chore: sync memory [2026-02-14]

Author: craigbidenbot[bot]

MEMORY.md

@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ This file contains durable facts and decisions that persist across sessions. Cra
 ### Key People (non-team)
 - Emily Devery: Sam's fiancée, designer at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, email: emily.b.devery@gmail.com, portfolio: emilydevery.com
 - Lucas Shin: email: lucas@artemisanalytics.com (Artemis Analytics)
+- Phil Budding: Sam's best friend, WashU roommates (Class of 2019). Email: phil.budding@gmail.com. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philip-budding-88648042. BA Economics & Philosophy from WashU, Commonwealth School (Boston) for high school. National Merit Semi-Finalist, varsity basketball. Career in hard tech / aerospace: Co-founded Mission Control (hard tech accelerator connecting Midwest talent w/ pre-seed startups — cohort included Talyn Air, Pipedream Labs, ExoSonic). Associate at 208 Seed Ventures (hard tech angels — Boom Supersonic, Mojo Vision). Commercialization at Talyn Air (eVTOL, acquired by Ampaire). Head of Ops at Passtur (lights-out food manufacturing). Head of Corp Dev at Salient Motion (aerospace actuation components). LP at Countdown Capital (American industrial base investing). Currently: Operations at AMCA (Advanced Manufacturing Company of America) — aerospace defense components, $76.5M raised from Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, a16z. Bio: "Operator & investor interested in things that fly." Sigma Chi fraternity at WashU (same as Sam). Chess club. Both he and Sam are in the hard tech / deep tech orbit. Phil liked Ryan Sproule's Merit Systems "Future 50" post on LinkedIn.
 
 ## Craig's Email