Sourcery → NYC Watch List, Milken

(4/29-5/3) Hill & Valley Forum Recap ☀️ Altruist, Coreweave, Island, Securitize, Backflip, Corelight, Beehiiv, Mimic, Lamini, Transcarent, Karius, Amae Health, Blaise, Arbol, AiDash

Hello From Sunny LA ☀️

& happy Milken Week to all those attending!

After finishing up an extended trip to NYC, I’ve rounded up a list below of some of the top NYC tech categories and the funds + investors to watch in the area. It was energizing to spend a solid 2 weeks reacclimatizing with the speed, late night work culture, over-consumption of caffeine, and see how much the ecosystem has grown over the last 3 years. Despite a wave of high AI valuations, most investors from early stage to secondaries are getting a second wind and feeling optimistic.

Top NYC Tech Categories

• Digital Health (Flatiron Health, Ro, Sword Health, Noom, K Health, Spring Health)

• AI/Data (MongoDB, Databricks, Cockroach Labs, Hugging Face, RunwayML, Together AI, Modal)

• Fintech (Flex, Bilt, Vise, Ramp, Pinwheel, SmartAsset, Betterment, Alloy, Zamp)

• eCommerce (Misfit Market, Farmer’s Dog, Goody, Eight Sleep, Glossier, Zola, SeatGeek)

• AdTech (Attentive, Braze, Taboola)

VC Funds + Investors to Watch

• AlleyCorp → Kevin Ryan (Gilt Group, MongoDB, Zola, etc)

• Coatue → Chase Packard

• USV →  Jared Hecht

• FJ Labs → Fabrice Grinda

• Lux → Grace Isford (check out her famous AI Map + List & Summary)

• Thrive Capital → Avery Klemmer

• FirstMark → Matt Turck

• NEA → Danielle Lay

• 137 Ventures → James Pardee

• Bain Capital Ventures → Zeeza Cole

• TMV → Emma Silverman

• GV → KJ Sidberry

• Eniac → Kristin McDonald

• Menlo Ventures → Amy Wu

• Cowboy Ventures → Jillian Williams

• A16Z → David Ulevitch

• South Park Commons → Dylan Itzikowitz

• Ground Up Ventures → Cory Moelis

• Box Group → Adina Davis

• Stellation → Peter Boyce II

• Primary → Jason Shuman

• Flybridge → Julia Maltby

• General Catalyst → Niko Bonatsos

• Redpoint → Logan Bartlett

• Pareto → Ed Lando

• Slow → Yoni Rechtman

• Equal Ventures → Rick Zullo

• Left Lane → Vinny Pujji

Hill & Valley Forum 2024 Recap

Bridging National Security and Frontier Technologies, The Hill and Valley Forum is a private bipartisan community of lawmakers and innovators committed to harnessing the power of technology to address America's most pressing national security challenges. 

Christian Garrett, 137 Ventures

This year’s third annual Hill & Valley Forum showed the importance of unity, and how building bridges between Silicon Valley and the Hill is a bipartisan focus among those who give their lives to public service, and those who give their lives to building companies that help drive our economy and country forward. My co-host Delian and I enjoy partnering with the work our friend Jacob is continually doing year round to work across aisles on technology’s most important challenges, and opportunities. Every investor and founder attending - many of whom are “competitors” in the markets - showed how uniquely united the tech ecosystem is. 

One of the exciting things is that you didn’t just see aerospace and defense companies like Palantir, SpaceX, Anduril, ScaleAI and more in DC all week discussing policy and technology, but you had Gusto championing Section 174 and R&D tax credits, Seso working to solve problems for farmers and migrant workers, and you even had leading venture investors discussing legislation to help lower income Americans participate in the American dream in new ways.

Delian Asparouhov, Founders Fund

Our third Hill & Valley was our strongest yet, Jacob Helberg, the leader of the event, crushed the daytime agenda. We look forward to continuing to improve the scale and quality of this gathering of technology leaders and policymakers which we believe puts the United States on the best footing to stay ahead of our adversaries.

Xander Oltmann, Commodity Capital

Split evenly between both parties, it was such an incredible change in overall sentiment of defense tech and the place it holds in national security. It used to be a dirty word. Now it’s a real thing. It’s so great to see the government take interest in the startups outside of the Primes with Anduril and Palantir winning over large contracts because they’re just ‘lights out’ better.

Musings

Macro

• Venture Capital’s Space for Sheep [Trae Stephens, Founders Fund]

  • “VCs should invest in companies that create hype cycles, rather than those that simply follow them”

• State of Pre-Seed: Q1 2024 [Carta]

• Berkshire’s cash hoard has reached over $182 billion [Forbes]

• Revolution of the Broletariat [Pirate Wires]

  • From the christ-like resurrection of america’s frat boy to the chadification of tech, anti-masculinity is over; chad maximalism has arrived

• Crossing the IPO chasm [Contrary]

• General Catalyst, a16z capture 44% of US VC fundraising in 2024 [Pitchbook]

HardTech

• Memo: Radiant Nuclear [Contrary]

• NASA has developed an advanced propulsion technology for small spacecraft to enable new types of planetary science missions and extend the lifetimes of existing spacecraft. [SciTech Daily]

  • This technology not only advances NASA's goal of technology commercialization, but also opens a potential path for NASA to acquire this technology from industry for future planetary missions. [SciTech Daily]

• The Department of Defense has proposed a $17.2 billion budget for fiscal 2025, largely focusing on AI and autonomy, space, and integrated sensing and cyber. [Defense Scoop]

  • Undersecretary Heidi Shyu further emphasized these among 14 critical technology areas, including renewable energy, microelectronics, and advanced computing, aimed at enhancing national defense capabilities. [Defense Scoop]

AI

• Vinod’s advice for entrepreneurs innovating with AI [Building with AI]

  • Hosted by Hamza from Autoblocks AI, a workspace that enables developers and subject-matter experts to collaboratively evaluate and improve LLM products

• AWS has launched Amazon Q, a comprehensive AI-powered assistant that accelerates software development through advanced coding, testing, and debugging capabilities. [Amazon]

  • It also enhances business operations by summarizing and analyzing internal data across various domains. [Amazon]

• Google has agreed to pay News Corp, owner of the Wall Street Journal, $5-6 million yearly to develop AI content and products. [Yahoo Finance]

  • Despite that, a News Corp spokesperson denied an AI content licensing deal, instead acknowledging various partnerships with Google. [Yahoo Finance]

SaaS

• Massive Acquisitions in Software Startups [Tomasz Tunguz]

More

• Working from home isn’t going away, even if some CEOs wish it would; Most workers crave flexibility and work-life balance [TechCrunch]

• YouTube star MrBeast breaks with management company [Semafor]

. . .

Last Week (4/29-5/3):

Relevant deals include the 60+ deals across stages below. 

I've categorized the deals below into five categories, FinTech, Care, Enterprise & Consumer, HardTech, and Sustainability, and ordered from later-stage rounds to early-stage rounds. 

Highlighted VC deals include 

Altruist, Coreweave, Island, Securitize, Backflip, Corelight, Beehiiv, Mimic, Lamini, Transcarent, Karius, Amae Health, Blaise, Arbol, AiDash

Acquisitions & PE

IBM/HashiCorp, Taxbit, Guesty/Rentals United, Blackrock Neurotech

Final numbers

America’s Nuclear Power Output: Flat, Labor force participation rate for U.S. women and monthly job creation in the U.S. at the bottom.

Research

Influence of Russia-Ukraine War & COVID-19 on Stock Market from G20 Nations, Applying Computer Vision to Autonomous Industrials, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

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VC Deals

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Fintech:

- Altruist, a Los Angeles, CA-based custodian for independent RIAs, secured a $169M Series E funding round, led by ICONIQ Growth, with support from Granite Capital Management, Adams Street Partners, and Sound Ventures.

- Securitize, a Miami, FL-based company focused on tokenizing real-world assets, completed a $47M funding round, led by BlackRock (Nasdaq: BLK) with participation from Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE), ParaFi Capital, Tradeweb Markets (Nasdaq: TW), Aptos Labs, Circle, and Paxos.

- Turnkey, an NYC-based wallet infrastructure company for crypto developers, secured $15M in Series A funding, led by Lightspeed Faction and Galaxy Ventures, joined by Sequoia, Coinbase Ventures, Alchemy, Figment Capital, and Mirana Ventures.

- Backflip, a Dallas, TX-based real estate and financial technology platform for real estate entrepreneurs, completed a $15M Series A funding round, led by FirstMark Capital alongside Vertical Venture Partners, LiveOak Venture Partners, Revel Partners, ECMC, Crow Holdings, Greg Waldorf, Rob Barber, Gregg Freishtat, and other angel investors.

- Ansa, a San Francisco, CA-based fintech infrastructure solution company enabling merchants to launch branded customer wallets, closed $14M in Series A funding, led by Renegade Partners, with support from Bain Capital Ventures, B37 Ventures, Box Group, and Wischoff Ventures.

- Plover Parametrics, a NYC-based technology-enabled commercial insurance brokerage, closed over $5M in funding from undisclosed investors.

- Resonance Security, a NYC-based Web2 and Web3 cybersecurity provider, closed $1.5M in Pre-Seed funding, led by Arca, Fabric VC, and Blockchain Founders Fund.

- Hinkal, a San Francisco, CA-based multi-chain privacy layer for confidential decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions, closed $1.4M in funding, led by SALT Fund, with support from Draper Associates, SNZ, and Peer VC.

Care:

- Transcarent, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of healthcare platforms, closed a $126M Series D funding round, led by General Catalyst, 7wireVentures, Geodesic Capital, and Memorial Hermann Health System, with participation from Threshold Ventures, Kinnevik, Ally Bridge Group, Human Capital, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Alta Partners, and Leaps by Bayer.

- Karius, Inc., a Redwood City, CA-based genomic diagnostics company for infectious disease, completed a $100M Series C funding, co-led by Khosla Ventures, 5AM Ventures, and Gilde Healthcare, including other participants, such as Seventure Partners, Softbank Vision Fund 2, General Catalyst, HBM Healthcare Investments, Blue Water Life Sciences, Innovation Endeavors, Waycross Ventures, and others.

- GroundGame.Health, a Tampa, FL-based social impact solutions company providing unmet social and care needs for people, completed $17M in funding, led by 7wireVentures.

- Amae Health, a San Francisco, CA-based company delivering patient-centered care for people with severe mental illness, completed $15M in Series A funding, led by Quiet Capital, with support from Healthier Capital, Baszucki Group, Index Ventures Managing Partner Mike Volpi, Bling Capital, 8VC, Virtue, and Able Partners.

- Livara Health, a San Diego, CA-based value-based musculoskeletal (MSK) management company, secured a $15M Series B funding round, led by A1 Health Ventures, with support from Polaris Partners, Providence Ventures, Martin Ventures, and others.

- Trovo Health, an NYC-based AI-powered platform for health providers to extend their capabilities, closed a $15M Seed funding round, led by Oak HC/FT.

- Yoneda Labs, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-powered drug discovery startup, secured $4M in Seed funding from Khosla Ventures, 500 Emerging Europe, 468 Capital, Fellows Fund, and Y Combinator.

Enterprise/Consumer:

- CoreWeave, a Roseland, NJ-based specialized cloud provider for AI, completed $1.1B in new funding at a $19B valuation, led by Coatue, with participation from Magnetar, Altimeter Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Lykos Global Management.

- Island, a Dallas, TX-based enterprise browser company, closed a $175M in Growth funding, led by Coatue and Sequoia Capital, among other existing investors.

- Corelight, a San Francisco, CA-based open network detection and response (NDR) company, secured $150M in Series E funding, led by Accel, with support from Cisco Investments and CrowdStrike Falcon Fund.

- Elisity, a San Jose, CA-based identity-based microsegmentation company, closed $37M in Series B funding, led by Insight Partners, with support from AllegisCyber Capital and Two Bear Capital.

- StrongDM, a Palo Alto, CA-based zero trust privileged access management (PAM) company, closed $34M in Series C funding, led by Anchor Capital, with support from Capital One Ventures, Cisco Investments, Frontline Ventures, Singtel Innov8, GV, Sequoia Capital, and True Ventures.

- SafeBase, a San Francisco, CA-based security reviews platform, closed $33M in Series B funding, led by Touring Capital, with participation from Zoom Ventures, NEA, Y Combinator, Comcast Ventures, Cerca Partners, and other prominent cybersecurity executives.

- beehiiv, an NYC-based email newsletter platform company, closed $33M in Series B funding, led by NEA, alongside Sapphire Sport and others.

- Peregrine, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of a data integration platform, raised $30M in Series B funding, led by Friends & Family Capital and Fifth Down Capital, with support from Goldcrest Capital, Craft Ventures, Godfrey Capital, and other partners.

- Traceable AI, a San Francisco, CA-based API security company, secured $30M in funding from Citi Ventures IVP, Geodesic Capital, Sorenson Capital, and Unusual Ventures.

- Mimic, a Palo Alto, CA-based ransomware defense company, raised $27M in Seed funding, led by Ballistic Ventures, with support from Menlo Ventures, Team8, Wing Venture Capital, and Shield Capital.

- Inhabitr, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-powered commercial real estate furnishing platform, closed a $27M Series B funding round, led by Hamilton Ventures, with participation from other commercial real estate owners and operators.

- Lamini, a Palo Alto, CA-based platform deploying enterprise generative AI applications, secured $25M in seed and Series A funding, co-led by First Round Capital and Amplify Partners, respectively, with participation from Andrew Ng, Andrej Karpathy, Bernard Arnault, Pierre Lamond, Sarah Guo, Dylan Field, Lip-Bu Tan, Drew Houston, AMD Ventures, and others.

- Invent Analytics, a Philadelphia, PA-based global retail planning solutions provider, closed $17M in funding, led by LFX Venture Partners, alongside the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Collective Spark.

- Apptega, an Atlanta, GA-based end-to-end cybersecurity compliance platform, completed a $15M Growth funding round, led by Mainsail Partners.

- Screenverse, an NYC-based programmatic advertising solutions provider, closed a $10.5M funding round, led by Volition Capital.

- Monocle, an NYC-based AI-powered promotion platform, secured a $7.5M seed funding, led by F2 Venture Capital, with participation from Tiferes Ventures, irrvrntVC, and other founders from Instacart, Everlane, Melio, and Chubbies.

- Log10, a San Francisco, CA-based platform provider to build LLM-powered applications, raised $7.2M in Seed funding, led by TQ Ventures and Quiet Capital, and joined by Essence Venture Capital.

- Baselayer, a NY-based B2B platform utilizing proprietary Graph AI technology to fight fraud and optimize business onboarding, raised a $6.5M seed funding round from Torch Capital, Afore Capital, Founder Collective, Picus Capital, Gilgamesh Ventures, financial industry executives, and 15 other fintech founders.

- Shinkei Systems, an El Segundo, CA-based commercial fish processing technology company, secured a $6M Seed funding round, led by Cantos, alongside 8VC, Impatient Ventures, Susa/Humba Ventures, Carya Venture Partners, Ravelin Capital, Red & Blue Ventures, Undeterred Capital, and other investors.

- Unicorn, a Chicago, IL-based tech-enabled platform for spirits and wine collectors, secured $5.8M in Seed funding from Protagonist, Blue Equity, 640 Oxford, Middleton Partners, and other angel investors.

- Danti, an Atlanta, GA-based Earth data search engine, closed a $5M Seed funding, led by Shield Capital, with support from Tech Square Ventures, Humba Ventures and Leo Polovets, Space.VC, and Radius Capital.

- Baxus, an NYC-based global marketplace for collectible spirits, secured $5M in seed funding, led by Multicoin Capital, with participation from Solana Ventures, Narwhal Ventures, FJ Labs, and other angel investors.

- Volta, a Las Vegas, NV-based digital asset provider of a multi-signature, non-custodial platform, closed $4.1M in Seed funding, led by Fika Ventures and Haven Ventures, with participation from Soma Capital, Dispersion Capital, and Uphonest Capital.

- SoBet, a Nashville, TN-based provider of a sports betting creator platform, completed a $3.7M initial funding round, led by Third Kind Venture Capital.

- StepSecurity, a Seattle, WA-based company protecting CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure, raised $3M in seed funding, led by Runtime Ventures, with participation from Inner Loop Capital, SaaS Ventures, DeVC, and other angel investors.

- Bricklayer AI Inc., a McLean, VA-based AI cybersecurity solution incorporating autonomous AI specialists alongside human experts, secured a $2.5M pre-seed funding from Sovereign’s Capital, Dreamit Ventures, VIPC’s Virginia Venture Partners, BlueWing Ventures, and Blu Ventures.

- RunReveal, an Austin, TX-based security information and event management company for detecting threats, secured $2.5M in Seed funding, led by Costanoa Ventures.

- Kutt, an NYC-based social betting platform, secured over $1M in funding, led by Lightning Capital.

- DefenseStorm, an Alpharetta, GA-based provider of cyber risk management solutions closed an undisclosed amount in Series C-1 funding, led by Georgian, Curql, and Live Oak Ventures, with support from Btech Consortium Fund. 

HardTech:

- PsiQuantum, a Palo Alto, CA-based developer of fault-tolerant quantum computing systems, is set to raise AUD 940M ($620M), backed by the Australian Commonwealth and Queensland Governments.

- Blaize, an El Dorado Hills, CA-based AI computing developer providing edge computing solutions, secured $106M in funding, led by Bess Ventures, Franklin Templeton, DENSO, Mercedes Benz, Temasek, Rizvi Traverse, Ava Investors, and BurTech LP LLC.

- Arris, a Berkeley, CA-based advanced manufacturer using technology enabling high-performing fiber-reinforced composites at scale, secured $34M in funding from ST Engineering, Zebra Technologies, Youngone, Standard Industries, Vertex Exploratory Fund, NEA, XN, Taiwania Capital, Bosch Ventures, Modern Venture Partners (MVP), and Alumni Ventures Group (AVG).

- Thintronics, a Berkeley, CA-based electronic materials startup, secured $23M in Series A funding, led by Maverick Capital and Translink Capital.

Sustainability:

- Arbol, an NYC-based climate risk solutions provider, closed $60M in Series B funding, led by Giant Ventures and Opera Tech Ventures, with support from Mubadala Capital.

- AiDash, a San Jose, CA-based enterprise SaaS company that enables critical infrastructure industries to become climate resilient and sustainable via satellites and AI, secured $58.5M in Series C funding, led by Lightrock, with support from Lightsmith Group, Marubeni Corporation, Duke Energy, National Grid, Edison International, Sabanci Ventures, Marubeni Corporation, SE Ventures, G2 Venture Partners, Benhamou Global Ventures, and Shell Ventures.

- LiNova Energy, a Monrovia, CA-based developer of ultra-high-energy batteries, closed $15.8M in Series A funding, led by Catalus Capital and joined by Saft, Chevron Technology Ventures, and a group of investors.

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Acquisitions & PE:

- IBM (NYSE: IBM) is set to acquire HashiCorp Inc. (NASDAQ: HCP), a San Francisco, CA-based multi-cloud infrastructure automation company, for $6.4B.

- Apollo (NYSE: APO) is set to acquire U.S. Silica Holdings (NYSE: SLCA), a Katy, TX-based industrial minerals company and a last-mile logistics provider to the oil and gas industry, for approximately $1.9B.

- Pine Gate Renewables, an Asheville, NC-based developer of solar and energy storage projects, received $650M in investments, led by Generate Capital, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, and HESTA.

- Simply Good Foods agreed to acquire Only What You Need, an NYC-based plant-based protein shake brand, for $280M.

- Valtech, a portfolio company of BC Partners, acquired Kin + Carta, a London, UK and Chicago, IL-based digital transformation consultancy firm, for £239M ($300.2M).

- Blackrock Neurotech, a Salt Lake City, UT-based brain-computer-interface (BCI) technology company, secured a $200M investment from Tether.

- Transcendia, a Franklin Park, IL-based film manufacturer for the health care, food and beverage, and other industries, raised $114M in a recapitalization deal and the elimination of over $200M of its debt, backed by Industrial Opportunity Partners and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

- EnviroSpark, an Atlanta, GA-based electric vehicle (EV) charging company, secured a $50M investment from Basalt Infrastructure Partners.

- Bazooka Candy Bars, an NYC-based candy company, received approximately $10M in investment from Patricof Co.

- Toca Football, a Costa Mesa, CA-based technology-enabled soccer experience company, secured an undisclosed investment amount from Magnus Carlsen.

- Deloitte acquired the assets of Gryphon Scientific, LLC, a Takoma Park, MD-based company using AI to enhance biological security and safety, for an undisclosed amount.

- CASE, a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners, acquired CyberKinetics, a Herndon, VA-based IT infrastructure solutions company, for an undisclosed amount.

- Norwest Equity Partners acquired MDC Interior Solutions, a Chicago, IL-based commercial interior wall coverings and design solutions company, for an undisclosed amount.

- Skip Technologies, a Portland, OR-based company developing a novel Liquid battery for large, long-duration stationary energy storage, secured an undisclosed investment amount from Puyallup Tribal Enterprises.

- Guesty, an NYC-based property management software platform for the short-term rental and hospitality industry, acquired Rentals United, a Barcelona, Spain-based cloud platform provider to distribute and promote properties across multiple listing sites, for an undisclosed amount.

- Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is set to acquire Soko, a São Paulo, Brazil-based creative agency that develops brand stories with deep impact in society, for an undisclosed amount.

- GI Partners acquired DQE Communications, a Pittsburgh, PA-based B2B high-speed data networking company, for an undisclosed amount.

- Accel-KKR acquired Accertify, an Itasca, IL-based fraud prevention, chargeback management company, for an undisclosed amount.

- Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) acquired Luxine Relations Publiques, a Montreal, Canada-based PR and influencer marketing agency, for an undisclosed amount.

- H.I.G. Capital acquired USA DeBusk, a Deer Park, TX-based industrial cleaning and infrastructure maintenance services company, for an undisclosed deal.

- Ntiva, a portfolio company of PSP Capital, acquired The Purple Guys, a Shreveport, LA-based managed IT services provider for small and medium-sized businesses, for an undisclosed amount.

- Rippl, a Seattle, WA-based dementia-focused specialty care provider, acquired Kinto, a Boston, MA-based provider of an AI-enabled dementia caregiver support platform, for an undisclosed amount.

- Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is also set to acquire Parsionate, a Stuttgart, Germany-based data consultancy, firm, for an undisclosed amount.

- Climavision, a Louisville, KY-based advanced weather modeling and forecasting technology company, acquired Intersphere, a Fort Collins, CO-based sub-seasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) forecasting innovator, for an undisclosed amount.

- Intel 471, a Wilmington, DE-based cyber threat intelligence (CTI) solutions company, acquired Cyborg Security, an Orlando, Florida-based company with advanced threat hunting capabilities and expertise, for an undisclosed amount.

- Special Aerospace Solutions acquired Willbrook Solutions, a Huntsville, AL-based analytical solutions company, for an undisclosed amount, backed by Godspeed Capital Management.

- WindRose Health Investors acquired a majority stake in SubjectWell, an Austin, TX-based platform designed to connect patients with clinical trials or treatments, for an undisclosed amount.

- TaxBit, an NYC-based tax and accounting compliance solutions provider, secured an undisclosed amount of strategic investment from In-Q-Tel (IQT).

IPO:

- Viking Holdings, a Pembroke, Bermuda-based cruise line, raised $1.5B in an offering of 64 million shares priced at $24 on the NYSE.

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Fund Announcements:

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- HighVista Strategies, a Boston, MA-based asset management firm investing in public and private markets, closed its Private Equity Fund X, at $675M, with support from pension funds, endowments, foundations, family offices, and several new investors.

- Latticework Capital Management, a Dallas, TX-based private equity firm, closed its second fund at $345M focused on middle-market healthcare companies.

- Renegade Partners, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, closed its second fund focused on tech companies at $128M.

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Final Numbers

The reactors are the first to be built from scratch in the US for more than 30 years, making the larger Vogtle site, along with two other decades-old reactors, the nation’s largest generator of carbon-free electricity. Indeed, Georgia Power reports that it can produce more than 30 million MWh of electricity annually… which may offer little solace to some of its residential customers, who have paid $1,000 on average towards the construction.

Next generation

A global leader in splitting atoms for energy, America’s nuclear power capacity grew two-fold in the 1980s. However, the nation's fission efforts have since slowed, with electricity generated from nuclear plateauing to a total of 775M MWh last year, according to the EIA, dwarfed by the 1.8B MWh produced by natural gas plants.

Recently though, nuclear energy has been in the spotlight for its key advantages over (increasingly available) fossil fuels: it’s practically carbon-free and reliable for continuous power, preventing outages. Indeed, Goldman Sachs Research recently outlined nuclear as a possible solution to the mounting problem of energy-guzzling AI/data centers.

Besides waste- and fallout-related fears, major drawbacks of nuclear are the vast time and budget it requires — in fact, with Vogtle as a cautionary tale, the industry has been shelving new reactor proposals in favor of revamping so-far-unproven smaller-scale designs. The question is now: does the potential long-term cost of climate change outweigh real-time, individual costs for infrastructure that could help to solve it?

Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED; Chart: CNBC

The labor participation rate for U.S. women in their prime working years has been fluctuating but recently achieved a historic high, indicating a steady increase in employment among this group.

• “In February 2024, the labor force participation rate for women between the ages of 25 and 54 hit 77.7% - just shy of the June 2023 peak of 77.8%,” according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Data: USBureau of Labor Statistics via Fred; Chart: CNBC

The chart represents the labor market’s dynamics from 2022 to 2024, indicating the highs and lows of job creation in the U.S. economy, with the economy adding fewer jobs than expected in April 2024.

• U.S. job growth totaled 175,000 in April, below the 240,000 estimate from the Dow Jones consensus.

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New Research

Influence of the Russia–Ukraine War and COVID-19 Pandemic on the Efficiency and Herding Behavior of Stock Markets: Evidence from G20 Nations

• This study examines the efficiency of stock markets in the G20 countries, using a method called multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis, which found varied efficiency levels among these markets, with Germany being the most efficient and Italy the least, and revealed that developed markets performed better than emerging ones, especially during crises such as the Russia-Ukraine War and COVID-19. [MDPI]

• This study provides insights into the efficiency of G20 stock markets, crucial for decision-making by investors and portfolio managers, while also exploring the interconnectedness and potential spillover effects among these major global economic players. [MDPI]

Leveraging computer vision towards high-efficiency autonomous industrial facilities