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Aluminium is the most abundant metal in Earth's crust - yet it costs more than copper. The reason is electricity. A short walkthrough of the Hall-Héroult smelting process that makes aluminium energy-intensive to produce, why China sets the global price, how recycling slashes energy use by 90-95%, and what the rise of 'green aluminium' premiums means for the market.

Brava Security (Israel/US) came out of stealth with a $15M seed from F2 Venture Capital and Pitango for an AI platform that tests whether security tools detect attacks.

Antimony is a brittle silver-white metalloid that quietly underpins modern electronics and fire safety - yet most investors have never heard of it. A short walkthrough of why China controls 60% of global supply, how antimony ends up in flame retardants and semiconductor dopants, why the futures market is thin and price-volatile, and what regulatory headwinds could do to long-term demand.

Meta acquired Conductor, a startup that runs multiple AI coding agents in parallel. The team joins Meta Superintelligence Labs.

Arsenic has a dark reputation - but inside modern semiconductors it's indispensable. A short walkthrough of why arsenic is recovered as a copper-mining byproduct rather than mined directly, how gallium arsenide chips outperform silicon in high-frequency and aerospace applications, why there are no listed futures contracts, and what Western dependence on Chinese supply means for semiconductor supply chains.

OpenAI agreed to acquire Pierre Computer Company, a developer-tools startup that stores AI-generated code, to strengthen Codex.

When nearby futures cost more than contracts months out, the market is in backwardation - and it's telling you something important about supply. A short walkthrough of why a downward-sloping futures curve signals physical scarcity, how backwardation differs from contango, what events like the 1973 oil embargo and 2022 Ukraine invasion did to the curve, and why ETF investors pay a hidden cost called roll drag in deep backwardation.

bit.bio (Cambridge, UK), a human cell programming company, closed a $25M Series D for lab-grown human cell models.

Phaze, founded by the Parsec team, raised an $8.75M seed led by a16z for remote computers for people and AI agents.

Beryllium is one of the lightest structural metals on Earth - four times stiffer than aluminium at a fraction of the weight - yet most investors have never heard of it. A short walkthrough of why aerospace and defence dominate demand, why only 200–300 tonnes are produced globally each year, how pricing works without a futures market, and why the US has designated it a critical strategic material.

Clark raised an $11M seed led by Touring Capital for AI built for audit professionals.

Helicon (Los Angeles) came out of stealth with $16.5M to automate production of composite structures for drones.

Shackleton came out of stealth with a $5M seed led by Battery Ventures for construction AI.

Skyfly Technologies (UK) raised an €8.91M seed to develop electric and hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft.

Brent Crude prices roughly 70% of the world's oil trade - yet the North Sea fields it's named after now produce under a million barrels a day. A short walkthrough of how a shrinking physical market became the planet's dominant oil benchmark, why Brent trades at a $1–5 premium to WTI, what 60% financial positioning means for price formation, and whether declining North Sea reserves threaten the benchmark's long-term credibility.

Aformic (South Carolina) raised a $6.95M seed led by Veteran Ventures Capital for autonomous industrial robots.

Takenos (Argentina), a fintech, raised a $7M seed extension led by North Island Ventures to expand across Latin America.

Pliant, a B2B payment-infrastructure company, raised an $80M Series C.

FluoRok (Oxford) raised a €26.6M (about $30M) Series A, led by Orano Ventures and Supernova Invest, to make fluorochemicals and battery electrolyte salts without hazardous hydrogen fluoride.

Gallium Defense (Paris) came out of stealth with a €7.1M seed, led by Keen Venture Partners and 360 Capital, for a low-cost drone-detection radar.