David Chouinard

Congrats team Lodestar Space to closing this £2.5M pre seed round! Off to the (new space) races. At Inflection.xyz we are committed to pioneer sovereign computation as the biggest leverage for human progress. The space economy will help us provide valuable services from imagery and connectivity on earth all the way to in space semiconductor production, energy harnessing, regulating the earths climate and becoming an interplanetary species in the long run. Object manipulation is a very present bottleneck for repair, refuelling and other services. As opposed to tele operated robots that come with high latency, connectivity issues, human failure and high costs Lodestar Space is taking a different approach. By leveraging new materials, additive manufacturing and advancements in AI and in-space „edge“ compute capabilities (see our portfolio Cryptosat) they enable autonomous robotics operating in real time and far beyond human precision. Based on their space specific data set - robots and objects behave very differently at 0 gravity, extreme light conditions and temperatures - new applications and interfaces become possible. Data network effects are expected to accelerate development across verticals. Read more about the company’s value propositions, team and vision on https://www.lodestar.space Reach out if you see room for collaboration!

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In the earliest stages, startups have to balance two needs: capital to build now, and the focus to create the product that will bring their vision to life. We experienced this journey at Prewitt Ridge, and I had the opportunity to share parts of our story last week at AIAA ASCEND, and I wanted to share some of the highlights here, as well as the video clip captured by my teammate York Zhang! Steve Massey and I incorporated Prewitt Ridge in Dec 2019 and hit the ground running in 2020. Building on our experience as engineers working at SpaceX and Slingshot Aerospace, we set out to take a picks-and-shovels approach to build digital engineering software tooling for engineers like us, who are working at the companies out there using the picks and shovels, here on Earth and soon in space. We quickly found that there were a host of resources available to us. We received initial funding through the SBIR/STTR program, an initiative from the US government to provide early-stage technology funding for small businesses. With two STTR awards and a great university partner at UNM, we began to execute on our product vision. Simultaneously, we received phenomenal support from the Techstars Space Accelerator program. This accelerator helped us focus on the tradeoffs of bootstrapped growth through SBIR/STTR vs traditional fundraising. SBIR/STTR are fantastic sources of capital, providing a partnership that helps small businesses build through non-dilutive funding. But it’s important to remember that these opportunities are focused on specific topics and non-recurring. As a business, it's important to be disciplined on aligning the SBIR/STTR opportunities with your core product features and strategies to ensure they don't impede your teams execution. We made the decision to balance both SBIR/STTR with growth via venture capital. We successfully raised a round of funding, led by Squadra Ventures with participation from Stage Venture Partners, Aurelia Foundry, Wonder Ventures, Haystack, Acequia Capital, Techstars and GC&H We’ve had a wonderful experience working with the VC community, highlighted by the hands-on approach and national security expertise of Squadra Ventures. Going forward, we’ll continue to consider both types of funding. These resources have provided numerous connections to government and industry leaders, and in turn they have helped to focus our tool offering and capabilities. Our journey shows the importance of another balance that startups must strike: reducing risk and optimizing opportunities. Thanks to Techstars, AIAA ASCEND and all of the panelists for a great conversation! If you’re interested in discussing solutions for digital engineering, get in touch! #startups #aerospace #AIAAASCEND

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I’m excited to share that I’ve decided to document my journey as I build FinchTech AI into a successful startup. I’ll be sharing what I’ve done so far, my weekly goals, the challenges I face, and the successes I achieve along the way; the good, the bad, and the ugly. So far, I’ve built my initial website from scratch, established the FinchTech AI brand, and begun developing the MVP for my first AI tool, CalculAI. This tool is designed to assist engineers in selecting the best materials and manufacturing processes. It’s already functional, with a conversational interface that can handle basic material selection tasks, though there’s still work to do. What I’ve Accomplished: • Trained and integrated a RandomForestClassifier model for material recommendations. • Built a conversational interface for user interaction. • Improved the AI’s ability to handle different scenarios and make better recommendations. This Week’s Focus: • Enhancing the AI’s decision-making with a decision tree structure. • Improving scenario recognition to make the AI more intuitive. • Implementing a hybrid approach to better guide users through complex decision-making. • Start the build of website 2.0. Long-Term Goals: My vision is to launch CalculAI as a valuable tool for the engineering industry, secure funding to expand my team, and develop additional AI tools to address other engineering challenges. Challenges: With no technical background in software development and experience as a project manager in the engineering industry, I’ve self-taught myself web design and AI development. The journey has been filled with obstacles; many times I’ve wanted to quit, but each day I pushed a little further. Today, I’m proud to say I have a working AI tool, even if it’s just the bare minimum right now (Plan to show a demo later this week) 🚀 . I’m inviting you all to join me on this journey. If you have advice, I’m all ears, and if you have questions, I’m happy to answer. Let’s connect, share insights, and support each other as we navigate the startup world. #AI #Startup #Engineering #MachineLearning #TechInnovation #Entrepreneurship #ProductDevelopment #Resilience #Leadership #Innovation

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Some more insight into what we are building at Aerodome 📈🚀

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AST SpaceMobile Stock Surges, Hits $5.6B Market Cap 🛰 Huge news from AST SpaceMobile as share price jumped another 18% yesterday, bringing its year-to-date market gains to a staggering 326%. The company’s market cap now sits at $5.6B, ranking it among the highest-valued space businesses in the world after SpaceX. AST SpaceMobile Stock Surges, Hits $5.6B Market Cap - Payload (payloadspace.com)

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Getting into personal aviation? It's like unlocking a whole new world! Think about it: with your own plane, you're breaking free from the confines of traditional travel. Whether it's zipping off for a weekend getaway or hopping between business meetings without the hassle of commercial flights, personal aviation opens up a world of possibilities. Also, time is our most valuable resource and taing advantage of opportunities through aviation allows you to make more impactful memroeis and connections. #personalaircraft #aircraft #airforce #aviation #aviationlovers #aviationgeek

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The venture apocalypse is upon us. Only two funds raised 44% of the venture money in the US in 2024. The cash amounts deployed against emerging managers (firms with less than three funds) relative to more established firms dropped from 19% in the 2010 to 2020 periode to 16% and falling. Lux Capital's predictions of 30-50% of emerging managers ceasing to exist over the next couple of years are over-shadowed only by claims of an outright extinction of venture capital. This post explores the bigger context and why such developments are short term healthy and long term risky for a nascent startup ecosystem: https://lnkd.in/d-fsYg6b

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I have to wonder if the CDN government would ever look out for customers in this way. The rewards programs of the four largest US air carriers are being probed by the US government as it seeks to understand how consumers “are impacted by the devaluation of earned rewards, hidden or dynamic pricing, extra fees and reduced competition and choice.” The probe would be the first extensive government look at the programs that have expanded to produce billions of dollars for airlines annually—in some cases adding more revenue than flight operations. Federal regulators could demand changes that might disrupt these profit centers for both carriers and credit-card issuers, and remove a travel option highly valued by consumers.

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Finals are done—back to FlyFast! 🎉 What's coming in 2024? (still 19 days) ✅ One-Way, Multi-City, and SkipLeg searches. ✅ 10+ new filters: Departure/arrival times, emissions, baggage options, stopovers, preferred airlines, and more. ✅ Direct booking links: No Google Flights detour—straight to the airline site! ✅ up-to 4% speed improvements ✅ Full Flight information for Deals ✅ API access ✅ Multiple Destinations in Live search ✅ Surprise :) FlyFast will make finding cheap flights easier than ever. DangerZone Posting this for social accountability—let's make it happen!

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For every $100 ticket an airline sells, acquiring banks charge around 2% in transaction fees. You might think “2% doesn't sound like much.” The problem is: most airlines operate on single-digit margins. Let’s say an airline's margin is 7%: → On a $100 ticket, they make $7 in profit → But they're paying $2 or more in transaction fees → That's nearly 30% of their profit going to payment processing Now scale this: • A medium-sized airline sells millions of tickets annually • Those 2% fees become tens of millions in costs • For many airlines, payment fees are now higher than their profit margins That’s why payment optimization isn't just a nice-to-have anymore. It's becoming as crucial as fuel efficiency or route optimization. Yet surprisingly, while airlines meticulously optimize operations, many still use the same payment approaches they've used for decades. Think about this.

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An incredible deep dive from Nathan M. into the cultural and structural issues that are plaguing Boeing and how they got to where they are today. This article should be turned into a business school case study it's that good. And many of these issues aren't unique to Boeing. The focus on financial engineering over actual engineering is an issue at play in many scaled aerospace and defense companies. A definite must-read! https://lnkd.in/gkdpF2tM

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Stop focusing solely on your pitch deck: (Here’s how Jensen Huang got funding for Nvidia) 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗼: - Don’t wait until you need money to start building relationships. - Don’t focus only on the pitch—investors want to know you first. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗼: - Start networking early: Connect with investors months before you need funding. - Attend investor events: Be present at key industry events, webinars, and conferences. - Make yourself visible on LinkedIn: Consistently share updates about your product, company milestones, and industry insights. This builds trust over time and keeps investors engaged. - Provide value first: Offer insights, introductions, or support to build a relationship before asking for money. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻: When Jensen Huang was ready to start Nvidia, he was introduced to Don Valentine, one of the most well-known venture capitalists. Even though Huang was nervous and felt he gave a terrible pitch, the relationship he had built beforehand was what mattered. His former boss had already vouched for him, and Valentine had trust in him before he even walked into the room. Valentine’s parting words were blunt: “If you lose my money, I’ll kill you.” Huang’s story shows that the strength of relationships can outweigh even a poor pitch—trust and connections often matter more than the perfect presentation. Start building relationships and not just pitch decks. Pitch decks are for intriguing investors, not convincing them. The convinced part happens when they 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 and 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 you. -MK

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WAYMO -- WAYCOOL or GHOST RIDER? If you preside in San Francisco, Santa Monica or Phoenix you are now seeing driverless Waymo taxies making their way through town on an ever-increasing basis. The network is expanding, and I can honestly say that in the Santa Monica / West Los Angeles area I have not driven anywhere in the last two months without seeing one of them on the road every time. In fact, sometimes they are so prevalent that there might be three in a row waiting at a stop light. It still is kind of spooky seeing cars moving around with no driver, or anyone for that matter, in the front seat. It's not exactly the same as the Headless Horseman but it does conjure up that image in my imagination. I have not taken a ride in one, but several family members have and report their satisfaction. Waymo is a division of Alphabet (GOOGL). I have not seen any visible evidence of General Motors (GM) Cruise vehicles which I understand are still being road tested, while Tesla (TSLA) has been projecting their autonomous vehicle vision for some time. For now, Tesla seems to be behind but that could change quickly. GM is likely to use their own branded vehicles, and it would seem that Tesla will likely do the same. However, Waymo technology could be outfitted on any cars. That seems like a big advantage, staying out of the car business and just being like the "Intel/Microsoft" inside personal computers which is a much higher margin business. There has been a lot of noise in the business journals and chat rooms about a Waymo initial public offering but nothing from Alphabet itself. They recently concluded a $5.6 billion investment round; see TechCrunch post below. The autonomous race is on, and it will be expanding rapidly from here on out. I just wonder if we will ever see an autonomous police vehicle stop a wayward autonomous taxi and write it up for some violation as yet unknown. Will traffic school be an option? #waymo, #autonomousvehicles, #selfdrivingcars, #GM, #Generalmotors, #tesla, #Investing, #business,

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Flying feels routine after decades, but here’s what keeps it meaningful. For me, flying an airplane is kind of like driving a car. It’s a tool to get to and from work, especially in fighter aviation where the mission is paramount. The real enjoyment, though, comes from how flying closes the gap between places and helps create memorable experiences. After decades of flying, it’s still something I enjoy. Over time, even the most extraordinary skills can start to feel routine. But what matters is how those skills open up freedom and opportunities. Flying may feel like second nature now, but the value isn’t in the act itself, it’s in the experiences, connections, and memories it allows me to create. That’s what keeps it meaningful, no matter how many times I’ve done it.

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MVP isn't a great target. Coming from the tech-centric, VC funded, startup land in Silicon Valley, I can tell you targeting the Minimum Viable Product "MVP" drives a lot of decision making when introducing a new product to market. It's typically the correct approach in that environment. In home services, an approach like that is more likely to hurt than help. Your service IS the product. If your service is minimally "good enough", your business is going to launch with "good enough" sentiment and reviews - a death sentence in today's competitive environment. Take the time to build the service and underlying support structure correctly from launch, and you'll not only delight your customers, but you'll be well-positioned to capture growth. For me, I hit the "easy button" on that and joined ResiBrands to help me launch and grow Pink's Window Services. It's certainly not the only way, but it was a darn good one!

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"We’re now completely sold out in the US until mid-2027"- Topher Haddad and remaining tasking availability is dwindling globally: https://albedo.com/reserve What is Albedo doing again?? We build and operate satellites that co-collect 10 cm/pixel visible imagery with 2 m/pixel thermal (LWIR) imagery. Native GSDs. ^ resolution comparable to that of imagery collected by planes, but we're doing it from space 🙃 We couldn’t be more excited about our initial customers and are stoked to see who all snags the rest of our remaining capacity. Be among the first commercial end users EVER to have access to this unprecedented dataset. Cheers! https://lnkd.in/gtBuW68c

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We’re excited to announce that Pyka has raised $40M in Series B funding to accelerate the commercialization of their autonomous electric aircraft! Led by Obvious Ventures, with support from Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, Metaplanet, and Y Combinator, this investment will expand Pyka’s impact in sectors like agriculture, cargo transport, and defense logistics. With commercial operations already underway across multiple continents and partners like Dole and Embraer, Pyka is transforming aviation while driving sustainability and decarbonization. ⚡✈️ More here from TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/gGYfc824

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Today I’m thrilled to announce Pictorus (pictor.us) has closed a $3.5M seed financing round, led by Catapult Ventures. Full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/dxe-7-5M After a year in stealth and nearly the same in Beta, we’re excited to use this latest funding to bring Pictorus to the aerospace, automotive, and robotic markets with a formal release later this year. The problem we’re solving is simple: Developing software for hardware is still way too hard. Most hardware startups we’ve encountered end up rebuilding the same core tools and infrastructure over and over again… some combination of makeshift Python scripts, hacky sims and visualizations, and some kludgy infra code.. all cobbled together to design, deploy, and debug the software running on each vehicle. It’s a mess, but it is today’s developer experience. In large part, this is because the engineering tools we all learned back at university (Matlab & Simulink) just don’t cut it for what we need to build and deploy today. And unless Elon is footing the bill, internal engineering tools are really inefficient to develop in-house; both in engineering hours sunk, and avoidable mistakes repeated. Engineers need better workflows for bringing new hardware to life - and at the scale and pace of modern, globally distributed fleets. Meanwhile, large, established aerospace and automotive teams feel trapped by the old Matlab/Simulink toolchain they committed to over 30 years ago, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars annually (each). At Pictorus, we’ve built a solution for this entire spectrum of experience - from scrappy aerospace startups looking to bootstrap their first hardware product, to large automotive OEMs looking to port their legacy Simulink code into Rust. “From the moment I saw what Pictorus had built, I knew this was the future of embedded systems programming. I’ve spent too much time banging my head on my keyboard debugging C/C++ or Matlab/Simulink while squinting at a screen hunched over a car, airplane, drone, or tractor.” says Darren Liccardo, General Partner at Catapult Ventures. “The aerospace industry is rapidly innovating, yet it lacks the flexible tools to quickly program and iterate,” Marlinspike Co-Founder Mislav Tolusic adds. “Pictorus can fill that gap.” I want to give a big shout out to the investors backing us this round, starting with our original partners at Lux Capital and Webb Investment Network, and introducing our latest partners at Marlinspike, Friends & Family Capital, RedBlue Capital, and Never Lift. We’ve assembled a team with deep connections across the industries most excited about our product, and are eager to accelerate our progress with their partnership. Finally, we’re doubling our core team, across engineering and GTM, so do reach out if this mission resonates with your aspirations!

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I am so excited to announce Giant Ventures' largest ever early stage investment, leading Beyond Aero's Series A to make aviation electric. Founder & CEO Eloa Guillotin is a once in a generation entrepreneur. Much more to come on her later this week... Beyond has secured $1 billion in demand for 108 clean aircrafts. They recently achieved France's first manned, fully hydrogen-electric flight. We are co-leading this round with Bpifrance, France’s impressive Sovereign Wealth Fund whose commitment to long-term support for Beyond is invaluable. The round also includes participation from Initialized Capital (27 unicorns and counting), Giant Ideas favourite Airbnb founder Nathan Blecharczyk and Dropbox founder Arash Ferdowsi plus Olympians and World Cup Winner Raphaël Varane. Giant partner Jon Dishotsky led the round. Beyond are starting by disrupting business aviation, the most emissions-intensive segment per passenger, currently producing ten times more CO2 per person than commercial flights, and under growing scrutiny. The Beyond aircraft will be powered by fuel cells, producing water as a byproduct and achieving a range five times greater than that of a battery-powered aircraft. Read more about Beyond's $44M funding in the Wall Street Journal. Link in comments. Quiet flight, bold vision. #AviationWillBeElectric  #PoweringTheFuture

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