"The goal is to turn data into information, and information into
insight." -- Carly Fiorina
CB Insights (www.cbinsights.com)
offers services specifically designed to use unstructured big data to help
identify technology startups with significant potential.
A subscription to CB Insights services includes access to databases the company
has created to identify these startups.
Whether you are interested in investing in or employing emerging technologies,
it is worth your time to explore the services and databases offered by CB
Insights.
Here is some background on the company. Some of it is from the CB Insights Web
site. Some of it is from third party sources.
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The CB Insights tech market intelligence
platform analyzes millions of data points on venture capital, startups,
patents, partnerships and news mentions to help you see tomorrow's
opportunities, today.
Predict Emerging Trends
We identify signals about emerging and disruptive
technology and business trends by untangling a mess of unstructured news articles, patents, startup websites, venture
capital financing, and more.
Identify & Respond to Disruption
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scores, created in partnership with the National Science Foundation,
provide early predictive intelligence into emerging company health and momentum
so you can identify tomorrow's winners and future threats today.
Explore New Markets
Growth is determined by the markets you choose to compete in. CB Insights
identifies the industries that are growing and steers you clear of those that
are not so you make your bets in the right places.
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the strategies they're pursuing and products they're building.
Stalk the Smart Money
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Automate news tracking and funding alerts on companies and industries you
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potential targets by analyzing their health and potential all in one place.
source: www.cbinsights.com
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How
Saudi Arabia Is Hedging Against An Oil-Less Future
October 2, 2018
Despite ranking first in global oil exports, Saudi Arabia is investing in
electric vehicles and renewable energy, in addition to other tech startups. We
dive into where Saudi investors have been most focused in the renewables and
energy space.
Saudi Arabia — the largest exporter of oil in the world — is investing in
electric vehicles.
The country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia
(PIF), was the first Saudi-based investor to enter the EV space.
In recent months, the fund has commanded the attention of the press, largely
driven by its investments in Lucid Motors and in Tesla — as well as its
rumored buyout of Tesla that ultimately fell through.
Investing in EV companies, in addition to companies pioneering technology in
alternative energy, helps the country hedge against its oil export business.
In addition, Saudi Arabia was hit hard by the collapse of crude oil prices in
2014, which weighed heavily on the profitability of its oil business.
These recent investments in EVs and renewables are part of a broader economic
diversification strategy called Saudi Vision 2030, pioneered by Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, in an attempt to lessen the kingdom’s dependence on
oil.
As part of the plan, PIF is planning to reach $2T in assets under management by
2030, up from an estimated $250B currently. To finance these investments,
Prince bin Salman has been redirecting the country’s oil revenues to the fund,
and recently, PIF announced it had raised an $11B bank loan.
While PIF has driven the majority of funding in recent
months, a number of venture capital firms and corporates in the
kingdom are also funneling capital into tech firms, which could help diversify
the economy and bring new jobs into the region.
To understand where Saudi investors are most focused in the alternative energy
space, we used our Business Social Graph tool to map out their investments in
electric vehicles and renewable energy since the launch of Saudi Vision 2030 in
April 2016.
Breaking into electric vehicles
In September, PIF poured $1B into Lucid Motors, an EV manufacturer that had
recently been struggling to raise enough capital to launch production for its
first luxury EV, the Lucid Air. Lucid plans to use the funding for engineering
development and testing of the Air, which is due in 2020. The company also
plans to build its first factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.
The investment in Lucid came just six weeks after Elon Musk tweeted that
he would take Tesla private at $420 a share, suggesting that PIF would back the
company’s move.
While many view the Lucid investment as PIF passing over Tesla, it’s important
to note that in August, PIF had purchased a roughly 5% stake in Tesla, which
would equate to an investment of almost $2B.
Both of these investments highlight the fund’s attempt to hedge its bets on
oil, in addition to taking advantage of the long-term opportunity in EVs.
Renewable ENergy also a focus among saudi investors
PIF, as well as a number of other Saudi VC funds and corporations, are also
investing in clean energy.
The fund announced an investment in Saudi power company ACWA
Power in July, taking a 15.2% direct stake in the company. ACWA
is currently building out its renewable energy capabilities.
In February, ACWA won a contract to develop a 300 megawatt solar plant in Saudi
Arabia worth $300M.
PIF has also expressed interest in investing in its own solar project,
announcing in May that it was in talks with banks to fund a solar farm in
partnership with SoftBank that would have a capacity of 200 gigawatts — 100
times larger than the largest solar farm ever proposed — and would cost $200B
to build.
In October, the fund announced that the project had been shelved for a
broader, more practical strategy to support renewable energy. It’s worth noting
that government-driven solar projects have been cancelled in the past.
The country is also planning to invest $7B in renewable energy in 2018,
mainly to create seven new solar plants and a wind farm. These investments
are intended to help the country reach its goal for 2023 to have renewables
driving at least 10% of its power generation.
Outside of PIF, a number of VCs and Saudi holding companies have also
invested in renewable energy.
In December 2017, Saudi Aramco’s venture arm led a $9.4M Series B investment in
NexWafe,
a spin-off of solar energy research firm Fraunhofer ISE. NexWafe has developed
monocrystalline wafers used in solar cell production, which consume
substantially less energy than traditional wafers.
WOW Ventures, a Saudi VC firm, contributed to Tespack’s
$2.35M Series A investment in September 2017. Tespack has developed a solar
backpack that allows people to utilize off-grid electricity outdoors.
The KAUST Innovation fund, a seed fund at the King Abdullah University of
Science and Technology, has also invested in two solar startups. In February
2017, KAUST contributed to QD
Solar‘s $7.64M Series A round. QD Solar has developed technology that
increases the energy output of solar panels, utilizing quantum dot technology
to capture infrared energy that’s currently wasted.
The fund has also invested in NOMADD
Desert Solar Solutions, which has developed a fully-automated system that
cleans the dust from the surface of solar panels without using water or causing
any other type of damage.
This report was created with data from CB Insights’ emerging technology
insights platform, which offers clarity into emerging tech and new business
strategies through tools like:
Earnings
Transcripts Search Engine & Analytics to get an information edge on
competitors’ and incumbents’ strategies
Patent
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Mosaic Scores to evaluate startup health, based on our National Science
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Relationships to quickly see a company’s competitors, partners,
and more
Market
Sizing Tools to visualize market growth and spot the next big
opportunity
If you aren’t already a client, sign up for a free trial to learn more about our platform.
Source: https://www.cbinsights.com/research/saudi-arabia-electric-vehicle-energy-investment/
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These 5 Emerging Technologies Could Help Reshape
Manufacturing In A Post-Covid World
The Covid-19 pandemic has
highlighted some of the major challenges facing manufacturers. We dig into 5
novel technologies that could improve supply chain resilience, boost production
speed and flexibility, and more.
source: https://www.cbinsights.com/research/technologies-topics/
These 5 Emerging Technologies Could Help Reshape Manufacturing In A Post-Covid
World
July 29, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted some of the major challenges facing
manufacturers. We dig into 5 novel technologies that could improve supply chain
resilience, boost production speed and flexibility, and more.
The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken the global manufacturing industry.
This sweeping disruption has brought attention to some of the major ongoing
challenges facing the sector and has highlighted the need to boost supply chain
resilience, speed up production, and make products with higher degrees of
precision.
Adding to this, the associated economic uncertainty has heaped pressure on
manufacturers to increase efficiency and bring down costs.
But a number of emerging technologies could help address some of these
challenges — transforming the space and complementing its steady march toward
automation.
For example, embedded metrology is helping reduce manufacturing waste.
High-speed sintering promises to make factories more adaptable. And light-based
manufacturing could make it cheaper to produce highly intricate designs.
Using CB Insights data, we explore 5 emerging technologies that could reshape
the manufacturing space and create new opportunities.
Table of contents
Generative design
What is generative design?
How generative design is reshaping
production
Challenges and opportunities in
generative design
Embedded metrology
What is embedded metrology?
How embedded metrology is changing
precision measurements
Challenges and opportunities in
embedded metrology
High-speed sintering (HSS)
What is high-speed sintering?
How high-speed sintering is
changing rapid prototyping and production
Challenges and opportunities in
high-speed sintering
Light-based manufacturing
What is light-based manufacturing?
How light-based manufacturing is
changing component assembly
Challenges and opportunities in
light-based manufacturing
Nanotechnology
What is nanotechnology?
How nanotechnology is changing
what can be made
Challenges and opportunities in
nanotechnology
1. Generative design
Whether fabricating new consumer products or producing new drugs,
efficiency is one of the most common bottlenecks in manufacturing — but in many
cases, this can be improved by the design of the manufactured product itself.
Even in ideal conditions, it takes time, effort, and significant investment to
bring a new product to market. During a large-scale crisis like the Covid-19
pandemic, this problem can be exacerbated as manufacturers seek to respond to
rapidly changing needs.
Generative design, an emerging field that uses machine learning to create
products based on a broad set of criteria, could help speed up the
manufacturing process and make it more adaptable in the future.
What is
generative design?
Generative design is a process in which
artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms quickly produce
multiple iterations of a design based on predefined specifications, including
structural composition, materials, and available manufacturing methods.
Once a generative design system has been provided with these initial
parameters, neural networks generate a broad range of designs to help identify
the most efficient combinations of materials and specifications. Designers can
tweak these permutations as they go, providing the neural network with data
from which to “learn” about the designer’s preferences.
How generative design is reshaping production
Some industries have already applied generative design to create products that
are more efficient to build and more effective in their use.
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus, for instance, relied on generative design to
create a new partition for its A320 passenger aircraft, resulting in a design
that was 45% lighter than previous iterations. Airbus estimates this could
reduce its fleet’s annual carbon emissions by almost 500,000 metric tons.
Covid-19 has created an additional impetus for speed that could accelerate the
adoption of generative design approaches.
For example, shortages of space in healthcare facilities have translated to a
need for the rapid construction of emergency field hospitals, and generative
design could make such operations faster, more efficient, and more
cost-effective.
Chicago-based design and construction consultancy VIATechnik is working with
the Quebec Wood Export Bureau (QWEB) to develop generative-designed,
prefabricated structures for use in disaster relief efforts around the world.
VIATechnik’s virtual design and construction technology allowed the firm to
create generative iterations of QWEB’s prefabricated buildings based on a range
of criteria, including climate, terrain, and population density.
The generative nature of the designs means that planners can quickly and easily
modify the specifications of the prefabricated structures based on changing
needs, while still meeting criteria that allows them to be manufactured
quickly.
One subset of the medical field that could also benefit from generative design
is drug discovery.
Developing and manufacturing a new drug is often a lengthy process — averaging
about a decade — and can cost billions of dollars.
IBM is looking to sidestep some of these delays and costs in its efforts to
tackle Covid-19 by using generative modeling techniques. The company is
designing antiviral molecules that specifically target the proteins of the
underlying SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Researchers at IBM have trained neural networks to create simulations of
molecular interactions and design structures that more effectively bind to
SARS-CoV-2 proteins. This approach has the potential to speed up the discovery
and production of new antiviral drugs that could help combat Covid-19 and other
novel viruses in the future.
Challenges and opportunities in generative design
The generative design market is expected to grow to $321M in the coming years,
according to CB Insights’ Industry Analyst Consensus market sizing tool.
However, while generative design has the potential to speed up the time it
takes to make a new product, the technology isn’t without its drawbacks.
For now, generative design systems are still reliant upon the input and
guidance of human operators. This increases the cost of implementing a
generative design system, since skilled operators are required to train the
underlying AI.
Advancements in AI technologies may eventually allow generative design systems
to operate more autonomously in the future, but the technology has yet to reach
this level of sophistication.
The output of generative design systems is also largely dependent on the
performance of the associated machine learning algorithms. Poorer-quality
algorithms will result in poorer-quality designs.
Generative design systems may be able to rapidly iterate on hundreds of
permutations of a design or molecular sequence in short periods of time, but
this will be of little use to manufacturers if the resulting permutations are
inferior to those created by conventional approaches.
2. Embedded metrology
The pandemic has underscored the need for adaptable manufacturing in times
of crisis — as seen with companies like Ford and General Motors retooling their
factories to make ventilators. But the uncertain economic conditions stemming
from Covid-19 have also increased pressure on manufacturers to keep costs down and
boost efficiency.
With defects being one of the leading causes of industrial waste, embedded
metrology is a manufacturing technology that could reduce the cost of
production while also boosting precision and adaptability.
What is embedded metrology?
Embedded metrology is an approach in which precision measurements are made at
the same time as individual components are manufactured.
Typically, quality assurance (QA) checks of individually machined components
are done on a batch basis at the end of the manufacturing process. Manufactured
parts are randomly selected for QA testing and measured to ensure accuracy. In
the event that the selected parts do not meet minimum quality standards, the
affected batch is remanufactured.
Embedded metrology — also known as metrology-assisted assembly — relies on
sophisticated sensors installed on specialized machinery and robotic
manufacturing systems, which allow individual components to be precisely
monitored and quality-tested as they are made.
This ensures that every component, rather than a random sample of components,
is measured, avoiding the need to remanufacture entire batches if not necessary
and reducing the likelihood of deficient products being shipped.
This approach could be especially useful for building components for use in
aerospace, automotive, and medical applications, because even microscopic
inaccuracies in individual parts can pose significant safety risks to
passengers and patients and expose manufacturers to legal liability.
How embedded metrology is changing precision measurements
While Covid-19 has revealed critical vulnerabilities in global manufacturing
supply chains, it has also highlighted the urgent need for flexible production
environments that can be rapidly reconfigured to meet emerging needs. By
reducing waste, decreasing lead time, and increasing overall accuracy, embedded
metrological systems will be essential in creating a more adaptable global
supply chain.
Global precision metrology group Renishaw provided an example of this in action
when it began producing ventilators to meet the sudden demand for breathing
apparatuses across Britain’s National Health Service (NHS).
Working to specifications developed by the Ventilator Challenge UK consortium,
Renishaw’s production facilities in Gloucestershire and southern Wales have
been producing machined components for use in ventilators using embedded
metrology systems.
“Ventilators are intricate and highly
complex pieces of medical equipment and it is vital that we balance the twin
imperatives of speed of delivery with the absolute adherence to regulatory
standards that is needed to ensure patient safety.” — Dick Elsy, CEO of HVM
Catapult and leader of Ventilator Challenge UK consortium
Prior to the emergence of Covid-19, Renishaw had never manufactured machined
components for use in ventilators. But the company used embedded metrology to
help manufacture the intricate parts needed to assemble ventilators without
compromising on speed or accuracy and with minimal waste.
This kind of flexibility is likely to become increasingly important in the
coming years, particularly if more governments around the world seek to
mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities by encouraging onshoring of some
manufacturing operations.
Challenges and opportunities in embedded metrology
Embedded metrological systems are transforming manufacturing by increasing
accuracy, reducing waste, decreasing overall production time, and saving money.
While metrology is likely to become more tightly integrated into manufacturing
as a whole in the coming years, certain types of metrology systems may become
more commonplace than others, most notably non-contact metrology.
Non-contact metrology systems typically rely on laser scanning, optical
interferometry, and X-ray-computed tomography to conduct inspections without
having to be maneuvered to measure a machined part. These technologies will
likely see greater adoption in the near future as non-contact metrology is
well-suited to help automate facilities.
However, despite the many benefits of embedded metrological tools in the
assembly process and the sophistication of emerging metrological technologies,
there remain barriers to the widespread adoption of the tech.
Several industries, including the medical devices sector, are likely to require
additional final validation of individual components in order to comply with
stringent regulatory requirements. This is especially relevant to the
production of advanced critical-care machinery that contains highly sensitive
components, which non-contact metrology systems may not yet be able to
validate.
Another consideration facing manufacturers exploring embedded metrological
systems is the cost of deployment. While assembly lines featuring embedded
metrological systems can be set up as new factories are built, retrofitting
existing hardware with embedded metrological measuring devices could be
impractical or cost-prohibitive for many factories.
The impact of Covid-19 on global supply chains was swift and profound, but the
blow to China’s manufacturing sector was particularly pronounced at the
beginning of the pandemic. Amid the country’s outbreak, manufacturers reported
operating at half their ordinary capacity, with many suffering substantial,
prolonged reductions in their workforces.
While many factories in China have since resumed close-to-normal operations,
the resiliency of global supply chains has become a significant concern for
manufacturers around the world.
With many companies seeking to shore up vulnerabilities highlighted by the
pandemic, 3D printing has once again emerged as a potential solution to some of
the challenges of intricate, and at times fragile, international supply chains.
3. High-Speed Sintering
Although 3D printing, also referred to as additive manufacturing, has
become increasingly commonplace over the past 10 years, the tech has not yet
reached the potential that early hype promised. This could be changing,
however, thanks to advancements in high-speed sintering.
What is high-speed sintering?
High-speed sintering (HSS) — sometimes known as ultrafast 3D printing —
combines the benefits of 2 existing additive printing techniques: selective
laser sintering and binder jetting. These allow HSS printers to print across
significantly larger surface areas and use a broader range of materials.
Depending on the parameters of the individual printer, HSS can be 10-100x
faster than ordinary 3D printing. According to its inventor Neil Hopkinson, an
HSS printer with a print bed measuring 1 square meter could feasibly produce a
flat-pack chair in just a few minutes.
In HSS, the strength and density of the printed product can be actively
controlled by adjusting the amount of infrared light absorbed by the
heat-sensitive ink used in the process. This dimension sets it apart from
conventional 3D printing.
During initial tests of HSS, this capability allowed researchers to adjust the
density of a printed product by up to 40%, a capability that could bring down
manufacturing costs for some products.
At present, HSS printing techniques are best suited for various types of thermoplastics,
which are commonly used to manufacture a wide range of products from airplane
window panes to motorcycle helmet visors. HSS is also suitable for working with
elastomers, which are frequently used to produce medical prostheses and fabrics
such as nylon.
How high-speed sintering is changing rapid
prototyping and production
Some companies have already begun exploring the possibilities of HSS.
Among them is German chemical manufacturer Evonik, which develops thermoplastic
powders and elastomers for use in HSS within the commercial 3D printing
industry.
However, while HSS shows great promise, it is not yet widely used as a
production method. This is primarily because additive manufacturing has mostly
focused on rapid prototyping as opposed to rapid production.
“Our everyday products have been
improved considerably — for example, the all-electric car — yet the systems
used to build these cutting-edge products are stuck in a previous decade.
Innovation in spaces like high-speed metal additive manufacturing would pave
the way for even better end products of the future.” — Lior Susan, founder of
Eclipse Ventures
Developments in sintering technologies, particularly emerging technologies
allowing for the 3D printing of objects using metals, will dramatically reshape
how products are manufactured.
For example, China-based polymer printing company Farsoon Technologies has
developed a method for the additive printing of objects using copper. This
technique has allowed Farsoon’s scientists to print copper heat exchangers — a
feat that signals a major shift in potential use cases for conventional
additive manufacturing and HSS technologies.
Challenges and opportunities in high-speed sintering
The prolonged disruption to China’s manufacturing centers caused by Covid-19
was felt keenly around the world as the pandemic took hold. This prompted a
number of governments and companies to reassess their manufacturing
capabilities in a bid to make supply chains more resilient, a process which may
drive investment in emerging manufacturing technologies like HSS in the coming
years.
But ultrafast 3D printing could accomplish far more than shoring up
vulnerabilities in distributed global supply chains. The tech will allow
manufacturers to respond much more quickly to emerging crises, from pandemics
to natural disasters, by offering a more flexible, adaptable manufacturing
base.
However, there are limitations to the applications of HSS, one of the most
notable being the materials used in ultrafast 3D printers. Although Farsoon Technologies’
additive copper printing technique carries potential across a large range of
manufacturing applications, the metal powders necessary for this and similar
processes pose significant safety risks due to their highly combustible nature.
Even though HSS printers can produce components very quickly, the safety
precautions necessary to work safely with metal powders, as well as the
often-lengthy post-production processes required when working with printed
metal objects, could diminish some of the initial productivity gains.
Another potential challenge facing HSS is accuracy. For example, while current
3D printing technologies have been used to produce medical and personal
protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and nasal swabs, the products often
don’t meet the fluid barrier and air filtration standards necessary to safely
treat Covid-19 patients in clinical environments.
HSS and 3D printing technologies are unlikely to single-handedly solve broader
supply chain problems, but the tech is set to play a growing role as it
matures.
4. Light-based manufacturing
The disruption caused by Covid-19 has added pressure to manufacturers to
reduce costs and increase precision. Though still nascent, light-based
manufacturing may one day help address these challenges across a broad range of
industries.
What is light-based manufacturing?
Light-based manufacturing is an emerging technology in which light is used to
manipulate tiny fragments of material suspended in a liquid. These fragments
are then heated to fuse them together, creating a finished product.
The process is entirely contact-free, which could make it well-suited for the
manufacturing of highly sensitive electrical components, such as
microprocessors. The technique was pioneered by researchers in Dr. Steven
Neale’s Micromanipulation Research Group at the University of Glasgow.
Light-based manufacturing relies on an advanced optical trapping technique
known as “optoelectronic tweezers” to hold and manipulate small objects
suspended in the liquid.
“The forces formed by these
optoelectronic tweezers have been compared to Star-Trek like tractor beams that
can move objects through a medium with nothing touching them. This conjures up
images of assembly lines with no robotic arms. Instead, discrete components assemble
themselves almost magically as they are guided by the patterns of light.” — Dr.
Steven Neale, University of Glasgow
The tweezers themselves are formed by a layer of silicon that creates an
electrical field in the areas exposed to light, which reacts with particles or
beads suspended in the liquid above the silicon. This technique allows for the
manipulation of particles measuring as small as a nanometer — less than half
the diameter of a strand of human DNA.
How light-based manufacturing is changing component assembly
Although light-based manufacturing shows promise for applications in the
semiconductor and microprocessor industries, it is still an experimental
technology in the early stages of R&D and is not yet being used
commercially. However, researchers around the world are already beginning to
unlock the potential of light-based manufacturing.
Hayden Taylor, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the
University of California, Berkeley, is working on a technique known as computed
axial lithography, which functions similarly to Neale’s method. In Taylor’s
technique, the print volume is rotated relative to the light source, allowing
for all points of a 3D object to be created simultaneously rather than
sequentially.
Neale and his team are also researching the potential use of light-based
manufacturing in the production of high energy density capacitors as an
alternative to conventional batteries in mobile devices.
Others are exploring using optoelectronic tweezers in biotechnological applications,
such as the manipulation of individual cells. Dr. Shuailong Zhang, a former
member of Neale’s group in Glasgow, and researchers at the University of
Toronto have developed an optoelectronic microbot for planned use in
biotechnological research and drug delivery.
The microbot can be programmed to perform a range of actions at sub-millimeter
dimensions, including the isolation of individual cells, the control of
cell-to-cell interactions, and RNA sequencing.
Challenges and opportunities in light-based manufacturing
Aside from potential applications in the production of intricate electronic
components, light-based manufacturing has the touted advantage of helping to
reduce costs in mass-production environments. The use of optical tweezers could
allow for faster, easier manipulation of tiny parts and, in some cases, could
eliminate the need for costly robotic machinery to precisely move and solder
individual components.
“Optoelectronic tweezers are
cost-effective and allow parallel micromanipulation of particles. In principle,
we can move 10,000 beads at the same time. Combining this with our
freeze-drying approach creates a very inexpensive platform that is suitable for
use in mass production.” — Dr. Shuailong Zhang, University of Toronto
However, while the technique itself may prove cost-effective in the mass
production of microscopic electrical components, existing factories cannot be
easily modified or reconfigured to shift from traditional mechanized assembly
lines to light-based manufacturing techniques. This may slow adoption of the
tech even as it becomes more capable.
5. Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology — the science of working with matter at the molecular scale
— has long been a mainstay of science fiction. But in recent years,
nanotechnology has led to the production of new types of products in industries
ranging from textiles to surgical medicine.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, some researchers are even turning to nanotechnology
to help manufacture products to combat infectious diseases.
What is nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of scientific
disciplines focused on the manipulation of matter at the atomic, subatomic, and
molecular levels. It is sometimes conflated with nanorobotics, a specialized
subset of nanotechnology focusing on the development of microscopic robots.
There are 2 primary approaches to using nanotechnology in manufacturing
(nanomanufacturing): top-down and bottom-up.
As the names imply, one technique is reductive, and the other is additive. In
top-down nanomanufacturing, a larger block of material is systematically
reduced until only the finished microscopic product remains. In bottom-up
nanomanufacturing, components and products are built by gradually adding
atomic- and molecular-level particles until the product is finished, in an
iterative fashion analogous to traditional 3D printing.
How nanotechnology is changing what can be made
There are already dozens of everyday applications of nanotechnology across a
range of sectors. Chemical manufacturers rely on nanocatalysts to create
chemical reactions necessary to produce certain products, such as creating
biodiesel from waste cooking oil. The automotive and aerospace manufacturing
sectors make extensive use of nanocomposite coatings to reduce surface
corrosion. Researchers are also using carbon nanotubes to improve water
filtration systems.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, some nanotechnologists are examining ways
in which nanoparticles can be used to create more effective protective equipment
for medical personnel and frontline workers.
For example, researchers at KAIST in South Korea have developed a nanofiber
technology that could improve the efficacy of medical face masks. Common face
masks, such as the N95 masks typically used by medical professionals, are
single-use only — the masks lose some of their protective properties when
exposed to water, making them difficult to clean.
The team of scientists at KAIST, led by professor Il-Doo Kim, claim that their
nanofiber mask fabric can effectively filter fine particulate matter even after
being hand-washed more than 20 times.
Professor Il-Doo Kim of KAIST demonstrates his team’s nanofiber fabric for
medical face masks. Source: KAIST
Nanomanufacturing is also being used for other preventative measures to control
the spread of Covid-19. Researchers at Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology (HKUST) developed an antiviral coating using nanotechnology that
releases disinfectant over time from millions of microscopic nanocapsules.
Researchers claim the coating, which can be applied to surfaces via an aerosol
spray, can offer antimicrobial protection for up to 90 days after application.
Challenges and opportunities in nanotechnology
The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated a global need for inexpensive, easily
manufactured, high-quality medical equipment to fight sudden outbreaks of
disease. Many countries, including the US, have struggled with chronic
shortages of PPE, and the efficacy of some of the PPE that medical
professionals do have has been called into question by frontline medical staff
and policymakers alike.
Nanotechnology may seem an unlikely solution to combat pathogens, but such
approaches could become increasingly necessary as bacteria develop greater
microbial resistance to antibiotics and even alcohol-based disinfectants.
Challenges relating to scaling nanomanufacturing for mass production could
hinder its broader adoption across the manufacturing landscape — though its
role in niche applications and in enabling the production of new types of
intricate products is set to keep growing.
source: https://www.cbinsights.com/research/emerging-tech-reshape-manufacturing-post-covid-19/
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How GE, the World’s Most Active Industrial Internet of Things
Investor, Uses CB Insights To Stay on Top
of IIoT Startups & Trends
To meet the challenge of
managing knowledge around IIoT and accelerate internal collaboration, GE uses
CB Insights. GE saw the potential of IIoT before virtually anyone else. And it
was critical they did. For GE, a market leader in a diverse array of business
lines ranging from jet engines to medical imaging to transportation, the
productivity and revenue opportunities that IIoT unlocks are massive. GE saw
the opportunity for IIoT technologies early. Through M&A, partnerships and
investments, they excel at using startups and emerging tech companies as a way
to bring this innovation to their organization. Notably, they’ve:
• Acquired LM Wind Power for $1.65B in
October 2016 to bring their app capabilities to turbines.
• Invested in companies like Maana and
Mocana, which develop unique
technologies related to manufacturing, big data and cybersecurity.
• Acquired ServiceMax and Meridium to
accelerate its industrial app portfolio; acquired Wise.io and BitStew to
strengthen its Predix platform.
The organization’s commitment to IIoT manifests itself in two groups with
distinct but complementary goals to bring innovation to GE:
• GE Ventures — Offers entrepreneurs
and startups access to GE’s expertise,
resources and capital to accelerate startup growth.
• GE Digital — Connects software, apps
and analytics to industrial businesses,
enabling them to operate faster, smarter
and more efficiently.
Both GE Ventures and GE Digital are charged with keeping tabs on IIoT and also
in sharing that knowledge within their teams and across the organization. Even
in a visionary organization, knowledge management was a challenge. In a space
growing as rapidly as IIoT and in an organization as expansive as GE, the
discovery of companies and trends and associated discussion and collaboration
among teams became incredibly important.
Historically, in order to track and discuss startup companies, GE Ventures and
GE Digital team members relied on a mix of email, spreadsheets and offline
conversations. But managing knowledge within two fast growing teams and across
the enterprise in this manner presented ongoing challenges:
• Spreadsheet lists of companies were static unless manually updated and in a
space growing as fast as IIoT, static doesn’t work.
• Discussion of specific companies or trends was happening in email and offline
which means that there was no aggregated
view of these discussions.
• Spreadsheets and email make it
difficult to onboard people from around the organization which both GE Ventures
and GE Digital are trying to enable.
GE was unwilling to accept the limitations presented by traditional
communications methods and looked for a better solution to meet their needs.
Their biggest ideas deserved better. GE required a solution that would help
bolster and maintain its knowledge of the rapidly evolving IIoT space, while
also providing a centralized way for team members to collaborate and manage
knowledge. Here, GE turned to CB Insights and our Collections capability, often
dubbed a CRM for Innovation, to solve these challenges. First, the GE team
cloned the Industrial Internet of Things Expert Collection that the CB Insights
research team had
GE used CB Insights to transform how its teams collaborate. Just two months
after adoption, GE Ventures and GE Digital have successfully added 15283
companies to its Collections, continuing to ensure its expertise in the IIoT
landscape while easily communicating insights and sharing ideas across the
enterprise. As a power user of Collections, GE team members are in close
contact with the CB Insights Product leaders driving the Collections
experience. “Our team is aggressively out in the market looking for and talking
to industrial internet companies. And as a result, we see lots of very
interesting companies daily. But with that volume, it was becoming increasingly
important for us to keep that knowledge somewhere so we could share it both internally,
with our GE Ventures colleagues and ultimately across the enterprise,” said
Sanjay Kacholiya, MD, Corporate Development at GE Digital. “As a result, our
team was quick to adopt Collections and take advantage of the improved
collaboration that it enables. It has also already proven very useful in
keeping us better informed and organized about the IIoT industry.”
source: https://www.cbinsights.com/case-studies/GE.pdf
///////
Oct 15, 2015
CB Insights:
Predicting Startup Unicorns And Mastering Big Data Analytics For Private
Companies
Gil Press Senior Contributor
Enterprise & Cloud
[ EXCERPTS ]
CB Insights is riding the Unicorn Boom, doubling its headcount since the
beginning of the year, propelled by its unique database of companies and
investors and everything there is to know about them. The frequency of
“according to CB Insights” appearing in a wide range of media outlets has gone
up dramatically this year. The fast-growing subscriber list for its engaging
newsletter, bursting with visually-appealing data nuggets and topical analysis,
is now at more than 100,000. Recently, it has supplied the New York Times with
a list of the “50 Companies That May Be the Next Start-Up Unicorns.”
Doing M&As for American Express and managing, among other things,
investments in companies trying to disrupt AmEx, Anand Sanwal, CB Insights’
co-founder and CEO found out how difficult it was to use traditional
information providers such as Dow Jones and Thomson (“their products, in one
word, are terrible,” he says). To find out what’s going on with startups and
other private companies, people were spending a lot of time manually gathering
data by calling investors and VCs. Besides, the scope of this data collection
was severely limited by the fact that private companies do their best to keep
their financial performance private.
The answer to this need was in the explosion of publicly available data on the
Web. “Better understanding private companies by using public information was
the germ of the idea for CB Insights,” says Sanwal.
So a new digital business was born. CB Insights uses big data tools to automate
the data collection, crawling about 100,000 sources daily, and big data
algorithms to analyze the data about investors, companies, and industries. Most
important, it identifies and tracks the publicly available signals that serve
as good indicators of the health of private companies, e.g., hiring statistics
from job boards, news and sentiment about the news, and information about new
partners and customers. “I don’t think any of these [signals] is going to be
independently a smoking gun,” says Sanwal. “We build this mosaic of a private
company that’s instructive in understanding its health.” Doing it since 2009,
CB Insights has amassed a large historical record that allows it to pinpoint
which signals are strong (serving as valid indicators of a company’s success or
failure) and which are weak.
The Unicorn Boom has provided a lot of opportunities for CB Insights to
demonstrate their predictive analytics skills and get lots of free publicity,
although hunting unicorns is a very insignificant part of the business.
That vision was behind the development of a predictive analytics platform on
top of high-quality database, serving as the foundation from which to launch a
variety of applications or services targeted at specific audiences and
needs. In addition to a
subscription-based access to its database, CB Insights has offered so far
applications and tools for assessing the health of private companies and investors,
mapping the links between investors and companies, tracking valuation and
valuation multiples data, monitoring the health and growth potential of
markets, and industry analytics.
CB Insights aims to be “the Bloomberg for private companies,” Sanwal tells his
public audiences. But it’s more than that. “Our mantra internally is that
probability trumps punditry,” he says. “We want to take on all of those people
who make bold prognostications of where the world is going but they completely
pull it out of [thin air]. We want to use data to inform the conversation about
what’s next.”
© 2020 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicamelton/2020/07/28/meet-the-founder-betting-on-voice-and-video-comments-to-make-the-internet-a-more-empathetic-place/#24549453584c
///////
March 04, 2014 11:00 PM
CB Insights
grows the old-fashioned way
Judith Messina
[ EXCERPTS ]
CB Insights, founded by Jonathan Sherry and Anand Sanwal, crawls 100,000 Web
sources a day to uncover information about the health and wealth of private
firms.
A product of NYU-Poly's Varick Street incubator, CB Insights is riding the
big-data wave. Corporations are desperate to access and make use of the huge
amounts of data on the Internet dealing with every aspect of people's lives.
CB Insights does that by crawling 100,000 Web sources every day to uncover
information about the health and wealth of private firms: whom they hire and
fire, how much Web traffic they get, how they are portrayed in the media and so
on. It tracks venture deals and analyzes industry trends. Increasingly, it
rates the health of closely held companies using Mosaic, a proprietary product
that applies predictive algorithms to public data. Customers—from venture
capitalists to law firms to the Fortune 500 in search of sales leads—buy
industry analyses and private-company evaluations, data feeds and deal-flow
information.
Microsoft's Beti Cung this year stopped her longtime subscription to Dow Jones
Venture Source and now relies on reports from CB Insights. A director of
corporate strategy for the software giant, Ms. Cung has been using CB Insights
for about three years, originally as part of a team that was looking to partner
with early-stage companies. Now she uses CB Insights reports to let higher-ups
know about emerging trends and interesting companies that "might signal a
shift in technology" or require them to reallocate resources.
source: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140305/TECHNOLOGY/140309956/cb-insights-grows-the-old-fashioned-way
///////
CIO Journal
Startup Funding
Dwindles Due to Coronavirus Slowdown
Big companies that count on startup acquisitions as a form of
R&D face smaller pipeline of promising technology ventures
March 25, 2020
[ EXCERPTS ]
Early-stage funding for startups is drying up as the coronavirus outbreak puts
investors on edge, spelling trouble for large corporations looking to snatch up
innovative technology and talent.
Capital from seed-stage funding, often the first significant source of cash for
new ventures, has declined by about 22% globally since January, according to an
analysis this week by CB Insights, a market-intelligence company.
The company puts total private-market funding for startups at $67 billion in
the first quarter, down from an initial forecast of $77 billion.
The declines are expected to be especially sharp for startups in hard-hit
sectors, such as retail, travel and hospitality, said Anand Sanwal, CB
Insights’ chief executive. Startups developing capabilities in areas such as
telehealth, autonomous delivery, disease diagnosis and virtual learning are
likely to fare better, he said.
Startups are a major source of emerging technology and skilled workers for
large companies, which have been on a shopping spree in recent years for
promising ventures—especially those developing advanced information-technology
tools, such as data analytics, artificial intelligence and robotic process
automation.
Without funding, many startups will fail before catching the eye of corporate
buyers, leaving a critical gap in the technology development ecosystem, industry
analysts say. Startups also help nurture tech talent, which has been in short
supply in recent years.
Mark Schneider, chairman of New York Angels, an early-stage investment group,
said roughly half of its members plan to decrease investments in startups that
aren’t already in their portfolios, while 5% said they would cease investing
altogether.
“Fortune 500 companies need these new
technologies more than ever,” Jonathan Lehr, general partner at
enterprise-technology venture-capital fund Work-Bench, said, citing continued
corporate demand in areas such as document automation and customer management
software, among others.
Write to Angus Loten at angus.loten@wsj.com
source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/startup-funding-dwindles-due-to-coronavirus-slowdown-11585175702
///////
ENSURING THE WORLD’S
SMARTEST ORGANIZATIONS ACCESS THE BEST STARTUPS
Background
In 2010, CB Insights approached the National Science Foundation with the idea
that we could use publicly available information and a variety of non-traditional
signals to assess the health of private companies.
Having worked at American Express before, our founders had seen the challenges
of assessing the health of smaller private companies (a.k.a. “thin file”
companies). We believed we could use the vast amounts of unstructured and
semi-structured information that is being created to better understand the
health of these opaque companies.
We proposed using machine learning and advanced language processing techniques
to build a system that would solve for these challenges. The NSF provided
several grants to CB Insights to develop this technology.
With NSF support, we worked towards a model dubbed Mosaic that would aggregate
and synthesize information about these companies from disparate sources and
programmatically assess the health of startups.
Think of Mosaic as a FICO score for startups. By using Mosaic, capital,
partnerships, talent, time, and attention would flow to the right companies,
thereby minimizing misallocations of these resources.
To illustrate the power of Mosaic, we worked with The New York Times to predict
50 future unicorns (companies that would eventually be valued at $1 billion or
more) back in 2015. As of early 2019, 24 of them have hit that mark (48%).
If we were a venture firm, this kind of hit rate would make us legendary. Our
secret weapon has been Mosaic.
What is mosaic?
Mosaic is a quantitative framework to measure the overall health and growth
potential of private companies using non-traditional signals.
The Mosaic score is comprised of 3 individual models — what we call the 3 M’s,
each relying on different signals (although all the signals utilized are not
revealed for obvious reasons).
Market
The quality of the market or industry a company competes in is critical. If you
are part of a hot industry, that serves as a tailwind to push you along.
Conversely, being in an out of favor space means fewer investors, partners,
media, and more.
The market model looks at the number of companies in an industry, the financing
and exit momentum in the space, and the overall quality and quantity of
investors participating in that industry.
Money
The money model assesses the financial health of a company, i.e. is it going to
run out of money? Our model looks at burn rate, the quality of the investors
and syndicate that may be part of the company, its financing position relative
to industry peers & competitors, and more.
Momentum
The final model is momentum, where we look at a variety of volume and frequency
signals including social media, news/media, sentiment, and partnership &
customer momentum.
We look at these on an absolute and relative basis vs. peers/industry
comparables. The relative piece is critical as it ensures that, for example,
enterprise software companies who may get less media attention or who spend
less time on social media are not penalized versus consumer-focused tech
companies.
How do our customers use mosaic?
Corporate Innovation
Pinpoint fast-growing private companies to understand viable business models,
products, and technologies
Corporate Strategy
See fast-growing markets and industries before anyone else to inform executives
on strategic decisions
Competitive Intel / Market Research
Assess the health of startups competing in your industry to advise your build,
buy, or partner strategy
Corporate Development and M&A
Monitor the health and growth potential of possible acquisition targets as part
of your due diligence process
Corporate Venture Capital
Identify the startups with the highest growth potential to satisfy your
corporate investment philosophy
Backed by the National Science Foundation
It is worth noting that this is a very hard problem to solve and one we’ve been
tackling for years. And it is also a very important one. Private companies,
especially those in high growth sectors, are the lifeblood of our economy and
massive drivers of employment, innovation and commerce. Increasing their access
to opportunities is a good thing for society.
Going forward, we look to integrate even more data signals into our Mosaic
models for additional nuance and precision. To battle the inherent opacity
challenge, we have developed and will continue to develop tools that ensure
companies are putting the most accurate view of their performance in front of
investors, customers, partners, and more. Currently, tens of thousands of
companies and investors already update their data via The Editor.
We’re excited to extend the work we’ve done with Mosaic so far to demystify the
health of emerging tech companies even further.
source: https://www.cbinsights.com/company-mosaic
///////
Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian,
Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean
Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he
performed for Aramco.
Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/ for continuing tips on effective online
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Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com with questions on research, training, or
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