🤖 ChatGPT Hits 200m Users, ⚡ Cloud Seeding Weather Makers, and 🧠 44: The New Midlife
🤖 ChatGPT Hits 200m Users, ⚡ Cloud Seeding Weather Makers, and 🧠 44: The New Midlife
Thomas's Innovation Wrap #93
Greetings,
Here’s your weekly wrap of technology, innovation, and finance news.
⚙️ Mobility
The world's largest sailing cargo ship has begun its maiden transatlantic voyage, blending old-world charm with modern tech. The 81-metre Anemos, equipped with automated sails and computer-simulated rigging, boasts a carbon footprint just one-tenth that of standard container ships.
"For centuries we knew wind was abundant [over] the deep sea, and we had the pilot charts," says Guillaume Le Grand, CEO of TOWT, the French company that commissioned the 81-metre-long ship, named Anemos. "But now, thanks to satellite communication and routing technology, wind is also predictable, which makes it a reliable source of propulsion."
EV interest in the US has hit a record high, with over a quarter of shoppers "very likely" to consider an electric vehicle. This surge comes as automakers offer aggressive discounts and introduce more affordable models, bringing the average EV price down to $44,039.
Uber has invested in Wayve, a self-driving startup using "embodied AI" to improve through driving experience. Uber plans to integrate this technology into its fleet, aiming for level 4 autonomy.
Tesla will unveil its Robotaxi product on October 10th at Warner Bros. studio. The choice of venue suggests a demonstration of how Robotaxis could integrate into everyday life.
💊 Health
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are showing promise in reducing death from all causes. Chemistry World recently wrote about how production of GLP-1s are struggling to keep up with demand, and how companies are racing to develop the next generation of GLP-1 drugs.
“The robust reduction in non-cardiovascular death, and particularly infections deaths, was surprising,” said Benjamin Scirica, a Harvard professor and the lead author of one of the studies.
A new vaccine could lead to the eradication of Alzheimer's, with Vaxxinity's UB-311 entering phase III trials. Additionally, a finger-prick test for early Alzheimer's screening has been developed, potentially improving early detection.
"Society is entering an era in which the unchecked devastation of Alzheimer's disease is no longer inevitable," says Dennis Selkoe at Harvard Medical School.
A few new innovative medical devices are transforming patient care. A prosthetic leg that feels like a real body part, a wearable ultrasound for pain and depression, and a smart mask for breath analysis are among the latest advancements.
In the other study, 14 clinically depressed patients were treated with the MRI and Diadem procedure and 10 reported remission one week later after just one session with the device.
"We've been blown away by the positive results so far," said the paper's lead author, Tom Riis, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. "After just a single 40-minute stimulation session, patients are showing immediate, clinically substantial improvements in symptoms."
Scientific American wrote about the rising traction of “social prescriptions,” where doctors prescribe community-based activities tailored to patients' interests, aiming to improve health outcomes by addressing social factors.
This might sound woo-woo, but social prescribing is rooted in rigorous research and a critical public health fact: more than 80 percent of our health outcomes are driven by social factors in our environments, while only 16 percent are related to clinical care.
Google is developing AI to detect illness through sound, initially focusing on tuberculosis detection via cough sounds.
Immersive virtual reality experiences are an effective way for people with intellectual disabilities to develop real-world skills, according to a recent paper.
The study, undertaken by University of South Australia and UNSW Sydney researchers, involved 12 virtual training sessions. The VR group using the immersive head-mounted displays scored significantly better in real life than those who used a tablet device for training.
Researchers at RCSI have developed a promising new implant that could potentially help repair nerve cells after spinal cord injuries. The 3D-printed scaffold mimics the structure of the spinal cord and can conduct electrical signals to stimulate neuron regrowth.
"Bridging the lesion with an electroconductive biomaterial designed to mimic the structure of the spinal cord, combined with the application of electrical stimulation, may help injured neurons regrow their axons and reconnect to restore function," he said, adding that "No such platform exists to date."
One for all the fellow 44-year-olds! A recent paper has found aging isn’t linear; our bodies undergo dramatic molecular shifts at two key points – first at 44, and then again at 60 – as they start to get creative with how they handle everything from muscle function to alcohol metabolism.
Results showed that differences in the levels of many molecules and microbes clustered around two distinct time points: age 44 and 60. The findings suggest that aging might accelerate around those periods—and signal to experts that our 40s and 50s may be a significant period to closely monitor health.
💲 Finance
OpenAI is reportedly seeking a valuation over $100 billion in its latest funding round. This figure would make it the third most valuable private company globally. The company's rise is backed by impressive stats: ChatGPT now boasts 200 million weekly active users, double from 10 months ago, with 92% of Fortune 500 companies using OpenAI's products. The funding round, reportedly led by Thrive Capital, is attracting interest from Apple and Nvidia.
Magic, a generative AI coding startup, has secured a $320 million investment from backers including ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Atlassian. Magic's latest model, LTM-2-mini, boasts a 100 million-token context window – equivalent to about 10 million lines of code or ~750 novels. (For context, context windows are currently at 2 million tokens for Google’s best Gemini model and 200,000 tokens for Anthropic’s best Claude model.)
Steinberger and Sebastian De Ro co-founded Magic in 2022. Steinberger says that he was inspired by the potential of AI at a young age; in high school, he and his friends wired up the school’s computers for machine learning algorithm training. That experience that planted the seeds for Steinberger’s computer science degree and his job at Meta as an AI researcher.
🔒 Cybersecurity, Cybercrime, and Cyberwar
One-way attack (OWA) drones are revolutionising warfare in Ukraine, with both sides deploying these kamikaze-style weapons. Ukraine's new "rocket drone," Palianytsia, boasts a 700km range, while Russia's recent barrage of 109 Iranian-built Shahed drones alongside 127 missiles has left Ukraine scrambling to protect its infrastructure.
OWA drones can use inexpensive navigation systems to strike targets hundreds of kilometers away with relative accuracy.
This drone proliferation is happening elsewhere as well. The UK's Royal Navy has already intercepted Houthi drones in the Red Sea using pricey Sea Ceptor missiles – like swatting flies with gold bars.
Meanwhile, the AI revolution is outpacing cybersecurity efforts. At the DataGrail Summit 2024, industry leaders warned that AI capabilities are growing exponentially, leaving security measures in the dust. Jason Clinton, CISO of Anthropic, highlighted the pace of AI development:
Every single year for the last 70 years, since the perceptron came out in 1957, we have had a 4x year-over-year increase in the total amount of compute that has gone into training AI models.
💻 Chips and Computing
Nvidia continues to dominate the AI chip market, with Q2 sales and earnings more than doubling.
A new study reveals a stark global divide in AI chip ownership, introducing the concept of "Compute Deserts" - areas with no GPUs for hire, raising concerns about AI development inequalities.
"We set out to find: Where is AI?" says Vili Lehdonvirta, the lead author of the paper and a professor at Oxford University's Internet Institute.
Competitors are innovating to challenge Nvidia's supremacy. Cerebras Systems is deploying Meta's LLaMA 3.1 model on its wafer-scale chip, claiming lower inference costs and power consumption compared to cloud alternatives. Independent benchmarks are not yet available.
The AI boom is lifting traditional tech giants too. Dell's server and networking revenue surged 80 percent, driven by AI infrastructure sales and a close partnership with Nvidia.
China is investing US$6.1 billion in data centre infrastructure, building eight computing hubs to process workloads from its densely populated eastern coast using inland data centres.
For a primer on Nvidia's rise from graphics card manufacturer to AI chip powerhouse, check out Bloomberg's recent video (9 minutes).
💎 Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia launched NIM Agent Blueprints, a free catalog of AI workflows for rapid development of generative AI apps, covering use cases from customer service to drug discovery.
The UK is investing £4 million in AI tools for teachers.
As part of project, government documents like curriculum guidance, lesson plans, and student assessments will be provided to AI companies to train their tech to “generate accurate, high-quality content, like tailored, creative lesson plans and workbooks”.
Mitsubishi Electric is retooling a US auto parts factory to produce cooling equipment for data centres, reflecting AI's growing physical footprint.
For AI enthusiasts, Anthropic has released Claude's 961-word system prompt, offering a peek into AI behaviour shaping.
Claude is very smart and intellectually curious. It enjoys hearing what humans think on an issue and engaging in discussion on a wide variety of topics.
🌞 Renewables
The race for cheaper, greener energy is accelerating across hydrogen, wind, and solar sectors. Electric Hydrogen aims to produce cost-competitive green hydrogen by 2030, while China unveils the world's most powerful offshore wind turbine. In Indonesia, billionaires are collaborating on wind projects to accelerate the country's low-carbon transition.
Electric Hydrogen is the world’s first green hydrogen “unicorn” start-up, with a billion-dollar valuation built on the promise of new technology that can unlock ultra-cheap green fuel. Is it too early to toast their success?
Power grids are struggling to keep pace with demand. Tokyo Electric Power is investing $3.2 billion in grid upgrades, while Virginia's "Data Center Alley" faces up to seven-year wait times for grid connections, underscoring the urgent need for modernisation.
AI is driving renewable tech advancements, with researchers using it to enhance solar panel efficiency and extend hydrogen fuel cell lifespans.
"We have now laid a foundation on which to build for the development of better fuel cells," says Björn Wickman.
The evolving sector is creating unique roles like "weather maker". Frank McDonough leads a cloud-seeding program to increase snowfall, potentially mitigating climate change effects on water resources.
A growing number of government-run cloud-seeding programs around the world are now working to increase rainfall and snowpack, and even manipulating the timing of precipitation to prevent large hailstorms, reduce air pollution, and minimize flood risk. The private sector is also taking note: One cloud-seeding startup, Rainmaker, recently raised millions.
Meanwhile, Meta is tapping into geothermal energy for its US data centres, further diversifying the renewable energy landscape.
However, this is a small program in comparison with the renewable energy projects that Meta says it has already signed up for. The social media biz has contracted for more than 12,000 MW in total, making it one of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy globally, or so it claims.
🛰️ Space
NASA is ramping up lunar exploration, awarding Intuitive Machines $116.9 million for a 2027 south pole mission.
"The instruments on this newly awarded flight will help us achieve multiple scientific objectives and strengthen our understanding of the moon's environment," Chris Culbert, manager of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement.
To prepare astronauts, scientists are developing VR simulations of potential landing sites, allowing them to memorise surroundings and limit radiation exposure.
Korean researchers have devised a method to produce bricks from lunar regolith using microwave sintering, potentially slashing lunar construction costs.
In the satellite internet race, SpaceX's Starlink plans to offer free global emergency services access for mobile phones, pending government approvals. Amazon's Project Kuiper is not far behind, having secured land in New Zealand for its venture, with customer tests slated for 2025.
Blue Origin has set October 13 for the maiden flight of its New Glenn rocket, carrying a NASA smallsat to Mars.
🌱 Agritech
African farmers are using private satellite data to boost crop yields, with companies like EOS providing affordable, high-resolution imagery for precision agriculture. Fees for using their crop-monitoring platform start at $1.90 per hectare per year.
"Africa is way behind in the race for modernizing farming," he says. "And a lot of farmers suffer huge losses because of it."
The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is launching a platform to trace cocoa and coffee deforestation from space. This Commodity Traceability Service will ensure your morning coffee isn't contributing to rainforest destruction, marking a shift from optional sustainability to regulated compliance.
"Up until now, there have been optional sustainability offerings that firms could choose to adhere to, but now we've moved into a regulated compliance space, and that's a really significant change," said Clive de Ruig, the president of ICE Benchmark Administration.
⚡ Other Snippets
China's scientific prowess continues to surge, now leading in 89% of 64 critical technologies tracked, up from just 3 two decades ago, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an independent think tank partly funded by the Australian government (see the report).
Digital twins are revolutionising corporate efficiency, with AI-powered virtual replicas optimising operations from Uber's ride-hailing to Amazon's supply chain. As Microsoft's Charles Lamanna notes, "Enterprise software will become more generated-on-demand and self-assembled."
If current technology trends hold, such end-to-end digital representations of a company's inner workings—and, increasingly, its ecosystem of customers and suppliers—will no longer be the speciality of tech firms such as Uber. Artificial intelligence (AI), in particular, will make it much easier for all sorts of businesses to build virtual replicas and oversee them on a scale managers alone never could.
Italian researchers are developing iRonCub3, a jet-powered flying humanoid for disaster response. With four turbo-jet engines, this Iron Man-esque bot could revolutionise first response, once it achieves lift-off.
In more “humanoid robot news”, 1X Technologies unveiled NEO Beta. This 5.5-foot-tall, 66-pound robot can lift twice its weight and run at 7.5 mph and is apparently being deployed in select homes later this year. 1X Technologies raised $100m in January 2024 with backers including Samsung NEXT, EQT Ventures, Tiger Global, and OpenAI.
Have a great week,
Thomas
About Thomas Rice
Thomas Rice co-founded Minotaur Capital, a technology-driven, AI-led global equities fund, and is based in Sydney, Australia. He can be found on the X at @thomasrice_au.