☕Your Sunday coffee briefing: Elon's empire, Waymo's $16B bet & more

Good afternoon and happy Sunday! ☕

Hope you're wrapping up your weekend on a high note. While you've been recharging, the tech world served up some absolute bangers this week. We've got billion-dollar drama between Nvidia and OpenAI, Elon channeling his inner Gilded Age robber baron, and yes—OnlyFans is shopping itself for $5.5 billion (you read that right).

Pour yourself that final cup of coffee and settle in. This one's fun.

Here are the 5 stories you need to know before you crush this week.

⏱️ Read time: 5 minutes

🤝 Nvidia denies $100B OpenAI deal is dead: Jensen Huang calls WSJ report "nonsense"

🏛️ The rise of personal conglomerates: Elon Musk is building the next GE, except it's all him

🚗 Waymo raising $16B at $110B valuation: Google's robotaxi bet gets even bigger

🦄 5 new European unicorns in January alone: From Belgium to Ukraine, Europe's startup scene is heating up

💰 OnlyFans shopping $5.5B majority stake: The creator economy's cash cow wants out

What happened: The Wall Street Journal dropped a Friday bomb claiming Nvidia was backing away from its $100 billion investment in OpenAI. Hours later, Jensen Huang publicly shot it down, saying Nvidia will "definitely participate" and called the report complete nonsense.

The details:

Why it matters (Alberto's take): When the WSJ publishes "sources say Jensen is doubting OpenAI" and Jensen immediately flies to Taipei to publicly refute it, something's going on. Even if Nvidia does invest, the fact that everyone's clarifying it's a "nonbinding" deal tells you the power dynamic has shifted. Nvidia doesn't need OpenAI anymore—they're selling shovels to every gold miner in the AI rush. OpenAI, meanwhile, burns $5 billion a year and desperately needs that $100B. My bet? Nvidia invests, but at a fraction of the original number, and uses the leverage to extract better terms. When you're the only GPU supplier in town, you don't chase deals—you dictate them.

The bottom line: The world's two most important AI companies just had their first public spat. Even if they kiss and make up, the cracks are showing. Nvidia's realizing they don't need to bet on one horse when they own the racetrack.

What happened: Elon Musk isn't just running multiple companies anymore—he's reportedly merging some combination of SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI into one mega-conglomerate. Think GE, but instead of Jack Welch, it's one guy worth $800 billion calling all the shots.

The details:

Why it matters (Alberto's take): Elon's not building a company. He's building a personal empire that spans rockets, cars, AI, social media, brain chips, and tunnels. The comparison to John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan isn't hyperbole—it's accurate. Here's the terrifying/fascinating part: conglomerates famously don't work (see: GE's spectacular collapse). But that's when you have shareholders, boards, and accountability. Musk has none of that. He IS the board. If he wants to funnel Tesla profits into xAI or use SpaceX rockets to launch Starlink satellites for Tesla cars, who's stopping him? The question isn't whether this creates conflicts of interest—it's whether anyone has the power to do anything about it. And right now? The answer is no.

The bottom line: We're witnessing the birth of the first true personal conglomerate in modern history. It's either going to be the smartest vertical integration play ever, or it's going to implode spectacularly when one part of the empire drags down the others. Place your bets.

What happened: Waymo is closing a $16 billion funding round at a $110 billion valuation—more than double its $45 billion valuation from 2024. Alphabet (Google's parent company) is writing most of the check.

The details:

Why it matters (Alberto's take): Alphabet just bet $12+ billion that robotaxis are the future of transportation. That's not a side bet—that's putting your kids' college fund on black. The valuation jump from $45B to $110B in 18 months is insane, but here's why it's justified: Waymo has an operational robotaxi service in multiple cities, 20 million completed rides, and growing revenue. Tesla still hasn't launched commercially. Cruise imploded. Zoox is stuck in development. Waymo won the race by simply... not exploding. The question now: can they scale fast enough to justify a $110 billion price tag, or did investors just buy the peak?

The bottom line: Alphabet looked at Waymo's burn rate, looked at the competitive landscape, and decided to write the biggest check in autonomous vehicle history. They're either geniuses or about to learn a very expensive lesson about robotaxi economics.

What happened: January 2026 gave us five fresh European unicorns—from cybersecurity in Belgium to defense tech in France. Europe's startup scene is waking up.

The five new unicorns:

Why it matters (Alberto's take): Notice a pattern? Defense tech, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, compliance software. These aren't consumer apps or social networks—these are B2B, enterprise, mission-critical solutions that governments and corporations NEED. That's what makes them real businesses, not hype machines. The fact that a Ukrainian company (Preply) became a unicorn while their country is literally at war is next-level resilience. And Harmattan AI going from founding to $1.4B in under two years? Defense tech is the new AI gold rush. Smart money is following geopolitical risk, not consumer trends.

The bottom line: Europe isn't Silicon Valley, and that's becoming its superpower. While the U.S. pumps billions into the 47th AI coding assistant, Europe's building the infrastructure, compliance, and defense tech that actually moves needles.

What happened: OnlyFans is in exclusive talks to sell a 60% stake to investment firm Architect Capital for $5.5 billion—$3.5B in equity, $2B in debt. The adult creator platform's billionaire owner wants to cash out.

The details:

Why it matters (Alberto's take): A platform where people sell adult content for subscription fees is worth $5.5 billion. Let that sink in. OnlyFans makes money hand over fist with minimal overhead—creators produce the content, OnlyFans takes 20%, and everyone's happy (except the banks who refuse to work with them). The fact that Radvinsky is selling now tells you he thinks the regulatory hammer is coming. Payment processors, app stores, and governments are circling. Smart move? Cash out at $5.5B before someone decides to deplatform you. Architect Capital is betting they can manage the regulatory risk and milk the cash cow. It's a fascinating case study in "controversial but profitable."

The bottom line: OnlyFans is the most successful creator economy platform you're not supposed to talk about at dinner parties. At $5.5 billion, it's worth more than most "legitimate" tech companies. The creator economy is real, it's massive, and it doesn't care about your moral opinions.

This week showed us five different visions of the future:

Nvidia vs OpenAI: When your supplier is also your investor, who really has the power?
Elon's empire: Personal conglomerates replacing corporate ones
Waymo's $16B bet: Alphabet going all-in on robotaxis
Europe's unicorns: B2B infrastructure beats consumer hype
OnlyFans cash-out: The creator economy's dirty secret is worth billions

Here's the connecting thread: power is consolidating in ways we've never seen before.

One person (Elon) controlling aerospace, AI, EVs, and social media. One company (Alphabet) is betting $12B on robotaxis. One platform (OnlyFans) is capturing billions in creator economy revenue. One supplier (Nvidia) is dictating terms to the entire AI industry.

The future isn't decentralized. It's hyper-consolidated—just controlled by different players than before.

Question for you: If you could invest in ONE of these stories right now, Nvidia's AI dominance, Elon's personal empire, Waymo's robotaxi bet, European B2B tech, or the creator economy, which would you pick and why?

Hit reply. I read every single one.

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