Tom Rikert

Excited to share that as of this summer, we at Construct Capital have now raised over $1 billion in AUM. We closed a new select fund as part of our growing franchise. We started Construct in 2020 after years of investing, operating, and gathering signals that reindustrialization needed to happen—the technical debt of the U.S. economy was simply becoming too great to sit on the sidelines and not raise a fund around a dedicated strategy. Today, we’re seeing some of the biggest technology companies of our generation emerge by transforming the industries that actually power and build our world: manufacturing, defense, energy, logistics, and critical infrastructure. And we’re just getting started rebuilding a U.S. economy where technology-driven industrialization plays a much greater role. As we scale, one thing we’ve been deliberate about not changing is our model. We believe in one core early-stage fund and one team behind our founders. We don’t believe in managing a myriad of SPVs or a separate growth fund making net-new investments. With our newest Select Fund, we exclusively back our own founders as they break out from that pool of capital, while devoting our time and attention to deploying our core fund into new early-stage opportunities.That model keeps us focused, aligned, and able to back the very best entrepreneurs rebuilding Foundational Industries right when they get started. The opportunity ahead is enormous. Technology can meet outsized—and growing—demand across the most foundational industries of our economy. We’ve already seen automation, advanced hardware, and vertically integrated new business models take hold. And we couldn’t be more excited for what comes next as Physical AI begins to reshape these industries. Thank you to our founders, LPs, and the entire Construct team who have built this with us. https://lnkd.in/eh9A_JFP

We’re excited to celebrate Beth Berger and Kim Ludlow for their recognition in AdExchanger’s 2026 Top Women in Media & Ad Tech! 🎉 🤖 Beth was named an AI Media Innovator, recognizing women driving meaningful change through AI in media and marketing. 🛍️ Kim was named a Commerce Media Maven, celebrating leaders helping shape the evolving commerce media landscape. We’re proud to have leaders like them helping shape what’s next at Moloco and across the industry. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition! 👏 See the full list of 2026 honorees: https://lnkd.in/edDSei4h

Five years ago this week, I crossed the finish line at 𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝. What made that moment meaningful wasn’t the 140.6 miles. It was the swim. When I was 17, I nearly drowned in Lake Michigan. The experience left me with a very real fear of open water. Years later, when I began my triathlon journey, I couldn’t swim 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐥 without stopping. So becoming an Ironman seemed, at best, improbable. I started small. One length. Then another. Lengths became laps. I learned how to breathe properly. How to become comfortable being uncomfortable. Eventually, I moved from the pool to open water — and learned to manage the fear that came with it. On September 18, 2021, I stood on the shore in Cambridge, Maryland, looking out at a 2.4-mile swim. The fear hadn’t completely disappeared. But it no longer determined what I was capable of doing. That lesson has stayed with me well beyond triathlon: 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. We tend to look at big accomplishments from the finish line. But most of them are built much less dramatically — in small, uncomfortable steps repeated consistently over time. For me, becoming an Ironman started long before race day. It started with trying to swim one length of a pool.

Thank you so much to the Ascendant Network for hosting Showcase in NYC last week! This was a fantastic first-of-its kind retail and commerce media upfront event, and a great opportunity to connect with folks across the industry. I always enjoy hearing from other leaders in this fast-moving space! One thing we all agree on: retail media is no longer just about the point of purchase; we're all talking about how to enhance the advertiser, retailer, and consumer journey across all stages of the funnel. I was excited to be able to share more about what makes Instacart's retail media network so unique: in addition to scaling performant ad solutions across the 2,200 retail banners represented on our consumer marketplace (the Instacart app you know and love), we power ads across more than 310 e-commerce partners -- making it possible to achieve scale and results across national, regional, and local grocery from one easy entry point. I was also incredibly honored to receive the Retail Media Pioneer award from the Ascendant team at the end of the event. Many thanks to Stephen Howard-Sarin for sharing some lovely words and to Susan MacDermid and the entire Ascendant team for this honor -- which I share with so many folks across the broader Instacart Ads team and those who have paved the way in retail media before me! 🥕

I’m excited to share the (official) news that Headspace will be joining Sword Health! Two years ago, I joined Headspace because mental health has been one of the greatest challenges of our time, and I believed deeply that we needed new approaches to put daily support within reach for more people. Since then, we’ve made a ton of progress to accelerate that vision. What began as a meditation app has evolved into a mental health companion that helps people with the full spectrum of life challenges: from stress, sleep and anxiety to the moments when someone needs a coach, a therapist, or a psychiatrist.  Right after I joined, we launched our AI companion called Ebb, which has had over 2 million conversations with Headspace members and has become a safe, trusted space for hundreds of thousands of people. Several months later, we signed a deal with the U.S. Navy, launched direct-to-consumer therapy services, and established an important new partnership with Cigna Healthcare unlocking access to Ebb and our content to broader populations. Our product team shipped new personalization features on wearables like Apple Watch, integrated biometric data through Apple Health, and continuously iterated our safety system for Ebb to ensure it remained a supportive experience as the underlying technology evolves. And in just a few short weeks – Headspace will officially launch within the CMS ACCESS Model, becoming a free mental health resource for the Medicare population.  Now, we’re taking the next big step. Health care has spent too long treating the body as a set of disconnected specialties, mental health included. The opportunity in front of us is to close that gap with continuous support, combining AI with human clinicians so care treats the whole person, across conditions, and not one piece at a time. That’s what makes joining Sword especially exciting. They’re reinventing care for musculoskeletal health, women's health, cardiometabolic health, and, more recently, mental health. Within Sword’s ecosystem, we’ll have the opportunity to address mental health needs across multiple conditions and verticals at a scale we have yet to see. I'm grateful for the entire team at Headspace, proud of everything we’ve built, and am even more excited about where we're headed. The people who've turned to us on their hardest days and their most ordinary ones are exactly who this next chapter is for. With Sword + Headspace, we have the opportunity to help more of them than ever before. https://lnkd.in/gNuZx7k2

Starting today, BritBox joins AMC+, MGM+, PBS Masterpiece and STARZ in a new five-service bundle on Prime Video in the U.S. This offering is a great example of how cooperation can make it easier for audiences to discover distinctive, premium storytelling, while delivering real value. I am especially excited about the company we are keeping, and grateful to our partners at Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios who made this happen. And there’s no better day to subscribe: "Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence" premieres on BritBox today!

I'm honored to be nominated for the LA Times Studios Inspirational Women 2026 Leadership Awards. Join me on November 5 at the Fairmont Miramar Santa Monica for a day of ideas, connection and recognition. #IW2026 #LATSWomen

Swisspreneur turns 10! 🎂 Looking back, we’re incredibly grateful for everyone who’s been part of Swisspreneur along the way. If you’ve listened to an episode, joined us at an event, shared something we made or simply followed along over the years, thank you. It really means a lot, and you’ve helped shape Swisspreneur into what it is today. We’ll be looking back at the last decade over the next few weeks and sharing some of the moments that got us here. On Thursday we raise a glass to it at the Scaleup Cruise in Zurich. (A few tickets are still available via the link in the comments.) Silvan Krähenbühl, Merle Zur, Dominique Kunz, Björn Fröhlich, Lars Stegmann, Alain Chuard, Helena Hlasová PhD, Pascal Sollberger, Stefan Velikov, Andreas Bächtold, Samuel Marchant, Nicola Flückiger, Yannick Willemin, Maria Eduarda Branco, Julia Moll, Robin Muntwyler, Inês Andrade, Jan Küchli, Vanessa Warncke, Iulia Jacobsson, Kas Szatylowicz, Martin Gajdos, Yulia B., Ramon Babic, Beatriz Teixeira, Christian Hirsig