The Saturday Morning Newsletter #81

This Week I’m Tracking: 13 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 circular economy - catch up here.

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Let’s dive in.

#1: AIRMO

Description: AIRMO is a greenhouse gas monitoring company.

Why Is This Company Interesting? AIRMO recently raised $5M in venture capital funding. AIRMO is a tool for companies to ensure compliance with the latest EU methane regulations. Their technology utilizes satellite vision to inspect for leaks, analyze repairs, and maintain compliance. They trigger ground-based closer inspections, enabling early warning of potential issues and rapid response.

#2: Another Earth

Description: Another Earth is a developer of Earth observation software.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Another Earth recently raised $3.5M in venture capital funding. Another Earth uses AI to simulate various scenarios affecting Earth’s environment, enabling businesses to plan for any eventuality. Companies can confidently predict risk, ensuring that backup redundancies are properly in place and proactively maintained.

#3: Imperium Technologies

Description: Imperium Technologies is a steam systems intelligence provider.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Imperium Technologies recently raised $2M in venture capital funding. Imperium is aiming to solve an underreported problem: steam system failures. Steam systems help power many large, complex industrial machines. Steam traps are constantly failing, resulting in steam loss, reduced efficiency, and increased downtime. To increase effectiveness and revenue, proactive policies like Imperium must be implemented.

#4: AmpliSi

Description: AmpliSi is a battery material developer.

Why Is This Company Interesting? AmpliSi recently raised $2M in venture capital funding. AmpliSi is developing a new way to produce silicone anodes for batteries. Traditional graphite anodes limit performance and aren’t a perfect solution. AmpliSi’s proprietary process for creating silicone anodes provides a superior solution, ushering in the next innovation in battery technology.

#5: Lux Aeterna

Description: Lux Aeterna is a space satellite producer.

Why Is This Company Interesting? Lux Aeterna recently raised $10M in venture capital funding. Lux Aeterna is developing reusable satellites, a concept I wasn’t familiar with. These satellites are launched into space with additional payloads for space-based experiments and data collection. Upon completing their missions and serving as satellites, these structures return to Earth for another trip.

Yale: Why Offshore Wind Could Help the Grid

Many industries are increasing their energy demand as legacy energy sources begin to go offline. This creates a large gap in the market, one which offshore wind can help fill. A single offshore wind turbine can power thousands of homes. However, recent political pushback against the industry has stifled growth, while proponents say the fundamentals remain solid.

The New York Times: Trump Administration Sues California Over Car Rules

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against California this week against its strict limits on pollution-producing vehicles, arguing the restrictions would force an unlawful switch to electric vehicles. Currently, 17 states have followed California’s lead on clean car standards, so if this were to reverse, it could have repercussions nationwide.

The New York Times: U.S. Solar Installations Fell in 2025

To be clear, the U.S. installed net-positive solar at a rate 14% lower than in 2024. This decrease is primarily due to the Trump Administration’s policies and attitudes towards solar energy, which see traditional fossil fuels as superior solutions. There is some good news, however, as 2025 was a record year for battery installations.

The New York Times: NASA Says Artemis II Moon Launch Set for April 1st

NASA is planning to launch 4 astronauts around the Moon in April. The program has been delayed a few weeks due to mechanical issues, but leadership seems fairly confident. The mission is estimated to take around 10 days, bringing the astronauts into an orbit around the far side of the Moon and then back to Earth.

The New York Times: Why the Kids Won’t Farm

In the next 20 years, the owners of roughly 300M acres of U.S. farmland are expected to retire or die. No one is sure where ownership of these lands will end up, as kids aren’t interested in farming and the industry is rapidly consolidating. This consolidation harms prices, the environment, and food security, but there isn’t a surefire path to diversification.

UC San Diego: What Happens If Truth is Lost?

Questions about truths in the world have captivated audiences for millennia. One philosopher argues that truth is a crucial value that defines our humanity. Truth is uniquely human, acting as a social contract, and contributes directly to our survival. To make progress, we need a genuine investigation of the truth rather than a simple narrative.

Big Think: The Philosophy of Indoctrination and How to Fix It

Indoctrination functions as a psychological cage that fences your beliefs from reasonable critiques. Now this doesn’t mean people who have been indoctrinated aren’t intelligent, but they commonly treat doubt as danger and counter-evidence as attacks. The solution? Epistemic compassion—creating safe spaces where changing your mind is treated as courage rather than betrayal or weakness.

Slate: Perspective Changes in Books

The “BookTok” community is up in arms about the increasing presence of 3rd-person written stories. They majorly prefer first person, why?

First person is easier to understand, to start. For readers looking for an easy read that lets them get immersed in the story, first-person is by far easier—they feel like they’re part of the community.

Surprisingly, the sales of romance books have doubled since 2020 as many continue their COVID-era habits. Norms have changed, as have reader preferences, the main one being the desire for first-person perspectives.

Why is this the interesting thought of the week? It seems a bit out of left field?

I was reading some additional pieces of commentary on the topic, and one of the points, unproven but feasible, caught my eye. This writer argued that a potential explanation supporting this viewpoint is that, with declining literacy rates, the first person is much easier to read than the third person, which may be why it’s more accessible and popular to most.

Either way, I think it’s something we don’t always consider—what perspective are we viewing things from? Maybe it’s time for mixing it up.

That's a wrap on this week’s roundup.

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Drew Jackson

Founder & Writer

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• Next Deep Dive: We Should Stop Preventing All Wildfires - March 18th, 2026
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