NEWS YOU CAN’T MISS

AI Drones: Is This the Future of Warfare?

If you haven’t heard the name Anduril, you should pay attention. It’s a cutting-edge defense technology company led by 32-year-old billionaire Palmer Luckey, and it is fast becoming the face of AI and defense tech.

Anduril has just unveiled its latest AI-powered drone, the Bolt-M, which can be carried in a backpack and is revolutionary in its use of AI.

An intuitive touchscreen controller empowers drone operators to make four decisions: observation target, tracking subject, engagement method, and strike timing.

• The AI enables autonomous flight, target recognition, and engagement capabilities and handles complex flight behaviors and tactical decision-making.

• It has a 40-minute flight time, maintaining its 12.4-mile range throughout.

Since Bolt-M uses AI to simplify its operations, military drone pilots can operate it with less training:

Anduril is Leading AI Powered Defense Tech in the US

• Palmer has secured substantial funding, including a recent $1.5 billion round, valuing it at $8.5 billion.

• Anduril's focus on AI and autonomous systems has attracted increasing attention from the Pentagon, resulting in significant contracts like the $250 million award for its AI-powered drone defense system.

Bottom line: Every major military is investing in AI-powered systems to maintain technological superiority, with initiatives aiming to deploy thousands of autonomous systems. Where is the conversation with citizens on using them ethically? I strongly believe we need such civic discussions no matter which country we are from. 🤔

Sakana AI: Japan’s Leading AI Startup

Sakana AI, Japan’s hottest generative AI startup, recently secured funding from a group of 10 prominent Japanese firms, including Dai-ichi Life Insurance, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), and two other major banking institutions.

Founded in 2023 by former Google researchers, including Llion Jones (co-author of the influential "Attention is All You Need" paper) and David Ha (led Google Brain's research team in Tokyo), Sakana AI has quickly positioned itself as a leader in the field of AI, particularly in the Japanese context.

Here’s what makes them different: Instead of building one massive AI brain, they're creating swarms of smaller AIs that work together. Kinda like how nature does it! 🤯

Why Sakana AI is a big deal?

• Flexible: These AI swarms can adapt and change way faster than traditional AI.

• Efficient: No need for one giant, power-hungry AI system.

• Made in Japan: Sakana is also building cutting-edge AI optimized for the Japanese language and capable of generating culturally relevant imagery. 🇯🇵 

Sakana AI has attracted international attention, with US investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, and NVIDIA. The Japanese government has also provided support, granting the company access to national data center clusters for research.

One of Sakana AI's most recent and significant developments is the creation of an "AI Scientist." This groundbreaking large language model is capable of conducting scientific research autonomously, from reading literature and formulating hypotheses to conducting experiments and writing scientific papers.

Fun fact: The name draws inspiration from the collective intelligence of schools of fish ("sakana" - さかな in Japanese), highlighting the startup’s unique, nature-inspired approach to developing AI, promising innovative solutions to complex challenges. 🐡

WOMAN IN TECH

Woman in Tech: Nabiha Saklayen, CEO of Cellino

Celebrating this week's Woman in Tech 🥳: Meet Nabiha Saklayen, CEO and co-founder of Cellino, a company developing AI-powered biomanufacturing systems for personalized cell therapies.

Saklayen’s goal is to revolutionize the treatment landscape for diseases such as Parkinson's, heart disease, and diabetes by making personalized cell therapies more accessible and affordable.

Background and Early Life: Born in Riyadh to Bangladeshi parents, Saklayen's childhood was truly international, with time spent in Bangladesh, Germany, and Sri Lanka.

Education and Achievements: Saklayen completed her BS at Emory University and her Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University. Her achievements include:

• MIT Tech Review's 35 Innovators Under 35 list for her patented inventions in cellular laser editing

• Forbes 30 Under 30 Healthcare list

• Inaugural Tory Burch Foundation Fellow in Genomics at the Innovative Genomics Institute, led by Nobel Laureate Dr. Jennifer Doudna

In 2017, Saklayen co-founded Cellino Biotech to revolutionize cell therapy.

• The company combines stem cell biology, laser physics, and machine learning to increase production efficiency.

• Cellino has raised $97.2 million from notable investors like Khosla and Bayer and was just awarded a $25 million grant from ARPA-H for stem cell research.

Saklayen's story is incredibly inspiring. 😎 It's amazing to see a woman leading the charge in such a cutting-edge and interdisciplinary field in AI and healthcare.

Food for Thought

Can AI be the modern day food-taster?

Scientists at the Pennsylvania State University have created an AI-powered electronic tongue that can taste things with superhuman accuracy. From your morning coffee to your favorite soda, this invention can analyze any solid or liquid and tell you everything about it.

Imagine having your own AI-powered taste tester. It can detect if your juice has gone bad before you even take a sip!

Fall is officially here! 🍁 I hope you are having a wonderful week!

Until next time!

Ayesha ♥️

ps. Join my course to learn how to successfully build Generative AI solutions that increase productivity and profitability, making you stand out in your career.