MGrok just moved into the boardroom. Space X's AI division, SpaceXSI, formerly xAI, launched a partner network today, and more than 130 companies signed up for early access.
CNames worth knowing too. Bain, Databricks, Nvidia, Snowflake. This isn't a beta test with a few startups.
MAnd separately, Tech Mahindra says it's bringing Grok Build to banks and telecoms. That's the part that caught my eye.
CBecause banking is where AI promises meet compliance reality.
MExactly. A chatbot that makes stuff up is fine on X. A banking assistant that makes stuff up is a lawsuit.
CBut that's why they're selling to IT firms like Tech Mahindra. They do the integration work. They know the regulators.
MStill, the scale is the story. A hundred and thirty companies signed up before the network even fully launched.
CGrok went from a chatbot to an enterprise platform in about eighteen months.
MWhich either means it's ready, or they're moving too fast to catch mistakes.
CThe market voted. Enterprise deals are the only way AI companies justify their valuations.
MAnd speaking of valuations and bad judgment, here's one that fits.
CThis is the part where you bring up losing money.
MThere's a Bluesky post that says if your tech startup only loses a hundred thousand a year for a decade, you're one of the most successful tech startups in history.
CBecause the bar is underground.
MA hundred grand a year is basically break-even in this market. That's a rounding error for most companies.
CMy favorite reply is the one about the startup in Indonesia. The only product they've launched in years is a backpack.
MA backpack designed specifically to sell to other founders traveling to pitch VCs.
CThat's a product with a market. Just not a very big one.
MIt's also a perfect distillation of startup culture. Selling tools to other people trying to build something.
CDifferent world entirely: the Indian government and Polymarket.
MA post going around claims India withheld Polymarket, and then adds that India also withheld Starlink.
CThat second part is wrong. Starlink has a license from India's telecom department as of June last year.
MStill needs security clearances, but the company says talks are active and productive. There's no freeze.
CAnd the Polymarket part? Prediction markets are a legal gray area in a lot of countries.
MBut saying India withheld both is just inaccurate. You don't get to lump two unrelated things together and call it a pattern.
CAnd that matters, because the Starlink India story has actual consequences for real customers. If you tell people the government blocked it, businesses make different decisions.
MExactly. One vague post becomes a fact by the end of the day.
CAlright, one more quick one before we move on. Mother Jones has a story about Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna's husband owning ten percent of a drone startup that got thirty-seven million in Pentagon deals.
MThat's the kind of story that should be easy to verify, but the numbers aren't independently confirmed yet.
CMother Jones reported it, so that's the source we have for now. We haven't confirmed the ownership stake or the dollar figure.
MIf it checks out, it's a real conflict question. If it doesn't, it's another lesson in waiting for evidence.
CAnd we'll keep an eye on it.
MOne last thing, because I can't let this go: someone on Bluesky casually noted there's a cryonics startup in Salem, Oregon, right by the Costco.
CNothing says eternal life like a strip mall next to a bulk retailer.
MThat's the whole pitch. Freeze your body, wake up in the future, walk over for a hot dog.
CThe future better have Costco, or what's the point of waking up at all?