“Like millions around the world, I was captivated by the sense of wonder, the "Moon Joy," during the Artemis II mission. Being a part of NASA's next-gen lunar program has been a full-circle moment. Watching the launch took me back to being an 11-year-old boy, inspired by Apollo 11, and the belief that humanity could achieve the impossible. Standing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, viewing the SLS rocket rise into the sky, reinforced a passion that has stayed with me ever since.
Artemis II is a powerful reminder not only of how far we have come, but of how much work still lies ahead. We are entering an era where exploration must translate into infrastructure, capability, and sustained presence beyond Earth. These missions inspire us, but they also challenge us to build what comes next.
That challenge is why I launched Lightcone Ventures, a new firm focusing on civilization-scale deep tech and the founders building solutions to the biggest challenges facing humanity. The goal is to ensure that more of those founders get their moonshot, that more ideas move from vision to reality without losing momentum.
That work is already underway. Advances in energy, artificial intelligence, and rapidly evolving technologies are converging to drive a new industrial revolution, one that will reshape every level of society. As energy becomes more accessible and innovation accelerates, the future belongs to those bold enough to build it. The founders building through this societal shift will not be remembered for what they imagined. They will be remembered for what they refused to leave unbuilt.
Wonder is where it starts. What comes after wonder is work.