☕️ Innovation Espresso #25
It's my birthday! :) And then Vibe Coding, Google’s $32B cloud flex, AI voice gets emotional — and the usual shots of corporate venturing news!
Welcome to Innovation Espresso, a quick yet powerful dose of curated news, articles, videos, reels, newsletters, and podcasts that I’ve found particularly interesting throughout the week. While I focus on Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing, you’ll find this quick yet potent dose covers more ground. Enjoy with your morning coffee!
🎉 Today’s a bit special — it’s my 29th birthday! And what better way to celebrate than serving up a fresh shot of Innovation Espresso? While I resist the urge to make bad jokes about “aging like fine IP,” this edition still packs a punch: weird AI fails, big money moves, and a whole lot of venture energy. Thanks for being part of the ride, and here’s to staying curious (and caffeinated) another year.
If you want to give me a little birthday gift, just drop a quick comment or message telling me one thing you’d improve about this newsletter — structure, tone, ideas, anything. Feedback = fuel. 💬
💊 Innovation Pills
• ⚙️ Nvidia unveils Newton, a new open-source physics engine built for robotics simulations.
• 🧠 Microsoft just dropped DeepSeek’s distilled AI models for Copilot+ PCs — AI on the edge just got more powerful.
• 🚔 Nvidia’s exports to China are under fire after Singapore arrests — geopolitics meets GPU wars.
• 🤖 Figure AI is in talks for funding at a wild $39.5B valuation — are humanoid robots finally serious business?
• 🧬 DeepSeek’s Open Source Week was kind of a big deal — and here’s why it matters.
• 🔗 Microsoft’s AI chief wants more independence from OpenAI — easier said than done.
• 📉 Tesla’s narrative is getting shaky — and investors might finally be noticing.
• 🧪 AI finds a natural peptide that matches Ozempic’s weight loss power — and it claims no side effects.
• 🎨 “Vibe coding” is changing how we build software — but are we trading soul for speed?
☕️ Your weekly sip of Corporate Venturing News
• 🦾 Venture Clienting is having a moment — but the vultures are circling. Fabian Dudek (GlassDollar) reflects on how what started as a lean, impact-driven innovation approach is now being diluted by consultants and hype merchants. His message? Corporates don’t need frameworks — they need working PoCs, startup traction, and tools to own the process themselves. Enter: the Venture Clienting OS. Original post
• 📊 Want proof that venture clienting works? In “Impact of Venture Clienting Vol. I,” Dudek also shares results from 20 corporates: 86% improved startup readiness, and 71% reduced time-to-pilot. The model isn’t just hot — it’s working. Full breakdown here
• 🔐 Google drops $32B to acquire cloud security startup Wiz. This is the company’s largest acquisition ever — a massive bet on defending its cloud business against Microsoft and Amazon. Source
• 💿 Napster just got sold — again. This time, the OG music disruptor changes hands for $207M. The buyer? Hivemind Capital and Algorand, which hints at a Web3 twist. Link
• 🇮🇳 India’s corporate giants are leaning into VC. Mahindra, Wipro, and IndiGo have all launched or expanded corporate VC funds recently, signaling a shift toward startup-fueled innovation. Read more
• 🌍 Corporate VC is now a global innovation engine. A sweeping piece from Global Venturing explores how CVCs have become central players in shaping tech across industries and continents. Full article
• 🧠 Nine things GCV learned at GCVI Summit 2025: From the rise of deeptech in energy to LP-CVC tensions, this recap is full of juicy insights. Check it out
• ⚽ FIFA joins the VC game. Yes, that FIFA. With the global popularity of football booming, the organization is now investing in media and fan-tech startups. Details here
• 🥬 The UK’s Food Standards Agency is opening a novel foods innovation hub. Backed by £1.4M in funding, this is a signal that alt-proteins and next-gen nutrition are officially on the regulatory radar. Source
📹 Something to watch
Perplexity just released a cheeky new ad starring Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae, poking fun at Google’s infamous AI suggestion to use glue on pizza. As Lee’s character struggles with a series of trivia questions, he ditches “Poogle” for Perplexity’s AI, which wisely says: “Use fresh mozzarella. Don’t use glue.” 🧀
And the backstory: The Verge article
🎧 Something to listen
From White House backroom drama to Google’s $32B cloud power play, the All-In crew (Chamath, Sacks, Jason, and Friedberg) break down the week’s biggest headlines — including a wild take on space rescue ops and whether the Fed just got outplayed by the Treasury.
🛠️ Something to try
Sesame is working on AI voices that actually sound human — not just in tone, but in presence. Their demo shows how they’re closing the emotional gap in digital conversations with what they call “voice presence.” If Siri and Alexa feel flat to you, this is worth a listen.
P.S. Now ChatGPT can generate better images. And everyone is crazy about generating Studio Ghibli-like pictures:
🤔 Did you know?
There’s a whole underground industry where you can hire someone to wait in line for you — from Disneyland to DMV appointments. Some do it as a side hustle, others as a full-time gig, and platforms are springing up to connect the impatient with the available. The gig economy just keeps getting weirder (and more specific).
🥐 Espresso is not enough?
Burnout is quietly becoming the default setting for startup founders. According to a recent Sifted survey, over 50% experienced burnout last year, and nearly half said their mental health was “bad” or “very bad.” Fundraising pressure, isolation, and work-life imbalance are driving many to the edge — and investor support is often nonexistent. The climate tech space? Even worse. This isn’t just a founder problem; it’s a systemic one.
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See you next week,
Davide
Buon compleanno Davide!
La tua Innovation Espresso è sempre una lettura stimolante. Un giusto mix tra contenuti brevi e incisivi e approfondimenti più strutturati: rende la lettura veloce ma comunque densa di valore.
E poi apprezzo molto lo stile fresco, diretto e piacevolmente ironico (invecchiare come IP...:)
Mi ritaglio sempre del tempo per riuscire a scorrerlo (e ormai lo faccio con pochissime cose)
Grazie mille per l'entusiasmo e la passione che trasmetti!
Ciao Davide buon compleanno! Non mi perdo nessuna delle tue edizioni. Trovo molto interessanti gli aggiornamenti sul mondo startup e innovazione, però è da un po' che non pubblichi Venturing Insight, quel format è il migliore dal mio punto di vista. Ancora auguri e a presto!