Hello, my most Monday-ish subscribers!

I write these on Friday evening for Monday morning, so there’s a, let’s say, good chance you’re waking up today to some interesting news from the weekend. World War III was trending on Twitter on Friday afternoon, and a major protest — which the overwhelming majority of Cheddar’s N2K readers apparently support, according to our poll of the day last week — was set to go off at the same time as the military parade. My buddy Joe Baron, who is a great designer and branding guy, even made a cool little logo for a few of the protesters to wear. He wasn’t sure which side was gonna wear it—maybe you tell me:

Trick question: It works for everyone!

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• The 11 coolest startups from YC Demo Day

• Adviser: ‘Don’t hold your 401(k) contributions’

• Nvidia: We don’t know what’s up with China

• AI judged our reporter as part of an art show

• Trevor Noah moves his podcast to SiriusXM

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$NVDA ( ▲ 0.94% )  $MORN ( ▲ 0.66% )  $SIRI ( ▲ 0.19% )  $SPOT ( ▼ 1.54% )  

The 11 coolest startups from YC Demo Day

Ah, Y Combinator! The magical Facebook-and-Airbnb-launching tech incubator where the business ideas are wild, the metaphors are stretched, and every pitch deck contains at least three buzzwords no one understands (yet). The spring 2025 YC Demo Day was no different, but this year, the spotlight was more focused than ever on the holy grail of modern tech: AI. Our pals at TechCrunch rounded up the best 11 startups from the day.

My favorite is “Cactus,” which offers an AI copilot for “solopreneurs” to handle tasks like answering calls and accepting payments, freeing up their time for dressage growth. Vybe also sounds interesting because it introduces creative "vibe coding" to build applications quickly. I told you there were buzzwords.

Adviser: ‘Don’t hold your 401(k) contributions’

Morningstar’s $MORN ( ▲ 0.66% ) Amy “Are Too!” Arnott gets plenty of people asking if it’s a good idea to put their 401(k) contributions on hold at, let’s say, times of upheaval like we may have seen over recent minutes months.

When the stock market tanks, it’s easy to think, Maybe I’ll hit pause on my 401(k) until things calm down. But as Arnott wisely advises, “Watching a 401(k) lose money isn’t fun to live through, but things eventually turn around.”

Using decades of data, Arnott has compared two types of investors: the savvy “keep buying” crew and the nervous “wait and see” gang. Turns out, staying consistent during the worst market downturns—like the dot-com bust and the Great Recession—pays off big. One example? From 2000 to 2025, a disciplined investor grew their balance to about $700,000. Meanwhile, the jittery investor, who stopped contributions during every market wobble, ended up with only $573,000. That’s a $127K difference — ouch. As Amy puts it, “The impact compounds over time.”

Yes, compound interest loves patience, not panic. Even during pandemic chaos in 2020 or inflation drama in 2022, staying the course had better results. Arnott drops the mic: “Keeping money on the sidelines means betting against the odds. Statistically speaking, the market goes up more than it goes down.”

The lesson? Keep feeding that Audrey II 401(k) — even when the market is throwing a tantrum. Your future self will thank you (preferably from a tropical beach). I’m just glad Arnott expressed her personal opinion so strongly and that you can in no way hold me liable for any negative consequences of paying it too much attention.

Today on the ‘gram: Dirty indeed

Post of the day: Lucky for some

Quote of the Day

Nvidia: We don’t know what’s up with China

Nvidia’s $NVDA ( ▲ 0.94% ) CEO Jensen Huang has officially declared China a “no forecast zone” after strict U.S. export restrictions left them stuck with unused AI chips and a $4.5 billion inventory headache.

The U.S. is restricting sales of Nvidia’s high-end AI chips, claiming they boost Beijing’s military and AI capabilities. Huang is unimpressed with the logic. While made-for-China chips like the H20 were supposed to dodge restrictions, they now require special licenses. Cue a $2.5 billion revenue miss.

Meanwhile, Nvidia keeps crushing Wall Street expectations everywhere but China.

Analyst Dan Ives called the H20 ban “handing Huawei business on a silver platter” while Vice President JD Vance warned “excessive regulation of the AI sector” could “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off” during remarks at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris earlier this year. Of course, that was earlier this year. So. It’s probably not true any more. Right?

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👎️ 

No. World War III is trending!

AI judged our reporter as part of an art show

Chris Castellino, a reporter for Cheddar, experienced the "AI and Me" installation at the Tribeca Festival's Immersive Program. Its goal is to judge you, and the AI characterized him as "perpetually bewildered, awkwardly amused, a dad joke enthusiast, and the embodiment of the nice guy cliché."

No, Chris! You’re far more interesting! We don’t even think you ARE a particularly “nice guy.” Honest!

Following these pronouncements, the AI generated images based on its perception of Castellino. These AI-generated dreamscapes depicted the reporter's character as the machine saw him. Let’s say you’ll have to watch to see how accurate they were.

This experience was part of a larger exhibition titled “In Search of Us,” which explores humanity's relationship with technology, climate, and culture. The AI installation aimed to reveal the biases present in AI systems, which are trained on human-created data and thus reflect human prejudices. (Mets or Yankees. Ketchup or mustard. Etc.)

Castellino's interaction with the AI was described as “quite fun,” in the same way I would describe having a root canal. Did it also prompt deeper questions about the boundaries of technology and the increasing role of AI in society?

Trevor Noah moves his podcast to SiriusXM

Trevor Noah is shaking up the podcast world, trading Spotify $SPOT ( ▼ 1.54% ) for SiriusXM $SIRI ( ▲ 0.19% ) starting July 1, with undisclosed terms that probably include fat cash. For him, not for you (or me). Sorry.

“The best conversations happen when you’re not trying to perform,” Noah said. Although they also tend to happen when your agent is negotiating you a better deal. 💰

SiriusXM president Scott Greenstein said Noah has “the rare gift of making you think while also making you laugh.” Which is just like me, actually, if you think about it. See, you’re laughing! All the way to the bank!

The comedic podcast king joins SiriusXM’s A-list pod squad with Alex Cooper (host of “Call Her Daddy”, who was paid $125 million to make the switch) and Conan O’Brien (host of “Conan Needs a Friend”).

Poll of the Day: 401 (mmmmm-k-ay)

Poll Results: Small-R republicans?

We asked: Do you think the theme of the "No Kings" protest planned for the weekend is disrespectful?

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 This is America, and it's important for people to exercise their First Amendment rights to protest. (1093 votes)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The protesters should not be protesting on the same day as the president's big military parade. It's outrageous, and they should be met with the "force" the president has promised. (52 votes)

Wow, that’s a lot of votes! Feels good to have your voice heard, eh?

1145 Votes via @beehiiv polls