I saw an invisibility cloak in Austin

Ok, I know what you’re thinking. How did I see it? That, my friends, is a secret we’ll unlock together. I’ve been aware of this invisibility cloak technology for some years now, but it wasn’t until I attended a recent Harry Potter themed event (that’s a whole other post), and my trip to Deep Tech week in Austin, that it all made sense.

Revelio! (you’re welcome HP nerds)

At 57 Maiden I spend my time not only with founders building at the frontier, but also with athletes and sports brands pushing it. e.g. earlier this month I sat down with a founder building liquid propulsion rockets and a major North American sports brand within the same 48 hours. This crossover is getting very interesting I tells ya.

If something sparks a question or a deal, reply. I read every one.

Expecto good things‘o’

The founders building the next generation of compute, AI chips, electric infrastructure, and defense, are out there, and they are getting funded. Gates, Microsoft, Aramco they’re all in. What isn’t moving, interestingly, is the story.

I’ve been struck by the persistent negative sentiment around American innovation, AI data centers, new energy infrastructure, the whole category. And I kinda get it. People are scared of AI taking jobs, or taking over humanity, or something in between. (politics, et al) But like every infrastructure revolution in history, the optimists and the builders win.

For example, In 1889, electricity was illustrated in newspapers as “The Unrestrained Demon”, a menace to society. 

In 1896, the bicycle was condemned as “the devil’s advance agent” by women's reformer Charlotte Smith, who warned that cycling would corrupt women's morals and threaten their physical well-being.

In a way, yesterday's existential threats become tomorrow's everyday conveniences.

42% of Americans live within five miles of a data center and don’t realize it. (e.g. you won’t hear some buzzing noise while watching ‘Love Island’…I better not) Loudoun County, Virginia has 17,000 jobs because of them. Tax revenues go up. Communities that had zero data center capacity ten years ago are thriving. Building data centers and the infrastructure behind AI is one of the most unambiguously positive things we can do for American communities right now.

And I’ve been noticing something interesting at the intersection of sports, capital, and frontier technology.

Athletes are no longer just investing in consumer brands, restaurants, and sports franchises. They're moving into AI, energy, defense, and infrastructure.

Kevin Durant's Thirty Five Ventures invested in Hugging Face, one of the foundational platforms in open-source AI. Saquon Barkley backed Crusoe, which is building massive AI compute infrastructure powered by innovative energy solutions. Cristiano Ronaldo invested in Perplexity, the AI-powered search platform.

And it's not just the athletes. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, through RSE Ventures, backed FPF Defense, a company building autonomous counter-drone systems. Former NBA player Omri Casspi has built Swish Ventures into a serious institutional technology investment platform.

My favorites Larry Fitzgerald and Kelvin Beachum, through Trenches Capital, are backing companies like Chariot Defense, which is building the power infrastructure for the modern battlefield.

NASCAR made history in 2026 by racing at Naval Base Coronado, the first NASCAR event on an active military installation. Defense technology company Anduril became NASCAR's Official Defense Partner and signed a multi-year sponsorship with Hendrick Motorsports, putting its brand on William Byron's No. 24 Chevrolet through 2028. NASCAR is returning to Coronado in 2027, with plans to bring the race to another military installation in 2028.

Deep Tech Week in Austin (Don’t worry the cloak is coming!)

Bravo Ordnance is building next-generation warheads and energetic systems for drones and autonomous platforms. Galadyne, former SpaceX and Firefly engineers, is rethinking missile manufacturing from the ground up. Liquid propulsion at scale, the kind of thing that changes what a defense supply chain looks like.

TerraFirma is former SpaceX engineers applying robotics, heavy equipment, and AI to construction. Fresh off a $100M Series A. The pitch is simple: large-scale construction is broken, dangerous, and slow. They are fixing all three.

Fleetzero is electrifying commercial shipping through modular marine batteries and hybrid propulsion systems. BSU Electronics is the reminder that none of this works without someone manufacturing the PCBs, wiring, and electronics that go inside everything else. Infrastructure for the infrastructure.

Open X is tackling the bottleneck nobody talks about: the skilled technical workforce required to build and scale all of it. And Starbase Brewing, because Austin ya know, is experimenting with fermentation in microgravity. Of course it’s in #ATX.

And one more, that gave me my proud Duke moment. (here comes the cloak)

Neurophos came out of Professor David Smith’s metamaterials lab at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, the same lab that invented the invisibility cloak. (here it is) Patrick Bowen, Duke PhD, built optical AI chips that run inference with light instead of electricity, 100x more efficient than GPUs. Gates Frontier led the Series A. Microsoft M12 and Aramco are in. Duke Capital Partners backed it. Total raised: $118M.

Athletes & Alternative Assets in Action
(yes, I enjoy alliteration, sue me)

On October 6 I hosted “Building and Investing in Sports.” Over 60 families joined us, most from the GCC, for a live conversation on how to build a real sports investing strategy across teams, media, technology, and venues. Garrett Klugh, Olympian and Chief Advisor at Falk Ventures, Michael Jordan’s former agency, and Kelvin Beachum, 15-year NFL veteran and investor, led the room. Frameworks, deal access, and the kind of conversation family offices have been waiting for someone to convene. The NBA Games in Abu Dhabi were cancelled, so we brought the room online instead. The momentum continues.

When Gulf families sit down with me, they don’t open with ROI. Usually we get to talking about Shaq and Kobe. Biggie and Pac. American culture travels farther and faster than any diplomat, and the athletes who built that culture are now putting their names and their capital behind the next wave of American innovation. That is soft power. And it’s super durable.

Recent Travel

Sept 3–13: Juventus and an Italian road trip. I essentially ate pasta and gelato daily while reading Project Hail Mary with a glass of wine at night. Amaze, amaze.

Sept 18–20: Duke Soccer alumni weekend.

Upcoming Travel

Oct 11-13, Aspen: Prediction Market Summit at Kevin Costner’s ranch…I WISH I was going to this, but I do know the crew putting it together. This has all the makings of a legendary weekend with some real teeth for all parties involved. Unconventional often gets things done. The list of invitees is a who’s who in U.S. gambling, including CEOs from the biggest gaming companies, top leaders from Indian Country, and some former regulators and deal advisors.

Oct 14, NYC: The Signal by Two Prime. A closed, press-free, one-day convening of senior institutional leaders on the convergence of digital and traditional finance. The room includes the CEOs of BitGo, Kraken, Aave, Securitize, and Tether USA, alongside portfolio managers from VanEck and the Head of Digital Assets at U.S. Bank. Invite only, intentionally small.

Oct 21, NYC : Will Ventures’ Variance Summit. Invitation-only, for founders, investors, and operators across prediction markets, collectibles, and real money gaming.

Nov 12–16, Boston: Speaking at Harvard Business School, hosting a small dinner with families, and attending a soccer event for Ascent Soccer out of Malawi. For those who didn’t know, I used to live in Malawi. Life-changing experience.