Future Tech, Blog
Min Jung
AI Essentials: How do neural networks work?

Before policymakers regulate AI, they need to understand a fundamental technology: neural networks.

AI Essentials: How do neural networks work?
@Engine, Weekly Digest, Digest, Privacy & Data Security, Access to Capital, Talent, Future Tech, Tax & Trade, Open Internet, Telecom
The Engine Team
Startup News Digest 07/12/24

Congress needs to act on child care challenges

Startup News Digest 07/12/24
#StartupsEverywhere
Min Jun Jung
#StartupsEverywhere: Green Bay, Wis.

The video game industry is concentrated in a handful of locations, leaving incredible talent in underserved areas frequently overlooked. Ben Kvalo started Midwest Games to change that narrative, supporting underrepresented game developers because increasing diversity in game development leads to better products and bigger markets. Ben recently joined us to talk about Midwest Games, the challenges of raising capital in the Midwest, the importance of small developers in maintaining a healthy video game ecosystem, and the potential benefits of AI for the industry.

#StartupsEverywhere: Green Bay, Wis.
Filings, Statements & Releases, Intermediary Liability
The Engine Team
Engine statement on SCOTUS Decision in Moody v. ...

Engine statement on SCOTUS Decision in Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton

Engine statement on SCOTUS Decision in Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton
#StartupsEverywhere
Imani Webb
#StartupsEverywhere: San Diego, Calif.

Consumer weather models are too coarse for farms and conservancies that are large enough to occupy their own microclimates. Dr. Carlos Gaitan started Benchmark Labs to solve this problem, leveraging artificial intelligence to create custom weather models for farmers and conservators—helping them increase their crop yield and better manage their land. Carlos recently sat down with us to discuss Benchmark Labs, his experience as an immigrant founder, the value of government funding for startups, and how policymakers should approach AI policy. 

#StartupsEverywhere: San Diego, Calif.
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Startup News Digest 12/11/20

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Startup News Digest 12/11/20

The Big Story: Congress must act after Privacy Shield rollback leaves startups without certainty. A Senate panel held a hearing this week to examine ways of creating a new transatlantic data transfer pact after Europe’s top court struck down the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield earlier this year. The cross-border data pact allowed U.S. companies to process and store European users’ data in America, and the rollback of the agreement is already having adverse effects for thousands of startups and tech companies.

#StartupsEverywhere: San Francisco, Calif.

#StartupsEverywhere: San Francisco, Calif.

Fiskkit provides users a platform to engage granularly with online content, discuss important topics together, and present accurate, valid, and relevant evidence to counter misinformation on the Internet. Users can comment on and critique articles line-by-line, identifying what is true, false, well-reasoned, or unsound. Through this engagement, Founder and CEO John Pettus thinks that Fiskkit can promote critical thinking and civility in our discourse. We recently spoke to John to learn more about Fiskkit, how startups can benefit from a wider array of corporate structures, the importance of intermediary liability frameworks, the value of balanced copyright laws, and his vision for Fiskkit moving forward.

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Digital Services Taxes Will Harm Startups Across the World

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Digital Services Taxes Will Harm Startups Across the World

TLDR: As intergovernmental organizations and countries continue to discuss implementing their own digital services tax (DST) frameworks on multinational Internet companies, France has notified large online platforms that they must begin paying the country’s levy this month while Canada recently announced plans to impose its own DST. Although most DSTs under consideration—as well as those that have already been implemented—target large, mostly U.S.-based tech companies, the startup community remains concerned that the burden of the taxes will be passed on to smaller companies and users in the form of increased costs for products and services.

Startup News Digest 12/04/20

Startup News Digest 12/04/20

The Big Story: Courts deal blows to White House policies limiting foreign-born talent. Two court rulings this week struck serious blows to the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict legal immigration and limit U.S. companies’ access to foreign-born talent. But while the incoming Biden administration is likely to reverse course on many of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, entrepreneurs and U.S. tech companies remain concerned about the White House’s ongoing efforts to clamp down on visa programs for high-skilled workers—like H-1B visas—that are vital to the U.S. tech sector.

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Engine Asks Supreme Court To Ensure That the Patent Review Process Remains Available To Startups

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Engine Asks Supreme Court To Ensure That the Patent Review Process Remains Available To Startups

Engine and the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court this week in United States v. Arthrex Inc. asking the Court to reconsider a Federal Circuit decision last year that found that administrative patent judges (APJs) of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) were unconstitutionally appointed.

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Engine Submits Comments To USPTO on Proposed Changes That Would Weaken Patent Review

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Engine Submits Comments To USPTO on Proposed Changes That Would Weaken Patent Review

Engine submitted comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week in response to the agency’s request for comment concerning the exercise of discretion to deny inter partes review (IPR) petitions. IPR makes it easier for startups and other small businesses to push back against frivolous lawsuits brought by patent trolls, but the USPTO’s proposal would codify current policies and practices that weaken the patent review process. This would make it more difficult for startups to challenge low-quality patents and open the door to further abusive litigation.

#StartupsEverywhere: Las Vegas, Nev.

#StartupsEverywhere: Las Vegas, Nev.

Based in Las Vegas, Door to Door Health is an early-stage healthcare startup that’s using technology integrated with in-person medical care to improve primary medical care services for lower-income households. We spoke with David Crane—the CEO of Door to Door Health—to learn more about his startup’s mission, how technology can be used to improve healthcare, and the steps that policymakers can take to incentivize more private investments in startups.

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Last Minute Moves on Section 230 Would Be Selling Out Startups

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Last Minute Moves on Section 230 Would Be Selling Out Startups

TLDR: As the year winds down, Republican policymakers are making multiple eleventh-hour attempts to undermine a foundational Internet law that has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump in the lead up to and aftermath of the 2020 election. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to consider a bill to reform Section 230—the law that creates intermediary liability limitations for online services that host user-generated content—and the Trump administration is reportedly threatening to veto the annual defense authorization bill if it does not include Section 230 reforms.

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Limiting High-Skilled Visas Hurts U.S. Startups

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Limiting High-Skilled Visas Hurts U.S. Startups

TLDR: As the technology industry looks to President-elect Joe Biden to overturn the Trump administration’s immigration policies limiting access to high-skilled foreign talent, startups are continuing to pressure Congress to defend and expand the H-1B visa program. Tech companies rely upon the contributions of high-skilled foreign-born workers to drive innovation, but limiting access to this talent—particularly during the pandemic—could harm the long-term growth of U.S. startups.

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Startup News Digest 11/20/20

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Startup News Digest 11/20/20

The Big Story: FCC opens up unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi. The Federal Communications Commission voted this week to free up spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use, a move that will add 45 MHz to the 5GHz spectrum band currently used for Wi-Fi networks. The spectrum had been allocated to the U.S. Department of Transportation nearly two decades ago but had been largely unused. The move to open up spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band will increase Internet speeds and connectivity once devices are able to support it, largely because it’s near the portion of the 5GHz band already used for Wi-Fi. And, as FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly noted in a statement, “most equipment will be able to take advantage of this spectrum with only a quick software upgrade.”

#StartupsEverywhere: Broomfield, Colo.

#StartupsEverywhere: Broomfield, Colo.

Broomfield-based startup niolabs provides a platform for users and companies to create, design, and deploy their own distributed computing systems. We recently spoke with niolabs’ CEO, Doug Standley, to learn more about the startup’s work, the importance of application programming interfaces (APIs) and interoperability, and how policymakers can work to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on early-stage companies.

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Despite Big Tech Focus, Startups Stand to Lose in 230 Debate

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Despite Big Tech Focus, Startups Stand to Lose in 230 Debate

TLDR: A Senate panel is holding a hearing this morning with the CEOs of Facebook and Twitter to discuss Section 230 and allegations of political bias in the context of the 2020 presidential election. Although policymakers are continuing to scrutinize Section 230 because of supposed censorship by the largest tech companies, any changes to the law would have an outsized impact on U.S. startups that rely on the bedrock Internet law in order to host and moderate user content without the fear of potentially crippling lawsuits.

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Startup News Digest 11/13/20

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Startup News Digest 11/13/20

The Big Story: Recognizing the contributions of veteran entrepreneurs. Each year, almost 200,000 service members transition to civilian life. Armed with leadership skills, technical knowledge, and problem-solving capabilities, many of these veterans choose to launch their own startups and small businesses as a way of using their military experience to further serve the public good. In fact, the U.S. Small Business Administration has found that veterans “are at least 45 percent more likely than those with no active duty military experience to be self-employed.” With more than 2.5 million U.S. businesses owned by veterans—approximately 9.1 percent of the nation’s private sector companies—it is especially critical that these entrepreneurs and founders receive the attention and support that they need to thrive. As we reflect on Veterans Day and the contributions of those who have served our country, Engine wanted to take the opportunity to also celebrate just some of the contributions of veteran-led startups across the United States.

#StartupsEverywhere: San Francisco, Calif.

#StartupsEverywhere: San Francisco, Calif.

Shift is a platform that provides current and former members of the U.S. military with the resources, guidance, and immersive experiences needed to advance their careers. We recently spoke with Mike Slagh, the CEO of Shift, to learn more about the startup’s work with veterans and service members, the importance of investment in talent and nascent technologies, and the criticality of veterans as a talent pool in the future economy.

#StartupsEverywhere: Warner Robins, Ga.

#StartupsEverywhere: Warner Robins, Ga.

Infiltron is a veteran-founded startup that uses software and other solutions to safeguard personal information—especially biometric data and data on Internet-connected devices—from outside intrusion. We recently spoke with Infiltron’s Founder and CTO, Chasity Wright, to learn more about her startup’s work, how her experience in the Air Force shaped her entrepreneurial journey, and how her company is working to mitigate some of the risks and concerns associated with the use of facial recognition.

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Congress Turns Attention Back to COVID Relief During Lame-Duck Session

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Congress Turns Attention Back to COVID Relief During Lame-Duck Session

TLDR: As Congress returns to work following President-elect Joe Biden’s victory last week, policymakers may finally be turning their attention back to providing economic relief to Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Small businesses and U.S. workers have already waited months for policymakers to offer a viable stimulus package, and it’s well past time for lawmakers to unite behind a proposal that provides long-term support for the nation’s startup ecosystem.

#StartupsEverywhere: Fresno, Calif.

#StartupsEverywhere: Fresno, Calif.

Fresno-based startup BeeHero uses sensors and machine learning to monitor the health of beehives and help farmers maximize their crop yields by tracking the pollination process. We spoke with BeeHero CEO and Co-Founder Omer Davidi to learn more about his startup’s work, how the pandemic has upended the farming industry, and why it’s important for policymakers to provide access to the capital startups need to reach consumers and hone their products.

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Engine Asks Supreme Court To Curtail Doctrine That Lets Low-Quality Patents Stand

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Engine Asks Supreme Court To Curtail Doctrine That Lets Low-Quality Patents Stand

Engine submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court this week asking the Court to reconsider the broad doctrine of “assignor estoppel,” which limits the ability of companies—especially startups—to challenge the validity of certain low-quality patents asserted against them.

 

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