Humans don’t make very good multitaskers, but the same isn’t true for AI
Court hears arguments on net neutrality
Executive coaching should be accessible to anyone who is interested, but oftentimes scaling the education is not practical. With her company Zella Life, co-founder Remy Meraz is democratizing professional development using AI. We sat down with her to discuss AI, independent contractors, and more.
After working in the financial sector for over 20 years, Mical Jeanlys-White founded her own company, WealthMore, a wealth tech with a focus on tackling a key financial barrier—wealth building and management. Her company leverages technology to connect everyday Americans with accessible wealth management services, aiming to provide wealth creation for all. We sat down with her to discuss her journey in raising capital, navigating tax policy, the evolving role of AI, and more.
Vance Reavie is no stranger to entrepreneurship. Using his knowledge from previous ventures, he created an AI platform that intelligently automates manual marketing and merchandising workflows and content generation processes for brands and retailers. We sat down with Vance to discuss the startup ecosystem in Arkansas, AI policy and regulation, grant opportunities, and more.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Markup LLC is reinventing the way lawmakers draft, record, and analyze public policy. We spoke with the Co-Founder of Markup LLC, Andrew Baluch, to learn about his startup’s work in the public policy space, how the pandemic has shifted Congress’s processes, and some of the ways that lawmakers can be more efficient through the use of technology.
The Big Story: Lawmakers consider SHOP SAFE Act despite outsized impact on e-commerce startups. This week, lawmakers examined the recently reintroduced SHOP SAFE Act, which would place high compliance burdens on e-commerce startups with the goal of deterring trademark infringement. The bill was the subject of yesterday’s hearing held by the House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
OPT Industries is an additive manufacturing and 3D printing company that is working to take innovative technologies to scale for mass production of an array of products. We spoke with Jifei Ou—Founder and CEO of OPT Industries—to learn about the technology OPT has developed, his experiences navigating the immigration system as a startup founder, and how the U.S. can better incentivize entrepreneurship in the manufacturing industry.
The Big Story: As broadband subsidy program ramps up, lawmakers eye next steps. The need for universal broadband was back in the spotlight this week as lawmakers discussed the impacts of the digital divide, especially during the pandemic. At a hearing Tuesday, the House Appropriations subcommittee on financial services and general government examined the impact a lack of affordable, reliable broadband has, especially on rural communities and communities of color.
Anne Kim—Co-Founder and CEO of Secure AI Labs (SAIL)—is a researcher at heart. While working through her graduate studies, Kim discovered a significant obstacle to her research in her efforts to obtain patient data from hospitals. This led her to the concept of SAIL, a data management platform that focuses on the need for accessible yet secure medical data. We sat down with Kim to hear what brought her to develop the platform, her thoughts on how startups and policymakers can be more forward thinking about privacy policy, and how she thinks the government can provide startups a boost as a partner and customer.
The Big Story: Endless Frontier Act advances through key Senate Committee with changes. The Senate Commerce Committee voted this week to advance a pared down version of the Endless Frontier Act, clearing it’s path for a floor vote. The bill would invest funds to prioritize research into advanced technologies and would authorize $10 billion to create at least ten regional technology hubs. While the original iteration of the legislation directed $100 billion over five years to the bill’s newly created tech directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF), after amendment, much of this funding would be directed to other NSF activities, with a portion of funds marked toward the directorate to be diverted to the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories.
Nombolo is a social media platform that enables users to engage with one another in real time, to answer questions and share experiences through geo-positioned videos and requests. We spoke with Prince Mlaudzi—Founder and CEO of Nombolo—to learn how he developed the idea for the platform from his love of basketball, the challenges he faces as a small platform developing systems for responsible content moderation, and how the government can do more to support underrepresented founders.
“The White House’s decision to formally withdraw the previous administration’s proposed removal of the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) is a victory for foreign-born entrepreneurs looking to launch high-growth, job-creating companies in America. The IER signals to entrepreneurs across the world that our country is a place where their innovative ideas are welcome, allowing the U.S. to remain a global hub of innovation and competitiveness.”
The Big Story: Spotlight back on content moderation as Facebook upholds Trump ban. Internet companies' content moderation decisions are back in the spotlight this week as Facebook’s oversight board—a panel of journalists, activists, and lawyers that reviews the company’s content decisions—announced that former President Donald Trump should remain suspended from the platform, prompting criticism and threats of legislation from Republicans in Congress. Facebook banned Trump in January after the insurrection attempt on January 6th, citing the ongoing risk of political violence. The board also said that Facebook was wrong to impose an indefinite ban and called for the company to decide in the next six months whether to restore Trump’s account, permanently remove him from the platform, or suspend him for a specific timeframe.
Onfleet is a tech startup that uses logistics management software and route optimization to power last mile delivery services for thousands of companies across a wide range of industries. We recently spoke with Mikel Carmenes Cavia—Onfleet’s Co-Founder and VP of Engineering—to learn more about his company’s work optimizing last mile delivery operations, policy concerns related to the legal delivery of cannabis, and how a European court decision last year invalidating the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield has impacted their business.
TLDR: As federal officials hold hearings on potential action against countries that have enacted their own digital services taxes (DSTs), U.S. startups remain concerned that they could be affected by the digital levies in the form of higher costs for needed services, or even subjected to the new taxes themselves. Rather than imposing unilateral DSTs that harm startup growth, countries and global officials should work to reach a uniform digital tax framework that provides certainty for Internet companies of all sizes.
The Big Story: Biden unveils plan to invest billions in education, child care. President Joe Biden unveiled an ambitious $1.8 trillion proposal—known as the American Families Plan—that would, in part, give Americans expanded access to education, create a federal paid family and medical leave program, and extend the expanded child tax credit included in last month’s stimulus package. In a speech before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Biden said the plan—along with his proposed $2 trillion infrastructure package—would help keep the U.S. at the forefront of global competitiveness.
Jean Anne Booth is a serial entrepreneur who came out of retirement when she and her mother realized an unmet need for technology to promote both safety and independence in aging populations. Based in Austin, Texas, Booth founded UnaliWear and developed the Kanega Watch to provide vulnerable individuals and their families better alternatives to live with the dignity and support they deserve. We spoke with Booth to learn more about her company, the prospects for funding medtech development, and her experience with the U.S. patent system.
Last month, Engine joined an amicus brief in a case at the intersection of intermediary liability and intellectual property law. In Hepp v. Facebook, a plaintiff argued photos of her were taken and posted without her consent, in violation of Pennsylvania’s right of publicity law. And on the theory that state right of publicity claims constitute “intellectual property,” she sought to hold Facebook, Reddit, Imgur, and other platforms liable for those user-generated posts.
TLDR: Across the country, small- and medium-sized companies rely on and benefit from balanced and certain intellectual property (IP) laws to innovate and build better businesses. That’s why this week’s celebration of World Intellectual Property Day provides a timely opportunity for U.S. policymakers to better appreciate the importance of such balance and certainty when crafting policy that applies to the emerging startups that are critical hubs of global innovation.
The Big Story: New Engine report assesses the nation’s startup ecosystem. Engine, with support from the Charles Koch Institute and data prepared and analyzed by Startup Genome, released a new report this week examining trends in the startup ecosystem. The report—"The State of the Startup Ecosystem”—evaluates startup fundraising trends, assesses individual U.S. ecosystems, analyzes startup exits, and contextualizes the capital needs of investor-backed startups.
Mycroft AI offers open-source voice assistant technology that can be integrated into all types of third-party hardware, from desktop computers to automobiles. We recently spoke with Joshua Montgomery, the Founder of Mycroft AI, to learn more about the need for patent reforms to reduce abusive litigation, the intersection between user privacy and open-source AI development, and how Mycroft AI will contribute to the growing voice assistant market.
Today, Engine, along with the Charles Koch Institute and Startup Genome, issued a report looking at the overall health of the startup ecosystem. We hope this report can serve as a resource for policymakers considering a wide range of policy issues that impact early-stage companies across the country.
TLDR: A key Senate panel is holding a hearing tomorrow to discuss ways to improve diversity within the U.S. patent system. As entrepreneurs across the country call on the government to support more diversity in innovation, and with the country continuing to confront systemic inequities, policymakers must work to ensure that increasing diversity in innovation—both inside and especially outside the patent system—remains a central component of their work.
The Big Story: Bipartisan bill would boost U.S. tech investments, R&D funding. A key Senate panel held a hearing this week to discuss bipartisan legislation meant to bolster the U.S. technology sector against the growing threat of competition from China. Members of the Senate Commerce Committee used Wednesday’s hearing to discuss how the bill, known as the Endless Frontier Act, would provide long-term investments in research and development, entrepreneurship, and technological advancements in order to solidify America’s leadership in the global innovation economy.
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