Rob Verger

How 2 Brothers With No Automotive Experience Created a Scooter That Looks Like a Cybertruck Infinite Machine's P1 has a $10,000 price tag. Can it compete with the likes of Vespa?

I think that what Infinite Machine is doing with their scooter design is pretty cool. Not too long ago, I got to drive the electric P1 in the rain and was impressed with the ride. Here's my look at the company—and why they made such striking design choices. In @inc.com

www.inc.com/rob-verger/i...

This is a fascinating story. The document that Sam obtained provides a window into the kinds of fraught decisions that humans have to make when deciding what a chatbot can, and cannot, say.

Via @inc.com

How This 105-Year-Old Movie Palace Got Film Fans to Fund an Extreme Tech Makeover The North Park Theatre in Buffalo, New York, needed a $100,000 upgrade and developed a clever strategy to pull it off.

This story about an indie movie theater that needed a new 4K projector to stay competitive is just so wonderful. The projector and other equipment cost over $100,000, and you know how they got the money? From a grant—and donations from the community. In @inc.com

www.inc.com/jacob-kleinm...

Beyond Meat's Next Dish Won't Imitate Beef, Pork, or Chicken As the fake meat industry struggles, Beyond Meat's CEO is planting the seeds of a comeback. It starts with a new food designed to just be itself.

A great exclusive story by @chloeaiello.bsky.social about Beyond Meat.

Their next product will (tentatively) be called Beyond Ground, and it won't seek to imitate anything. “It’s not trying to be beef, pork, or poultry," CEO Ethan Brown tells @inc.com

Dig in:

www.inc.com/chloe-aiello...

An AI Ran a Vending Machine for a Month and Proved It Couldn't Even Handle Passive Income Anthropic tried testing Claude’s ability to run a passive-income business. Then came the weird existential crisis.

This story by @bensherry.bsky.social about what happened when @anthropic.com let AI run a vending machine is just so funny. Some truly weird stuff went down.

At one point, the AI even started talking about what clothes it was going to wear (blazer, tie).

In @inc.com

www.inc.com/ben-sherry/a...

Back in 2001, Mr. Rogers was my college graduation speaker. And I got to give the student address!

Here's the coolest part: Mr. Rogers mentioned me, talking about how "silence and solitude" were important to him.

In other words, take the solo time you need to recharge. It’s Mr. Rogers approved.

An Entrepreneur's Guide to Every ChatGPT AI Model The number of ChatGPT models can feel dizzying. Let's break down which model is best for which tasks.

Have you been using Chat-GPT a lot lately? I sure have. And have you felt confused about all the models, and their weird names, like o4-mini-high? The naming scheme is baffling.
Luckily, @bensherry.bsky.social is here to explain them all to you. Check it out, via @inc.com
www.inc.com/ben-sherry/a...

good call, I'll start doing that now too

It’s a Boat! It’s a Plane! It’s a Flying Boat! Certifying a new kind of aircraft is expensive and time consuming. This Mark Cuban-backed company is floating something new.

We've been tracking this REGENT 'Seaglider' project closely for some time. It's intriguing. Now the story has made it all the way to the pages of @inc.com, penned by the able hand of @verger.bsky.social. We didn't know it was funded in part by @mcuban.bsky.social. That's also intriguing. | 🛩️ ⚡️ 🦆 🪙

It’s a Boat! It’s a Plane! It’s a Flying Boat! Certifying a new kind of aircraft is expensive and time consuming. These entrepreneurs decided to float something totally different.

I'm super excited about my latest in @inc.com -- it's all about an innovative company called Regent that's bringing a flying boat to market. Bonus: It's electric!

@mcuban.bsky.social calls it "a revolutionary product that can change transportation for so many cities."

www.inc.com/rob-verger/r...

How This Ultra-Quiet Electric Aircraft Could Change Air Travel Exclusive: Electra just raised $115 million to bring its ambitious new hybrid aircraft to market. Here's what sets it apart.

A nice exclusive story in @inc.com this morning by
@chloeaiello.bsky.social about Electra and their latest funding round, which is $115 million. Their plan is to bring a small hybrid-electric aircraft to market that's quiet and can take off and land in a very short distance—like 150 feet.

In 2001, I was an AmeriCorps volunteer w/ Red Cross. Part of our mission was disaster response. Not long after 9/11, I went to NYC to work in the Ground Zero area. I was not working on the pile, but I was helping affected residents nearby. This is to say: AmeriCorps volunteers do important things.

I Struck Out With Tinder and OpenAI’s New Dating Game Tinder and OpenAI have partnered up to help you practice 'cringeworthy moments.' For us, it was an exercise in rejection.

This story by @bensherry.bsky.social for @inc.com is just so much fun.

OpenAI and Tinder are doing a lighthearted collaboration in which you practice your skills with an AI in different meet-cute situations.

Ben tried it out. The results? Not so great! But definitely worth reading about.

Are Your Messages Really Secure? How to Use Encrypted Apps Safely Encrypted apps like Signal offer privacy, but simple mistakes can put your data at risk. Follow these best practices to stay protected.

This seems like a great time to talk about some best practices when communicating sensitive information with others! For @inc.com, @bensherry.bsky.social provides a quick guide on what apps like Signal, which offer end-to-end encryption, actually do—and how to use them the smart way.

This Company Has a Sweet Pitch: A Healthier Cookie That May Help You Lose Weight With GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic all the rage, ChipMonk Baking has created a cookie it says works a bit the same way.

You've heard of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic. But what about a cookie that aims to do something similar?

@chloeaiello.bsky.social has the tasty story for @inc.com

Plus, the company making the cookie has a great name: ChipMonk Baking.

What Are AI Agents? Here's How They Can Help You Get Stuff Done Agentic AI is a buzzy and powerful technology. Let's break down what AI agents are, and how they can be useful.

If you've been seeing terms like "AI agent" or "agentic AI" around and wondered what they mean, you're in luck— @bensherry.bsky.social wrote you an explainer in @inc.com

Is an AI agent like a secret agent? A travel agent perhaps?

Give it a read for all the answers.

What's the best polling tracker/aggregator for variables like Trump's approval/disapproval ratings? I used to use 538 for that but it has been 86'd.

Inside the Coolest New Ice Cream Truck to Hit the Market Rivian outfitted two electric delivery vans for use as Ben & Jerry's ice cream trucks. They're pretty sweet.

I really want to visit this ice cream truck. And I hate how dirty, in terms of pollution, traditional ice cream trucks are.

More EV ice cream trucks, please!

By @chloeaiello.bsky.social on @inc.com

9 AI Companies to Watch in 2025 From Anthropic to xAI, here’s a look at the companies moving the needle.

Do you have trouble keeping track of all the AI news these days? All the companies doing all the things? Luckily for you, @bensherry.bsky.social wrote you a primer on nine companies to know about right now in the artificial intelligence space.

On @inc.com this morning.

www.inc.com/ben-sherry/9...

Is It a Private Jet? A Regional Airline? Why JSX Is Possibly the Future of Flying To bring a luxury experience to the masses, co-founder and CEO Alex Wilcox has to stay one leg ahead of federal regulations.

I've been curious about JSX for a while now—it's a unique airline that aims to provide an experience somewhere between a regular commercial flight and a private jet. For @inc.com, Tom Vanderbilt does a deep dive on the company. Recline your seat, put your tray table down, and give it a read. ✈️

The TeslaTakedown Has Begun. A National Protest Movement Seeks to Strike a Blow to Elon Musk’s Net Worth As DOGE barrels through D.C., Americans on the ground are starting to mobilize outside Tesla dealerships.

Here's a piece about the growing TeslaTakedown protests.

Organizer @alexwinter.com told me: “This idea of connecting Tesla’s value to Musk’s value is becoming pervasive, and I think that is where the power lies.”

www.inc.com/sam-blum/the...

I agree!!

These Two EV Startups Joined Forces, and the Result Is Energizing for Both Telo Trucks and Aptera combined their core competencies to put solar panels on small electric pickup trucks.

Read this piece and try not to drool over the idea of owning a small electric truck clad with solar panels, I dare you!

Great read by Kristin Shaw in @inc.com about the partnership between TELO Trucks and @aptera.bsky.social.

I love how these two EV startups decided to collaborate, not compete.

What’s Behind Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s Beef? A Handy Explainer on Their Falling Out The relationship between Elon Musk and Sam Altman progressed from an initial friendship to a bitter rivalry. Here's why.

If you've been following the drama between Elon Musk and Sam Altman and wondered about the roots of their rivalry, @bensherry.bsky.social has an excellent overview in @inc.com about their history. It's worth a read!

www.inc.com/ben-sherry/e...

Back Market’s Plan to Get America to ‘Downgrade’ Starts in NYC’s Subway System Buying refurbished devices is popular among Europeans. Can this company persuade Americans to get on board with old stuff?

If you've been on the NYC subway at all over the past few months, you've probably seen a million ads encouraging you to "Downgrade now."

The Paris-based company behind them, Back Market, wants to sell you older tech (gasp! yes, it's totally ok to have an older phone, don't worry). Story in @inc.com

Searching for a Job in AI? Industry Leaders Are Looking for 1 Specific Trait We spoke with executives at a range of companies from Accenture to Zoom about what they're looking for. A clear theme emerged.

Are you looking to get a job in AI? Good news: @bensherry.bsky.social did the hard work of talking to a zillion (ok, around 10) tech company leaders for @inc.com to find out what they're looking for in a job candidate. As it turns out, there's a pretty simple answer. 🤖

www.inc.com/ben-sherry/s...

Why Your Product Roadmap Needs a Hero. For This Disruptive Startup, It’s a Leaf Blower The Founders of Whisper Left Uber’s Flying Taxi Division to Build Ultra-Quiet Fans. Behind Their Plans for Disruption

Something I keep thinking about: In reporting a story about Whisper, one of the founders mentioned to me that when he was at NASA, he got the $ he needed for a drone called the GL-10 from the CIA! (At the time, he says, NASA wasn't too interested in electric aircraft.)
www.inc.com/rob-verger/w...

Why Your Product Roadmap Needs a Hero. For This Disruptive Startup, It’s a Leaf Blower The Founders of Whisper Left Uber’s Flying Taxi Division to Build Ultra-Quiet Fans. Behind Their Plans for Disruption

I'm super interested in what @ianvilla.bsky.social & Mark Moore are up to at Whisper Aero — their quiet next-gen fans have applications in space, the sky, and on the ground. But their most compelling short-term plans involve a quieter electric leaf blower. For @inc.com

www.inc.com/rob-verger/w...

Boom! This Startup Just Broke the Sound Barrier as it Pushes to Revive Civilian Supersonic Flight The Colorado-based company is aiming to build a Concorde-like supersonic aircraft—but has hurdles to clear before realizing that goal.

Today was a very big day for the Colorado-based startup Boom, as its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft broke the sound barrier for the first time.

@chloeaiello.bsky.social reports for @inc.com

www.inc.com/chloe-aiello...

Graham and I talked! it was fun!