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Sequoia Capital chairman Doug Leone, worth an estimated $11.7 billion, told his dentist to perform a root canal without novocaine so he wouldn't miss a scheduled meeting. He described gritting through the drilling by comparing it to a soldier's battlefield injuries, then went straight to his meeting before changing his sweat-drenched shirt.
Tim Cook appeared in the Oval Office to praise President Trump and presented him with a glass-and-gold trophy in front of press cameras, an event the author calls the most embarrassing act ever done in Apple's name. The piece contrasts Cook's deferential display with Steve Jobs' history of defying authority and institutions, noting Jobs himself was the son of an immigrant on a student visa.
A New York Times reporter who has tracked tech industry influence in education for over a decade argues in a new book, 'Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake Public Schools,' that major technology companies help write learning standards, sit on curriculum committees, and push schools to adopt industry-aligned subjects like coding and AI. The reporter contends these efforts often function as marketing rather than neutral education, giving students and teachers a sanitized view of tech products and their risks.
A venture capital commentator argues that the next major wave of American innovation is shifting from software toward physical infrastructure like energy, logistics and manufacturing, and that the Gulf South region is positioned to lead it. The region accounts for over 40% of US crude production and half of national refining capacity, alongside major LNG, aerospace and defense hubs, plus global trade links to Latin America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The author points to events like the 3rd Coast Venture Summit in New Orleans as evidence that founders and investors are already organizing around this thesis.
New business formations reached record levels in 2025, with over 548,000 launched in June alone and nearly 3.5 million in the first half of the year. Rather than concentrating in traditional hubs like Silicon Valley or New York, much of this growth is occurring in states such as Wyoming, Oregon, Mississippi and North Dakota.
A wave of polls and news reports indicates widespread American opposition to data centers, Flock surveillance cameras, and Meta's AI-equipped Ray-Ban glasses, which critics have nicknamed 'pervert glasses.' Recent events, including a grand jury declining to indict a man filmed damaging Flock equipment and protestors against data centers gaining online praise, underscore how deep and public this hostility has become.
A startup called Generation claims a combination of two generic drugs can reverse aging effects, citing informal reports from a small group of participants describing benefits like improved vision, better grip strength, and increased libido. The company plans a larger trial of 100+ people, but is already distributing the drug to others before any rigorous evidence confirms its effectiveness. The trial will be overseen by alternative-medicine practitioners, including a doctor previously linked to promoting FDA-discredited covid-19 treatments.
WIRED announced a livestream Q&A on September 10 where a panel of its reporters will field reader questions about the growing controversy surrounding AI data centers. Readers can submit questions in the comments, with the event covering political, environmental, and business angles on the issue.
Stripe has acquired Clerky, an online legal services platform used by startups and their attorneys to handle routine formation and financing paperwork. Clerky says it will keep its existing team and focus after joining Stripe, continuing to serve the same startup and attorney customer base. The company reports its startups account for 23% of Silicon Valley seed and pre-seed financings and have collectively raised over $140 billion in venture capital.
Startup Instinct is raising funds at a $2.5 billion valuation for its AI assistant that manages email and other tasks, generating buzz across Silicon Valley. However, some early testers have flagged concerns about how the tool handles personal data and privacy.
Julia Collins, who became the first Black woman to co-found a unicorn company after Zume Pizza hit a $1 billion valuation in 2018, later left to launch Planet FWD, a platform helping brands track and cut their carbon footprint. In an interview, she reflected on her entrepreneurial upbringing, her early career as the first hire at food chain Mexicue, and her approach to leadership across the more than $500 million she has raised in venture capital.
A once-celebrated AI startup founder who drew massive investor enthusiasm and sky-high valuations has seen the company's worth collapse by billions, according to new reporting. The report traces how early hype around the founder's technology claims outpaced scrutiny of the underlying business, culminating in a dramatic financial unraveling.