Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron) header
Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron) profile picture

word czar. two-guard. currently: @BetaKit previously: @MobileSyrup @BlackBerry and a bunch of dead sites you might remember fondly. "Wildly out of control."

Toronto, Canada
Joined March 2007
Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)Photo by Douglas Tr0n Soltys (@tron)
We had a good run, didn’t we?
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Douglas Tr0n Soltys retweeted
Prime Minister @MarkJCarney said Canada is investing $1.6 billion in Toronto frontier AI developer @cohere as the "Canadian success story" targets a nearly $36 billion valuation in a new round of financing. betakit.com/canada-to-invest…
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Douglas Tr0n Soltys retweeted
You know what would have been smart to have done about 7 years ago? Launch open banking. Read only safe access to your bank accounts. Ok since that didn’t happen you know what we could do now? Launch open banking stocks.apple.com/Ayb0XQ7-OQ_…
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Angine de Poitrine or we riot
Le Canada participera à l’Eurovision 2027. Et c’est vous qui choisirez l’artiste qui nous représentera sur scène. Votez d’ici le 5 novembre. radio-canada.ca/eurovision
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What if we redid the 2008 housing crisis but with assets that depreciate to zero after a few years?
🦔Moody’s says AI borrowing has become a major source of growth for private credit, and it sees a problem coming. A wave of these loans comes due between 2027 and 2029, and weaker borrowers will have to refinance at higher rates. About 17% of the 607 companies Moody’s tracks already pay part of their interest with more debt instead of cash. My Take With payment-in-kind, a company that can’t spare cash for its interest bill gets the lender to add the interest to the loan instead. That buys time. The debt grows every quarter while everyone waits for business to improve before the loan comes due. With about one in six borrowers already on it before the big maturity wave even starts, I don’t love the odds for 2028. Moody’s also used the word “circular,” and rating agencies usually show up late to that kind of call. Nvidia alone has put up to $164.5 billion behind its own customers’ data centers, so when one piece of this chain breaks, the lenders and the chip suppliers take the hit together. Expect private credit funds to push maturities out and keep these loans marked near full value as long as they can. If you own one of the private credit funds that cap withdrawals, the value on your statement depends on those marks. Hedgie🤗
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this is so bleak
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What an incredible bummer.
News: Rest of World, the nonprofit newsroom focused on the impact of technology outside the West founded by Sophie Schmidt, tells donors in an email it will “cease publishing as a standalone entity” at the end of January.
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Imagine wanting to trade RJ Barrett
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Douglas Tr0n Soltys retweeted
The next Mass Effect game won’t make it out of @bioware. Development is stopping as the Edmonton studio shuts down. The closure is a stark ending for a company that helped turn Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Baldur’s Gate into global franchises. betakit.com/bioware-to-shut-…
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If *Mass Effect* currently isn't viable in today's gaming market, the industry is not healthy.
One of the most storied dev studios in gaming history. Based out of Edmonton. Terribly sad.
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One of the most storied dev studios in gaming history. Based out of Edmonton. Terribly sad.
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I think this is the... fourth time I've seen this scam ad today? Always from a different (parody!) account. Report it every time, but there's no meaningful impact.
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Douglas Tr0n Soltys retweeted
US-based @AnthropicAI has been revealed as a long-term leaseholder for a large Nova Scotia data centre project—the #AI giant’s first data centre in Canada. #AtlCan betakit.com/anthropic-signs-…
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Douglas Tr0n Soltys retweeted
“The stock market is not even the stock market. The stock market is AI companies.” @kylascan joins The BetaKit Podcast to discuss why #AI is viewed as the saviour of the US economy and the effect that's having on the public markets. betakit.com/kyla-scanlon-on-…
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You give West End Mans an inch and he tries to reinvent semiotics
Two People Talking in the West End of Toronto
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In prep for this panel, I was struck by how similar #AI and quantum are: - frontier technology - huge CAPEX requirements - long time horizons to successfully commercialize But quantum leaders don't act like AI leaders: - They don't make bold proclamations (AGI, digital god, etc.) - They don't fundraise on FOMO - They're collaborative across the industry They also haven't lost control of their tech. I really wanted to know if those differences are inherent to the industry and the people building it, or would simply dissolve later as the pressure to scale compounds. Have a watch and let me know what you think.
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