In each issue, we spotlight:

Oh, and because no good dealflow comes without a side of drama, expect a sprinkle of spicy tech tea to warm up.

One Line Pitch: We capture the kinetic energy every vehicle wastes just by driving and turn it into usable power; making every mile regenerative.

Raising: $6M

Team: Nicholas DeGrange - Founder & CEO; Aaron Kohn - CBO; Chris Ajalat - CTO.

Why yes: high-efficiency energy recovery through non-invasive electromagnetic cores that capture the 3–15% of EV drive energy typically dissipated as heat by vehicle suspensions; "net-positive" hardware solution that stacks with existing regenerative braking to provide a 15–22% range extension without requiring a multi-billion dollar platform redesign; With a $600B+ OEM electrification commitment globally, even a 0.3% market capture represents a $1.8B annual revenue potential.

Why pause: execution risks in long-tail automotive hardware cycles, which typically require 18–24 months for OEM integration. While they achieved TRL 4 validation and secured two patents, it remains in the pre-pilot stage, with on-road testing and formal OEM Letters of Intent (LOIs) still 18 months away.

Link / Contact:¹ Reach out to the team or check the deck

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A controversial trend solidified this week as firms like Finn Murphy and others increased investments in Solar Radiation Management (SRM)( the technology designed to deflect sunlight away from Earth). Critics argue this is "betting on climate failure" rather than fixing it. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) quietly took their "Talent x Opportunity" (aka “DEI” fund) fund behind the shed(back in November) and finally ended it this week. It was launched with a lot of fanfare to help underrepresented founders, but in the new "Anti-Woke" Silicon Valley, apparently, helping people who don't look like Marc Andreessen is no longer on the Q4 roadmap.

Some high-profile developers and VCs began a heated debate over "Vibe Coding Piece” from Michael Truell. The CEO of Cursor warned that we are building a "house of cards" that will collapse in 2026.

Following (deserved) backlash, Instacart announced that it is shuttering its controversial AI-driven dynamic pricing experiments. The tests used AI to show different prices for the same products to different consumers they said in statement. It’s a rare holiday miracle: a tech company realizing that treating your users like a data-ATM has its limits.

In a move that feels like it was written by a drunk AI, Trump’s TMTG (Truth Social) finalized its $6 billion merger with TAE Technologies. They claim it’s to power "AI data centers," but the world remains skeptical. They are trying to harness the power of the sun to keep a social media app alive that mostly runs on screenshots of other social media apps.

I am putting together an VC/Investor Lounge event in February. Reach out if you’re interested in collaboration.

^{*Interested? Hit reply and I’ll connect you.}

How he helps:
Assist founders in transition from being technical builders to organizational leaders, offering "hyperscale" support to scale their companies effectively. The team brings together experience from major technical and financial institutions—including IBM Watson, Bain Capital Ventures, Norwest, and Kauffman Fellows—offering founders deep research and engineering-focused underwriting.

Red flags: "Lone wolf" founders or "vibe-heavy" startups lacking technical moats or data-backed defensibility.

Fast-pass: Engineering-first teams with rapid iteration cycles. Ensemble delivers institutional-grade financial rigor and a suite of data tools to promote objectivity.

Notes: Ian and the team utilize a proprietary platform to "continuously scrape and refresh" talent data; if Ian reaches out to you, it is because your team’s technical velocity has already triggered an objective signal within the Ensemble ecosystem. ²

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(But if you insist - here’s the link to my luma calendar)

a tech-washed term for part-time employee/freelancer. If you’re doing it and you’re underpaid, you’re a freelancer. If you’re doing it and charging a $5,000 monthly retainer for four meetings, you’re Fractional.

(un)solicited deck peek