Phoebe Liu

Sam Altman’s Fusion Power Bet Just Got Hotter Than The Sun Fusion power moves closer to commercialization. Storing data for 10,000 years. Why AI won’t necessarily take your job. All that and more in this week’s edition of The Prototype.

Inside a new edition of The Prototype: why @helionenergy.bsky.social latest milestone is a big deal for fusion power, @microsoft.com's project to encode data on glass, and why you shouldn't expect mass job displacement from AI in the near future.

Check it out!

www.forbes.com/sites/the-pr...

AI’s Biggest Builders Are Now Its Biggest Lobbyists OpenAI and Anthropic spent more on lobbying in 2025 than ever. They’re pushing for friendly treatment amid tensions—at least for Anthropic—with the Trump administration.

OpenAI and Anthropic spent more on lobbying in 2025 than ever. My latest for @forbes.com is a breakdown of what the big #AI model makers lobbied on last year and why:

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

Thiel, the king of contrarian investors, told Epstein to pass on Spotify, and also advised against investing in Palantir, the defense-tech firm he co-founded, saying the price was "below market."

Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s Secretive Silicon Valley Investments Thanks to his relationships to tech billionaires like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, Epstein had access to a number of lucrative tech investments. But he walked away from several deals with major startups...

Jeffrey #Epstein had access to tech billionaires like Thiel and Musk. But he walked away from deals with major startups—including Spotify & SpaceX—that could have netted him hundreds of millions in total.

Deep dive from @iainmartin.bsky.social + me for @forbes.com:

www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...

Investors Put More Than $55 Billion Behind Space Startups Last Year In this week’s edition of The Prototype, we look at the booming space industry, better space weather forecasts, the first medical evacuation from space and more.

New edition of my emerging tech newsletter, The Prototype, is out! This is a space-packed issue, looking at the investment boom into space startups, the recent evacuation from ISS and more.

www.forbes.com/sites/the-pr...

"They need to make sure big swings are reasonably hedged while raising additional capital. Truly cashing in on the AI boom, though, will mean making a bet and committing to it. Otherwise they’ll be playing an ongoing game of catch up in an AI race where speed is everything."

Thanks for sharing. Definitely something I’m following—if you have thoughts/want to chat about what reporting you want to see on this I’m at pliu@forbes.com and phoebe.789 on Signal

Rep. Julia Letlow Discloses 211Stock Trades After Missing Deadline Under STOCK Act The Louisiana Republican’s office attributed the late disclosures, many dating back to 2024, to a third-party investment firm with discretionary authority.

NEW: "Rep. Julia Letlow Discloses Over 200 Stock Trades After Deadline As Ban Debate Grows In Congress"

#whoops

me, for @forbes

www.forbes.com/sites/zachev...

Public Data Center Builders Have Struggled In The AI Boom. But Don’t Count Them Out Yet The mainstreaming of AI is turning into a trillion dollar business, yet the two biggest data center real estate firms have lagged in public markets. Here’s why—and how they could catch up.

The mainstreaming of AI is turning into a trillion dollar business, yet the two biggest data center real estate firms have lagged in public markets. Here’s why—and how they could catch up.

My latest for @forbes.com:

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

AI Fraud Has Exploded. Background-Check Startup Checkr Is Cashing In. San Francisco-based Checkr has seen its revenues jump 14% to $800 million as companies try to spot a flood of AI-generated CVs and faked financial documents.

Checkr, which got its start running criminal record checks on Uber drivers and gig workers, has seen its revenues jump 14% to $800 million as companies try to spot a flood of AI-generated CVs and faked financial documents.
www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...

NIH shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs Special Report: The NIH has shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs.

And this vital story by @aniloza.bsky.social and @jaspar.bsky.social looking at the impacts of funding cuts to early-career scientists.

They found that in the first 270 days of 2025, fewer early-career grants were awarded than in any similar period since 2016.

www.statnews.com/2025/12/08/t...

After her most recent grant announcement on Tuesday, MacKenzie Scott is now America's third-most-generous philanthropist by dollar amount, and second by percentage of wealth. More insights and context in my latest for @forbes.com:

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

MacKenzie Scott’s Latest Gifts Make Her America’s Third Most Generous Philanthropist Only Warren Buffett and Bill Gates have given away more—and not nearly as fast.

MacKenzie Scott (former wife of Jeff Bezos) is a quiet rockstar #philanthropist. She gave away $7 billion in the past year. per @forbes.com @pheebini.bsky.social that vaults her even higher among the ranks of the country's most generous givers

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

This SV Angel Is Going Solo With A $45 Million Venture Fund After investing in the likes of OpenAI, ElevenLabs and Flock Safety, former SV Angel managing partner Beth Turner is striking out on her own.

After #investing in the likes of OpenAI, ElevenLabs and Flock Safety, former SV Angel managing partner (and former professional opera singer!) Beth Turner is striking out on her own.

My latest for @forbes.com:

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

ICYMI, last week's edition of my newsletter talked about why LLMs are vulnerable to poetic attacks, how seaweed might be a better way to harvest rare earths and why learning a second language is good for you.

Subscribe so you don't miss the next one!

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Napster Said It Raised $3 Billion From A Mystery Investor. Now That Investor Is Gone Forbes raised questions about a massive funding round metaverse-turned-AI firm Napster supposedly raised in January. The money is never coming, the company said Thursday.

Forbes raised questions about the massive funding round metaverse-turned-AI firm #Napster announced as a done deal in January. The money is never coming, the company said Thursday.

With @iainmartin.bsky.social for @forbes.com:

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings

NEW: The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of NY immigrants' rights volunteers organizing court watch+ labeled activists “anarchist violent extremist actors.”

Joint FBI/NYPD report shows law enforcement accessed private planning convo of ppl monitoring ICE

Docs obtained by @propertyofthepeople.org

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Charged With Stealing FEMA Funds The Democratic congresswoman faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted.

"Democratic Congresswoman Indicted In Alleged $5 Million FEMA Fund-Stealing Scheme"

Antonio Pequeño IV for @forbes.com

Musk’s XAI Will Be Profitable Sooner Than OpenAI, Former CFO Says The Musk-led AI company has a lot of cash in the bank. But it still needs more—and more. It’s using some creative off-balance-sheet financing to get it.

The Musk-led #AI company has a lot of cash in the bank. But it still needs more—and more. It’s using some creative off-balance-sheet financing to get it.

Some details on xAI's financials and weird/novel capital raise, from Anna Tong and me for @forbes.com:

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

AI Data Centers Are Banging on Crypto’s Door Developers desperately need access to electricity—and bitcoin miners are in a prime position to assist.

Big tech needs access to the grid for AI data centers. In many cases, crypto got there first. Free link:
www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Trump defends Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi killing The de facto Saudi ruler was branded a pariah in 2018 after the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Now, U.S.-Saudi relations are approaching a high point.

You can oversee the bloody dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist with a bone saw, and the president of the United States will smile, shake your hand and threaten to pull the license of a news outlet whose reporter asks you a question about it.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Amazon’s Robotaxi Unit Launches In San Francisco Without Steering Wheels—Or Fees Zoox isn’t yet charging for rides in its electric vehicles, which don’t have steering wheels, mirrors or pedals. But cofounder Jesse Levinson thinks regulatory approval is close.

NEW: Amazon’s Zoox launches ride service in San Francisco in robotaxis with no steering wheels — or fees for now #selfdrivingvehicles www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...

Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.

I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.

He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...

Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna cofounded Open Philanthropy to find charities that create the biggest impact/$. Now, they’re changing its name and encouraging others to join.

See table for their biggest grantees. My latest for @forbes.com:

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

Here’s How Much Cash OpenAI Is Burning On AI Video App Sora. What It Means Some back-of-napkin math suggests OpenAI is spending more than a quarter of what it’s making to power the AI slop factory.

So just how much money is OpenAI dumping on this firehose of imbecilic video? More than $5 billion annualized, or around $15 million per day, according to Forbes estimates and conversations with experts www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

Here’s How Much Cash OpenAI Is Burning On AI Video App Sora. What It Means Some back-of-napkin math suggests OpenAI is spending more than a quarter of what it’s making to power the AI slop factory.

Have you been using #Sora? Some back-of-napkin math suggests OpenAI is spending more than a quarter of what it’s making to power its AI slop factory. There are also potential silver linings (more training data + future tax savings). My latest for @forbes.com:

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

Fair points, thanks! Def will be ripple effects based on just how big the deals are. Though also -- even if wealthy/institutional investors take the fall for the majority of it, the cost and infrastructure momentum in the data center buildout affects all of us

Here’s What Happens If OpenAI Can’t Pay For Its $1.4 Trillion AI Deals OpenAI has gone wild with compute deals this year, committing to spend far more than its balance sheet can currently sustain. So who takes the fall if it can’t pay? It won’t be Altman.

We spoke to experts who pointed out that chief dealmaker Altman, who has claimed he has no stake in the company, doesn’t have much to lose. “He can commit to as much as he wants... Either he uses it, he renegotiates it, or he walks away.”
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...

Here’s What Happens If OpenAI Can’t Pay For Its $1.4 Trillion AI Deals OpenAI has gone wild with compute deals this year, committing to spend far more than its balance sheet can currently sustain. So who takes the fall if it can’t pay? It won’t be Altman.

One likely scenario is that the AI company pays for and utilizes only a portion of the compute it has booked said D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria. “They don't want OpenAI to go bankrupt, so their incentive is to renegotiate,” he told Forbes.
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...

Here’s What Happens If OpenAI Can’t Pay For Its $1.4 Trillion AI Deals OpenAI has gone wild with compute deals this year, committing to spend far more than its balance sheet can currently sustain. So who takes the fall if it can’t pay? It won’t be Altman.

OpenAI has gone wild with compute deals this year, committing to spend far more than its balance sheet can currently sustain. So who takes the fall if it can’t pay?

Latest for @forbes.com with @pheebini.bsky.social and @richardnieva.bsky.social.

www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...