Hi there,
Welcome to the 123rd edition of Heartcore Insights, curated with 🖤 by the Heartcore Team.
If you missed the past newsletters, you can catch up here. Now, let’s dive in!
The $100 Trillion Disruption: The Unforeseen Economic Earthquake - Wildfire Labs
A thought-provoking analysis of potential n:th order consequences of weight-loss drugs in a world of technology that’s otherwise obsessed with AI, arguing that weight-loss medication may well be a more consequential leap for human nature than AI.
The piece argues that the weight-loss medications should not be considered strictly on the merits of the first-order consequences they bring: treating diabetes or controlling your weight. At a higher layer of abstraction, it’s the first medication that can be said to regulate human impulse control.
Drawing out the timelines and assuming ubiquity of these drugs, Todd Gagne lays out a range of “what-if” scenarios for the second- and third-order effects impulse control might have on society and the global economy.
Beyond the immediate effects of weight loss and healthcare savings the drugs bring, a society made up of humans in control of their impulses would turn society as we know it on its head. Some examples the author uses:
A 40% drop in alcohol consumption would not only mean a drop in sales for major alcohol brands... it would also imply a ~45% drop in drunk driving, ~30% drop in violent crime and a fundamental shift to the business model of the entire restaurant industry.
In a mall setting, when impulse purchases from the footfall starts declining, you’ll end up transitioning the model away from traditional retail into experience-oriented environments such as showrooms, wellness centres and medical facilities.
The entire advertising industry is built on the premise of creating external stimuli to nudge consumers to do things they may otherwise not have considered.
The shift in the consumer psyche is profound, with a system geared towards proactive value creation and subscription-based services not meant to induce instant gratification. Consequences, which anchor the title of the article: “ The $100 Trillion Disruption”.
How to Get Rich in 2025 - The Economist
“Forget about your career. Today, inheritance is what matters”... is the conclusion of the analysis of inheritance flows from The Economist’s late February issue.
Data shows that ~$6T will be changing hands through inheritance in 2025. 40% of newly minted billionaires haven’t built their fortunes but inherited them. In a range of Western countries, the share of GDP made up by inheritance surpassed 10% by the end of the 2010’s, compared to low single digits in the post-war period.
With wealth increasingly being passed on rather than earned, similarities are drawn to the early 1900s and a stronger dependence on family ties than career advancements. The examples of fictional characters “Inheriting Isabel” and “Non-beneficiary Nancy’’ illustrate how family wealth, not ambition or income, increasingly determines life outcomes — from asset ownership to marriage.
Using the example of homeownership, Nancy would be worse off with a 90th percentile salary, a mortgage and no inheritance, compared to Isabel, handed a central London townhouse by her parents. Calling into question the merits of a meritocratic society, the Economist introduces thus the term: “Inheritocracy”.
Larry Fink’s 2025 Letter to Investors, Larry Fink
Klarna’s S1 filed with the SEC and Breakdown of Klarna’s S1, CJ Gustafson
Scarcity in Abundance in 2025, Alex Danco
What is MCP, and Why is Everyone – Suddenly!– Talking about it?, Ksenia Se
The Rise and Reckoning of Scooter-Sharing: Economics, Operations, and Viability, Gad Allon
Vertical AI: Beware What You Wrap, Matt Brown
High Agency in 30 Minutes, George Mack
Let’s Lean into Europe’s Complexity, Tom Lambert
🇪🇺 Notable European early-stage rounds
Mo:re, a Germany-based startup automating complex 3D cell culture workflows, raises €2.3M with HTGF - link
Ethos, a UK-based AI-powered expert and client matching platform, raises $3.3M with General Catalyst - link
Rival, a UK-based social platform for VR content, raises $4.2M with Speedinvest - link
Paid, a UK-based business platform for AI agents, raises £10M with EQT/Sequoia - link
RockFi, a France-based wealth management fintech startup, raises €18M with Partech - link
🇺🇸 Notable US early-stage rounds
Cambrian, a platform that powers AI agents with verifiable financial data, raises $5.9 with a16z - link
Brisk Teaching, a provider of AI-powered tools to educators, raises $15M with Bessemer - link
Fourier, a hydrogen production systems developer, raises $18.5M with General Catalyst - link
Straiker, an AI-native security solutions provider, raises $21M with Lightspeed - link
Silna Health, an AI-powered care readiness platform, raises $27M with Accel - link
🔭 Notable later stage rounds
Island, a US-based provider of secure enterprise browsers, raises $250M with Coatue - link
Mercury, a US-based digital banking startup, raises $300M with Sequoia - link
Runway, a US-based AI video startup, raises $300M with General Atlantic - link
ReliaQuest, a US-based AI-powered security solutions provider, raises $500M with EQT - link
OpenAI, the US-based AI research organisation behind ChatGPT, raises $40B with SoftBank - link
🖤 Heartcore News
BLAST 🖤 has formed with a joint venture with Reliance to supercharge Indian e-sports scene. 🎮 🔥
TravelPerk 🖤 launches a new brand identity. ❇️
Gourmey 🖤 ranks #22 in the 2024 FoodTech 500 by Forward Fooding. 🌟
CarbonPool 🖤 publishes white paper on Carbon as an Asset Class with EY. ✍️
Paulina and Bodi 🖤 hosted a low-key dinner for engineers, CTOs and stealth founders with Operator and Friends in Berlin. 🇩🇪
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