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Sequoia’s Split Sends Warning to Every Company

Plus: GameStop shares fall more than 20% after big executive shakeup

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Cash Nut
June 08, 2023

In Today’s Edition

  • NASA spends $45M to seed tech from hundreds of space businesses

  • Sequoia’s Split Sends Warning to Every Company Doing US-China Business

  • GameStop shares fall more than 20% after big executive shakeup

  • Boeing sued over alleged theft of IP, counterfeiting of tools used on NASA projects

  • DeepMind AI creates algorithms that sort data faster than those built by people

  • Apple’s new Proton-like tool can run Windows games on a Mac

  • Self-healing code is the future of software development

🚀Startups Nuts

NASA is granting funds to hundreds of small aerospace businesses as part of a wider government program to seed cutting-edge American enterprises. 249 small businesses and 39 research institutions received $150,000 for a total investment of $45 million. While the reward is a signal that NASA may be interested in purchasing technology from these companies in the future, there is no guarantee of a contract. Companies that are successful during the first phase of the program may apply for larger grants in subsequent phases.

Sequoia Capital's plan to split itself into three separate regional firms is a major shift for one of the world's leading venture capital firms. It highlights the impact of rising political tensions between the US and China. Sequoia has been criticized for its Chinese investments. US law could soon curtail US investments in foreign entities. Sequoia's split will be functionally complete by the end of the year, with names and branding updated by the end of next March.

🏭Business Nuts

GameStop fired CEO Matthew Furlong and appointed Ryan Cohen as executive chairman. The company didn’t provide a reason for the termination. Shares of the video game company dropped more than 20% in premarket trading Thursday.

Wilson Aerospace, a family-run tools company based in Colorado, is suing Boeing for a wide range of claims concerning allegedly stolen intellectual property. The complaint alleges that Wilson’s tools were used for NASA projects including the International Space Station and its Space Launch Systems rocket, and that counterfeit Boeing versions led to leaks that “put lives at risk.” A Boeing spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC that Wilson’s “lawsuit is rife with inaccuracies and omissions.”

📱Tech Nuts

AlphaDev, an AI system based on DeepMind's AlphaZero AI, can create algorithms that sort data up to three times as fast as human-generated algorithms. The system has created algorithms that are already part of two standard C++ coding libraries. AlphaDev was trained to compare values, move values between locations, and jump to different parts of the program. It was rewarded based on correctness and speed. The DeepMind team plans to apply AlphaZero-style algorithms to more kinds of problems, including hardware design.

Apple's new Game Porting Toolkit will make it easier and quicker for developers to port Windows games to Mac. It uses a Proton-like environment that translates and runs the latest DirectX Windows games on macOS. Developers can use the tool to launch an unmodified version of a Windows game on a Mac to see how well it runs before fully porting the game. Most unoptimized games will likely run into performance issues and bugs.

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🎁Miscellaneous

This article looks at how several companies are using AI for software development. Large language models can improve their output through self-reflection. A growing body of research is showing that a more guided auto-regressive approach to using LLMs can lead to better outcomes. The ability of LLMs to quickly produce large amounts of code will mean that there will be a need for better quality control procedures. Some companies are already using AIs to check code for accuracy, security, and speed.

💡What else are we reading and seeing?

  • HSBC says rebranded Silicon Valley Bank UK will maintain startup focus

  • They fled San Francisco, then the AI boom pulled them back

  • Ray Dalio says US at beginning of late, big-cycle debt crisis

  • Crypto is Gen Z’s most common investment

😎Fun Fact

The world's first paper money was introduced in China over 1,000 years ago during the Tang Dynasty.

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