Monday. 1 pm. Lunch rush. We’ve all been there. As you squeeze and push from one end of the street to the other, you’ll likely encounter a dozen bike-riders wielding large, square-ish backpacks on their shoulders, zigzagging past the hungry crowds. Packed inside those bags, of course, are fresh, delicious meals about to be delivered…
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Artificial intelligence (AI) was founded as a discipline out of a 1950s university workshop amongst a group of professors and researchers. In the subsequent decades, the field swung from big waves of optimism, to great dips of disillusioned ambition. Over the mid to late 90s, and the 21st century, massive increases in computing power and…
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The way people move across the globe has constantly reshaped society and the way humans interact with each other. From the invention of the wheel, to the first train taking off back in the 18th Century, mankind has always looked for innovative ways to improve mobility and shorten what the preceding generation considered to be…
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As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow in scale and sophistication, the use cases for AI are popping up in all sorts of unexpected places. The newest team to join the AtomLeap High-Tech Accelerator, CleanAI, is combining computer vision and AI to address a universal problem: cleanliness. We sat down with Alistair Cadman, co-founder and…
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In the Staples Center, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers and one of the world’s premier concert venues, a sold-out crowd buzzes. Hundreds of millions of people from around the world tune in to watch online or on a TV broadcast. Participants are vying for millions, seeking purses larger than the Tour De France,…
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In 2000, Netflix founder Reed Hastings went to the then-CEO of Blockbuster John Antioco and offered 49% of his company for $50 million. Antioco saw Netflix as a very niche company, so he turned the offer down believing physical stores were enough to satisfy customers. The net value of Netflix today is nearly $144bn, while…
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A few weeks ago, we wrote a blog post highlighting the emergence of sleep tech, touching on companies that utilize technology to monitor and optimize your sleeping habits. Despite critics who doubt its efficacy, the growth and success of startups like Oura Ring, Calm, and Snail Sleep highlight the expanding market for alternative health and…
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Many of us saw Ready Player One last year and were entranced by Spielberg’s vision of virtual reality (VR). For those who haven’t seen it, the movie (based on Ernest Cline’s book) presents a futuristic earth where a virtual universe referred to as “The Oasis” consumes everyone’s lives and social interaction. Why would anyone want…
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Have a casual chat about robotics and AI, and the conversation will almost inevitably lead to a debate about whether these emerging technologies are poised to replace human workers sector by sector, vertical by vertical, and ultimately usher in waves of mass unemployment and economic turmoil. Now, the basic premise of machines replacing human labor…
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How does innovation happen? You are inspired by a great piece of art or research, a serendipitous discovery, or a chance meeting. Then you go about crafting and refining that inspiration into something more concrete. Bouncing off the initial inspiration, you dig and research for different ideas, then think about how to synthesize all your…
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