital funding. Alta uses chemical proteins that selectively bind to and separate critical rare earth elements from low-grade ores and other complex waste streams. This approach aims to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of mineral extraction while securing domestic supply chains.

Department of Energy: 11 Wins for Nuclear in First 100 Days

There have been many “wins” for nuclear energy in the first 100 days of Trump’s administration. However, many of these “wins” won’t come into fruition until the 2030s, so there’s still some time to go to see what’s been good and bad about nuclear.

New York Times: Adding Sustainability to Your Fish Intake

This new guide breaks down the different types and sources of fish we are eating and where they may be coming from. The best types of sustainable fish to eat: small fish, oysters, and sustainably farmed large fish (difficult to tell all of this sometimes).

New York Times: 17 States Sue to Continue Wind Power

Due to the new regulations stated concerning energy by the Trump Administration, 17 states have sued to continue wind power developments, arguing that these actions pose an existential threat to the expanding industry. By complying, federal agencies have put major investments that have already been made at risk. Given the “energy emergency,” they argue that we should continue to explore wind to help provide more energy.

NASA: 2026 Budget Released

NASA has released the breakdown for the 2026 year and budget. Highlights include $7B for space exploration, including the moon, Mars, and more, and a refitting of the Artemis program in the future to emphasize more reusable rockets and other sustainability.

Forbes: How Philosophy Can Help With The Endless News Cycle

The 24-hour news cycle presents so many things to try to keep up with. It’s easy to be overwhelmed. This article offers 3 different views on how philosophers would approach the current cycle of events—interesting, but I can’t confirm how applicable they are for today’s environment.

Going through the Moco Museum in London this week, this quote stuck out to me:

“The work is never about something specific, it’s always an invitation to think about things.”

• Daniel Arsham

See you Wednesday for Brainwaves,

Drew Jackson

Twitter: @brainwavesdotme

Email: brainwaves.me@gmail.com

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this content are my own and do not represent the views of any of the companies I currently work for or have previously worked for. This content does not contain financial advice - it is for informational and educational purposes only. Investing contains risks and readers should conduct their own due diligence and/or consult a financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Any sponsorship or endorsements are noted and do not affect any editorial content produced.