Morning Thrust | Weekly Highlights (77th Edition: 02.06.2024)

Welcome to the 77th edition of Morning Thrust ,?your?weekly dose?of?highlights?in future tech,?space economy,?sustainability,?smart cities,?supply chain,?logistics and more! In this edition (02.06.2024), we bring you the?most exciting?developments shaping?our world.?Stay informed and?ahead of the curve?with our curated insights.?Let's dive in!

Elon Musk predicts AI will render human jobs obsolete, envisioning 'universal high income' as technology advances. Musk opposes EV tax incentives and discusses AI's potential impact on job security, stating an 80% chance of a future where work isn't necessary. He emphasizes the importance of finding meaning in a world where AI and robots outperform humans, warning of potential societal challenges.

Glass, Lewis & Co. , a proxy advisory firm, urges Tesla shareholders to reject Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package, potentially the largest CEO pay package in US corporate history, citing concerns over its size, dilution, and Musk's expansive projects. The package, tied to Tesla's market value, was previously voided by a judge, and Glass Lewis criticizes Tesla's proposed move to Texas as offering uncertain benefits. Meanwhile, the board defends Musk's compensation, attributing it to Tesla's financial success under his leadership.

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI secures $6 billion in series B funding, elevating its valuation to $24 billion, as investors seek alternatives to OpenAI in the AI competition. Major backers include Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital , with plans to launch products, expand infrastructure, and advance research. The investment highlights the intensifying AI race against companies like Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Alphabet's efforts, fueling innovation in the industry.

Venture capitalists are increasingly selling shares of popular AI companies like Anthropic and xAI to small investors through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), allowing them to access coveted startups. SPVs pool money from various investors, offering a slice of ownership in these companies, albeit with varying fees and terms, in what's described as a "wild west" scenario. While SPVs provide an avenue for smaller investors to participate, they also entail high risks due to limited access to company information, reminiscent of past investment excesses.

Cathie Wood's ARK Venture Fund has invested in Elon Musk's xAI startup, bolstering its focus on artificial intelligence. This move adds to the fund's portfolio of nearly 50 companies, including SpaceX and X Corp., and targets smaller investors with a minimum investment of $500. Musk's xAI, challenging giants like OpenAI and 谷歌 , recently raised $6 billion and plans to enhance its AI chatbot Grok with a new supercomputer.

UK startups secured $3.6bn in VC funding from January to April 2024, marking a y-o-y decline of 21.4% in deal volume and 32.8% in value, according to GlobalData Plc . Despite economic challenges, the UK remains a top European and global market for VC funding, with notable deals including Monzo, Exohood Labs, and Skyports.

Despite heightened technology security risks, U.S. venture capital and private equity funds continue investing in China, aiding its technological rise, per a report by Future Union . The "Rubicon Report" reveals extensive funding of Chinese tech innovation by American investors, potentially impacting America's technological supremacy and geopolitical dynamics, urging for a reassessment of risks to uphold democratic principles in global competition.

Spain has prohibited Meta from introducing election features on Facebook and Instagram due to privacy concerns, invoking GDPR emergency powers. The ban aims to protect users' data privacy amidst fears of data collection and profiling, with Meta complying with the order. The Spanish Data Protection Authority cited risks to users' rights and freedoms, with Meta's election tools allegedly breaching GDPR regulations.

OpenAI partners with 普华永道 , marking its largest enterprise deal yet, encompassing 100K users. PwC also becomes the first resale partner for OpenAI's enterprise offerings, signifying a significant shift in AI adoption in the workplace. The collaboration reflects a growing trend in utilizing generative AI for business transformation and digital innovation, potentially reshaping consulting services.

微软 's Copilot, an AI tool for generating text and answering questions, now integrates with Telegram as an in-app chatbot, providing users with conversational interaction. Accessible by searching '@CopilotOfficialBot', the feature is in beta and free, requiring only a phone number. This expansion reflects Microsoft's strategy of extending Copilot beyond its own platforms, mirroring trends seen with AI integration in other messaging services like Meta and 谷歌 .

Perplexity AI introduces a new feature, Perplexity Pages, allowing users to create visually appealing reports and articles from their search queries. Users can shape the generated content's tone and structure, add or remove sections, and insert relevant media items. While AI generates content instantly, the tool takes a couple of minutes to complete the page, emphasizing a human touch in information curation.

French AI startup Mistral AI , backed by 微软 , unveils Codestral, its debut generative AI model for coding, trained on 80+ languages. Despite restrictions on commercial use due to potential copyright issues, Codestral aids developers in coding tasks, but its large 22 billion parameters may limit practicality. Mistral's move ignites the debate on the reliance and efficacy of code-generating AI tools, despite concerns over erroneous code and security risks highlighted by industry analysis and researchers.

AI tutors, like Answer AI, are revolutionizing US education by providing affordable, step-by-step assistance with homework, posing a challenge to traditional tutoring services. Chinese-owned apps, such as Question.AI and Gauth , dominate the market, leveraging AI advancements to cater to American students' needs. Despite concerns over AI's accuracy, its role in education is inevitable, prompting a shift towards educating students on its imperfections rather than banning its use entirely.

OpenAI 's GPT-4 surpasses human financial analysts in accuracy, as per University of Chicago research. GPT-4's ability to predict earnings growth outshines human analysts, sparking optimism for AI in financial analysis. However, skeptics question the claims, highlighting concerns about model benchmarks and AI's ability to match human intuition.

Quantum computing, a disruptive technology harnessing quantum mechanics, is revolutionizing industries with its unprecedented computational power. 谷歌 's quantum computer, 158 million times faster than the fastest supercomputer, foreshadows immense possibilities, such as drastically reducing EV manufacturing costs and revolutionizing AI capabilities. This seismic shift in technology presents significant investment opportunities at the convergence of artificial intelligence and quantum computing, akin to the impact of the internet and the discovery of fire.

Live Nation Entertainment confirms Ticketmaster hack, revealing personal data breach via Snowflake cloud storage. The breach, occurring on May 20, exposed customer information, prompting questions about the delay in disclosure. Ticketmaster's stolen database, hosted by Snowflake, raises concerns about cybersecurity measures.

Synapse , a fintech startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), collapses, potentially impacting 10 million consumers. The bankruptcy exposes vulnerabilities in the banking-as-a-service sector, affecting numerous startups like Copper and Mainvest . Regulatory concerns and investor hesitance loom over the fintech landscape, signaling potential challenges for future fundraising efforts.

亚马逊 has gained FAA approval to expand its Prime Air service, allowing its delivery drones to fly longer distances in the US. The approval follows years of developing Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) technology to ensure safe navigation. Amazon plans to start expanding drone delivery operations in Texas and integrate them into its same-day delivery network, aiming to deliver 500 million packages yearly by the decade's end.

Michigan-based startup Virtus Solis Technologies plans to revolutionize clean energy by building the first-ever space-based solar farm, aiming to provide reliable low-cost solar power globally. Founded by former SpaceX engineer John Bucknell, the startup proposes using SpaceX 's Starship to position massive solar arrays in the Molniya orbit, with potential efficiency double that of ground-based plants. While facing years of research, alternative Earth-bound solar solutions promise immediate benefits, including cost savings and uninterrupted power during climate-related outages.

South Korea's new space agency, KASA, launches to boost the nation's presence in the global space race, aiming to nurture local companies and propel South Korea into a leading role in space technology and economy. With ambitions to land spacecraft on the moon and Mars, KASA plans to collaborate internationally while leveraging expertise from figures like John Lee, a former NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration executive, to drive innovation and support both large and small-scale space ventures.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has launched Neo Space Group (NSG), a national champion in the satellite and space sector, aiming to boost local capabilities and strategic position globally. NSG plans to develop commercial space operations domestically and internationally, investing in assets and venture capital to advance sector-specific expertise. This move aligns with PIF's strategy to diversify the Saudi economy, boost non-oil revenues, and achieve Saudi Vision 2030.

A study using satellite data reveals that around 1.18 billion people globally lack access to electricity, despite no evidence of its usage observed from space. Conducted by an interdisciplinary team, the research, published in Joule , focused on mapping artificial light in sub-Saharan Africa from 2013 to 2020 to assess energy poverty. Findings indicate a significant discrepancy between actual electricity usage and previous estimations, emphasizing the multifaceted challenges contributing to energy poverty, including accessibility and affordability issues.

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