EP. 097 | The New Age Space Race (Special Report)
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Tristan Thompson Joins Introduction.com as Founding Partner, Backing the Rise of the $400B+ In-Person Connection Economy
Introduction.com is excited and proud to announce that NBA champion and investor Tristan Thompson has joined as a Founding Partner.
Thompson’s involvement reflects a natural extension of how he has built his network over time bridging influence across both digital platforms and real-world relationships.
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The few, shaping the many.
Member Spotlight
Meet Sam Barberie👋
Sam has spent his career at the intersection of gaming, media, and emerging technology, helping leading companies rethink how IP, audiences, and digital experiences come together.
From shaping gaming strategy at SuperData Research with partners like Disney and HBO
→ To building interactive, IP driven experiences at Animoca Brands
→ To guiding companies like Ubisoft through new monetization and distribution models
He’s been right in the middle of every major shift.
Now he’s taking that experience to the next level.
Huge congrats to Sam on joining Google 🚀
He’s stepping in to help establish their AI x Gaming, Media, and Entertainment practice, focused on how AI transforms the full consumer journey across content, platforms, and touchpoints.
Sam is now working on how companies unify user experience, reduce friction, and deepen engagement across every touchpoint
This is the type of work that defines what the next generation of entertainment looks like
This is what our network is all about. Keep building
Show Sam some love 👇
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While the masses chase panels, we are anchoring the week with three distinct, highly-curated dinners for the individuals who don't need a badge to be recognized.
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Events
HK Assets & Access with Animoca Brands and Wonderful
Thursday, April 30
6:30 PM - 9:30 PM GMT+8
Thirsty Shaker Cocktail Bar
Hong Kong Island
Welcome to the Network
We are proud to introduce the newest innovators and leaders joining our community; please take a moment to connect with them and welcome them to the inner circle 👇
Rodrigo Coelho | Jenn Tesch |
Alec Wilson | Chirag Jetani |
Will Hawkins | Ryan David Williams |
Will Vilius Nauseda | Michael Lau |
Introduction.com & The Community
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Top Raises
Member Activity
M&A
Payward (Kraken) announced the acquisition of Bitnomial for up to $550M in a cash and stock deal.
The acquisition secures a full U.S. derivatives stack, including CFTC licenses for a clearinghouse, exchange, and brokerage, allowing Kraken to offer regulated futures and options.
Massive victory for Daniel Berman and the Kraken team! Keep ‘em coming!
Series A
Hata completed an $8M Series A funding round led by Bybit alongside several global family offices.
The capital will be used to strengthen liquidity and accelerate user growth for Malaysia's only dual licensed digital asset exchange.
Strategic
KAIO raised $8M in a strategic funding round with participation from Tether and Systemic Ventures.
The funding will accelerate KAIO’s onchain fund distribution infrastructure, providing broader access to institutional grade blue chip funds.
A win for Macky Cruz and the Tether team is a win for us! LFG!
Brix announced a $5.5M strategic financing round with participation from Circle Ventures, ConsenSys, and Borderless Capital.
The startup plans to use the investment to tokenize high yield emerging market strategies and expand its blockchain based financial products.
Huge shoutout to Thomas M and the Circle Ventures crew for their leadership in bringing traditional financial instruments into the digital era!
Non-Member Activity
M&A
eToro acquired ZenGo for $70M in a predominantly cash transaction.
The deal integrates ZenGo’s keyless, multi-party computation (MPC) wallet infrastructure into eToro’s platform, providing its 40 million users with a seamless path to self-custody.
This marks a strategic exit for the Israeli startup as eToro expands its onchain product surface ahead of full MiCA compliance.
Series C
Slash raised $100M in a Series C funding round led by Ribbit Capital, valuing the company at $1.4B.
The capital will be used to scale its business banking platform and accelerate the rollout of its AI-native financial agents for automated enterprise workflows.
The raise officially elevates Slash to unicorn status following a year where annualized revenue surpassed $250M.
Series A
Spektr closed a $20M Series A funding round led by Northzone.
The startup plans to use the funds to automate manual compliance tasks and due diligence for financial institutions, reducing the operational burden of risk management.
The platform aims to bridge the gap between complex regulatory requirements and real-time transaction monitoring.
The Space Race 🚀
The private space race entered a new era this week as SpaceX logged its 600th successful Falcon booster landing, marking a historic milestone in orbital reusability.
Simultaneously, the competitive landscape shifted as Blue Origin successfully recovered its first reused New Glenn booster, signaling the first true challenge to the heavy-lift monopoly.
While SpaceX still commands over 80% of the commercial launch market, the arrival of a flight-proven New Glenn introduces a new dynamic for "Mega-Constellation" contracts.
The Current SpaceX Hegemony
Financial Titan: Driven by its unrivaled operational cadence, SpaceX is eyeing a staggering $1.75 trillion valuation as it prepares for what could be the most significant public debut in history.
Infrastructure Dominance: SpaceX has effectively monopolized the commercial space race, transitioning from a launch provider to a global infrastructure titan. Through the Starlink constellation, the company now owns the premier satellite internet network, controlling both the "rails" to space and the data moving across them.
The AI Engineering Pivot: To maintain this lead, SpaceX secured a $60 billion option to acquire Cursor, an AI-native coding platform. The goal is to integrate "reasoning-first" AI directly into their engineering stack, radically accelerating software development for Starship and the xAI Colossus supercomputer.
Headlines
Capital One Finalizes $5.15B Acquisition of Fintech Unicorn Brex
Capital One has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Brex for $5.15 billion, a move that merges one of the nation's largest banks with a premier AI-native spend management platform.
By integrating Brex’s vertically integrated software stack, Capital One aims to move beyond commoditized banking and position itself at the center of the modern CFO’s operating environment.
Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO; John Ternus Named Successor
Apple has announced a historic leadership transition, with Tim Cook moving to the role of Executive Chairman effective September 1.
John Ternus, the company’s Senior VP of Hardware Engineering, will take over as CEO, tasked with accelerating Apple’s proprietary AI strategy and maintaining its hardware dominance in an increasingly competitive silicon landscape.
Amazon Completes $11.6B Globalstar Acquisition, Inks Landmark Satellite Deal with Apple
Amazon has finalized its $11.6 billion acquisition of Globalstar, securing the vital radio spectrum and orbital assets needed to bolster its "Amazon Leo" satellite constellation to challenge SpaceX’s Starlink.
In a massive strategic shift, Apple has simultaneously signed an agreement to utilize the Amazon Leo network for its iPhone and Apple Watch emergency connectivity features.
This deal ensures seamless safety functions for users but marks a rare moment of Apple hardware dependency on a major tech rival's infrastructure.
Japanese Government Bond (JGB) Yields Hit 15-Year High, Triggering Liquidity Fears
JGB yields have surged to their highest levels since 2011, with the 15-year rate reaching 2.94% as the Bank of Japan navigates a shift away from ultra-loose monetary policy.
The rise is sparking concerns over a massive repatriation of Japanese capital, which could drain liquidity from global markets and increase volatility for U.S. Treasuries.
Allbirds Abandons Footwear in Radical Pivot to AI Computing Infrastructure
In a stunning corporate transformation, Allbirds—the Bay Area sustainable shoe icon—has sold its brand assets and officially pivoted to AI compute infrastructure under the name "NewBird AI."
The company is leveraging a new $50 million financing facility to acquire high-performance GPU assets, aiming to become a GPU-as-a-Service provider.
Following the announcement, the stock experienced a meteoric surge of 300%, as investors rushed to revalue the former retail laggard as a high-growth play in the global race for AI processing power.
Regulation Roundup
United States 🇺🇸
New York Sues Coinbase, Gemini Over Prediction Market Offerings
The New York Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase and Gemini, alleging that their prediction market products constitute unregulated bucket shops and illegal commodities trading.
The Next Fed Chair Has a Crypto Portfolio; Here’s Everything That’s In It
Financial disclosures for the leading candidate to head the Federal Reserve have revealed personal holdings in Bitcoin and other digital assets, marking a historic first for a potential U.S. central bank chief.
International 🌏
South Korea to Test Blockchain Deposit Tokens for Government Spending in Q4
South Korean authorities are launching a pilot program to utilize blockchain-based "deposit tokens" for the distribution of government subsidies and public funds.
By integrating programmability into the state's payment rails, the initiative aims to eliminate the misuse of public grants and streamline the reconciliation process for municipal budgets, potentially setting a global standard for G2C (Government-to-Citizen) payments.
Pakistan Lifts Seven-Year Ban, Allowing Banks to Service Virtual Asset Providers
In a major policy reversal, Pakistan’s central bank has authorized domestic financial institutions to provide banking services to crypto companies and virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
The shift is intended to bring the country’s significant "grey market" crypto activity into the formal economy, providing a regulated path for cross-border remittances and capital flow while adhering to international AML standards.
Almost 80% of Japanese Institutional Investors are Eyeing Crypto by 2029
A comprehensive survey of Japanese asset managers and pension funds indicates a massive institutional pivot, with the vast majority intending to integrate digital assets into their portfolios within the next three years.
This trend highlights the success of Japan's recent regulatory clarifications, which have transformed the region from a retail-centric market into a primary destination for institutional-grade liquidity in Asia.
