States gear up to work on AI
Startup policy outlook under second Trump term
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.
Engine's Startup Policy Agenda for 2023 highlights the voices of those startup companies, investors, and support organizations as they discuss in their own words the obstacles they face and the ways policies have helped and hurt them. We hope it serves as a high-level overview of the issues we hear about from startups every day and a jumping off point for policymakers looking to support the technology industry's small businesses.
The Big Story: U.S. moves forward on AI policy, resources for startups. This week, two federal entities released materials to bolster research and responsible development of Artificial Intelligence, which are or will be made available to startups. The National AI Research Resource Task Force released its final report to the president and Congress recommending the creation of a National AI Research Resource (NAIRR), and that startups be primary users of that resource. And the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework, a voluntary guide for companies—including startups—as they develop AI technologies. Both developments were spurred by the National AI Initiative Act of 2020 which passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act that year.
Global Response Systems ("GRS") provides physicians, dentists, chiropractors, and urgent care clinics with HIPPA-compliant communications tools such as messaging solutions and secure file sharing. We sat down with CEO Joshua Denhardt to get a sense of current interoperability between electronic medical record systems, his experience building a company headquartered in rural Wyoming, and the importance of net neutrality for startups.
The startup ecosystem is an interdependent system of startups, support organizations, investors, service providers, and others working to support startup growth and success through the provision of guidance, capital, and other critical resources. Each of these components is critical to the success of individual startup ecosystems all across the country and the growth of the overall U.S. startup ecosystem.
The Big Story: Supreme Court hears about the value of Section 230 for startups, Internet creators. The Supreme Court received dozens of briefs this week in support of Section 230, including one Engine signed explaining how the law supports startups and small Internet platforms and another that Engine helped organize about the ways Internet creators benefit from Section 230. The briefs come as the court considers Gonzalez v. Google and the applicability of Section 230—the 1996 law that enables Internet platforms to host user content without fear of ruinous litigation.
After many encounters with financial advisors who failed to understand her on a cultural and personal level, Tani Chambers wanted to create a judgment-free space for Black women to achieve their wealth goals. As Founder and CEO of RAVN, a wealth-planning platform that matches women with finance professionals and peer accountability groups based on their values and goals, she’s done just that. We spoke with Tani about her background, how RAVN operates within state-based privacy frameworks, and how policymakers can step in to make capital access more equitable for startups.
Internet creators, storytellers, educators, authors, artists, and more joined together in defense of a foundational Internet law currently being challenged in front of the Supreme Court. Through its Digital Entrepreneur Project, Engine helped organize a first-of-its-kind brief filed with the court today, arguing that Section 230 has helped make it possible for anyone, anywhere in the world to launch and grow a business and build an audience online.
"Section 230 has led to so much of the creativity and innovation on the Internet today. While it's easy to focus on how the law impacts large companies, every startup that hosts user content and every creator and digital entrepreneur that uses the Internet to share content and build an audience needs Section 230. Their perspectives should be front and center for policymakers and the court as it considers this case."
The Big Story: President Biden’s new tech priorities, and their impact on startups. President Joe Biden outlined a series of proposed changes to tech policy, including several likely to impact startups. In an op-ed this week, the president highlighted common ground with Republicans about perceived issues wrought by large tech companies, but each of the issues—data privacy, intermediary liability, and competition—also directly impact startups. As the president and Congress chart a path forward, it’s important they recognize how legislative decisions impact smaller businesses and startups when considering tech policy.
Throughout his time working with environmental, social, and governance data in the finance industry, George Lee knew there had to be a better way to manage and analyze the data than manual entry spreadsheets. Now he’s the Founder & CEO of Hydrus.ai—a startup working to tackle that challenge. We spoke with George to learn more about the Hydrus platform, his experience working with internationally-based employees and clients, and what policymakers should keep front of mind while thinking about developing technologies.
The Big Story: Congress off to rocky start while 2023 startup policy to-do list grows. The 118th Congress is off to a rough start this week as the House remains unable to move forward until they elect a Speaker, which doesn’t bode well for the long and growing list of startup priorities that Congress should act on this year. Those priorities, including key startup issues, like access to talent, broadband availability, and data privacy, must move through a Congress that appears as fraught as ever.
Premier pet tech industry leader Petcube keeps owners connected to their pets by providing cameras that offer real-time video monitoring and other interactive features. We spoke to Co-Founder Andrey Klen on the impact of being a Ukrainian-founded company, their experience fighting abusive patent assertions, and how they’ve navigated various privacy rules, both in the U.S. and abroad.
The Big Story: Independent contractor proposed rule risks startup growth. More than two dozen startups and ecosystem support organizations are warning policymakers about a proposed change that would impact access to flexible talent. In comments this week to the Department of Labor (DOL), Engine and 28 members of the startup ecosystem spotlighted the important role independent contractors play in the startup ecosystem and the likely negative impact on innovation if startups’ ability to hire contract labor is restricted.
The Big Story: Digital Services Taxes passed on to end users, including startups. Efforts to implement a global tax deal that would help avoid sector-specific taxes on digital services ran into additional roadblocks this week. The development follows new government reports confirming that the digital services taxes (DSTs)—which are often imposed upon large technology companies—are actually paid by their end users. As a result, startups, who often build their companies with services from other large tech firms, can face increased costs to building and growing their businesses.
The Big Story: Time is running out for Congress to save imperiled immigration program. As the end of the year quickly approaches—and with it, the end of this session of Congress—the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) remains uncertain. DACA recipients play a key role in the startup ecosystem as entrepreneurs and STEM talent. Without Congressional action, the future of the program will likely end up in the hands of the Supreme Court, which could invalidate the program. Senate Democrats are pushing to provide permanent status for Dreamers before that happens.
After building her own medical practice, Dr. Renee Dua has relied on that experience to found and grow two innovative tech startups in the healthcare space. The company she currently leads, Renee, as Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, provides members with a generic medication subscription service as well as an automated health assistant to support the care of elderly or sick individuals. We spoke with Renee about the important healthcare access benefits of her caregiving platform, the lessons she has learned about navigating the fundraising ecosystem as a two-time company founder, and why companies, as well as policymakers, need to be thoughtful in how they approach automated systems.
The Big Story: Online sales tax back in the spotlight with watchdog report. A government agency is recommending that Congress address the patchwork of state laws that govern online sales taxes, an issue that has burdened e-commerce businesses, including many startups. In a new report this week, the Government Accountability Office examined the “substantial uncertainty” and complexity of the current remote sales tax landscape and recommended that Congress work with states to streamline requirements and minimize the burdens currently imposed on businesses across the country.
Lofty is a blockchain-based investment platform making it easy for anyone in the world to diversify into real estate. CEO & Co-Founder Jerry Chu spoke with us about his experiences as a Canadian growing a U.S.-based business, his journey raising capital, and the ways in which policymakers can craft policy to support the responsible growth of emerging technologies.
The Big Story: Affirmative Action cases will impact innovation ecosystem. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases that could upend race-conscious admissions policies used by many universities and alter the pipeline for STEM talent in the innovation ecosystem. Eliminating the ability to consider race in college admissions would have an outsized impact on on-campus diversity, the racial and ethnic diversity of many employers hiring college-educated talent throughout the country, and the makeup of the startup ecosystem and the breadth of innovation it produces.
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