Startup Stash - Federer Says, Let's Bounce 🎈

Reality just got a lot more interesting and titillating for the child inside you. 

Sierra Space is on a mission to construct a giant inflatable balloon-like space station 250 miles above Earth, set to replace the International Space Station when it retires at the end of 2030, according to Robb Report.

Meet LIFE, the "Large Integrated Flexible Environment." It may resemble a bouncy house, but it's far more sophisticated. 

Here are the detes: 

• LIFE will be launched into space inside a rocket and then inflate to its full size once in orbit.
• Standing as tall as a three-story building with a 27-foot diameter, it can accommodate four to six astronauts, allowing them to live and work in low-Earth orbit for weeks at a time.
• The station is made of nine-layer textile casing, which includes Vectran, a material 5x stronger than steel. This robust construction shields astronauts from space radiation, internal pressure, and micrometeoroids. 
• Inside, the station will feature research labs, exercise equipment, and even a vegetable garden.

But it's not just about salads in space. Sierra first needs to tackle space travel logistics. Under a $3 billion contract with NASA, the company Dream Chaser will make its maiden unpiloted cargo delivery to the ISS in September, paving the way for future missions to transport people to the LIFE station.

What’s more is that Sierra is collaborating with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to solve the problem of lack of commercial spaces and rising rentals. It plans to create Orbital Reef, the world's first commercial space station and a "mixed-use business park.” Basically a location in space where you can grow plants, immunotherapy drugs, and an entire habitat for work. 

What this means? Prepare for a new era where "return-to-office" could mean a commute to outer space.

Gen Z is deeply intertwined with content creation. Or so it seems in a recent survey by the Pew Research Centre. An impressive 65% of individuals aged 14 to 24 identify themselves as video content creators, with YouTube taking the top spot as the most preferred content platform, at 95% (image below).

These teens are online almost constantly (see image below). They don’t just enjoy consuming content; they're also passionate about creating it. This generation isn't merely driven by dreams of sponsorships or internet fame. Instead, they're embracing a more participatory internet culture, where sharing reactions, commentary, and responses through video is second nature. 

As more young creators take to the streets and screens, expect to see an ever-growing wave of content emerging from every corner of your community.

Wiz, a startup that heralds itself as the leading cloud security platform with an impressive clientele (that includes 40% of Fortune 100 companies), made headlines in May by securing $1 billion in funding, pushing its valuation to a whopping $12 billion. Its plan was to gear up for an IPO. Two months later, the plan changed, and now it appears that Wiz is set to join Alphabet's expansive portfolio, valuing at nearly twice its previous worth.

At $23 billion, this will be Google’s largest acquisition deal ever. If it goes through, Google will be more than just a tech behemoth. And sure the valuation sounds crazy, but so did the $1.65 billion value when Alphabet acquired YouTube back in 2006. Now that looks like a master stroke, with the video-sharing platform bringing in $8.1 billion in ad revenue in the first quarter of 2024 alone. 

🧨 Not All Meals Are Happy; And That's Okay - McDonald's UK rebranded Happy Meals to “The Meal” for its Mental Health Awareness Week.

🤫 Busting Bricks - An Oregon police bust took down a criminal enterprise, seizing $200k worth of LEGO bricks. 

💨 Squirting To Shoo Away People - Barcelona's anti-tourism protesters fire water pistols at visitors to deter them from coming to the city. 

Meanwhile, Copenhagen is launching CopenPay, a new initiative that will reward climate-friendly tourists — biking, train travel, cleaning up, etc. — with free access to activities.

🏥 Layover Food, mmmm.... - 37 best airport meals around the world, according to travel editors. 

🛩️ It's a Jet Valley - 165 private jets are parked in Sun Valley for the annual billionaire CEOs conference.