Deeptech, Luke Skywalker or Darth Vadar?
This month I explore the rise of deeptech and what we can learn from history as we embark on a scientific journey with unlimited power…..
By Kajal Sanghrajka, @kajalnyclon
THE CREATOR OR DESTROYER OF WORLDS?
For new readers, welcome to the 2019 Transatlantic Post a monthly editorial on innovation, startups and cities. With occasional British satire by Kajal
After travelling to and writing about 20+ startup ecosystems now, I read with great curiosity the recent release of the Global Startup Ecosystem 2019 report by Startup Genome which ranks ecosystems and gives insights into growing areas of innovation. Unsurprisingly, the well known superstar cities came out top of the rankings: — Silicon Valley, New York, London, Beijing and Boston. But the superstar cities of the future will in part be determined by their capacity for innovation in deeptech. The term deeptech was coined in 2014 by Swati Chaturvedi, founder of Propel(x), a deeptech angel investing platform. Deeptech companies are defined as those founded on a scientific discovery or meaningful engineering innovation and often require tangible IP. Deeptech encompasses life sciences, robotics and AI.
The Rise of #Deeptech
A major theme of the Startup Genome Report was the rise of the deeptech sector. Graphs don’t typically make the hairs on the back of one’s neck stand up. But this one did due to the scale of acceleration of startups growing and being funded in this sector. And often the power and expertise are in the hands of a few.
While many of these deeptech innovations will be a force of good, for example new medical devices enhancing mobility or data analytics to support sustainable agriculture, deeptech dark forces exist in tandem.
….. will it be the Creator or Destroyer of Worlds?
To better understand where original forces of good for scientific discovery can end up — lets go back in time to the Atomic Bomb.
Nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer pulled together a team of scientists to test the possibilities of building a nuclear bomb as part of the “Manhattan Project”. Across the country more than 120,000 people worked on the project.
The bomb was originally designed to be used on Nazi Germany, but Germany surrendered before the bombs were ready. In 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombs killed over 200,000 people in seconds. The speed and intensity in which it did frightened its own creators.
Oppenheimer became more reflective of his work over time and alluded to the fact that scientists were so keen to see if the bomb was scientifically possible that they never asked whether it should be created in the first place.
Apocalypses and Ethics
Perhaps history hints at why Elon Musk has been one of AI’s most vocal critics and on a crusade to stop the AI apocalypse.
Last year in Davos, I had a chance to speak with leading professor on AI Ethics Joanna Bryson who is also part of the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial intelligence. My concern was how governments, ethics committees and regulatory bodies could keep up with the pace of change. Bryson argues that the great ethical questions people are asking about AI are actually just great ethical questions about humanity and about society. The only difference now is that the decision is mass produced so we have to make up our minds about what is the ‘right’ course of action.
As the deeptech sector and AI in particular advances, the good news is that AI Ethics around these topics is becoming a core part of the school curriculum, raising awareness for students and teachers alike. It is necessary to have this education early on but of course it is not sufficient. We will inevitably need to do more to keep the balance between the Luke Skywalkers and Darth Vaders.
The New Yorker in me feels I should end this piece on a happier note, and the Londoner in me fervently resists. This 1 minute video of the Cure might give you a glimpse of these Transatlantic tensions. Only time will tell which side of Deeptech will win, in the meantime we’d be wise to learn from history and understand the indomitable power of the scientific journey we are embarking on….
We’ll be taking a short summer hiatus but will see you at the end of July, until next time…
“We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.”
― J. Robert Oppenheimer
Sincerely yours,
Kajal
t: @kajalnyclon | w: transatlanticpost.com
NEWS FROM THE COMMUNITY
A few weeks ago, I was on the judging panel at the David Walsh scholarships pitch night at Kings College London. Incredible to see how far London student entrepreneurship has come and a quick lowdown on the winners below.
Matt Waugh from LiveMore who looks at the benefits of exercise on mental health, Hazel and Christopher Reynolds who create family card games, including the well known ‘Randomise’ at GamelyGames, Louise who is a neuroscientist and founded Nurture which creates brain stimulating environments for new born babies. BlackBallad, a lifestyle subscription that looks at empowering black women in the media, this platform was co-founded by Tobi Oredein and Bola Awoniyi and Mamoq a store that focuses on ethical consumption co-founded by Madeline Petrow and Lenny Leeman.
One of our readers, Craig Montouri who is the founder of Global EIR, a programme that supports international student entrepreneurs just published a piece in HBR on how to better attract startups to cities. Read more below in our featured articles.
Do you have some news to share on innovation, startups across cities in the US or Europe? Please send an email to lgrace@thepocketva.com.
GLOBAL STARTUP ECOSYSTEM REPORT 2019
In this report, leading ecosystems were ranked according to 7 criteria Performance, Funding, Market Research, Connectedness, Talent, Experience, and Knowledge. As well as the superstar cities of today, it also looks at who will be the next 30 top ecosystems with the concept of challenger cities who are rising not to be the next silicon valley but something entirely different by virtue of core strengths in specific innovation clusters. The report also highlights the downsides of growing innovation ecosystems — unprecedented wealth and continued inequality.
STARTUP GENOME »
UK TECH ON THE GLOBAL STAGE
Technation have released their 2019 Tech Nation Report, but this year technation have switched it up and explored the UK in the wider international landscape. The report highlights where the UK is positioned in the world of tech start-ups, investment and growth. Technation give greater context on the micro-sectors within the tech industry and identify where in these the UK is thriving. One key statistic of the report states, that the UK is the global leader in fintech, with firms achieving £4.5bn between 2015–18. Have a read here, to find out more about UK tech on the global stage.
HOW TO ATTRACT STARTUPS WITHOUT TAX BREAKS
Cities and regions need to move away from the subsidy incentives to attract start-ups and instead invest in start-up ecosystem infrastructure. The article looks at three ways business leaders can leverage underutilised community resources and economic growth — 1. Invest in HE institutions 2. Foster diverse communities 3. Build basic infrastructure to retain highly trained workforce. Read the article to gain a greater insight on how the 3 focus areas benefit the start-up ecosystem.
GET IN TOUCH!
- Click here to get the TP in your inbox every month.
- Follow me on twitter @Kajalnyclon.
- Learn more about my work, research and speaking topics at my website and LinkedIn
- Feedback? I’d love to hear from you, reply to this email
ABOUT THE TRANSATLANTIC POST
A monthly editorial on innovation, startups and culture across cities. With occasional British satire. Written and edited by Kajal Sanghrajka, Churchill Fellow and Founder of Growth Hub Global. For previous editions see the archive.
We take your privacy seriously and your information is not used in any other way except to send this monthly email. If you prefer not to receive it, you can unsubscribe at any time.
SUBSCRIBE » Made with ❤ from Growth-Hub.us Subscribe a friend with a link If you really hate this, unsubscribe here
