The main error is: people think anti-acquisition regulations harm Big Tech.But they actually harm startups more, by cutting off exits and thereby reducing money for investment!When a bigco can't surrender to a startup, it fights to the death.https://t.co/hYJdolgIEzBalaji (@balajis):Remember, big tech did clean M&As for years.So what changed?It was the Biden-era regulatory assault.The most recognizable face was Lina Khan at FTC.Though to be fair, it's now an international affair.And it's also been continued ...

Remember, big tech did clean M&As for years.So what changed?It was the Biden-era regulatory assault.The most recognizable face was Lina Khan at FTC.Though to be fair, it's now an international affair.And it's also been continued by the current admin.Because Trump 2 is pro-crypto, but anti-Big Tech.And you know what? I get it.Big Tech did back wokes and censor citizens.But big M&As aren't really big wins for bigcos.They're more like surrenders.They signify that big tech couldn't build, so had to buy.And each ...

TLDR: Windsurf employees may well get their exit, if remaining management just executes the dividend.After looking into this, I think the original intent was for that $100M+ cash balance to indeed be used to give employee distributions via a dividend. It corresponds very closely to the unvested equity number.But due to the legal overhead that attends any Big Tech acquisition nowadays, the founder was muzzled and couldn't say this outright. He could only say "dividending out the balance is an option."So: the ...

Founders are resourceful, but not omnipotent.The FTC blocked the Figma and Adobe acquisition, in a random and illogical way, and the fallout from that has distorted M&A. It’s similar to Sarbox distorting IPOs. https://t.co/F4B0OdHYHo https://t.co/bLBgtLJX40Jerry Jiang (@TheMingjie):@balajis Why all the blame for Lina Khan?If founders want to, they can always find a way. ...

From a well-known investor I know:“Saw some people claiming common doesn’t get paid in the Windsurf acquisition. They are wrong, you are right. I checked with Windsurf investors, everyone is getting paid, including common.The one wrinkle may be employees who aren’t vested. And preferred may be taking a disproportionate tax hit, because it doesn’t qualify for QSBS, just like Scale didn’t qualify.”Caveats: I haven't seen the waterfall myself, and these deals are complicated, and I don't like to get involved i ...

Initiating violence is very expensive.(In addition to being immoral.)The US spent $5T on war, for nothing.Russia spends >$1B/day on Ukraine.So, war is an absolute last resort.Much smarter to buy from a willing seller.Land is a commodity in the Internet era anyway.Izecube 🖱️ (@its_izecube):@balajis @slatestarcodex they can just take it like the old times through some violence ...

“What key knowledge would you need to start rebuilding civilisation from scratch? Once you’ve scavenged what you can, how do you begin producing the essentials? How do you grow food, generate power, prepare medicines, or get metal out of rocks?”https://t.co/EEByUUy3VL https://t.co/avM7Tnd273 ...

An important subject.Less theoretical every day.This is a good book on the topic. https://t.co/usj7oSDxUoGrant Slatton (@GrantSlatton):Suppose you took 10,000 optimally selected people and dumped them into a region that had adequate forests, fields, and mountains for mining iron and coal, all in a 100 mile radiusThey start with only 1 season of food suppliesHow fast could they bootstrap to tech circa 1900? ...

Geopolitical & Economic Context - Egypt needs financial support following the Arab Spring unrest [1] - The UAE is considered a well-managed nation in the region [1] Regional Dynamics - Egypt has regained partial stability [1]

What @slatestarcodex is saying is of course tongue-in-cheek.But this is real: Egypt leased their Mediterranean peninsula to the UAE in return for $35B.It’s a win/win for both countries. As the sovereign debt crisis gets underway, expect many more deals like this. https://t.co/XbLkjH4ANeScott Alexander (@slatestarcodex):@aphysicist I am a Singapore-controlling-Michigan's-Upper-Peninsula accelerationist. Not only should they own the land, but they should institute SIngaporean law there and build a hyperfuturi ...