On a mission to enslave robots and free everyone else. Co-founder @icebreakervc @aaltoes ex-@hopper
Helsinki
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Do the US negotiators actually think they are negotiating? Russia is just wiping the floor with them.
According to media reports, the Kremlin has conveyed to the US a proposal for a two-stage ceasefire, which includes an energy truce until the New Year and preparations for a full-fledged peace agreement by spring 2027.
At the same time, Russian officials publicly reject the idea of temporary truces in specific sectors.
putin proposes preparing a full-fledged peace agreement by spring 2027 — it is reported that dmitriev, during negotiations with Trump and Kushner, voiced a number of RF conditions.
In particular, these are:
• An energy truce is possible on the condition of halting Ukrainian strikes on Russian "civilian infrastructure," primarily oil and gas facilities.
• Russia allows for a territorial compromise while preserving Ukrainian control over the un occupied part of Donbas.
• However, it demands a reduction in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and armaments, concessions regarding the Russian language and the Russian Orthodox Church.
• Also, the withdrawal of NATO infrastructure from the Baltic states and Scandinavia.
• The Kremlin may agree to the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine exclusively in the western regions, provided that Russian demands are met.
Preparing for @SlushHQ with closing deals, fundraising, general portfolio company stuff is difficult to do super well.
But I get super excited about reading about the teams at Slush, and really looking forward to the great conversation there, having the chance to connect with new people.
Funny. The best kicks are still working on something great with a great team.
Tu t'appelles Giovanni. 41 ans. Tu vis dans les Pouilles, dans le sud de l'Italie. Tu pratiques "l'Italianmaxxxing" depuis ta naissance. Tu ne sais pas ce que c'est.
À 7h42, tu te réveilles parce que Monica, ta femme, a ouvert les volets.
Tu sais que t'as bien dormi parce que t'as bien dormi. Malgré la bouteille de Primitivo Manduria que tu as bue hier.
Tu bois un espresso au comptoir du café du village avec ton frère Marco. Vous avez une entreprise de carrelage depuis 2009. Votre business plan repose sur le fait de poser du carrelage et d'avoir WhatsApp.
À midi, tu manges des braciole al sugo avec Marco et deux ouvriers. Tu reprends du pain pour finir la sauce et repars au chantier.
Tu rentres chez toi vers 17h30, tu retrouves Monica et les enfants. Tu fais une sieste sur le canapé sous un poster d'Antonio Cassano que ta femme te demande d'enlever depuis 14 ans.
Le vendredi, tu retrouves tes six amis d'enfance en terrasse. Vous commandez des doubles negroni, des olives et du pecorino. Vous jouez aux cartes.
Vous parlez trop fort sur le foot, Meloni, et le nouveau carrelage dégueulasse de la mairie
Cet été, ton cousin français, Baptiste, 34 ans, vient te rendre visite depuis Paris.
Il porte une bague Oura connectée, un bracelet en nylon, et un débardeur Under Armour à 90 € qui évacue la transpiration.
Il t'explique qu'il a consacré sept ans à optimiser sa longévité. Il est blanc comme un cul.
Tu lui demandes s'il est malade.
Il t'explique le cortisol, la HRV, les pics glycémiques et les effets de l'alcool sur le sommeil profond.
Baptiste refuse ton pecorino parce qu'il a déjà atteint son quota de graisses saturées. Il refuse ensuite ton double negroni parce que ça perturbe sa récupération.
Il sort une poudre verte multivitaminée à 79 € de son sac que tu recraches dans les plantes de ta grand-mère.
Le soir, tu prépares des spaghetti alle vongole. Les enfants courent partout. Ton frère Marco arrive avec l'équipe de carrelage du village et une pizza Margherita faite avec les tomates de son cousin Francesco.
Baptiste, cerné jusqu'au cul, t'explique qu'il ne mange pas après 19h30 pour sa prépa ultra-trail.
Il poste une photo avec toi sur Instagram avec la légende "italianmaxxxing"
Tu lui dis qu'il revient quand il veut.
Il arrive à Orly et se demande pourquoi son bracelet Whoop lui indique un pic de stress après ses vacances.
Riku Seppälä 🇺🇦 retweeted
Finland needs to open up for data centers - aggressively and NOW. We need to launch an aggressive energy production program and just go for it. Our country is full of godforsaken backwoods with frozen lakes.
Riku Seppälä 🇺🇦 retweeted
High-income workers are fleeing Europe.
Economic theory tells us that the more
mobile a factor of production becomes,
the lower its optimal tax rate. This is why taxes on capital, which is relatively mobile, tend to be lower than taxes on labor, which historically has been less mobile.
However, as the chart below shows, as elite human capital has become more footloose, high taxes have become increasingly counterproductive.
This is a huge existential problem for European welfare states, which have traditionally relied on heavily taxing their most productive workers.
Great insight of how ambitious Europeans feel about Europe. I don't think ambition is understood here. Everything we have invented in Europe has been out of ambition, and the have been great things. But then we've built a system that doesn't appreciate that ambition and creating new things. So almost everything truly ambitious ends up in the US.
Emmanuel Macron, the President of France just said he'd probably start his next business OUTSIDE FRANCE.
After spending almost 10 years running the country.
Here's what happened.
A French journalist, Françoise Degois, is publishing a book revealing nearly two years of Telegram conversations with Emmanuel Macron.
These weren't hacked messages. He was talking directly to a journalist (although he reportedly didn't know she was writing a book).
And here's what Macron wrote about what he might do after his presidency:
"I won't go work for anyone. I'd rather have something small of my own than something big belonging to someone else.
In any case, if I go into business, it'll be my own, and I'm thinking more likely outside France.
I won't be their employee or beholden to them. Never."
The man who has spent almost a DECADE running France is himself considering building his next business abroad.
The irony.
But you know what's even crazier?
Almost no French entrepreneur will be surprised.
For two simple reasons.
1. France is a regression-to-the-mean machine.
The French system is fundamentally designed to reduce inequalities.
Sounds great in theory.
But in practice, when you're significantly above average, the system aggressively tries to pull you back toward it.
Culturally. Fiscally. Bureaucratically.
Ambition is treated with suspicion. Financial success is something you constantly have to justify.
Instead of asking how to create more exceptional outcomes, the obsession is often with making sure nobody gets too far ahead.
2. Building a company in France is brutally hard.
I'm French. I'm 27. I've founded companies in France and in the US. I went through YC.
I've experienced both ecosystems firsthand.
And the difference is staggering.
Taxes. Labor laws. Bureaucracy. The cultural relationship with money, risk, and success.
In the US, people ask how big you can build.
In France, people often ask why you need to get so big in the first place.
I increasingly give the same advice to talented young French people:
If you're ambitious and want to build something extraordinary, leave France.
Go somewhere where ambition compounds instead of constantly fighting friction.
Come back for holidays, to see your family, or when France finally decides to make a serious pivot.
And I say this as someone who genuinely loves France. I tried to help. Give feedback. People laughed at me.
It makes me furious that leaving is often the rational decision.
This is also part of why I built @NanoCorpHQ
I want anyone, anywhere, to be able to launch and run a company directly from their laptop or phone, powered by autonomous AI agents.
When you launch NanoCorp, you have access to the best stack available: American tools, US legal framework, and the ability to sell to customers around the world.
Stop asking permission. Stop waiting for reforms. Stop letting others decide how far you can go.
Build. Sell. Compete. Win.
Kiva että veroja halutaan nostaa jotta voidaan ostaa lisää raportteja!
Maanviljelijä, sikatilallinen tai parkettiasentaja ei työllään rikastu Suomessa, ei välttämättä edes elä säällistä elämää.
Ainoa keino saada kunnon korvaus työstään, on laskuttaa kuntaa tai valtiota. Verorahoja jaetaan kuin penkkareissa karamellia.
"Kaupungin ostodatan perusteella pelkästään asiantuntijatyöstä on maksettu noin miljoona euroa. Sillä on saatu esimerkiksi konsulttiyhtiö Milttonilta 30 000 euroa maksanut ”tapahtumallisuuden viestinnän vuosikello”.
Tätä varten Miltton järjesti työpajoja ja teki erilaista selvitystyötä, kuten kansainvälistä vertailua.
Lopputuotoksena oli 11-sivuinen viestintäsuunnitelma. Se sisältää paljon konsulttijargonia ja ylätason maalailua, kuten ”Helsinki on onnellisten kokemusten ja elämysten kaupunki, Helsingissä tapahtuu kaikille kaikkialla ja ympäri vuoden”.
Mainosfirmassa pohdittiin someryhmään liittymistä tunti ja lähetettiin lasku Helsingin kaupungille | HS.fi
Riku Seppälä 🇺🇦 retweeted
Why don’t Ukrainians just stop fighting and give Russia what it wants?
To understand the answer, look at Germany after World War II.
Germany was divided. West Germany embraced democracy, freedom, and a market economy. East Germany fell under Soviet control and communist rule.
Same people. Same culture. Same history. But two very different futures.
West Germany prospered. East Germany struggled under Soviet rule. And when the Berlin Wall was built, it wasn’t to keep people out. It was to keep people from escaping.
Ukrainians know this history. They understand what it means to live under Moscow’s thumb.
My wife is Ukrainian. My mother-in-law still lives in Ukraine. For me, this isn’t just another war on the evening news. It’s personal.
Ukrainians aren’t simply fighting for a piece of land. They’re fighting for the right to determine their own destiny. They’re fighting for their children, their grandchildren, and future generations that they will never live to see.
They’re fighting for the freedom to choose their leaders, speak their language, express their opinions without fear, and build a future without asking Putin’s permission.
They don’t want their children growing up in another East Germany.
Imagine being told that America should surrender its independence because defending it is too costly. Imagine being told that freedom simply isn’t worth the sacrifice. We would never stand for that. We would fight to the last man.
Of course Ukraine wants peace. Who wouldn’t? But there’s a profound difference between peace and submission.
Ukraine isn’t fighting because its people love war. They’re fighting because they love their country, their families, and the freedom they want to leave to future generations.
And that is something every American who values our own independence should understand.
Слава Україні!
Author: Daryle Vlic Scott
Riku Seppälä 🇺🇦 retweeted
Kallas: At G20, Lavrov wasn’t constructive at all. He was saying that Putin will talk to Zelenskyy if he comes to Moscow. This is not the way it is. There are many neutral places where they can meet. If Putin would be serious, he would first stop killing civilians. 1/
Riku Seppälä 🇺🇦 retweeted
As I’ve been saying since 2014, if you think defending Ukraine is expensive, Russia winning would be exponentially more so.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns a Russian victory in Ukraine could shatter global alliances, reshape the world economy, and force nations to question whether they can still rely on America. 🇺🇸
Asked what a Russian victory in Ukraine would mean for the global economy, Dimon responded:
“It could be a potential disaster.
This is the first war in Europe where a free, democratic nation was invaded by 200,000 or 300,000 Russian soldiers under the threat of nuclear blackmail.
We’ve never had nuclear blackmail before.
You’re also teaching the whole world that maybe having nuclear weapons is a pretty good thing, because people will be afraid of you, and you can abuse a neighbor if you feel like it.
Russia would be on the border of NATO. Obviously, NATO is rearming right now.
But the other thing is, it’s affecting all alliances, military alliances and global economic alliances.
And the nexus of Iran, North Korea, and China makes it very hard, in my view, for the Chinese-American relationship.
China says they’re neutral, but they’re helping. We are clearly not neutral.
If Russia wins, you might see a lot of people deciding: Will America stand up for Europe? Can you rely on them? And if you can’t rely on them, what are you going to do?
That includes economically.
Every nation is going to say, what makes me secure? Energy, food, all the things I need.
I’m worried that if Russia wins, you could see the world enter a little bit of chaos as people realign alliances and economic relationships.”
Riku Seppälä 🇺🇦 retweeted
In October, our Defense Forces of Ukraine inflicted record losses on the enemy and recaptured more territory than the Russian occupiers managed to seize.
In just one month, Russia lost 54,400 troops killed or badly wounded. This is a record for any month of the full-scale war. There was also a record for daily losses – the Russian army lost 2,250 troops on October 21. Importantly, we continue to reclaim what is ours. In October, the Defense Forces liberated 96.2 square kilometers of Ukrainian land, which is 10.4 square kilometers more than the occupiers managed to capture during that time.
We thank all our defenders, all our warriors, every brigade, and every unit for this important result for our country. Russia is suffering losses. We are holding our positions, liberating territory, and making every day of the war as costly as possible for the aggressor. To stop these insane losses, all Russia needs to do is choose a ceasefire and diplomacy.
@GeneralStaffUA
It's quite telling of Europe stops competing for talent but forces them to stay... If you are double taxed for an exit pretty soon you don't get anything, so why would you even try.
The best people will move away before they stay something because they might not be 100% sure they will live in the same country the next 15 years. It might not be the best for the company.
Insane.
France just voted for a fiscal Iron Curtain. And if you have a startup in France, you’re probably already on the wrong side of it.
On Friday, the French National Assembly passed an amendment extending the “exit tax” holding period from 2-5 years to 15 years.
How it works: you move out of France, and the state calculates the gain on your shares as if you had sold them. Money you never received. That tax bill hangs over your head, and if you sell before the period ends, you pay.
2 to 5 years was already painful. 15 years is almost twice the median time it takes a European startup to get acquired or go public (about 8.5 years, per PitchBook). In other words, virtually every exit falls inside the window.
There are two ways to get talent and capital as a country:
1/ You attract them because you offer something better: quality of life, safety, a fair social contract, a playground worth playing in.
2/ You keep the ones you already have and build walls so they can’t leave.
The USSR tried option 2. It’s called ruling by coercion. It’s an unstable equilibrium, and it’s a loser’s strategy.
Why is this happening now? In every human society, value creation follows a power law. A small minority pays most of the taxes. When the social contract breaks for that minority, they look at the map. The world is big and borders are thin.
A state facing this has two possible responses.
“Why are they leaving?” And it fixes the root cause.
“How do we stop them from leaving?” And it fixes nothing.
France picked option 2. When you’re installing padlocks, you’ve already lost.
“This only affects the ultra-rich.” Wrong. Do the math:
The rule applies as soon as you hold €800k in shares, or 50% of a company.
Take two cofounders with about 45% each after their first round. A valuation of roughly €1.8M is enough for each of them to cross €800k. Pre-seed rounds today routinely price at €10-20M. At €10M, each cofounder holds about €4.5M in shares. And a solo founder who keeps more than 50% is in scope at any valuation.
Your shares cost you basically nothing, so almost the entire valuation counts as gain. At roughly 30%, that’s over a million euros of tax on money that only exists in a spreadsheet.
The targets aren’t heirs on yachts. They’re any founder who raised a pre-seed and might one day want to build somewhere else.
This is only a first reading. The same vote passed last year and was dropped from the final law. That’s still a big problem. It means the idea comes back every year, and every year it passes.
What this reveals is a country that has given up on winning and is squeezing whatever it can from the people still there until there is nothing left.
Winning countries don’t build walls. They build the playground where the best people want to come play.
Jos alamme verottamaan tehokasta teknologiaa jäämme vielä enemmän jälkeen. Ainoa mahdollisuus on kilpailla ja parantaa kilpailukykyä!
Ranska äänesti juuri €0,055/GB-verosta internet-liikenteelle. Saksa pohtii AI:lla tuotettujen tulojen verottamista.
Taustalla ei ole sattuma, vaan se, että tekoäly siirtää arvon tuottoa työstä pääomaan.
Nic Carter tiivistää osuvasti: kehittyneet hyvinvointivaltiot, erityisesti Euroopassa, rahoittavat itsensä pääosin palkka- ja tuloveroilla.
Kun AI automatisoi valkokaulustyötä, veropohja katoaa kotimaasta, mutta hyödyt kasaantuvat ulkomaisille AI-yrityksille (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google jne.)
Ranska ei voi verottaa Kalifornian pääomaa, vaikka ranskalainen lakitoimisto korvaisi 70 % henkilöstöstään tekoälyllä.
Eurooppa on pääosin AI:n kuluttaja, ei tuottaja. Se ei pysty kasvattamaan omaa frontier-mallia, koska sääntely, korkea verotus ja deindustrialisaatio estävät pääoman kertymisen.
Jäljelle jää kolme huonoa vaihtoehtoa: kieltää AI ammateissa (hidastaa kasvua), yrittää rakentaa kotimaista kilpailijaa (epärealistista) tai kiristää ulkomaisia firmoja yhä kovemmilla ”sakoilla”.
Viimeinen tie päättyy siihen, että amerikkalaiset lähtevät markkinoilta tai vastatoimet alkavat.
Suomelle tämä on sekä riski että mahdollisuus.
Meilläkin julkinen sektori on paisunut kestämättömälle tasolle, ja työvoiman verotus on jo liian korkealla.
Jos emme omista tekoälyä, vaan vain kulutamme sitä, menetämme sekä verotulot että tuottavuuden hyödyt ulkomaille.
Paras vastaus ei ole luoda uusia veroja tai kieltoja jotka laittaa meidät takamatkalle tekoälyn hyödyntämisessä, vaan paikallisen pääoman nopea kasvattaminen ja vahva asema AI-omistajuudessa.
Se tarkoittaa konkreettisesti suotuisampaa ympäristöä kasvuyrityksille, vähemmän byrokratiaa data- ja energiainfralle, verotusta joka ei rankaise pääoman kertymisestä, ja koulutusta joka tuottaa sekä mallintekijöitä että niitä jotka osaavat soveltaa niitä.
Kun omistamme riittävän suuren osan siitä pääomasta, joka korvaa työtä, voimme rahoittaa hyvinvoinnin jatkossakin – ilman että joudumme verottamaan yhä pienenevää palkansaajien joukkoa yhä kovemmin.
AI kasvattaa kakun kokoa. Kysymys on siitä, jääkö tekoälystä riittävän iso arvo Suomeen.
Nyt on aika varmistaa, että jää.
Riku Seppälä 🇺🇦 retweeted
If Zelensky Is So Corrupt, Why Can’t Anyone Buy Him? 🇺🇦
I just realized something almost hilarious if it wasn’t very obvious and also real about the whole anti-Zelensky narrative.
For years we have been told that Zelensky is corrupt, illegitimate, a puppet, a billionaire thief, some CIA creation, whatever version happens to be useful that day. And yet somehow Putin, Trump, oligarchs, billionaires and the entire anti-Ukraine political machine still cannot control him.
Think about that contradiction.
Zelensky was elected in 2019 with about 73% of the runoff vote. Ukraine has not held another presidential election because elections are suspended under martial law during Russia’s invasion, something Zelensky has said could change if conditions allow a safe and legal vote. Meanwhile Trump, Elon and others are now openly calling for Ukraine to replace him after Zelensky refused demands to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure and bend over to them.
And this is where their own propaganda stops making sense. If Zelensky were really as spectacularly corrupt as they claim, why wouldn’t somebody have bought him years ago?
Putin has all the money. Russian oligarchs have money. Western billionaires have money. Elon has more money than all of them. Trump has political power. There are people with enormous financial and geopolitical interests who would benefit from a Ukrainian president willing to make the right deal for them.
If Zelensky were really nothing but a corrupt opportunist, the easiest path imaginable would have been to take the money, make peace with Putin on Putin’s terms, protect himself, become insanely wealthy, powerful and live comfortably ruling the Ukraine and the area as a probably richest dictator on earth.
Instead, Russia invaded, Zelensky stayed, Ukraine kept fighting, and years later these people are still trying to pressure him, discredit him, replace him and convince everyone that he is somehow the problem.
Trump and Elon has now publicly called for Ukraine to get a new president after Zelensky resisted pressure over Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. Their relationship has deteriorated sharply precisely because Zelensky has continued pursuing policies Washington told him to stop.
So maybe the reason so many powerful men seem absolutely fucking obsessed with Zelensky is much simpler than all the conspiracy theories.
Maybe they hate him because they cannot break him.
Maybe they hate him because they cannot buy him.
Maybe they are simply jealous of him and his amazing courage and integrity.?
And maybe nothing drives men obsessed with power more insane than another man they cannot control.
Russia lied and said it would never attack Ukraine only a month or so before attacking. Why should Zelensky fall for this? Should absolutely be on neutral ground somewhere.
Zelensky is being offered a true opportunity to end the War through Diplomacy. Russia has officially invited him to visit Moscow without any pre-condition, for a true dialogue. Russia also said will guarantee his safety through the all journey to and from Moscow.
I'm also available to travel with Zelensky together to Moscow for dialogue. In this regard am openly offering to Zelensky to visit Moscow with a flight from Helsinki together. This extraordinary times require the courage to act in favour of Peace. My message to Zelensky is this: Don't be afraid, Peace await you in Moscow, let's travel together! We can end the killings and start a new chapter of Hope!
@ZelenskyyUa #Peace #Ukraine #Diplomacy
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Russia's officials have repeatedly stated that Zelensky can meet Putin in Moscow with safety guarantees if he travels there, but only after negotiators agree terms and he accepts their conditions/venue; Ukraine rejects Moscow as a venue and no unconditional offer was made.
kyivpost.com/post/88316
uk.lapresse.it/world-en/2026/…
Riku Seppälä 🇺🇦 retweeted
A father screams in anguish beside the body of his dead daughter. Two 15-year-old girls were killed in a russian attack on the center of Chernihiv, Ukraine.
Dozens are injured, including four children aged 10, 16, and 17, and a 10-month-old baby girl.
Meanwhile, Trump has ordered Ukriane not to hit russian oil refineries, so that russia could make billions and build more rockets and drones to kill more Ukrainians.
Riku Seppälä 🇺🇦 retweeted
The message to Russia should be simple: Negotiations start when Russia agrees to withdraw its forces from all of Ukraine, including Crimea. Until then, we continue to ramp up support for Ukraine. Anything else risks prolonging the conflict and bloodshed and, worse, enabling a Russian victory.
The West's dithering and repeated offers of concessions to Russia fundamentally misread the situation. Putin has shown little interest in a peace that respects Ukrainian sovereignty. His ambitions are rooted in an imperial conception of Russian history, in which Ukraine is considered an inseparable part of a broader Russian civilization. He invokes the medieval state of Kyivan Rus' to justify these ambitions, ignoring the fact that Kyivan Rus' existed centuries before the Russian Empire and that Ukraine became an internationally recognized sovereign state in 1991.
Crimea, moreover, was transferred from the Russian Soviet republic to the Ukrainian Soviet republic in 1954. Russia subsequently recognized Ukraine's existing borders following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, including through the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and the 1997 Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership.
Agreements with Russia mean little. Only a battlefield success (meaning Russia withdraws its forces) that makes clear the cost of renewing its adventurism will convince Russia.
This is getting ridiculous. We don't really use notaries in Finland and we're fine. Other countries should be as well. Please save Europe.
Hey Europe - we can choose between
(1) @euinc_petition - a continent-wide unified and simple framework to set up and run European companies
(2) protecting the sacred notary chambers of Slovenia, Austria, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Croatia
What will we choose?
Europeans are in general Stoics - they aim for a good life through learning to be content with what they have and get.
This is not impossible to reconcile with creating great tech companies and being super ambitious. It's just that the end goal is not the goal. Focus is on doing great work, not being successful.
For some it seems heretic that being successful in something is not the nr 1 goal and cannot understand that.
This European thing does have its downsides politically and culturally for builders.