🩸  They vant your blood

👋  Boo! Did we scare ya? Probably not as much as AI does. Chapman University’s annual Survey of American Fears revealed that Americans are now more afraid of AI — specifically AI harming the political process — than they are of their loved ones becoming seriously ill or dying. This follows last month’s Politico poll showing that about two-thirds of Americans believe there is a “moderate” chance AI could destroy humanity. Spooky season indeed.

NEWS FLASH 

🎥  Score one for the humans: “Sanxingdui: Future Past,” China’s first AI-made major motion picture, which cost ~$1.5m to produce, debuted nationwide to the rapturous applause of… basically nobody. It made less than $20 per screening. Set in a future where humans are enslaved by — you guessed it — AI, the sci-fi nightmare spent more than two years in production, during which, apparently, nobody thought better of their life choices.

🚿  The sweet smell of success: …is familiar to WNBA star (and Olympic medalist) Dearica Hamby, but she’s pursuing it in a new form — with the launch of tween-focused beauty brand AMNO. And she’s doing it with a new teammate: Hamby’s 9-year-old daughter, Amaya, is her cofounder. AMNO’s hair and body products are sweet-smelling and just generally sweet: its branding is heavy on sparkles, and its packaging is infused with positive self-talk and other affirming messages.

🔬  This DINGO is eating, baby: Aussie startup Forward Deployed picked up a cool $1m to keep building out tech that can sniff out the threat of a chemical weapon. Their novel detection system, Deployable Infrared Gas Observer (or DINGO), live-processes complex sensing data, effectively taking laboratory-grade testing into the field. Forward Deployed’s initial target is national security, as you’d expect, but in the long run, it’s also eyeing uses in agriculture, construction, and mining.

MORE NEWS TO KNOW

• A distant memory: The race for computing power is so heated that SK Hynix, the globe’s second-largest supplier of DRAM memory cells, says it’s “effectively sold out” through 2029.
  
• Ship rec: The SS United States, the world’s fastest passenger liner circa 1952, will have a new home next month: the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Once there, it’ll set one last record — as the planet’s largest artificial reef.
  
  
• Gather up, geeky superfans of the military industrial complex: Two former entertainment execs will launch Military Con, basically a Comic Con knockoff for people who like casually wearing camo pants, next year.
  
• What a world: Microsoft — days removed from offering buyouts to more than one-fourth of its employees — isn’t exactly hurting, notching its 10th straight quarter of record-breaking revenue (it brought in $92.3B in Q1 FY27).
  

LESSON LEARNED

8 lessons Shaan Puri learned the hard way, so you don't have to

Most audience-building advice is the same recycled noise: post consistently, pick a niche, show up every day. Shaan Puri ignored most of it — and ended up with 100M podcast downloads, 900k YouTube subscribers, and a newsletter he sold for millions.

He's giving away the eight lessons that actually moved the needle:

• Why the right 100 followers beat the wrong 100k
• Why your obsessions are your only truly defensible asset
• Why your content is probably too polished
• How to build something worth bingeing

There's an audience out there waiting for someone like you. These notes will help you reach them faster.

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THE BIG IDEA

These startups want to suck your blood (and data)

It's a classic, spine-tingling tale: the promise of immortality in exchange for that sweet, sweet blood coursing through your veins.

Move over, Dracula. A growing coven of health tech companies offers direct-to-consumer blood testing, seducing health-conscious individuals with the promise of a longer, healthier life by detecting diseases and conditions early, per The Verge.

The blood is the life

Since time immemorial, humans have been trying to calculate, predict, and extend their lifespans. Still, those efforts have accelerated with increased focus on personalized, preventive health care, and technological advances in diagnostics and testing.

In 2025, the direct-to-consumer testing market was valued at $4.7B and is expected to grow to $16.1B by 2033.

Rather than waiting for symptoms to appear, many want a more proactive approach to improve their odds or detect signs of chronic diseases early. For some, these at-home tests feel like a faster, more empowering approach to managing health than navigating a labyrinthine healthcare system.

And plenty of companies want to help:

• The Death Clock app ($69/year) estimates life expectancy and potential death date using lifestyle data, medical history, and an optional free blood panel.
  
• Oura sells blood tests ($99) through a partnership with Quest Diagnostics to complement its Ring health tracker.
  
• Whoop partnered with Quest for a suite of targeted blood tests ($299).
  
• Apple Health is partnering with Quest to let users order tests for 50+ biomarkers ($119) in the Health app.
  
• Function's annual membership ($365) includes twice-yearly blood panels and an add-on full-body MRI for under $1k.

While the allure of gazing into your future in exchange for blood (and data) may seem tempting, critics argue that direct-to-consumer testing can downplay the role of doctors and lead to over-testing, unnecessary follow-ups and treatments, and undue anxiety. Also, many conditions can't be detected by these tests, and different tests can offer conflicting results.

Because these tests lack FDA approval, healthcare professionals caution that they should be considered tools for learning more about aging, rather than a means of diagnosis. Others warn that the tests could negatively affect health insurance, loans, and more because federal privacy laws typically don't protect sensitive health data.

So if you're considering one of the blood tests, keep in mind that just like vampires, you have to invite them in.

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Ditch those limiting beliefs: Sam Altman’s coach shares the tips he gives his founder clients to transform their lives. 

NEWSWORTHY NUMBER

The rank dachshunds now hold on the American Kennel Club’s most-popular-breeds list, after climbing from 13th place over the past decade, per Bloomberg.

In the UK, they’re the Royal Kennel Club’s third-most-registered breed, with registrations doubling in just ten years. In the US, they overtook the beloved poodle in 2025.

While some trends leave us mystified, this one doesn’t: Have you seen a dachshund?

AROUND THE WEB

📅  On this day: In 1811, Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility was published anonymously.

🌀  Game: Make your way through this maze — if you can remember how.

🪴  Bored?: Find a new hobby.

🎟️  You’re invited: HubSpot for Startups’ IGNITION summit is a chance to meet other founders building the next generation of companies.

🐕  Aww: Sleepy puppy.

SHOWER THOUGHT

Making finger guns work globally for just a few seconds would cause a lot of deaths. SOURCE

Today's email was brought to you by Ben Berkley and Danny Jensen.

Editing by: Sara "Bloody hell!" Friedman.

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