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Good morning ☀️, leader of the next generation.
Technology is reshaping how the world works.
The real question is not what it can do — but how we choose to use it.
We focus on using technology to support human evolution.
Progress works when responsibility stays human.
⚡ WHAT'S AT STAKE TODAY ⚡
- 🏛️⚡ Trump administration wants tech companies to buy $15B of power plants they may not use
- 🔒🤖 Moxie Marlinspike has a privacy-conscious alternative to ChatGPT
- 🏢🇮🇳 Anthropic taps former Microsoft India MD to lead Bengaluru expansion
- 🏥🤖 OpenAI and Anthropic are making their play for healthcare, and we're not surprised
- ⚖️🚫 California AG sends Musk's xAI a cease-and-desist order over sexual deepfakes
- 🕵️💰 Rogue agents and shadow AI: Why VCs are betting big on AI security
- 🌐💀 Well, there goes the metaverse!
- 🚀💵 Here are the 55 US AI startups that raised $100M or more in 2025
- ☁️🚀 AI cloud startup Runpod hits $120M in ARR — and it started with a Reddit post
Trump pushes tech companies to fund $15B power generation
Trump administration wants tech companies to buy $15B of power plants they may not use
The Trump administration is pressuring the nation's largest electricity grid operator to secure $15 billion in new power generation capacity, with tech companies footing the bill—regardless of whether they actually need the electricity for their operations.
The ambitious proposal targets PJM Interconnection, which manages the electrical grid across 13 Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states, serving over 65 million people. The region includes northern Virginia, a major data center hub that has become ground zero for the AI-driven electricity demand surge.
Under the administration's plan, PJM would conduct an auction for 15-year contracts to secure new generating capacity. Tech companies would be expected to bid on these contracts even if they don't ultimately require the power for their data centers. This unusual arrangement comes as data center electricity demand is projected to nearly triple over the next decade, driven largely by artificial intelligence applications.
However, PJM appears less than enthusiastic about the federal intervention. The grid operator is currently reviewing the "statement of principles" while conducting its own months-long planning process to add capacity. PJM spokesman Jeffrey Shields signaled the organization's reluctance, telling Bloomberg they weren't invited to related administration events and wouldn't be attending. The statement from the White House remains non-binding.
The push comes as electricity rates in the PJM region jumped 10-15% in 2025 compared to the previous year. Peak electricity demand has increased 10% over the past decade and is expected to rise another 6.5% by 2027. While tech companies and data centers bear much of the blame for this surge, natural gas price volatility is also a significant factor.
PJM relies heavily on natural gas for power generation, and recent price spikes have contributed substantially to rate increases. According to Monitoring Analytics, PJM's independent monitor, approximately 60% of 2025's price increases stem from high fossil fuel costs rather than increased demand alone.
The administration's approach highlights a fundamental challenge facing grid operators nationwide. After more than a decade of flat electricity demand, data centers are suddenly requiring massive amounts of power. Building new fossil fuel power plants requires years of development and hundreds of millions in investment, creating significant financial risks for utilities and power providers.
The primary concern is timing and risk management. If the AI boom proves temporary, utilities could find themselves stuck with expensive, long-term power generation assets designed to operate for decades. This prospect makes many energy companies hesitant to commit to large-scale fossil fuel projects without guaranteed buyers.
Tech companies have responded to this challenge by pursuing alternative strategies. Rather than relying on traditional grid capacity, many are investing directly in renewable energy sources, particularly solar and battery storage systems. These technologies offer several advantages: they're generally less expensive, more modular in design, and can be deployed much faster than conventional power plants.
Solar farms can typically be constructed within 18 months and built in phases, allowing power delivery to begin before completion. This timeline aligns better with data center construction schedules, enabling companies to manage risks more effectively. The modular nature of renewable systems also allows for more precise capacity planning, reducing the likelihood of overbuilding.
The administration's proposal represents a significant departure from market-driven approaches to power generation planning. By asking tech companies to purchase capacity they may not need, the plan essentially seeks to socialize the risk of building new power plants while ensuring grid reliability. Whether this approach gains traction will depend on both PJM's willingness to cooperate and tech companies' readiness to accept financial responsibility for broader grid infrastructure.
Your dream is ready. Are you?
What if you woke up tomorrow with all your expenses covered for an entire year? No rent. No bills. What would you dream up? What would you build?
Our Dare to Dream challenge answers these questions. We believe in Creators, in Entrepreneurs, in the people who bet on their own ideas and their will to make them real.
That’s why we’re awarding $100,000 to one person who shows up as their authentic self and tells us how their dream can make a real difference in their communities.
We’ve got five runner-up prizes each worth $10,000, too. So get out your phone, hit record, and dream the dream only you can dream up.
Today is your day.
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Signal co-founder launches privacy-focused AI chatbot alternative to ChatGPT
Moxie Marlinspike has a privacy-conscious alternative to ChatGPT
Signal co-founder Moxie Marlinspike launched Confer in December, a privacy-focused AI assistant that prevents data collection and ad targeting. Unlike ChatGPT, Confer encrypts messages using WebAuthn passkeys and processes queries in Trusted Execution Environments, ensuring conversations remain private.
Marlinspike emphasizes AI's intimate nature, comparing ad-supported chatbots to "someone paying your therapist to convince you to buy something." Confer offers 20 daily messages free, with unlimited access at $35 monthly—more expensive than ChatGPT Plus, reflecting privacy's premium cost.
🎙️ The Supercharged Podcast Is Growing
Conversations with the People Building the AI Future
The Supercharged Podcast is becoming a place where real conversations about AI happen — beyond hype, tools, or surface-level takes.
We sit down with industry leaders, founders, builders, and operators who are actively using AI — or building AI-first businesses — to understand how it’s actually changing the way work gets done.
From strategy and systems to experimentation and execution, these are practical, honest conversations with people shaping what comes next.
⚡ Trends for the Future
AI cloud startup Runpod hits $120M in ARR — and it started with a Reddit post
Runpod reaches $120M revenue after starting with Reddit marketing.
Runpod, an AI app hosting platform launched four years ago by founders Zhen Lu and Pardeep Singh, has achieved a remarkable $120 million annual revenue run rate. Their journey began when the two Comcast developers repurposed their failed Ethereum mining rigs from their New Jersey basements into AI servers in late 2021.
After spending around $50,000 on cryptocurrency mining equipment that wasn't paying off, the duo converted their GPUs into AI infrastructure. They discovered the existing software stack for GPU development was inadequate, creating an opportunity to build something better. This was before ChatGPT existed, making their timing exceptionally fortunate.
In early 2022, they launched Runpod as a platform emphasizing speed, easily configured hardware, and developer tools. Lacking marketing experience, they simply posted on AI-focused subreddits offering free server access in exchange for feedback. This Reddit strategy worked, attracting beta testers who became paying customers.
Within nine months, they hit $1 million in revenue and quit their corporate jobs. However, business users demanded professional infrastructure beyond basement servers. Rather than immediately seeking venture capital, they formed revenue-share partnerships with data centers to scale capacity while maintaining profitability without a free tier.
Their breakthrough came when Dell Technologies Capital partner Radhika Malik discovered them on Reddit and reached out. She guided Lu through VC fundamentals during their first investor call. Similarly, Hugging Face co-founder Julien Chaumond became an angel investor after using their product and contacting support.
By May 2024, amid growing AI application demand, Runpod secured a $20 million seed round co-led by Dell and Intel's venture arms. Today, they serve 500,000 developers across 31 global regions, including major clients like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Zillow.
Despite fierce competition from major cloud providers and specialized competitors like CoreWeave, Runpod positions itself as a developer-centric platform for the next generation of AI-powered programmers.
⚡ Let’s Make AI Actually Useful:
What Would Move the Needle in *Your* Industry?
AI has potential — but generic advice rarely helps.
What would be genuinely valuable for AI to do in your industry right now?
• Automate a painful workflow?
• Improve decision-making?
• Replace a manual process that wastes time?
• Help your team upskill faster?
Tell us what you’d want AI to handle — or where you feel stuck.
We’re using these insights to curate **industry-specific trainings, live webinars, and practical guidance** you can actually apply.
AI will be humanity's greatest tool for positive transformation, helping us unlock solutions we never imagined and create a world where technology amplifies our collective wisdom.
Jessica Livingston is the co-founder of Y Combinator and author of "Founders at Work," a collection of interviews with successful startup founders that has become essential reading for entrepreneurs worldwide. Her work in building Y Combinator's unique model of supporting early-stage startups has helped launch thousands of companies, and she continues to advocate for empowering founders to use technology and AI to solve meaningful problems while building sustainable, impactful businesses.
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The Supercharged is aiming to be the world's #1 AI business magazine and is on a mission to empower 1,000,000 entrepreneurs worldwide by 2025, guiding them through the transition into the AI-driven creative age. We're dedicated to breaking down complex technologies, sharing actionable insights, and fostering a community that thrives on innovation, to become the ultimate resource for businesses navigating the AI revolution.
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