Contrarian Thinking Capital

2 Marauders nearing completion, with a 3rd underway in just 9 months. Speed. Execution. Scale. Repeat.

Today, we're launching Nuvo AI - the first AI-native freight execution engine for North American shippers. This is @nuvocargo's biggest launch to date. If you are a manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retailer, or any kind of shipper moving North America truckload freight - then Nuvo AI was built for you. Check out our launch video below. More relevant links in the next tweet below (@FreightWaves, link to set up a demo, and more). Nuvo AI acts as an extension of your team — 12+ AI agents, 70%+ automated touchpoints per load, dedicated human freight experts on your account, and a network of 300K+ carriers managing your freight end to end: procurement, execution, monitoring, compliance, audit & pay, and reporting. We don't sell software, we sell outcomes powered by AI: - Spend less on freight — we automate hundreds of hours of manual work, reduce your software spend, and cut your direct freight costs. Many of our customers are seeing 7-20% freight spend reduction in year 1 - Improve service levels — we hold ourselves accountable to your metrics: OTIF, OTP, OTD, landed cost. - Simplify your supply chain — one platform instead of 15+ tools to implement, train on, and manage. Less vendors, less work, less headaches for you. - Stay ahead on AI — we evaluate the latest AI models and tools and constantly swap in the best on your behalf. A dedicated Silicon Valley engineering team making those decisions for you, so you don't have to. You can get started by tendering us as little as 10 US truckloads. No long implementations. No rip and replace. No training your team on yet another freight SaaS point solution. No long “process mapping” with the 10th AI agent startup. This isn’t just software; hold Nuvocargo accountable to business outcomes. Our team of human freight experts who have moved over 100k+ loads at top logistics companies work closely as part of your team. Once you've run as few as 10 loads in our pilot and seen the platform in action - we'll work with you to build the ROI and business case for your C-suite to run all - or a large portion - of your freight through Nuvo AI. Nuvo AI works seamlessly with your existing trusted carriers and freight brokers. We help strengthen those relationships while driving deeper accountability and results. You can also tap into our growing network of 300k+ carriers to keep driving down costs as rates start climbing. We rebuilt our entire platform in 2024 for the age of AI. It has already run tens of thousands of real loads - domestic US, US-MX-CA cross-border, FTL, LTL, multi-stop, dryvan, reefer, and more. Our agents are battle tested with thousands of edge cases and continue to improve as AI models get better. Our team of human freight veterans supervise the agents, handle edge cases, and work your freight every day. We're not a new AI startup figuring out how freight works. Who knew that freight, the Roman empire, and AI all had something in common?! Thanks @NoiMahoney for the awesome coverage!

Satellite imagery and insights used to require six-figure contracts, weeks of negotiation, and a team of analysts. Now it takes seconds on SkyFi. No long-term contracts. No GIS degree required. Just search, order, and get the answers you need on-demand. We built the simplest way to search, task, and analyze satellite data across 50+ providers, all in one platform. Check it out 👉 skyfi.com

Our Co-founder & CEO @MavrookasD joined @a16z at the American Dynamism: America 250 Summit last week for a fireside chat with @espricewright and Under Secretary of War for Acquisition & Sustainment @USDASDuffey. They discussed how to close the gap between innovation and operational deployment, how software-led production is changing the economics and timelines of shipbuilding, and what it will take to rebuild sustained maritime industrial capacity in the United States. As we mark 250 years of American Dynamism, it is worth remembering that maritime strength has always underpinned our national security. The next chapter will depend on our ability to build at speed and at scale, and the Saronic team remains focused on doing exactly that.

Heatmap has evolved. Faster UI. Smarter insights. Less friction between data and action. But this isn’t a redesign. It’s a structural upgrade. Here’s what’s new: • Journey Analysis (optimize paths, not just pages) • Custom Events (track intent, not just traffic) • Pop-Up Surveys (connect behavior with motivation) • AI summaries delivered weekly • Slack integration & chart exports Most tools visualize activity. Heatmap connects behavior to revenue. Full breakdown 👇 heatmap.com/blog/heatmap-r…

Replit just raised a massive $400M round. CEO @amasad is one of the clearest thinkers on what AI means for business owners. 4 things he told us, that you should know: 1. AI disproportionately benefits owners "The difference between an owner and a worker is the worker trades time for money. Owners trade experience, scalable experience, for money." If you understand a problem deeply, you can now leverage your experience to build the tool that solves it. "Put your experience into a piece of software that can scale to hundreds, thousands, millions of customers, and you’re going to be able to make a lot of money." 2. Your job is where the opportunity is Two real examples he shared: -An employee at a skincare business automated an inventory process with Replit. He helped his boss cut their $150K SaaS bill, and now licenses his tool back to his employer for $30K/year. ‍ -A finance guy at a VC firm built his own internal tool on Replit to manage their portfolio. Within weeks, other funds wanted it. He landed $5M in ARR before quitting his job. "Get a job. Open your eyes. You'll find massive inefficiencies and know exactly where AI can plug in." 3. Stop fighting syntax. Start solving problems. “Previously, when you have an idea and want to turn it into code, you’re translating business logic into hard mathematical constructs,” Amjad told us. “Most of your time [was] spent on syntax, not real problem-solving.” AI flips that. The person who wins now is the one who thinks clearly about the problem. 4. He got rejected by one of the greatest investors alive. Not everyone believed in Replit early on. Back in 2022, Amjad pitched legendary investor Peter Thiel. He thought Thiel would see the future he saw. "He told me that saying 'AI' is like saying 'software' or 'computer.' It's meaningless." Then ChatGPT happened. Thiel came around and started investing in AI. We had to ask: did Amjad ever follow up with Thiel? "I did. I sent him an email saying how much I respect him and his brilliance... but that I hope now he sees I actually saw the future." Amjad believes right now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for: -Business owners -Solo operators -Anyone tired of watching from the sidelines In a few years, this edge will be common knowledge. Today, it’s still an unfair advantage.

Today we're showing Helix 02 that can tidy a living room fully autonomously Figure is designed so when you leave the house, your home resets exactly how you like it

3 generations of humanoid robots at Figure

The Saronic team successfully completed the hull flip of our second Marauder vessel, less than three months after the first. The hull flip is significant because it marks the completion of the ship’s primary structural build. Meanwhile, vessel three is already underway at our shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana. This pace is no accident. It reflects a deliberate approach to shipbuilding at scale — pairing world-class shipbuilding talent with advanced manufacturing and a production system designed for speed and repeatability. Scale isn’t a future goal. It’s happening now.

Proud to partner with the @USNavy on bringing innovation and autonomous capabilities to the fleet 🇺🇸

Waste collection is a trillion-dollar global industry. It still runs on paper and legacy systems. Here’s what AI for waste management actually looks like: AI in every truck. AI in every route. AI in every invoice. This is Hauler Hero.

I've been waiting 3 years to show you this We just launched our 3rd-gen humanoid, but we’re already on our 7th-gen hand Our team has quietly worked for years to approach parity with a human hand Excited to share a sneak peek of some of the best engineering I’ve ever seen

the @beehiiv ad network has been buzzing 🐝 if you're looking to supercharge customer acquisition and tap into a hyper-engaged ecosystem of 400M+ readers (real humans who spend real $$)… shoot me a DM and I’ll hook you up with some free ad credits💰💰💰

Biggest opportunity in venture right now…investing in the dumb, dull, dirty, and dangerous. That’s the framework we’ve been using at @CTVentureCap. Dumb = overlooked everyday businesses with huge TAMs Dull = work nobody wants to romanticize (low competition) Dirty = exposure to undesired elements necessary to sustain livelihood Dangerous = high-risk, labor-intensive environments AI has made intelligence cheap and abundant. The highest return on that intelligence is in the places where human memory, coordination, and physical work have always been the bottleneck. One skilled person + the right vertical AI tool can now do the work of four or five. @HaulerHero is a perfect example. Waste hauling checks every box: dumb (every city needs it), dull (no one dreams about it), dirty (by definition), and dangerous (heavy trucks, landfills, hazardous material). They built one platform that handles AI routing, CRM, admin, everything - taking an industry that still runs on clipboards and bringing it into the 21st century. They just raised $16M in their Series A and we’re proud to be investors. This is the part of the economy that was too physical, too analog, and too unsexy for software to touch… until now. That’s where I’m seeing the real opportunity…in the REAL economy.

Congrats to @CTVentureCap portco, @HaulerHero on their Series A! They're building in a hugely fragmented market within the real American economy: waste management. Onwards!

We just raised $16M in Series A funding led by Frontier Growth. 200+ haulers. 4.5M pickups/month. 200% revenue growth. We're building the AI-powered operating system for waste management. And we're just getting started. Read more → techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/hau…

This is what building at speed looks like. We recently announced a $300M investment to expand our shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana. We broke ground immediately and are working around the clock to bring 300,000+ sq. ft. of new shipbuilding capacity online by the end of this year. What that means is that by January 1, 2027, this capacity goes live — driving a step-function increase in Marauder production from an already rapid baseline, while strengthening the U.S. maritime industrial base and accelerating delivery of next-generation autonomous vessels. And we’re just getting started.

we added ~$1.5M ARR in January (best ever month at @beehiiv) the product roadmap for the next ~6 months is just ridiculous I've never been so inspired and excited to share what we're working on stay tuned 😈

I invest in the dumb, dull, dirty, and dangerous parts of the economy. Here are 5 examples of our portfolio companies at @CTVentureCap. • Drillbit.com. An AI employee (“Mason”) for trades and franchise operators. He runs leads, scheduling, follow-ups, and customer ops end-to-end - driving 148% conversion lifts, 2.89x profit margin increases, and $140M+ in client revenue so far. Dumb + dull • @trycents. The operating system for laundromats and garment care, turning an industry that still runs on handwritten tickets into one where every load, driver, and machine is tracked and optimized in real time: POS, machine integrations, pickup & delivery routing, analytics. Dirty + dull • @Pave_Robotics. Construction automation, specifically road paving and infrastructure work. They’re building Tracer - the first fully autonomous road worker who can work all day and all night without ever taking a break. Dangerous + dirty • @Figure_robot. @adcock_brett and his team are building humanoid robotics for manufacturing and logistics. Deployed at BMW, raised a $1B Series C in September ‘24, now at a $39B valuation. Dangerous + dumb • @Saronic builds autonomous surface vessels (as we reshore critical manufacturing, more value moves through ports and coastal waters). Dangerous + dull

Introducing Helix 02 It's our most powerful model to date - it's using the whole body to do dishes end-to-end and it's fully autonomous