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The Democratic Republic of Congo produces roughly 70% of the world's cobalt - and no other critical commodity is so dependent on a single nation. A short walkthrough of why cobalt became essential to EV battery cathodes, how the market swung from $8 to $25 per pound and back to $6 in just two years, why LFP batteries are threatening to bypass it entirely, and what a 5% recycling rate means for long-term supply security.

Zenzap (Israeli-founded) emerged from stealth with $44M total funding, including a $33M Series A co-led by Bessemer and Lightspeed, for AI agents inside team chats.

Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana grow over 60% of the world's cocoa - and a single disease outbreak can wipe out 20–30% of a harvest. A short walkthrough of why cocoa demand is almost entirely tied to chocolate, how slow-maturing cacao trees make supply painfully inelastic, why farmers receive only 10–20% of the final chocolate price, and what climate change and farmer abandonment mean for long-term supply.

Pluto Security (Israel) emerged from stealth with $42M ($8.5M seed led by TLV Partners and a $34M Series A led by Jump Capital) to secure AI tools that employees build.

Cohere signed a letter of intent to acquire AISLE, a San Francisco AI cybersecurity startup.

Prime Intellect acquired Moondream, a Seattle vision-AI startup founded by AWS veterans.

Salience Labs (UK) raised $125M to link thousands of GPUs with light using photonic chips.

The EU's trade gap with China hit €360B in 2025; leaders also face high energy bills and budget fights.

The Pentagon has drawn up options to use the 21,600-pound MOAB on Iranian nuclear and energy sites, lifting escalation risk and oil prices in the six-month war.

Over 2 billion people drink coffee every day - and the entire supply chain rests on a handful of frost-prone growing regions and 20 million small farmers receiving 5–10% of the retail price. A short walkthrough of Arabica vs Robusta, why a single Brazilian frost can cut the following year's supply by 20–30%, how the 3–4 year tree maturity cycle creates boom-bust pricing, and what climate change means for Colombia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.

Modal Labs (US) raised $750M led by Accel at a $15.75B valuation for AI cloud infrastructure.

Commodity index funds let you own a diversified slice of raw materials - oil, metals, agriculture - without ever touching a futures contract yourself. A short walkthrough of how funds like the S&P GSCI and Bloomberg Commodity Index work, why roll drag silently erodes 2–5% of returns annually in contango markets, the difference between ETFs and mutual fund structures, and what energy-heavy weightings mean for what you're actually buying.

Arena.ai (US) raised a $200M Series B at a $3.1B valuation for its evaluation platform for frontier AI models and agents.

US producer prices rose 1.3% in September and 6.3% from a year earlier, the biggest annual gain since 2022, pushing interest rates back to center stage.

The shape of a commodity's futures curve tells you almost everything about the current state of the market. A short walkthrough of contango and backwardation, the convenience yield that explains why physical holders accept lower returns than futures imply, how the curve responds within hours to supply disruptions and inventory data, and why persistent contango quietly drains 2–5% annually from buy-and-hold investors.

Singularity (US) emerged from stealth with an $80M Series A at a $400M valuation for interceptor defense technology.