TBD Touchpoint (Bliss+Dustin) Feb 17

Attendees: Dustin J Ross, Bliss Perry Date: February 17, 2026 Type: Partner Session

Summary

Campus-wide Stanford power outage
- Power plant servicing Stanford went down
- Wi-Fi connectivity problems during meeting
- Switched to phone call to continue discussion

Decision: Send TLDR version to blank instead of full 5-page report
- More compelling and readable format
- Blank unlikely to read lengthy document
- TLDR captures key turning points from main document
Dustin to PDF the TLDR and send within next hour
- Will CC Bliss for final review
- Include “looking forward to our discussion tomorrow” message
Keep full report as reference during meeting
- Contains useful charts and detailed analysis
- Will print and bring to tomorrow’s meeting

GPT analysis strongly favors batteries over other industries
- Compared batteries to all discussed alternatives
- Only close second was rare earths
- Separate batteries vs semiconductors analysis pending
EU Battery Passport mandate identified as compelling wedge
- Goes into effect February 2027 (12-month timeline)
- Enables path from compliance → proprietary data → benchmarks → parametric insurance
- Combines volatility, financial infrastructure, and regulatory standardization
Key advantages of battery focus:
1. Extreme repeatable volatility
2. Massive and growing market
3. Concentrated choke points
4. Existing financial infrastructure
5. Imminent EU regulatory deadline
Concerns about European data privacy restrictions (GDPR)
- Could be significant hurdle for American companies
- Need to actively consider before entering EU proprietary data space

Dustin to lead meeting setup and narrative flow
Bliss to handle technical depth on data assets and incentive structures
Both prepared for Steve to take discussion off-rails
Updated TLDR to include EU battery passport as potential wedge
Plan to present: initial industry analysis → batteries as standout → specific EU opportunity

Dustin: PDF and send TLDR to blank within 1 hour
Bliss: Evening research session (3-4 hours blocked)
- Identify other concrete compliance wedges similar to EU battery passport
- Find specific US legislation requiring company compliance
- Create menu of concrete examples beyond vague categories
Both: Stay in touch throughout day to share findings
Cancel scheduled lunch work session and later touchpoint
Bliss attending CFR dinner in San Francisco tonight