Is Seaweed the New AI?

Hey Superheroes,

Next week sees both the Reserve Bank of Australia and the U.S. Federal Reserve meet to decide their respective cash rates.  Australian investors look set to be disappointed with the rate set to remain at 3.6% while U.S. investors are eagerly anticipating an early Christmas present from Jerome Powell in the form of a cut.

A tale of two cities indeed.

In the meantime, here are this week’s biggest stories.

Seaweed Feeds a New Tech Boom 

Australia’s seaweed industry is emerging as an unlikely tech darling, with investors pouring millions into ocean farming start-ups that promise to slash agricultural emissions and create new industrial supply chains.

Days after Sea Forest (ASX:SEA) revealed celebrity backers in its A$112 million IPO, smaller rival Fremantle Seaweed closed its first major funding round with an A$11 million pre-money valuation.

🌊 The climate tech opportunity 

Both companies cultivate Asparagopsis, a red seaweed that can be turned into cattle feed reducing methane emissions by over 80%. Sea Forest’s IPO raised A$20.5 million from backers, while Fremantle secured A$2.3 million via crowdfunding plus a A$4 million government grant.

Western Australia-based Uluu was recently valued at more than A$100 million in a funding round aimed at replacing plastic with seaweed-based materials, showing the sector’s reach extends beyond agriculture.

💰 From niche to major climate category 

What sets these companies apart isn’t just farming seaweed. They’re developing proprietary hardware, systems and operational IP needed to scale an entirely new industry from scratch.

While still smaller than AI-related investment, the commercialization of cultivated seaweed is becoming big business. Australia’s deep tech sector is betting that seaweed could help solve both emissions and food security challenges at scale.

Copper’s Record Run Sparks Mining Battle

Copper prices smashed all-time highs this week, crossing US$11,400 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange for the first time ever.

The global benchmark copper price has surged more than 30% since the start of the year, vastly outperforming the All Ordinaries Index, which is up about 5% over the same period.

⚡ The electrification play 

Copper’s rally is powered by the global energy transition. Electric vehicles use roughly four times more copper than traditional cars, and AI data centres rely heavily on the metal for power distribution and cooling.

Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shares have climbed 17% since the start of the year while BHP (ASX:BHP) is up 12%. It’s not just the big names moving either, mid-cap copper players Capstone Copper and Sandfire Resources have also seen strong gains this year as interest in the sector ramps up.

With the world electrifying at pace, copper’s strategic value is only growing. Whether the majors or the pure plays deliver better returns, the metal itself looks set to remain one of 2026’s hottest commodities.

🔦 Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on: 

SALESFORCE BEATS BUT AI QUESTIONS LINGER: Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) reported Q3 revenue of US$10.26 billion (up 8.6% YoY) and adjusted EPS of US$3.25 (vs. US$2.86 estimate). The company raised full-year guidance to ~US$41.45billion and said its Agentforce AI platform generated over US$500 million in revenue with over 9,500 paid deals. But shares gained only 2% in extended trading as investors questioned whether AI can scale fast enough to offset slowing core growth.

4DMEDICAL LANDS $15M PHILIPS DEAL: Australian lung imaging specialist 4DMedical (ASX:4DX)  secured a US$10 million (~A$15 million) commercial order commitment from global imaging giant Philips for its CT:VQ technology. The two-year minimum order represents 4DMedical’s largest disclosed commercial order to date and its first multi-year, revenue-backed commitment from a major global imaging partner. 

TESLA SURGES ON ROBOTICS PUSH: Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose about 6.5% this week after reports indicated the Trump administration is planning to prioritize robotics development, which could boost Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot project. 

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