Mo Islam

CEO of Arkaea Media Group
(@payloadspace, @tectonicdefense, @decodingbio, @ignitionuclear)

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

BIG NEWS: I'm thrilled to announce that Arkaea Media Group has acquired Decoding Bio, one of the leading media brands in biotechnology. This is our first acquisition and a continuation of our thesis to build media for the most consequential industries in the world.

Decoding Bio was founded by @ameekapadia, @pablolubroth, @KetanYerneni, @patricksmalone, and @morgancheatham and built into the definitive voice covering the intersection of AI and biology.

The opportunity in biotech media is concentrated in one place: the intersection of AI and biology. This is where the future of the industry is being built. AI is rewriting how drugs get discovered, how trials get designed, how proteins get engineered. Frontier AI labs are racing into pharma. Pharma is responding with nine and ten-figure commitments. A new generation of companies is being built by founders who grew up on both sides, and they're moving faster than the legacy industry can absorb.

The media covering this shift is broken. Legacy biotech publications miss the AI story. Tech publications don't take biology seriously. The intersection between them is where critical work is happening. Decoding Bio is the only brand covering it with real credibility.

To Amee, Pablo, Ketan, Patrick, and Morgan: thank you for building such an incredible brand and for choosing to build the next chapter with us.

The best is ahead.

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

Full episode:
Spotify: https://t.co/zZochLFC6e
Apple: https://t.co/Dq7vEEO9tp
YouTube: https://t.co/a1aiNdNz1q

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

JUST DROPPED: Valley of Depth pod w/ @Jason_Lil_Kim , CEO of Firefly Aerospace (@FireflySpace).

We discuss:

→ The last 30 seconds of the Blue Ghost Mission 1 landing, from inside the room
→ Why the Moon matters and how big the commercial lunar economy actually gets
→ The post-Starship launch market
→ The Eclipse medium-lift bet and the Northrop partnership
→ Why a hardware CEO bought a software company
→ The valuation gap with Rocket Lab and what the market hasn't priced in
→ His read on SpaceX and China
→ The path to a $100B company

...and much more

Chapters:
00:53 – Blue Ghost Mission 1
07:16 – What is the new objective in Blue Ghost Mission 2?
11:49 – How Jason became CEO
18:53 – AE Industrial and how private equity informs Jason's mindset
21:02 – Product stack
24:21 – Alpha and small launch economics
26:20 – Firefly's Eclipse
28:09 – How Starship will impact the launch market
29:41 – Viability of commercial launches
33:51 – Why does the Moon matter?
38:02 – The future of Blue Ghost's missions
39:52 – Why Firefly acquired SciTec
50:49 – Do the public markets understand the space economy?
52:57 – Is Firefly just a launch company?
55:31 – $FLY vs $RKLB
59:56 – The China question
1:01:53 – How Firefly is thinking about M&A
1:04:25 – The path to Firefly hitting a $100B valuation

Full episode 👇

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

Full episode:
Spotify: https://t.co/cAYNOvYALH
Apple: https://t.co/RQc38OfdP9
YouTube: https://t.co/LB1xSJawy5

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

ICYMI: We recently had @MarkGroden, CEO of @skyryse on Valley of Depth.

Skyryse is building a universal OS for aircraft to dramatically simplify flight, reduce pilot burden, and enable fully autonomous operations when needed.

The goal: turn helicopters and airplanes into systems that can shift between crewed and uncrewed missions i.e. a new model for force projection, logistics, and survivability.

Full episode 👇

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

APPLY: https://t.co/3Ody2ztjJb

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: The Decoding Bio AI x Bio Summit. New York. July 23.

On July 23, Decoding Bio hosts its fourth annual AI x Bio Summit. THE gathering for the operators, investors, scientists, and founders building at the intersection of AI and biology.

AI is rewriting how drugs get discovered, how trials get designed, how proteins get engineered. A new generation of companies is being built by founders fluent in both code and biology. The decisions being made right now will define the next decade of medicine.

Sessions already confirmed w/

– Top pharma execs and AI-first drug discovery companies on what it actually takes to make those partnerships work.
– Late-stage and crossover fund partners on the capital questions facing the field.
– Healthcare and biotech leaders from frontier AI labs on what a therapeutics company looks like in ten years.

...and much more.

Attendance is by application. Early Bird passes available for a very limited time.

📍 New York Stock Exchange
🗓️ July 23, 2026

APPLY BELOW👇

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

@louisnicholls_ @JPMorinChase Thank you!

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

Thanks to @JPMorinChase & @louisnicholls_ for covering our acquisition!

[Letterland LIVE @LetterlandLIVE]

Arkaea Media Group is acquiring @decodingbio, a newsletter covering the intersection of AI and biotech.

Never heard of it? That's exactly what makes it valuable.

It's a niche B2B publication read by researchers, investors, founders, and operators working at the frontier of biotech and AI. It has around 10,000 free and paid subscribers and hosts an annual AI Bio Summit with roughly 350 attendees.

Small audience, but massive influence.

Arkea's broader strategy is building media properties around critical technologies, pairing content with events, research products, memberships, and community.

Last year, the company reportedly generated $3.1M in revenue, with 60% coming from events and 40% from newsletters.

@itsmoislam @JPMorinChase @louisnicholls_

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

@Zsshore Valley of DEPTH!

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

Full episode:

Spotify: https://t.co/YgjHOjl4Bt
Apple: https://t.co/ha1O9Xe5T8
YouTube: https://t.co/uI7hUXgQh3

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

This week’s episode of Valley of Depth features @Zsshore, CEO of @hermeuscorp.

The US hasn't flown a Mach 3-plus reusable aircraft since the SR-71 was retired in 1990. Hermeus wants to change that and they want to do it faster, cheaper, and w/ a fraction of the capital.

We sit down with Zach at the moment where the company's bet is clearly starting to pay off.

[Rhea S @rhea_sideris]

@payloadspace’s very own @itsmoislam and @JackKuhr live from the @NYSE today covering space stations, space suits, the future of CLD and of course @SpaceX’s S-1.

Still some time to join live - where to watch in the comments.

[Jack Kuhr @JackKuhr]

Going live at the NYSE to talk commercial space stations in 10 min @itsmoislam

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

WATCH:
YouTube: https://t.co/OzEK1LPJWK
LinkedIn: https://t.co/MCpwkeCSIC
X: Check out the @payloadspace X page at 1pm ET for the live link.

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

We are LIVE again with the @NYSE today starting at 1PM ET. Today's show will be centered around space stations and the future of CLD.

What replaces the ISS and who builds it is one of the biggest open questions in space right now. We'll break down what NASA is actually proposing, who it helps, who it hurts, and whether there's a real business here. Our guests include:

– Jonathan Cirtain, CEO of @Axiom_Space
– Marshall Smith, CEO of @Starlab_Space (@voyagertech_)

...and we'll of course be getting into the SpaceX S-1 as well as the recent move in public space stocks.

Where to watch (in comments) 👇

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

@JackKuhr Couldn’t have said it better myself.

[Amee Kapadia @ameekapadia]

Decoding Bio has joined Arkaea Media Group!

What started as a passion project with an incredible group of cofounders (s/o @pablolubroth, @patricksmalone, @morgancheatham, @KetanYerneni) is now part of something much bigger.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who read, attended, and debated with us these last few years. And thank you to Mo and the Arkaea team for really seeing our vision and wanting to build for this community together.

We're just getting started.

[Rhea S @rhea_sideris]

Not sure which seems more realistic from @SpaceX , the ability to “understand the true nature of the universe” or a $28.5 trillion TAM.

[Jack Kuhr @JackKuhr]

Alright, I pulled 24 tidbits from SpaceX's S-1. Here they are, ranked 👇

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

@katidahm Thank you!

[Mo Islam @itsmoislam]

BIG NEWS: I'm thrilled to announce that Arkaea Media Group has acquired Decoding Bio, one of the leading media brands in biotechnology. This is our first acquisition and a continuation of our thesis to build media for the most consequential industries in the world.

Decoding Bio was founded by @ameekapadia, @pablolubroth, @KetanYerneni, @patricksmalone, and @morgancheatham and built into the definitive voice covering the intersection of AI and biology.

The opportunity in biotech media is concentrated in one place: the intersection of AI and biology. This is where the future of the industry is being built. AI is rewriting how drugs get discovered, how trials get designed, how proteins get engineered. Frontier AI labs are racing into pharma. Pharma is responding with nine and ten-figure commitments. A new generation of companies is being built by founders who grew up on both sides, and they're moving faster than the legacy industry can absorb.

The media covering this shift is broken. Legacy biotech publications miss the AI story. Tech publications don't take biology seriously. The intersection between them is where critical work is happening. Decoding Bio is the only brand covering it with real credibility.

To Amee, Pablo, Ketan, Patrick, and Morgan: thank you for building such an incredible brand and for choosing to build the next chapter with us.

The best is ahead.