Dominic Cummings is behind Number 10’s new startup-mindset August 8, 2019 “What we want to hear is their conquer the world strategy,” said Scott Kupor, managing partner of American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Kupor was talking about wannabe entrepreneurs knocking on the company’s Sand Hill Road door in California and looking to become the next Twitter, Lyft, or Airbnb. If Boris Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic [...]
Space, the investment frontier: The companies that are reaching for the stars July 24, 2019 When Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon 50 years ago, space was the exclusive domain of two superpowers. Now it has become perhaps the ultimate competitive arena for two tech giants — not to mention a host of other private enterprises that see untold promise and profits in reaching for [...]
Microsoft invests $1bn in OpenAI to create artificial intelligence that can solve humanity’s worst problems July 22, 2019 Microsoft is set to pour $1bn (£800m) into OpenAI to develop general artificial intelligence, effectively by turning its Azure cloud into a supercomputer. The pair have agreed a multi-year exclusive partnership to develop a supercomputer of “unprecedented scale” to train and run ever-more advanced AI software. Read more: Microsoft opens flagship London store just minutes [...]
The next moon landings will spur giant leaps here on Earth July 18, 2019 This week, we celebrate 50 years since Apollo 11’s first landing of humans on the moon – one of humanity’s greatest achievements. The technologies born of the Apollo missions shaped life on Earth in more ways than we often recognise through inventions we use every day. This anniversary is about more than where we’ve been [...]
Elon Musk reveals plans to connect human brains to computers July 17, 2019 Billionaire Elon Musk yesterday revealed plans to develop technology to allow human brains to connect with computers. Secretive “brain-machine interface” firm Neuralink was founded in 2017 to fight the “existential threat” of artificial intelligence developing further than humans. Read more: Tesla boss Elon Musk rebrands on Twitter as Daddy Dotcom At an event in California [...]
Blast off: Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic plots public listing July 9, 2019 Space may be the final frontier, but Virgin Galactic is readying itself to overcome a fresh obstacle before launching into the great unknown: a stock market listing. Sir Richard Branson’s space-tourism venture is planning to go public as part of a deal with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Read more: Fifty years on from the [...]
Fifty years on from the first moon landing, it’s time to get ready for space tourism July 9, 2019 Next time someone asks if you are going anywhere nice on holiday, perhaps soon you can say Mars or Venus rather than Mallorca or Ibiza. It has been 50 years since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched Apollo 11 down on the moon, and now famous billionaires are backing different projects to make space a [...]
Space X launches Falcon Heavy rocket in ‘most difficult’ mission yet June 25, 2019 Space X last night launched its Falcon Heavy rocket carrying 24 experimental satellites in what boss Elon Musk said was the “most difficult” launch his firm has attempted. Read more: Space X explosion will delay astronaut plans, Nasa official says Lift off took place at around 2.30am local time from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida [...]
Space X explosion will delay astronaut plans, Nasa official says June 18, 2019 The explosion that destroyed a Space X crew vehicle in April will delay the drive to build a US spaceship able to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, a senior Nasa official said today. In April, Space X’s passenger vehicle, Crew Dragon, exploded on the ground during testing. Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine said he [...]
The high five: your guide to the most valuable start-ups June 13, 2019 It was the year of America’s 200th birthday, of a scorching heat wave in the UK followed by a huge sterling crisis, and it was the year that the only unelected president in US history, Gerald Ford, went down at the polls to the former Governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter. Less remarked at the time [...]