LODESubscribe →

Trump weighs OpenAI stake, Supabase hits $10B

Founders · 2026-06-06

Funding & VC
Trump administration weighs equity stake in OpenAI to seed public wealth fund1 MIN

President Trump confirms talks with AI firms about granting the U.S. government an ownership share in OpenAI, potentially using the equity to fund a Public Wealth Fund that distributes AI profits to citizens. The move would be unprecedented for a private AI company and reflects broader political interest in public stakes in tech.

Supabase hits $10 B valuation after $500 M Series F, powered by AI dev tools1 MIN

Supabase announced a $500 million Series F that puts its pre‑money valuation at $10 billion, doubling its worth in just eight months. The surge is driven by AI‑assisted coding tools, which helped the platform reach nearly 10 million developers and a 600% jump in database launches.

Founders expose VC nightmares, from sleeping investors to ghosted deals5 MIN

A viral X thread revealed founders’ worst VC encounters, from partners falling asleep during pitches to investors ghosting term sheets or demanding post‑exit shares. The collection, curated by TechCrunch, highlights systemic disrespect and calls for greater accountability in venture financing.

Building the Company
Bootstrapped Lectric eBikes expands with three new brands as rivals go bust4 MIN

Bootstrapped Lectric eBikes, unhindered by venture capital, has invested $10 M to launch three new brands—including a Juiced Bikes relaunch, Juiced Powersports, and premium Monarc—while rivals fold. The Phoenix‑based firm shipped a record 30 k bikes in May, proving capital efficiency can fuel growth in a collapsing e‑bike market.

Growth & GTM
Turn LinkedIn into a B2B Influence Hub to Win Buying Committees7 MIN

External voices now outweigh sales reps in B2B purchase decisions. This guide shows how to craft LinkedIn posts that position your brand as a trusted advisor, detailing the content formats and tactics needed to become an influential voice for buying committees.

Marketers must target AI‑search tools and GitHub to reach startup developers7 MIN

SparkToro’s research shows developers at U.S. startups avoid Google and LinkedIn, preferring AI‑search tools like Claude and platforms like GitHub. To reach them, marketers must optimise for these niche channels rather than traditional SEO or LinkedIn‑based ABM.

Multi‑Threaded Messaging to Align Complex Buying Groups5 MIN

Mid‑size B2B deals now cross product, finance, security, legal, and exec stakeholders. The article outlines a multi‑threaded messaging framework that tailors a single narrative to each group's risk concerns, turning one champion into a coordinated internal coalition.

Leadership & Lessons
Reid Hoffman leaves Microsoft board to focus on AI drug startup Manus1 MIN

After a decade on Microsoft’s board, venture partner Reid Hoffman steps down to work full‑time on Manus, his AI‑driven drug discovery venture. Manus, co‑founded with Pulitzer‑winning oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, raised over $50 million and aims to accelerate cancer‑fighting chemistry.

Sentry’s non‑engineers migrate 2,500 pages to Git with AI, ending CMS bottleneck8 MIN

Sentry’s non‑engineering team migrated 2,500 marketing‑site pages from a CMS to Markdown in a Git repo over four months, using Claude Code AI to generate the bulk of the code. The effort cut the engineering bottleneck, gave the whole team full control, and provides a playbook for other product teams.

Market & Trends
AI token costs blow up, prompting industry to seek spend controls6 MIN

Companies like Uber and Priceline are facing multi‑hundred‑million dollar token bills as AI usage skyrockets, forcing CEOs to demand visibility and guardrails. In response, the Linux Foundation launched the Tokenomics Foundation and startups are rolling out tools to audit and limit token spend.

Startups bet on real‑world play to pull users off their phones1 MIN

While AI fundraising hits new highs, founders like Board’s Brynn Putnam are raising capital for ventures that promote real-world games and social experiences, and makers of DIY cyberdecks are going viral. These “together tech” startups show growing investor interest in products that get people off screens and into human interaction.

S&P 500 blocks fast‑track for SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic5 MIN

S&P Global has rejected proposals to fast‑track megacap IPOs into the S&P 500, insisting firms meet profitability, seasoning and float requirements. SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic will remain ineligible until they post four quarters of positive GAAP earnings, delaying potential passive‑fund inflows.

Google commits $920 M/month for SpaceX AI compute power2 MIN

Google will pay SpaceX $920 million per month from Oct 2026 to Jun 2029 for access to about 110,000 Nvidia GPUs and related hardware, giving bridge capacity for its Gemini Enterprise AI platform. The deal mirrors SpaceX’s Anthropic contract and underscores soaring demand for cloud compute ahead of SpaceX’s IPO.

Get Founders in your inbox, every issue.
Subscribe free
Privacy · Terms · About · Contact
© 2026 LODE