📈 That was fast: Jeff Bezos-backed EV company Slate Auto has already racked up more than 100,000 refundable reservations for its customizable low-cost electric pickup truck. Remember, the company just came out of stealth two weeks ago.
🚗 Co-founder to CPO: Sterling Anderson made headlines last week when he announced he was departing Aurora, the autonomous vehicle startup he co-founded. Anderson is heading to General Motors to serve as a vice president of global product and chief product officer.
✨ Stargate, stallgate: OpenAI's ambitious $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure project has hit a snag. Growing market instability due to tariff uncertainty is making banks, private equity investors, and asset managers wary of backing the project.
⏰ Time to formalize: Immad Akhund, the co-founder and CEO of fintech Mercury, formalized his investing efforts with a $26 million fund after years of angel investing. Akhund, as an individual, has backed companies such as Airtable, Gecko Robotics, and Substack.
🍎 Apple to the rescue: Apple released iOS 18.5, which, among other things, gives iPhone 13 owners emergency satellite features for the first time. This system allows people to contact emergency services via satellite when there is no cell phone service or Wi-Fi available.
