investment – Impact Lab

AI, Elon Musk, Microsoft, Science & Technology News

Elon Musk’s AI project to replicate the human brain receives $1billion from Microsoft

October 3, 2019

Elon Musk founded OpenAI in 2015 with the hope of creating AI capable of matching and surpassing the cognitive capabilities of humans ( AFP/Getty Images )

Microsoft has invested $1 billion in the Elon Musk-founded artificial intelligence venture that plans to mimic the human brain using computers.

OpenAI said the investment would go towards its efforts of building artificial general intelligence (AGI) that can rival and surpass the cognitive capabilities of humans.

“The creation of AGI will be the most important technological development in human history, with the potential to shape the trajectory of humanity,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Continue reading… “Elon Musk’s AI project to replicate the human brain receives $1billion from Microsoft”

Electric Automobile, Electric Vehicles, Ford Motor Company, Science & Technology News

Billion-dollar bets on electric vehicles await payoff

April 18, 2019

If carmakers have any hope of making money on electric vehicles, they’ll need to re-think how they design and sell them, a new McKinsey study suggests.

Why it matters: Automakers will pour $255 billion into EVs by 2023 but are resigned to losing money on them for the foreseeable future — an expected outcome of a market dictated by regulators and lawmakers, rather than consumers. But because they’re key to future self-driving cars, they’ll keep investing in them.

The big picture: Right now, electric vehicles are an expensive black hole for carmakers.

Continue reading… “Billion-dollar bets on electric vehicles await payoff”

Analysis, Business, Money Talk, Science & Technology News, Startup, Venture Capital

Only 3% of Americans are legally allowed to invest in startups

June 23, 2015

All of the venture capitalists that are worth more than $1 billion are all men. Most of these men have invested in Groupon, LinkedIn, Skype, YouTube, Paypal, Facebook and others. Chances are, you are legally barred from joining their exclusive investors’ club.

Continue reading… “Only 3% of Americans are legally allowed to invest in startups”

Business, Coding Schools, Economy, Latest Trend, Money Talk, Science & Technology News, Venture Capital

Coding Education & Tech Trends of 2014

January 1, 2015

Audrey Watters: “The business of ed-tech” is also the “politics of ed-tech.” The business and the politics of ed-tech together dictate almost all the other trends that I’ll cover in this year-end series. MOOCs. Big data. Learning analytics. Privacy. Competency-based education. Buzzwords.

One way to identify the dominant ed-tech trends is to look at what venture capitalists are funding. Another is to look at what government policies are demanding. The state of Maryland, for example, said this year that it would need to invest $100 million in technology upgrades in order to be ready for the new online testing mandated by the Common Core State Standards.

New hardware. New infrastructure. New curriculum. New expenditures. So… who benefits?

Continue reading… “Coding Education & Tech Trends of 2014”

Analysis, Business, Entertainment, Latest Trend

Two-thirds of all televised Shark Tank deals fall apart

July 18, 2014

Shark Tank

Monday was the first of three open calls for contestants on ABC’s Shark Tank, the investing reality show in which entrepreneurs make live pitches for funding before a panel of angel investors. Shark Tank is entering its sixth season, the show attracts more than 7 million viewers each week, placing it among the 10 most popular adult reality shows on television, even though it airs on sleepy Fridays.

Continue reading… “Two-thirds of all televised Shark Tank deals fall apart”

Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Latest Trend, People Making a Difference

Betting on Your Future Self

May 1, 2014

Futurist Thomas Frey: Every day we wake up different.

Moment by moment, our lives are changing. Much like a strobe light with flashes of memories jumping through our minds we randomly recall where we’ve been.

Continue reading… “Betting on Your Future Self”

Business, government, Latest Trend, Money Talk

UK’s Angel CoFund can super-charge angel syndicates with extra cash

September 9, 2013

The Angel CoFund is a government-backed fund in the UK.

Startups in the UK that are raising financing have a new route to funds in the shape of a government-backed fund which can super-charge an Angel round with extra cash. The UK government-backed fund, Angel CoFund ,is able to make initial investments of between £100,000 to £1 million into businesses, alongside syndicates of business angels. Angel CoFund launched in November 2011, and it was an early backer of Yplan, the events app which this year raised $12 million and PlayJam (a games maker for smart TVs). The fund started out investing in just some parts of the UK, but now it works nationwide. And it’s now had its first exit in its short, two year history.

Continue reading… “UK’s Angel CoFund can super-charge angel syndicates with extra cash”

Analysis, Education, Latest Trend

Going to college is worth it even if you drop out

June 13, 2013

For people who graduate with a bachelor’s degree, higher education is overwhelmingly a smart investment. But what about students who drop out? As it turns out, less than 60 percent of Americans actually complete a B.A. within six years of starting. Do they reap a benefit?

Continue reading… “Going to college is worth it even if you drop out”

Analysis, Business, Latest Trend

Crowdfunding trend will revolutionize the U.S. investing landscape

May 7, 2013

The tan building in the middle is 1351 H Street NE, where the plans for the restaurant Maketto are being drawn up.

Micah Lubens bought a share of a vacant, two-story brick building that was promoted as the next up-and-coming hot spot along D.C.’s bustling H Street corridor for only $100.

Continue reading… “Crowdfunding trend will revolutionize the U.S. investing landscape”

Analysis, Business, Science & Technology News

Startup experience doesn’t help social entrepreneurs

February 18, 2013

There is no evidence that prior founding experience is translating into superior performance for social entrepreneurs.

All of the conventional wisdom and research says entrepreneurs with prior entrepreneurial experience outperform entrepreneurs who have never launched a new enterprise. Investors know that it’s often wiser to bet on someone who has started something before.

Continue reading… “Startup experience doesn’t help social entrepreneurs”

Analysis, Business, Globalism, Money Talk

How crowdfunding can change the investment status quo

January 23, 2013

The dream Martin Luther King Jr. had for his children was that they would “one day live in a nation where they would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Continue reading… “How crowdfunding can change the investment status quo”

Analysis, Business, Latest Trend, Money Talk

More that 1,000 startups are destined to be abandoned at the Series A stage

December 21, 2012

We now have real data to accompany all the anecdotal stories about the ongoing “Series A crunch” for tech startups. CB Insights, a venture capital analysis firm, has released a new seed financing report that digs into some real numbers about the situation.

Continue reading… “More that 1,000 startups are destined to be abandoned at the Series A stage”