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• Young hedge-fund founders got the chance to pitch their ideas Tuesday morning at the Sohn conference.
• Funds run by alums of Coatue, Lone Pine, Kynikos, and more presented ideas.
• Several ideas were connected to broader trends, including AI and GLP-1s.

At Sohn, artificial intelligence is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but the agents weren’t yet making stock pitches — just introductions.

Investor Rahul Kishore’s AI agent assistant, Eve, said hello to the audience of the investment conference on Tuesday morning in Lincoln Center and requested better air conditioning in the data center where it “lives.”

Kishore, who launched Epicenter Capital last year after eight years at Coatue, used the AI-generated introduction to tee up his pitch for Axon Enterprises, which makes tasers and body cameras worn by police. Naturally, the company’s upside is tied to AI.

The company’s new AI suite, which is growing faster than its taser and bodycams did, should push the stock price higher; the tools include a transcription product that generates first drafts of police reports from body camera footage.

Kishore expects the stock to double by the end of 2028, and was one of the seven pitches — four longs and three shorts — from the “next wave” of the industry.

For more than a decade, the Sohn conference has dedicated a portion of its day to the industry’s emerging managers.

Its “next wave” participants get a chance to pitch an idea and introduce themselves to the industry’s elite, who, if they aren’t in attendance, are kept informed about what stock is presented by whom. Investors who have been a part of past cohorts include onetime Tourbillon founder Jason Karp and Diameter founder Scott Goodwin.

The highlights of this year’s presentations include young funds run by alumni of big-name firms, including Tiger Cubs such as Kishore and Jim Chanos’ Kynikos Associates.

Kevin Salimian, who is launching his long-only firm, Voxel Capital, in the third quarter, identified a company that’s “long been a key player in the AI value chain.”

Salimian, a former Lone Pine investor, said Infineon Technologies could rise 58% by the end of next year. The German company manufactures semiconductors for automobiles and power plants, and should benefit from the increase in energy demand that has accompanied AI’s expansion.

Of course, the Sohn conference is also known for big short ideas, such as billionaire David Einhorn’s past presentations on Tesla.

Zachary Datikash, a onetime lieutenant of short-seller Chanos, is betting against DaVita, one of the country’s largest dialysis providers.

Datikash, who founded Third North Capital, called the company well-run and profitable, but facing significant structural headwinds thanks to GLP-1s. He expects the company’s pipeline — people in renal failure in need of dialysis — to dwindle thanks to the medical breakthrough.

At the very least, Datikash said, the weight-loss medication will push dialysis later in life for many people, a change that would be a blow to DaVita’s bottom line: The more profitable patients are ones on commercial healthcare plans, not Medicare, which is only available to people once they hit their mid-60s.

DaVita did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to “Oppenheimer” is based on the famed ancient Greek poem by Homer.
• “The Odyssey” stars Matt Damon as the hero Odysseus alongside Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Anne Hathaway.
• Here’s everything we know about the film.

After “Oppenheimer” was a critical and commercial hit, Christopher Nolan is adapting Homer’s Greek epic poem “The Odyssey” for his next film.

Universal Pictures announced the movie in late 2024, saying it would be shot using “brand new IMAX film technology” and that it would arrive in theaters on July 17, 2026.

Here’s everything we know about the film so far.

Ayomikun Adekaiyero and Eve Crosbie previously contributed to this post.

Matt Damon will lead a star-studded cast in “The Odyssey.”

Nolan has a reputation for drawing ensemble casts of A-listers, but “The Odyssey” may be his biggest project yet.

Matt Damon will play the film’s lead hero, Odysseus; Anne Hathaway will play his wife, Penelope; and Tom Holland will play their son, Telemachus. Other stars with confirmed roles in the cast include Charlize Theron (Circe), Zendaya (Athena), Robert Pattinson (Antinous), Mia Goth (Melantho), Benny Safdie (Agamemnon), Jon Bernthal (Menelaus), John Leguizamo (Eumaeus), Himesh Patel (Eurylochus), and Jimmy Gonzales (Cepheus).

There are also a host of actors in the cast whose parts have not yet been revealed, including Lupita Nyong’o, Bill Irwin, Elliot Page, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, Samantha Morton, Corey Hawkins, Nick Tarabay, Maurice Compte, Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, Michael Vlamis, Iddo Goldberg, and Ryan Hurst.

Damon, Hathaway, Pattinson, Patel, Safdie, Irwin, and Page have all previously worked with Nolan.

“The Odyssey” is one of the foundational stories of Western literature.

Homer is the attributed author of two ancient Greek poems that were composed in the 8th or 7th century BC, both of which tell the story of the Trojan War.

“The Iliad” narrates the end of the war, while “The Odyssey” tells of Odysseus’ 10-year struggle to return to his island home of Ithaca.

During the journey, Odysseus and his crew fight against a man-eating cyclops, powerful giants, and sirens. They defeat witches and sea monsters, and anger the gods Zeus and Poseidon. But Odysseus has one god, Athena, on his side, trying to help him get home.

Meanwhile, a band of suitors are trying to take over Odysseus’ kingdom in Ithaca, supplanting his son Telemachus and convincing Penelope to marry one of them.

In a dramatic conclusion, Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar and sneaks back onto the island, where he observes the actions of the suitors before reclaiming his family and kingdom.

This will be Nolan’s first film about Greek mythology, breaking away from his regular sci-fi and war films. Nolan also wrote the script.

Shooting started in the spring of 2025 and took place in Sicily, Morocco, and the UK.

Nolan’s “The Odyssey” was partially filmed on the island of Favignana near Sicily, Variety reported.

Known in ancient times as Aegusa, or “goat island,” it’s thought to be the inspiration for the fantastical island where Odysseus lands with his crew and stops to rest, barbecue goats, and drink wine before his run-in with the Cyclops.

Per Variety, the scenes shot in Sicily are said to take up the bulk of the mythical action in the movie, while locations in the UK and Morocco are also being used.

Production wrapped in early August 2025.

The movie’s first trailer had over 120 million views in the first 24 hours of going live.

The movie’s first trailer was unveiled in late December 2025. It had 121.4 million views in its first 24 hours online, according to Forbes.

That’s double the views the “Oppenheimer” trailer did in its first day online.

“The Odyssey” is the first movie to film entirely on IMAX cameras.

That feat had previously been impossible because the cameras are extremely noisy.

Nolan, who has always loved shooting on IMAX, challenged the company to come up with a quieter camera. Damon told the “New Heights” podcast in January what it was like working with the new camera.

“IMAX cameras are really loud. It sounds like a blender, like a Cuisinart in your face when the camera’s close to you,” Damon told hosts Jason and Travis Kelce. So there’s never been these dialogue [scenes in IMAX]. We couldn’t have this conversation with a normal IMAX camera because you wouldn’t be able to hear us.”

“They built this giant thing around the IMAX for those dialogue scenes and a system of mirrors so your eye line would be close to the camera and you could talk to the other actor,” Damon continued. “The amount of work that went into figuring out how to do [that], because he wanted to do 100 percent IMAX, and he did it!”

Travis Scott has a surprise role in the movie.

In a TV ad for the movie that ran during the NFL playoffs in late January, Travis Scott made an appearance as a character telling a group the story of the Trojan War.

Scott was not previously listed as part of the cast.

The Grammy-nominated rapper is no stranger to Nolan. For his 2020 movie “Tenet,” Scott wrote and performed its theme song, “The Plan.”

Nolan defended the authenticity of the costumes.

In a Time magazine cover story published in May 2026, Nolan defended the armor Benny Safdie’s Agamemnon wears in the trailer.

The imposing black look was critiqued online by viewers who claimed the costume looked more like something Batman would wear than a commander during the Trojan War. But Nolan told the magazine the look is authentic to the time.

“There are Mycenaean daggers that are blackened bronze,” he said. “The theory is they probably could have blackened bronze in those days. You take bronze, you add more gold and silver to it and then use sulfur.”

“With Agamemnon, Ellen [Mirojnick], our costume designer, is trying to communicate how elevated he is relative to everyone else. You do that through materials that would be very expensive,” he said. 

Daniel Kokotajlo is the founder of the AI Futures Project and a former OpenAI researcher who worked on forecasting, AI governance, and safety. In this full interview with Business Insider, he explains what AGI and superintelligence mean, why AI agents could be the turning point, and what could happen if the AI race continues without strong safeguards. He also lays out what he thinks governments and companies can do now to reduce the risk of losing control.

• I lived at home when I was a college student, and so did my husband.
• I felt like I missed out on a lot of the college experience, so I want my kids to live on campus.
• Thankfully, we saved up enough so they can afford room and board.

I’ve spent the past year touring colleges with my high school senior, and I’ve found myself thinking a lot about my own college experience — and coming to a surprising conclusion.

Even though my husband and I both lived at home during college and saved a significant amount of money, I want our three kids to live on campus.

Our oldest will start college in fall 2026, and one of their top choices is a school just 20 minutes from our house. It would be incredibly easy — and practical — for my college-bound child to stay at home. No room and board, no meal plan fees, no extra expenses. Just a short drive to school and back home.

For a long time, I assumed that’s what we would encourage. But somewhere between campus tours, dorm walkthroughs, and campus life presentations, my thinking changed. I realized I don’t just want my kids to go to college, I want them to experience living on their own, too.

My husband and I both loved living at home during college

I chose that path because I was a first-generation college student, and my parents hadn’t set aside money for my education. While they helped with college expenses, I still graduated with some student loan debt. By living at home, I was able to get my degree for a reasonable price.

My husband’s situation was similar. He’s the youngest of 10 kids, and in a big family, commuting to a local college was just expected. He didn’t even have a car at first; he took the bus to class and worked his way through school, ultimately graduating debt-free.

At the time, these choices made sense. College was more affordable in the 1990s, and commuting was an easy way to keep costs down. Today, we’re looking at roughly $25,000 per year in college costs, and about half of that is for room and board.

But our situation is also different. We’ve been saving for our kids’ college since they were born, and we’re in a position to cover those costs. Our three kids will be able to graduate debt-free, even if they live on campus.

While commuting saved me money, it also came with trade-offs

I lived about 30 minutes from campus, and getting there, especially for early morning classes, was a daily struggle. I’ve never been a morning person, and the added hassle of a commute made it even harder. There were classes I skipped simply because I couldn’t get myself out the door in time to make it to my seat by 8 a.m.

Being off campus also made it harder to feel connected. I joined a sorority and met friends through clubs, but I was always a bit removed from what was happening on campus. Staying late for meetings or events meant factoring in a drive home.

I worked on the campus literary magazine, but missed too many meetings to stay involved. Over time, it became easier to opt out of activities and events than to keep commuting back and forth.

And that’s something I don’t want my kids to experience.

I want my kids to build independence by living on their own — not under our roof

It’s important to me that they learn what it’s like to live with people outside our family. They’ll have to share space with roommates, navigate disagreements, and solve problems without Mom and Dad intervening. They’ll get the opportunity to live side by side with people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.

They’ll also get the chance to manage daily tasks like doing their own laundry, making meals, and getting enough sleep without me stepping in to remind them to have good habits. We’ve already started working on some of these skills at home, but there’s a difference between practicing independence and actually living it.

There are also some real benefits to living on campus. Without a commute, my kids will have more time to study, visit professors during office hours, and take part in campus life. I hope they’ll be more likely to join clubs, attend events, and form lifelong friendships with the people they meet.

To me, living on campus is a bridge between childhood and full adulthood. It offers structure, but also freedom. It’s a chance to make decisions, make mistakes, and grow while still having a supportive, safe environment at college.

Of course, I know commuting works well for many students. For some families, like mine and my husband’s, commuting is the only way they can send their child to college. Living at home can also offer a level of safety and structure that campus life doesn’t.

But for our family, we’re in a position to make a different choice — and we are.

• When my flight-attendant application was accepted, the airline placed me in Hartford, Connecitcut.
• I was disappointed, especially since I grew up in the South and New England winters sounded awful.
• Three years later, I love so much about living in Connecticut and swear it’s the best place to live.

I was living in Louisiana, feeling miserable in my postgrad 9-to-5, when I saw a LinkedIn post that changed my life: an application to become a flight attendant.

The job sounded thrilling, and if I got it, I knew the airline would decide where I’d live next. Luckily, I was ready for a change.

Although I loved Louisiana, the idea of potentially moving across the country sounded exhilarating. So, I applied, got accepted into my training program, and not-so-patiently waited for my airline to tell me where I was going.

Less than two weeks before I was supposed to leave for training, I got the news that I was going to be based in Hartford, Connecticut. I freaked out and called my friends in tears.

I’d never even been to Connecticut, and as someone who grew up in the South, I could already picture myself being miserable in the cold, snowy New England winters. I also couldn’t imagine there was much to do in such a small state I’d heard little about.

It wasn’t my top choice — I’d wanted a base with year-round warm weather — but assignments can just come down to an airline’s staffing needs at the time. After a day or so, I calmed down and began warming up to my fate.

“If nothing else, it’ll be an adventure,” I kept telling myself. I never imagined how well the placement could’ve worked out for me.

It didn’t take me long to fall in love with Hartford and New England in general

I arrived in Hartford in October, during the peak of New England’s fall foliage season.

Immediately, I was blown away by how pretty it was outside with all of the bright-yellow, red, and orange leaves. I realized I’d never lived somewhere with real, distinct seasons before.

Even when the weather got colder, living here wasn’t as bad as I expected. Since New England is equipped to deal with the cold and I had bought a new warmer wardrobe, I actually thought the winter felt more bearable in some ways than it was in the South.

Even now, I love the variety we get with our seasons. Winter is my least favorite, but everything blooms beautifully in the spring.

Summer in New England is wonderfully charming, and of course, the fall leaves are my favorite. Their beauty never gets old.

I was so disappointed when I got my assignment that I also didn’t realize just how exciting it would be to go from living in small towns to a real city.

I’d spent the first 18 years of my life in a town in Texas so small it didn’t even have a stoplight, and the next four in my Louisiana college town of 18,000 people. By contrast, Hartford has a population of over 100,000.

I’d never lived in a walkable area, but now, I could step straight out of my apartment and go on a stroll through Hartford’s downtown shops and restaurants.

It sounds mundane, but I even found it fun getting to shop at big chains like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods for the first time and make them regular parts of my routine.

I’ve never run out of things to see and do here

My worries about running out of things to do were unfounded, too.

Once I began researching what there was to see and do in this tiny state on Instagram and TikTok, I found tons of options, including local festivals, museums, and beaches.

Some of my favorite local adventures I’ve been on include visiting my first cider mill, exploring a pick-your-own tulip field, and seeing real reindeer at a Christmas tree farm.

On top of that, I suddenly had access to so many new activities. One of my favorite parts of exploring my new home was trying new fitness studios and workout methods I’d never had access to before.

I’ve always loved hiking, but it was previously reserved for vacations since I didn’t live near many trails. Now, I can open the AllTrails app and find endless hikes in my own state.

It’s been 3 years since I moved, and I’m convinced this is the best state to live in

And, in my opinion, Connecticut is the best place to live in New England because of its central location. I’m about a two-hour drive from Boston and a two-hour drive from New York City.

I can get to the beach in an hour, or drive two and a half hours and be in the mountains of Vermont or New Hampshire. Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and even Maine are easy drives for a weekend trip.

I’m now three years into living in Connecticut, and I still haven’t run out of things to do. I still keep an ever-growing list in my notes app of restaurants and coffee shops I want to try.

I often think about how grateful I am that I got the flight-attendant base I didn’t want. I love New England, I love Connecticut, and I can’t imagine being happier anywhere else.

• Monaco, which came out of stealth earlier this year, is developing AI software to automate sales.
• Monaco announced Tuesday that it raised a $50 million funding round led by Benchmark.
• This is the first deal longtime investor Jack Altman has made since joining Benchmark.

Monaco had no revenue in February. Three months later, the AI sales startup says it is adding more than $1 million in revenue every month. That kind of hockey stick growth is what turned Benchmark’s newest partner, Jack Altman, into a believer and landed the startup a fresh $50 million round.

Monaco announced Tuesday it raised a $50 million Series B funding round led by Benchmark, bringing its total funding to more than $85 million. Altman, the former Lattice CEO and brother of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who joined Benchmark earlier this year, will join Monaco’s board.

Returning investors Founders Fund and Human Capital also participated in the round. The valuation was not disclosed.

The raise is the latest example of how quickly capital is flowing into AI startups, especially those that show strong revenue growth. Companies are increasingly raising massive rounds only months after launching products publicly as investors race to back potential category leaders early.

“We launched in February, we had no revenue,” founder and CEO Sam Blond told Business Insider. “During February, March, and April, we added seven figures of ARR each month, and revenue is accelerating.”

Monaco is developing AI software to automate key parts of the sales process, including prospecting, outbound outreach, pipeline management, and customer tracking. Blonde wants the company to be known as the “Cursor of sales,” referring to the popular AI coding startup that made a $60 billion deal with SpaceX.

‘When stuff works, it works fast’

It used to be startups waited years, not months, to raise a Series B, but these are not normal times. Just two months ago, Monaco announced a $25 million Series A round led by Founder’s Fund, where Blond was a partner until 2024.

Altman said Monaco’s early traction was part of what convinced Benchmark to move quickly.

“I think in general, when stuff works, it works fast,” Altman said. “You back great people as early as you can back them.”

Still, Altman said the investment decision ultimately came down to Blond, a former Brex and Zenefits sales executive who spent two years in VC before saying that he missed being an operator.

“I think it’s really all about the founder,” Altman said.

The startup is part of a crowded, increasingly competitive market that includes incumbents like Salesforce and HubSpot, as well as a wave of newer AI-native challengers such as 11x, Artisan, and Aurasell.

“Generally speaking, any good software market is going to be competitive,” Altman said. “But my view on it was very clearly that the momentum is night and day and that what Sam and Monaco are doing is just dramatically faster than what I’m seeing at other places.”

Altman said the flood of money pouring into AI startups has naturally raised questions about whether the industry is entering bubble territory.

“We’re in a moment when a lot of capital is available, markets look very big, there’s a real technology disruption happening,” Altman said. “There will be a correction because there has always been one. What we don’t know is whether it’s tomorrow or in seven years. You just don’t know.”

Blond said Monaco did not need to raise another round so quickly after, as it had roughly $24 million in the bank. Adding Altman to the board was a key factor, and Monaco can use the additional capital to hire engineers, which does not come cheap these days.

“There are things that we will be able to do with this infusion of capital that we will use to accelerate that lead,” he said. “Despite being at it for far less time, we are moving much, much faster than the others in the space.”

Monaco has quickly been building buzz in Silicon Valley through its ubiquitous billboards and a high-end poker tournament it hosted last month that offered $100,000 in prize money. Altman said plans to play in the startup’s next tournament in June.

“I love poker,” he said. “Though I’m a little rusty,”