Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<keyword id="19945815" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups" source="keywords">Startups</keyword> in <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> have high expectations from this year's upcoming <keyword id="19908389" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget" source="keywords">Union Budget</keyword>. Early-age startups hope for the removal of angel taxes, while <keyword id="20677283" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-tech-startups" source="keywords">health tech startups</keyword> expect increased <keyword id="19913964" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="funding" source="keywords">funding</keyword> for the sector. Startups function as engines of economic growth, playing a crucial role in generating new jobs, ideas, products, and services. As of December 2023, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had recognised 1,17,254 startups. These startups have reportedly created over 12.42 lakh direct jobs, significantly impacting the economy. Eklavya Gupta, CEO and Co-founder of Recur Club, stated, "We are confident that India's business credit landscape is on the brink of a major digital overhaul. FinTechs are at the forefront of this change, deploying innovative technologies and utilising in-depth data analytics to streamline and expand <keyword id="20974354" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="credit-access" source="keywords">credit access</keyword>." He added, "While the current allocation of Rs 10,000 crore is an excellent initial step, realising the full capabilities of India's SME and startup ecosystem will necessitate greater investment, especially in credit guarantee schemes." Vinod K Singh, Co-Founder and CTO of Concirrus, expressed his expectations from the budget: "As the Union Budget 2024-25 approaches, we hope the government will address the pressing issue of the 'angel tax.' Eliminating this tax will enhance capital formation and attract vital <keyword id="19895633" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="investments" source="keywords">investments</keyword>. Streamlining the duty structure and reducing high tariffs on electronic inputs are also crucial to bolstering the startup ecosystem and driving innovation. Expanding the Fund of Funds and introducing low-interest loans would be beneficial." Rajiv Lamba, co-founder and CEO of AI-enabled customer feedback platform Surveysensum, added, "Just as the government has prioritised financial inclusion, it should now focus on <keyword id="22405441" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technological-inclusion" source="keywords">technological inclusion</keyword> to propel India to the next stage of growth. By training youth in AI, the government can make a strategic investment in the nation's technological future. Given the rapidly evolving job market, a substantial increase of 20 to 25 percent in budget allocation should be considered for AI-based skill development and entrepreneurship." He further emphasised, "Incentivizing investment in <keyword id="20328842" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-startups" source="keywords">AI startups</keyword> and R&amp;D initiatives can boost local innovation in the AI space. The last budget introduced a deep tech fund of Rs 1 lakh crore with a 50-year interest-free loan period; the government should now establish a clear and transparent mechanism for access to this fund." Raja S, founder and MD of Hearzap, highlighted the expectations of health tech startups: "Health tech startups are eagerly anticipating increased funding that could usher in transformative advancements. This crucial investment holds the promise of extending cutting-edge healthcare solutions to rural and underserved areas, effectively bridging existing gaps in care. The upcoming budget ensures that every individual in our diverse population, from the youngest to the oldest, can access essential health services, including specialised care." Discussing taxation for startups in India, Vvihan Gulati, Director of Mediagraphics PR, commented, "Removing the angel tax is a highly anticipated move that would benefit early-stage startups and their investors. It would foster a more favourable environment for innovation and growth, allowing startups to attract much-needed capital without the burden of excessive taxation. This change could significantly enhance the ease of doing business and contribute to the overall growth of the startup ecosystem in India." The Union Budget 2024 will be tabled on July 23 by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. With this, she will become the first Finance Minister to deliver seven consecutive budgets, surpassing Morarji Desai. She presented the interim budget on February 1 of this year.

Startups demand angel tax elimination, incentives on investments in upcoming budget

In a move reflecting shifting dynamics in the tech industry, both <keyword id="19895622" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Microsoft" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> and <keyword id="19894961" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Apple" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Apple">Apple</keyword> have decided to relinquish their observer seats on the board of <keyword id="19918823" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="OpenAI" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="OpenAI" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="OpenAI">OpenAI</keyword>, reported UK-based 'The Financial Times'. The move comes amidst reports of increased regulatory scrutiny over the involvement of tech giants in <keyword id="20328842" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-startups" source="keywords">AI startups</keyword>. Microsoft, which had invested significantly in OpenAI, including a substantial USD 13 billion investment in its generative AI <keyword id="19901571" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technology" source="keywords">technology</keyword>, ChatGPT, has announced its immediate withdrawal from its observer role on OpenAI's board. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111637913" title="Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Ring and more launched" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The decision was communicated via a letter to OpenAI, citing the company's satisfaction with the progress made by the newly formed board. Similarly, Apple, which was expected to take up a similar observer role as part of an agreement to integrate ChatGPT into its devices, has opted not to do so. Although Apple declined to comment on the matter, sources familiar with the situation indicate that the tech giant will not be taking an observer position on OpenAI's board. In response to these developments, OpenAI has announced a revised strategy for engaging with its strategic partners and investors. According to the FT report, the organization plans to hold regular meetings with partners like Microsoft and Apple, along with investors such as Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures. This shift, as explained by an OpenAI spokesperson, aims to foster a more inclusive and collaborative approach to governance and strategic decision-making. The board of OpenAI recently saw the addition of Phil Schiller, Apple's former marketing chief, as an observer, which was reported just days before these withdrawals. However, Schiller will no longer be observing OpenAI's operations, highlighting the fluidity and perhaps underlying tensions within the organization's boardroom dynamics. Analysts speculate that the decision by Microsoft and Apple to step back from their observer roles could be linked to strategic considerations or internal dynamics within OpenAI. While some suggest possible concerns over antitrust scrutiny or strategic disagreements, the exact motivations behind these decisions remain unclear. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/xiaomi-su7-with-up-to-800-km-range-showcased-in-india-but-you-cant-buy-it/slidelist/111609513.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/xiaomi-su7-with-up-to-800-km-range-showcased-in-india-but-you-cant-buy-it/slidelist/111609513.cms" target="_blank">Xiaomi SU7 with up to 800 km range showcased in India but you can’t buy it</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/redmi-13-5g-with-120hz-display-launched-in-india-starting-at-13999/articleshow/111604488.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/redmi-13-5g-with-120hz-display-launched-in-india-starting-at-13999/articleshow/111604488.cms" target="_blank">Redmi 13 5G with 120Hz display launched in India starting at ₹13,999</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/samsung-galaxy-unpacked-how-to-watch-expected-launches-and-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/111626712.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/samsung-galaxy-unpacked-how-to-watch-expected-launches-and-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/111626712.cms" target="_blank">Samsung Galaxy Unpacked – How to watch, expected launches and everything you need to know</a>

Microsoft and Apple exit observer roles on OpenAI board

Tech giant <keyword id="19910716" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IBM" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="IBM" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="IBM">IBM</keyword> on Monday announced the launch of its <keyword id="22332400" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="GenAI-Innovation-Center" source="keywords">GenAI Innovation Center</keyword> in <keyword id="19900813" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kochi" source="keywords">Kochi</keyword> which, it said, will enable enterprises, <keyword id="19945815" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups" source="keywords">startups</keyword>, and partners to explore and build generative <keyword id="20125652" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-technology" source="keywords">AI technology</keyword>. The centre will accelerate AI innovation, boost productivity and strengthen GenAI expertise in India, the company said in a release. "As organisations transition from AI experimentation to deployment for adding business value, they often find AI projects too complex or difficult to integrate due to limited skills or expertise," it said. According to the release, the centre would provide organisations with access to IBM experts and technologies geared to help build, scale and accelerate adoption of enterprise-grade AI. The centre is built on InstructLab, a new technology jointly developed by IBM and <keyword id="20245485" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Red-Hat" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Red Hat" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Red Hat">Red Hat</keyword> for enhancing Large Language Models (LLMs) with a client's own data, and will also take advantage of IBM '<keyword id="20249092" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Watsonx" source="keywords">watsonx</keyword>' AI and data platform and AI assistant technologies. The GenAI Innovation Center will be a part of the IBM India Software Lab in Kochi, and be managed by IBM's technical experts. "With access to the latest in generative AI technology, LLMs, case studies, and IBM experts, the centre will nurture a community focused on harnessing the power of generative AI to address societal and business challenges ranging from sustainability, public infrastructure, healthcare education, and inclusion," IBM said.

IBM to launch GenAI Innovation Center in Kochi

The <keyword id="19905108" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ministry-of-defence" source="keywords">Ministry of Defence</keyword> has sanctioned over Rs 300 crore through its <keyword id="20416767" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="technology-development-fund" source="keywords">Technology Development Fund</keyword> (TDF) to create an ecosystem aimed at enhancing capabilities in cutting-edge technology and promoting '<keyword id="20460685" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aatmanirbharta" source="keywords">Aatmanirbharta</keyword>' in defence, an official statement said on Thursday. The Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Defence, executed by <keyword id="19948662" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="drdo" source="keywords">DRDO</keyword> under the '<keyword id="20018809" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="make-in-india" source="keywords">Make in India</keyword>' initiative. Under this initiative, the government provides grants-in-aid to Indian industries, including <keyword id="19910977" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="msmes" source="keywords">MSMEs</keyword> and <keyword id="19945815" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups" source="keywords">startups</keyword>, as well as academic and scientific institutions, for the development of defence and dual-use technologies that are currently not available in the Indian defence industry. With these initiatives, the Ministry aims to engage private industries, especially MSMEs and startups, to foster a culture of design and development in military technology and support them with grants-in-aid. The TDF seeks to enhance the capacity and capability of Indian industries for the design and development of defence technologies in the country. It aims to create an R&amp;D ecosystem where industry and academia work together to meet the current and future requirements of the Armed Forces and the defence sector. The government aims to achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' in defence technology by building a robust defence manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The <keyword id="19910956" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="defence-ministry" source="keywords">Defence Ministry</keyword> on Wednesday highlighted several successful startups benefiting from the scheme. Pune-based startup <keyword id="22281521" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Combat-Robotics" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Combat Robotics" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Combat Robotics">Combat Robotics</keyword>, with the help of the scheme, has successfully developed an innovative simulator for <keyword id="20146841" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unmanned-vehicles" source="keywords">unmanned vehicles</keyword>. This multi-domain simulator supports unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), serving as an excellent development tool for agencies working on autonomous systems. Another Pune-based defence equipment startup, ChiStats Labs Private Limited, is developing virtual sensors for aero gas turbine engine health monitoring, which helps to increase the operational reliability and longevity of the engines. The system is built on modern artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) technologies. Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research and Technologies Pvt. Ltd., under the project titled 'Autonomous Drone as First Responder for Search and Report Operations in Enclosed/Indoor Environments', has created a cutting-edge UAV capable of exploring indoor environments under various conditions, including zero light. The success of this project will open up various applications, including search and rescue operations, surveillance, industrial inspections, environmental monitoring, and hazardous environment exploration, contributing significantly to technological advancements in unmanned aerial systems, the Ministry added. The technology has been developed under the technical guidance and mentorship of CAIR, Bengaluru.

Defence ministry allocates Rs 300 cr for technology development fund to promote Make in India products

Since 2013, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> has promised that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla">Tesla</a> will have a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/business/tesla-self-drive-car/index.html">self-driving car</a>. To get there, the company has leaned on a specialized group of test drivers who are part of what's known internally as "Project Rodeo."Test drivers on Project Rodeo say they push the company's self-driving software to its limit. They work to bridge the gap between driver-assist software and fully autonomous driving. Operating on open streets with other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians, they have tested unreleased software that will be crucial to Tesla's push into autonomous driving.Test drivers said they sometimes navigated perilous scenarios, particularly those drivers on Project Rodeo's "critical intervention" team, who say they're trained to wait as long as possible before taking over the car's controls. Tesla engineers say there's a reason for this: The longer the car continues to drive itself, the more data they have to work with. Experts in self-driving tech and safety say this type of approach could speed up the software's development but risks the safety of the test drivers and people on public roads."The idea is that you're a cowboy on a bull and you're just trying to hang on as long as you can," a former test driver who trained for the critical-intervention team in San Francisco said.Business Insider spoke with nine current and former Project Rodeo test drivers and three Autopilot engineers in states including California, Texas, and Florida. The drivers worked on training Tesla's Full Self-Driving software and its Autopilot software, which, despite the products' names, require a licensed driver at the wheel. Most asked to remain anonymous, citing a fear of professional reprisal, but their identities are known to Business Insider. Eight of the drivers described experiences that occurred over the past year, mostly between November and April.<div type="image" title="tesla cars in a parking lot" height="2827" width="4195" msid="114814069" hostid="261" sizebytes="1645262"></div>None of the test drivers who spoke with BI said they had been involved in a crash.Five who worked for the company in 2024 said they narrowly avoided collisions, including almost hitting a group of pedestrians. One former critical-intervention driver in Texas told BI that they sometimes ventured into their city's bar district late at night to see how Tesla's FSD software reacted to drunk patrons spilling out after last call. The former driver in San Francisco recalled riding around Stanford University during training, testing how close FSD would allow the vehicle to get to people at crosswalks before they had to take over. And a third critical-intervention driver said they allowed the car to speed through yellow lights and drive 35 mph under the speed limit on an expressway to avoid disengaging the system.A former Autopilot engineer told BI that while testing is done on open roads, Tesla runs hundreds of simulations and sometimes tests difficult scenarios on a closed course before rolling out new software to test drivers' vehicles.Tesla did not respond to a detailed list of questions about Project Rodeo and its self-driving technology.The test drivers' experiences highlight the balancing act Tesla and other automakers face as they prepare their self-driving software for widespread consumer use.Experts say public testing is crucial and can help identify safety issues before the technology hits the market. Missy Cummings, a former safety advisor for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said that while practices vary, she believes many autonomous-vehicle companies likely employ tactics similar to Tesla's."In theory, these drivers have gone through training, and eventually these cars do need to be able to operate in the public domain," Cummings said. She added that clearly marked vehicles could help the public better identify test drivers.Safety experts say fragmented and limited autonomous-vehicle regulations, coupled with self-reporting by automakers, create a complex environment where companies balance public safety with getting their products ready for commercial use."There are very few rules around autonomous testing and a lot of dependency on self-reporting," said Mark Rosekind, a former NHTSA administrator and chief safety innovation officer for Zoox, an Amazon-owned autonomous-taxi firm. "If companies aren't reporting, it's hard to know what's going on."In the past decade, authorities have investigated several automakers, including Tesla, Waymo, and Cruise, over crashes involving self-driving or driver-assist software.<div type="image" title="elon musk looks at a tesla" height="3488" width="4868" msid="114814075" hostid="261" sizebytes="1020846"></div>A lot depends on Tesla's promise of autonomous driving; Musk said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-worth-basically-zero-without-self-driving-2022-6">in 2022</a> that self-driving was "really the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money or worth basically zero." The Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robotaxi-release-date-elon-musk-stock-price-2024-9">note</a> last month that the company's future valuation was "highly dependent on its ability to develop, manufacture, and commercialize autonomous technologies." Tesla's stock fell by 10% on October 11, the day after the company's robotaxi event. <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/tesla-stock-price-q3-earnings-elon-musk-profit-margins-guidance-2024-10">It rebounded after Tesla reported earnings on October 23</a>, and it's up by more than 3% overall in the year to date.<h2 id="e24440fb-f024-4003-b2a2-7b4d055c8c7a">Inside the day-to-day of a Project Rodeo driver</h2>Tesla went on a hiring spree this year, bringing on test drivers in at least half a dozen US cities, a review of LinkedIn profiles suggests.A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-job-openings-seasonal-test-drivers-data-capture-2023-7">job listing from 2023</a> said test drivers needed a "clean driving record, safe driving habits, and a minimum of 4 years of licensed driving experiences." Eight drivers told BI that the onboarding process included two to three weeks of hands-on training, including test drives with a trainer in the passenger seat.According to employees and internal documents, one specialty within Project Rodeo works to replicate the job of a ride-hailing driver by picking random points on a map and driving between them. Those working on a different team, known as the "golden manual" team, drive manually, without any assistance, to train FSD software on what by-the-book, error-free driving looks like.Critical-intervention test drivers, who are among Project Rodeo's most experienced, let the software continue driving even after it makes a mistake. They're trained to stage "interventions" — taking manual control of the car — only to prevent a crash, said the three critical-intervention drivers and five other drivers familiar with the team's mission. Drivers on the team and internal documents say that cars rolled through red lights, swerved into other lanes, or failed to follow posted speed limits while FSD was engaged. The drivers said they allowed FSD to remain in control during these incidents because supervisors encouraged them to try to avoid taking over.The critical-intervention drivers recalled multiple instances where they felt unsafe but believed intervening could put their jobs at risk. The former driver in Texas recalled taking over only after FSD nearly rammed the car into the side of a vehicle stopped at an intersection.Non-critical-intervention drivers said they also felt pressure to push the system as far as possible. Five current and former employees said that they were instructed to intervene if they became uncomfortable with the software's behavior but that they sometimes received feedback from their supervisors if they were considered to have disengaged too early.John Bernal, a former test driver and data analyst at Tesla, said test drivers dealt with risky situations as far back as 2022. (Bernal was terminated that year; he said he was fired for sharing videos on his YouTube channel that showed his personal Tesla malfunctioning while using FSD.) He described instances where he broke traffic laws in order to collect data. Bernal said that his supervisors never instructed him to break the law but that he sometimes felt it was the only way to get the data the company wanted.He recalled one test in 2022 that was designed to see how well the system recognized a red light."My training was to wait until the wheels touched the white line before I could slam on the brakes," Bernal said. He said he sometimes ended up in the middle of the intersection if the system didn't work correctly.He also worked to train the autonomous software on "vulnerable road users" — defined by the Department of Transportation as pedestrians, bicyclists, people on scooters or in wheelchairs, or highway workers on foot — when he manually drove the "Ground Truth Machine," a Tesla outfitted with lidar and radar sensors to help the system map and identify objects."I'd drive over double lines to get close to a bike," Bernal said. "I would go obnoxiously slow through an alleyway where drunk people were, and I would be extremely rude and get really close to people."<div type="image" title="tesla showroom with autopilot posters" height="2939" width="4200" msid="114814073" hostid="261" sizebytes="255868"></div>Two years later, test drivers were asked to train the system near pedestrians, test drivers said. Five recalled a bug with FSD that made vehicles brake too early at crosswalks. To improve its performance, they were instructed to interact with pedestrians as frequently as possible.Sometimes, the drivers said, the software would slam on the brakes when no one was at the crosswalk; other times, it wouldn't stop at all. According to Tesla employees and internal documentation, FSD's performance depended heavily on its software version, and the versions appeared to operate at different levels of caution.The former San Francisco driver said that as they drove around Stanford University, their trainer, another test operator with more experience on the team, chastised them for braking too early. They recalled that at one point they came within three feet of hitting a bicyclist at a roundabout."I vividly remember this guy jumping off his bike. He was terrified," the driver told BI. "The car lunged at him, and all I could do was stomp on the brakes." They said the trainer was pleased by the incident. "He told me, 'That was perfect.' That was exactly what they wanted me to do."The driver added that "it felt like the goal was almost to simulate a hit-or-miss accident and then prevent it at the last second."The former Autopilot engineer said it was better for training to see whether the software could correct itself. They also said that not intervening when the car acted abnormally — including veering into another lane or doing something that confuses another driver — was important for training. Human motorists don't always drive rationally, they explained, and the software needs to know how to respond. It's also easier to parse the data if there are fewer driver interventions, they said."At the critical juncture where it's about to make the key decision," they said, it's helpful to see whether the software makes the right or wrong call. "We want the data to know what led the car to that decision," the engineer said. "If you keep intervening too early, we don't really get to the exact moment where we're like, OK, we understand what happened."<h2 id="52098605-f887-4702-a6ab-cf47e173ce28">A 'Wild West' with little regulation</h2>Tesla is one of many automakers attempting to make autonomous vehicles a reality. Waymo, backed by Alphabet, launched the first driverless taxi service in Phoenix in 2020."In many ways, it's like the Wild West out there," said Cummings, the former NHTSA safety advisor. "There is very little regulation around training or informing the public about testing."The stakes of data collection on public roads are high. In 2018, a self-driving Uber with a person behind the wheel struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. Cruise paused testing after one of its driverless vehicles hit a pedestrian in October 2023. Another vehicle had already hit the pedestrian when the Cruise car struck her, dragging her 20 feet before stopping. It <a target="_blank" href="https://www.getcruise.com/news/blog/2024/cruise-resumes-manual-driving-as-next-step-in-return-to-driverless-mission/">resumed testing</a> with safety drivers in some cities in May.<div type="image" title="waymo self driving taxi interior with pedestrians outside" height="4000" width="6000" msid="114814077" hostid="261" sizebytes="568560"></div>Two former Waymo employees said that they had a team similar to Tesla's critical-intervention team but that Waymo's version of critical-intervention testing was limited to closed tracks with dummies. Two former Cruise employees said that they had mapping teams and teams that tested on closed courses and public roads but that, unlike at Tesla, those teams were instructed to take over as soon as the software went off track, and they typically tested with at least two people in the car.A Waymo spokesperson said the company's safety framework included rigorous testing in controlled environments and on public roads. A Cruise spokesperson said the company's vehicles were designed as fully autonomous systems and were therefore fundamentally different from Tesla's driver-assistance technologies.Philip Koopman, an autonomous-driving expert at Carnegie Mellon University, said that Tesla's critical-intervention approach, as described to him by BI, was "irresponsible" and that the company should be playing out all "critical scenarios" on a closed course."By allowing the software to continue misbehaving to the point a test driver needs to avoid a crash, Tesla would be imposing a risk on other road users who have not agreed to serve as test subjects," Koopman said.Alex Roy, a general partner at NIVC and a former director of operations at the autonomous-driving startup Argo AI, said companies should be correcting the software as soon as it strays from the course, particularly on public roads."You should play those mistakes out in a simulation, not on an open road," Roy said. "Real-world testing is necessary, but real-world mistakes are not." The former Tesla engineer said they doubted that computer simulations are sophisticated enough to replicate the data generated by real-world driving. The former engineer said that, to help the software improve, it was best for test drivers to avoid intervening whenever possible."If you have a parent that's holding the bike the entire time, it never gets to learn," the engineer said.Test drivers on Project Rodeo felt this keenly."You're pretty much running on adrenaline the entire eight-hour shift," one former test driver in the Southwest said. "There's this feeling that you're on the edge of something going seriously wrong."Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:gkay@businessinsider.com">gkay@businessinsider.com</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link">248-894-6012</a>.

Inside 'Project Rodeo,' the Tesla effort pushing the limits of self-driving technology

For Saumya Bhatnagar, being the only woman in a room is far from a novel experience. An engineer by training and currently the co-founder and chief product officer at AI sales rep startup Jeeva, she remembers being the sole girl in her high school's 170-person <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/5-tips-women-career-coding-twilio-2020-8">coding class</a> — and that none of her male peers would sit next to her."I had to make space for myself, and there were plenty of micro and macro aggressions in the grand scheme of things that I had to talk my way through," she told Business Insider. "At the end of the day, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-left-out-of-the-ai-investment-boom-risks-bias-2023-10">it's a man's world</a> in the VC, startups, and AI space."Bhatnagar isn't alone in her journey. Although the number of women-founded startups has increased, less than 3% of venture capital funding went to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/venture-capital-decline-hurts-female-founders-gender-gap-startup-funding-2023-12">female-only founding teams</a> in 2022, according to PitchBook.A handful of women who are well-known as leaders in the AI space — including "Godmother of AI" <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-like-khosla-and-a16z-backing-robotics-that-use-ai-2024-7">Fei Fei Li</a>, Anthropic president and co-founder Daniela Amodei, and OpenAI's former chief technology officer Mira Murati. But others building startups report facing various gender-related obstacles to success, including bias in the fundraising process, limited mentorship opportunities, and difficulty building meaningful business relationships with men.In the AI sector specifically, which has surged in popularity since the release of ChatGPT two years ago, the challenges for female founders are even more pronounced. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-18-women-who-made-partner-vc-firms-in-2023-2023-11">AI continues to attract significant VC interest</a>, but women in the space face additional barriers compared to their male counterparts, starting at the education level.While a degree in engineering or computer science isn't a requirement for launching an AI company, it's often a prerequisite for techies building foundational models to tackle complex machine-learning problems. Women accounted for just 22% of AI and computer science PhD programs in the US in 2019, according to a Deloitte study.Women in 2020 made up an estimated 26% of data and AI positions in the workforce, per a World Economic Forum report. And <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uktech.news/diversity/ai-funding-women-founders-20240319">recent data from the UK </a>shows that only about 4% of AI startups in the country have women founders.Although Bhatnagar is among the small group of women in the space with advanced technical chops, she says she still notices the gender imbalance in the AI world — and that it, at times, has led to her feeling impostor syndrome and burnout.Developing relationships with other women working in the AI space has become a vital lifeline, she said. An active member of online and in-person groups, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenandai.com/">Women and AI</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://thewomenweadmire.com/">Women We Admire</a>, Bhatnagar said that she's made connections that support her in navigating difficult business dynamics, connecting with female investors, and finding solace in shared experiences."Women are not comfortable asking for help, and there's this idea that perfectionism needs to be showcased at all times," she said. "Finding a community of women has helped me take risks and realize that I'm actually doing okay," she said.Vivien Ho, a partner at early-stage fund Pear VC, has watched the meteoric rise of buzzy AI startups during the last two years and noticed that many are run by men, she said. But as a longtime community builder in the Bay Area tech scene, this didn't jive with what she was seeing on the ground. There were plenty of women interested in building AI companies, she said. Many just didn't know how to start.This observation was the catalyst for the Female Founder Circles, a community for women engineers interested in building AI startups. Each FFC cycle welcomes a cohort of around 50 women for two months of programming that includes fireside chats with existing female AI founders, company-building workshops with Pear investment partners, and other in-person events designed to help women build meaningful relationships with one another, such as pitch competitions, spa days, and public speaking practice.Demand for FFC has exploded, Ho said, with more than 500 women applying for the most recent cohort that kicked off last month. And the program has already been a success: more than 70% of participants end up incorporating their startups, and at least five women have matched with another female co-founder in their cohort, she said."Three of our FFC founders have already raised Series Bs, which is pretty incredible," Ho told BI. "We first meet them, and they're really shy, and then three years later, they're running a 100-person company and making eight figures. It's incredible to see how we can build a community that makes a difference."As women in AI create opportunities that could help them succeed, their work parallels women in another once-white-hot subsector of the startup world: at the height of the crypto craze, female-led blockchain startups earned about 6.4% of venture dollars in the third quarter of 2022, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bitget.com/blog/articles/bitget-report-the-gender-gap-in-blockchain-startup-funding-press-release">according to data from Bitget</a>.Funding in the space has dropped off dramatically during the last two years, and women continue to struggle when it comes to connecting with investors and closing rounds, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/08/29/what-web3-data-reveals-about-gender-inequality-in-the-crypto-industry/">Forbes recently reported</a>.For Shreya Rajpal, Pear VC's FFC was one of the first times she felt genuine, positive support from the people around her. As a software engineer who cut her teeth in startups and on Apple's machine learning initiatives, she was accustomed to being the only woman whose work was judged with more scrutiny than that of her male coworkers."There are a lot of men who aren't very supportive, and being the only woman on a team means that they're often an undue level of attention on your work, so you stand out, for better or for worse," Rejpal told BI. "Pretty early on, it was obvious that I kind of needed to justify my space in the room a lot more compared to other folks."Fast forward to today, and Rajpal is the CEO and co-founder of Guardrails AI, which builds risk and reliability systems for generative AI programs. As she's progressed in her career, she's made an effort to build community with other women in tech. It's work that takes significant time, but it's been "life changing" in terms of succeeding as a founder and well worth the effort, she said.Guardrails earlier this year raised a $7.5 million seed funding round led by Zetta Venture Partners with participation from Pear, Bloomberg Beta, and GitHub Fund.In addition to participating in bigger groups like FFC, Rajpal has sought out mentorship opportunities with other women in engineering, machine learning, and project management."I became friends with a woman who is five to six years older than me and in the industry for that much longer, doing the things that I wanted to do," she said. "Hearing from her and what worked for her, in terms of changing jobs and talking to her about how she made those decisions, was the stuff that ended up being really impactful for me."Stephanie Guo, a partner at Sapphire Ventures based in San Francisco, is constantly iterating on community events for women interested in AI that strike the right balance between informational – think fireside chats and panel discussions – and informal ways for women to form connections that turn into mentor relationships.These events aren't just for would-be founders: Guo says that while the number of female-funded AI startups can sometimes seem "abysmally small," she's encouraged by the number of women who hold leadership positions at AI startups, funds, and bigger companies."We're creating both the space to have dialogue, but also a networking opportunity," Guo told BI. "These relationships stick, and there are business opportunities that actually form from them."

For women building AI startups, finding community has been the key to success

<div type="image" title="Founder Mode is the new buzzword in town" msid="113456356" hostid="261"></div> Silicon Valley is usually buzzing with new catchphrases every now and then. Earlier this year, the phrase “unbossing” captured corporate America’s imagination. The trend seems to be spreading in India as well with a few examples of companies firing middle managers. You can read more about the ‘unbossing’ trend in India here: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/article/whats-with-all-unbossing-talks-are-indian-companies-also-embracing-this-global-trend/articleshow/113395706.cms">What’s with all “Unbossing” talks?</a> Now, lo and behold, we've got a new trend straight from the minds of Silicon Valley's finest: <keyword id="23219793" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="founder-mode" source="Orion">Founder Mode</keyword>. It's like a superhero cape for CEOs but without the spandex. <keyword id="20064348" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Y-Combinator" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Y Combinator" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Y Combinator">Y Combinator</keyword> co-founder <keyword id="20555672" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paul-Graham" source="keywords">Paul Graham</keyword>, inspired by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s talk at an event, penned a blog post about Founder Mode and it got the entire startup world talking. According to Graham, when Chesky scaled Airbnb, he initially followed the widely accepted strategy: hiring skilled professionals and giving them autonomy. However, this approach felt like running a marathon in flip-flops, it simply didn’t yield the desired results. So, he decided to go full-blown "Founder Mode," which is basically being the CEO, the janitor, and the motivational speaker all at once. <div type="image" title="Paul Graham’s blog post went viral" msid="113456577" hostid="261"></div> Graham’s post points out that this experience is not unique to Chesky — many other founders have faced similar challenges and come to similar conclusions. The result is a growing recognition of ‘Founder Mode’. <h2><keyword id="23219794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="what-is-founder-mode" source="Orion">What is Founder Mode</keyword>?</h2>Founder mode is a mindset that allows entrepreneurs to remain deeply involved in their companies’ day-to-day operations, even as they scale. As we have seen in many Hollywood movies and real-world examples like Jobs, Musks, Zuckerbergs, and Murthys, founders operate (a bit too) differently from trained executives and managers. They're like the kids who built their own fort and refuse to let anyone else touch it. On a serious note, anecdotal evidence does support that founders focus on the vision, processes, and details of the business in ways that managers typically do not. Graham's post suggests that it’s a different way of running a company — one that involves a hands-on approach to leadership, where founders engage with more than just their direct reports. <div type="image" title="Founders are different from managers" msid="113456522" hostid="261"></div> Unlike traditional corporate structures, where the top management is expected to delegate and step back, Founder Mode requires more personal involvement. Basically, when the CEO of a company is in Founder Mode, where founders bypass layers of management to interact directly with lower-level employees, they can just walk over to a junior employee and ask “What’s up?”, something that <keyword id="19903807" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Elon-Musk" source="keywords">Elon Musk</keyword> reportedly has been doing for a while. One of the core aspects of Founder Mode, according to Graham, is that founders can make decisions with a level of intuition and insight that professional managers often lack. This is largely because they’ve built the company from the ground up and have an intimate understanding of its operations, culture, and customers. In contrast, professional managers are typically brought in to optimise and scale systems that are already in place, which might often lead to decisions that feel disconnected from the original vision of the company. <h2>Steve Jobs and Apple: The classic example of Founder Mode</h2> <div type="image" title="Many experts agree that Steve Jobs is a peak example of Founder Mode" msid="113456730" hostid="261"></div> A key example that Graham used is Steve Jobs, who famously ran Apple with an almost obsessive focus on product and design. Jobs didn’t simply delegate these responsibilities to his team; he was known for being involved in the minutiae, often directly challenging decisions and leading initiatives that others might consider too detailed for a CEO. Graham drew a parallel between this approach and what Chesky realised at Airbnb — that stepping back too much can actually harm the company. Founders, Graham wrote, are often “gaslit” into believing that they should adopt a more hands-off style, only to see their businesses suffer as a result. However, many experts also believe that Founder Mode is often disastrous for companies, except for rare examples, and a balance between founder and manager modes is necessary. <h2>Founder Mode VS Manager Mode: Experts weigh in on the debate</h2> <div type="image" title="Debates around Founder Mode have been rampant across social media since the beginning of this month" msid="113456800" hostid="261"></div> Debates around Founder Mode have been rampant across social media since the beginning of this month when Graham’s blog post came out. The philosophical divide between Founder Mode and Manager Mode often compels people to choose sides, while industry veterans and experts say that it’s important to understand both approaches and companies must try to achieve a balance between them. Sonica Aron, Founder of HR advisory firm Marching Sheep, recognises the importance of managers and says that it is important to have good people in the team and empower them. Talking to Business Insider India, she says, “As a founder, I find myself to be very purpose driven and passionate about my firm. As a result, sometimes decisions tend to get driven by the heart rather than the mind. Therefore it is essential to have bright and committed people in your team, empower them, involve them in decision making. Also, as the founder, I am responsible not just for the health of my business but overall well being of my team. If they do well, we all do well.” On the other hand, Mr. Srinivasa Addepalli, founder and CEO of GlobalGyan Leadership Academy, feels that the debate of Founder Mode vs Manager mode shouldn’t exist in the first place. He told Business Insider India that according to him, “all good leaders, whether startup founders or corporate executives, must be capable of both modes and switch between them depending on the context.” He added, “The Founder Mode leader tackles problems with passion and ownership, without concern for hierarchy, precedents, or due process. However, founders must remain humble about their fragility. To ensure sustainability, the Manager Mode—focused on developing others, building structures, and codifying knowledge—becomes essential, even as it requires them to relinquish some control and accept inefficiency. For instance, Steve Jobs’ decision to set up Apple University was a classic Manager Mode action by one of the best-known founders.” Ayush Singh, Founder of MaplePods, a smart-technology business, says, “Founder Mode may inspire new entrepreneurs, but seasoned founders know building something meaningful and scalable requires more than motivation—it's about solving problems, staying resilient, and seeking real support along the journey.” <h2>The downsides of Founder Mode</h2>While there are many people who believe that entering Founder Mode is healthy, some experts argue otherwise. They say that since founders are deeply connected to their vision, staying too hands-on can lead to micromanagement and hinder the growth of a leadership team. This creates a culture of dependency and can cause chaos when a founder steps into too many areas, leading to inefficiency and fear among employees. Mr. Ankit Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Unstop, told Business Insider India, “While Founder Mode can foster an entrepreneurial culture and drive rapid growth, it comes with significant challenges related to scalability, accountability, and founder burnout. As companies scale, Founder Mode can lead to bottlenecks, as founders may find it difficult to delegate. This limits the development of a strong leadership team and may stifle creativity from other employees.” Further, he adds that intense involvement can lead to founder burnout, negatively affecting both the individual and the company. “In the long run, while Founder Mode may work for early-stage <keyword id="6362513" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups" source="Orion">startups</keyword>, founders must recognise when to step back and 'devolve'. Devolving to allow the company to grow through more traditional structures, without succumbing to excess hierarchy. Balancing innovation with scalability is key to long-term success, allowing founders to focus on strategy while empowering their teams.” Meanwhile, Aleksandr Yampolskiy, cofounder and CEO of SecurityScorecard, said in a LinkedIn article that the Founder Mode has both pros and cons. He highlighted the value of founder mode in providing visionary leadership and empowering CEOs to challenge their teams and boards when necessary. However, Yampolskiy also wrote that overstepping and micromanaging can create chaos and a culture of fear. He said that founders must learn to evolve with the company’s growth, delegating and making themselves dispensable over time. <h2> Why are people talking about Founder Mode now?</h2> <div type="image" title="Why are people talking about Founder Mode?" msid="113456851" hostid="261"></div> So, why did Graham’s blog post go viral and why are people talking about Founder mode? Discussions around Founder Mode vs Manager Mode might have been around for a long time, but Graham’s post helped a great deal in popularising the confusion that millions of founders go through. Risa Mish, a management professor at Cornell University’s Johnson College of Business, told Observer that it is “no surprise that Graham’s message has resonated with founders for whom the conventional wisdom hasn’t worked.” “It comes down to something very basic, which is that one size never fits all.” Do you have insights or personal experience to share on start-ups or latest corporate buzzwords? Contact us at businessinsider@timesinternet.in.

SIMPLY PUT: Founder Mode — the secret sauce to startup success or fancy term for hustle and micromanagement?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Playground, a preschool software startup, was founded by Sasha Reiss and the Andrews brothers.</li><li>More Gen Zs are jumping on the "friendpreneur" trend and launching startups with friends.</li></ul>Sasha Reiss and brothers Daniel and Josh Andrews met over a decade ago in high school. From an early age, the trio worked well together — and now, in their mid-20s, they are in business together. "Sasha was basically our mom's third son," Daniel Andrews told Business Insider. "Growing up, we all worked in my mom's preschool — and the three of us realized we could help our family run the place better with technological improvements."The Andrews had a strong technical background, with degrees in computer science and engineering, while Reiss had expertise in design. Together, they founded and launched Playground, a preschool software management startup that handles everything from registration and payroll to attendance. The startup has raised $3.4 million since its launch in 2020.The trio are part of a growing 'friendpreneur' trend that's particularly popular among Gen Zs. Research published in July and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.photoroom.com/blog/friendpreneurship">commissioned by AI photo app Photoroom</a> — which surveyed 6,000 respondents across the US, UK, Mexico, Brazil, Korea, and Japan — found that more Gen Zs are launching startups with their friends. Around 60% of Gen Z founders who were surveyed had involved their friends in the business, compared to 42% of millennials and 21% of Gen X and boomers.Reiss and the Andrews brothers said that working together as friends has elevated their relationship and provided advantages for their business. <h2 id="be0a5052-7c57-40ad-91a9-166f00f692d9">Working as friends has streamlined communication</h2>The trio said they find it easier to discuss business decisions honestly because they are used to organically communicating with one another."We're each other's biggest fans, but we're also each other's biggest critics," Daniel Andrews said. "So we could take really intense feedback incredibly well, and we're able to turn things that might come off as a little bit rude into something more constructive because we can read between the lines, having just been knowing each other so long.""We've been able to operate significantly faster and be honest with each other because we have that initial layer and unconditional love for each other," Reiss added.Spending so much time together has also proven to be a business boon."I've been living with Sasha for four years, and it's pretty much a 24-hour cycle of hanging out minus sleep," Josh Andrews said. "But it's created a really good feedback loop where we take work home, but we also know how to have that separation when we leave the office."Reiss said that having an aligned schedule has also helped the three get "ideas flowing naturally" outside an office setting."I think a lot of our best ideas were made maybe at a bar getting a drink, or at a restaurant just getting dinner, and you're not even thinking about work — and I think that's a big reason why we come up with a lot of novel ideas for our visits," Daniel Andrews said.He added that their "shared life experience" has made them more empathetic and understanding of each other."We have had a lot of family health issues over the last couple of years as we've been on this journey," he told BI. "Being a first-time founder, it is incredibly beneficial to work with friends and family who can step up and take on that work. The lowest points definitely feel a lot less low when you have these kinds of people around you."<h2 id="eeb845a6-cb5e-4c5a-9973-27ffeddff013">Pick friends wisely </h2>Working with friends also poses its own challenges."We have similar backgrounds in similar skill sets, and so intentionally seeking out hires that bring a diverse background that's very different than ours has been much more important for us," Daniel Andrews said.Being a part of the same friend group can also pose logistical roadblocks. The trio often get invites to the same holidays or events — sometimes resulting in an "out of office" from all three."We've definitely navigated that by having people stay behind; we'd be like, okay we can't all leave right now," Josh Andrews said.While the trio is enthusiastic about the concept of launching a company as friends, they agree it's only worthwhile if they bring out the best in each other."If you have friends that you find that are like slowing you down, or like trying to distract you, or other things, those might not be the best friends to launch a startup with," Daniel Andrews said."But there are those friends who are always pushing me to run harder, do that extra like hike, run that mile faster."Those are the people that you really want to engage and work on something with. And I think selectively picking up friends who are available and those who are trying to push you to be better is the correct path forward," he added.

What it's like to launch a startup with friends, according to 3 Gen Z cofounders who created a childcare startup together

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ukraine's drone units are operating more like scrappy startups than traditional military units.</li><li>The Wall Street Journal visited a battalion that was formed by unpaid civilians but has evolved.</li></ul>Some of Ukraine's drone units are operating more like edgy tech start-ups than military units, as they continue to play an oversized role in the country's military defenses.According to a report by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/ukraine-gamers-drone-pilots-russia-85a1af3b?mod=hp_lead_pos82&amp;mod=hp_lead_pos8">The Wall Street Journal</a>, drone pilots are now the deadliest soldiers on the modern battlefield. And the way they operated is far from traditional military approaches.The Journal met with Clear Eyes, a drone battalion that started out as unpaid civilian enthusiasts relying on commercial drones to track Russian military movements.The battalion's headquarters now has workshops for engineers, a pilot-training school, as well as a ping-pong table.Meanwhile, the group uses houses in eastern Ukraine as bomb factories and tech hubs to modify Soviet-era rocket-propelled grenades and upgrade Russian glide bombs to create larger munitions for their drones.Heorhiy Volkov, 37, the owner of a marketing agency who leads the battalion, sometimes gives the impression of heading a startup rather than a military unit, according to the Journal.Volkov said the key to success is innovation, logistics, and communications, as well as solid military tactics."One good pilot doesn't change anything," he said, adding: "We are a team of civilians who want to kill Russians with our cleverness and technology."The Journal reported that the majority of personnel in Ukrainian drone units never served in the military before, and largely ignore aspects of ranks, including saluting and waiting for orders.Since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has turned to drones to try to give it an edge against Russia's larger military.Ukraine has used drones to conduct strikes on Russian <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-air-defenses-cant-stop-ukraine-from-striking-deep-intel-2024-9">ammunition depots</a>, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-attacks-russian-energy-infrastructure-small-cheap-drones-2024-1">gas</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/one-drone-liutyi-behind-majority-ukraine-attacks-russia-oil-facilities-2024-5">oil</a> facilities deep inside Russia, eroding Russia's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-strikes-ammo-depots-impacting-russia-weaponry-advantage-experts-2024-10">artillery advantage</a>.Earlier this year it used unconventional strategies and innovative naval technologies, including <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-says-sea-baby-drones-hit-russia-ships-anywhere-black-sea-2024-7">sea drones</a>, to go after Russia's Black Sea Fleet, forcing it to relocate away from its Crimea headquarters.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-ukraine-night-attack-russia-position-flaming-dragon-drone-2024-9">In September, nighttime</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-ukrainian-dragon-drone-appears-destroy-russian-tank-2024-10">footage</a> released by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-fiery-dragon-drones-aim-strike-terror-russia-soldiers-experts-2024-9">Ukraine</a> showed "dragon drones" dropping molten material on Russian positions, likely as part of efforts to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-fiery-dragon-drones-aim-strike-terror-russia-soldiers-experts-2024-9">instill fear</a> in Russian troops.The Journal also interviewed Oleksandr Dakhno, a 29-year-old former director of a coworking space.Dakhno is now a drone pilot who claims to have killed about 300 Russian soldiers in a year and a half, and to have once flown a drone with a 9-pound bomb into a school auditorium where Russian soldiers were sheltering.In October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country can now produce 4 million drones a year, and is ramping up production."In extremely difficult conditions of the full-scale war under constant Russian strikes, Ukrainians were able to build a virtually new defense industry," he added.

Ukraine's drone teams are operating more like tech startups than military units

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Happy Veterans Day, and thanks to all those who have served! Diet starts Monday, as they say, so why not take some advice from Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees. He spoke to Business Insider about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drew-brees-simple-wellness-rules-2024-11">five simple wellness rules he lives by</a>.In today's big story, Silicon Valley is getting excited about what Donald Trump's second term <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-could-help-deregulate-tech-amid-a-trump-victory-2024-11">could mean for its businesses</a>.What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: The Wall Streeters advising Trump's transition team <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-advisor-trump-lutnick-schwarzman-warsh-federal-reserve-2024-11">on key economic appointments</a>.</li><li>Tech: Check out our Tesla salary database that shows how Elon Musk courts 'hardcore' workers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-salary-database-elon-musk-pay-strategy-2024-11">with potentially lucrative stock grants</a>.</li><li>Business: The anxiety over high prices has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-saving-inflation-cost-of-living-crisis-investing-401k-pensions-2024-11">some Americans oversaving</a>.</li></ul>But first, time to get things going again.If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><h3 id="7fa5f018-5b05-4a37-a8dc-d3f89138bcb3">The big story</h3><h2 id="5fd547b9-ec52-41fc-8e08-4f4b27dd8097">United States of Startups</h2><div type="image" title="Photo illustration of laptop, stacks of coins, stars and stripes" height="960" width="1920" msid="115186105" hostid="261" sizebytes="101980"></div>The startup community is ready to be let off its leash.VCs and founders are hopeful about what they anticipate to be a much looser environment for building and dealmaking under President-elect Donald Trump.Tech was always viewed as a beneficiary of the deregulation expected in Trump's second term. But Elon Musk potentially playing a role in the Trump administration means <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-could-help-deregulate-tech-amid-a-trump-victory-2024-11">Silicon Valley could benefit even more</a>, writes Business Insider's Samantha Stokes, Riddhi Kanetkar, and Helen Li.One VC compared Musk streamlining the government to a "chainsaw through calcified butter."Even those who weren't rooting for Trump <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-trump-return-startups-venture-capital-2024-11">see benefits to a potential hands-off approach to their space</a>, which has faced turmoil in recent years.After years of big funding rounds, high-profile deals, and flashy IPOs, the startup environment has been much more rocky recently. There are many reasons for that — high interest rates, an uncertain economy, the market being somewhat overvalued — but a Biden administration that took a hard line on M&amp;A played a key role.FTC commissioner Lina Khan's attempt to block multiple deals has chilled the industry. Acquisitions are startups' most viable exit opportunity with the IPO window largely closed.The industry became somewhat stuck in place. Money tied up in startups couldn't be reinvested, and employees working at young companies waited for a liquidity event.<div type="image" title="Trump in shadow" height="1279" width="1920" msid="115186097" hostid="261" sizebytes="20896"></div>Trump's impact on the industry's hottest segment — artificial intelligence — isn't as clear.The space is already evolving as some of the biggest companies in the world are picking sides and consolidating power with partnerships and investments in high-profile startups. That was evident last week with a report that Amazon <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anthropic-gaining-on-openai-ai-market-2024-11">was considering investing in Anthropic again</a>.The US is already investigating Microsoft and Nvidia over their AI dealings. Trump's deregulation approach could free up the space.But regulators launched investigations and filed lawsuits against Big Tech during Trump's first term. The president-elect also has a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-presidency-affect-big-tech-2024-11">complicated relationship with tech giants</a>, even threatening to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-mark-zuckerberg-sent-prison-elected-truth-social-2024-7">send Meta's Mark Zuckerberg to jail</a>. And Vice President-elect JD Vance previously said Khan is "doing a pretty good job" in her antitrust enforcement.Musk has also had run-ins with Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and OpenAI's Sam Altman, and his AI startup, xAI, is looking to compete in the space.And then there's Trump's immigration policy. The president-elect pledged to conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. It's unclear if and how he might reshape the legal immigration system <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-immigration-policy-ai-tech-worker-shortage-2024-11">that places high-skilled workers from outside the US in tech jobs</a>, including those in AI.<h3 id="77f31a4c-8462-4e3d-a71f-838cb79493fb">News brief</h3><h2 id="1fcd294b-3f53-425f-9f20-4093e8623b59">Top headlines</h2><ul><li>The coming <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coming-reign-only-child-americans-fewer-babies-siblings-costs-2024-11">reign of the only child</a>.</li><li>Elon Musk has named his <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-pushes-rick-scott-for-senate-majority-leader-2024-11">top choice for Senate majority leader</a>.</li><li>Forget swing states. Here's how the generations <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-generations-voted-trump-harris-gen-z-gen-x-boomers-2024-11">flipped on Election Day</a>.</li><li>What needs to go right for Intel, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intel-dow-jones-ai-chip-lag-2024-11">and what happens if it doesn't</a>.</li><li>Trump's plan for Social Security will help baby boomers in the short run and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tax-cuts-social-security-boomers-benefit-fund-depletion-2024-11">cut benefits for anyone younger</a>.</li></ul><h2 id="8120060b-ae66-48dc-b149-f0489a30ffa2">3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="Donald Trump and the Wall St. sign" height="1500" width="2000" msid="115186103" hostid="261" sizebytes="227372"></div><ol><li>Who Trump is turning to on Wall Street for advice. Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick is co-chair of Donald Trump's transition team, and he's looking to his Wall Street peers for help. Apollo CEO Marc Rowan, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, and Charles Schwab are reportedly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-advisor-trump-lutnick-schwarzman-warsh-federal-reserve-2024-11">some of the people lending their expertise to Lutnick</a>.</li><li>Citadel Securities just poached a 20-year Microsoft vet. Herb Sutter is joining Ken Griffin's market maker <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-citadel-securities-hired-coding-expert-microsoft-herb-sutter-2024-11">in a new tech leadership role</a>. Sutter is an expert in C++, the coding language that underpins most of Citadel Securities' technology.</li><li>Bitcoin's big hopes for Trump 2.0. The self-described "crypto president" flipped from cynic to cheerleader during his campaign. Now that he's headed back to the White House, crypto supporters hope for <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/bitcoin-price-crypto-industry-donald-trump-election-reserve-regulation-sec-2024-11">regulatory overhaul and an expanded mainstream role</a> for the digital currency.</li></ol><h2 id="f4b54806-7f81-450c-ba32-92560d4fae9b">3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="Elon Musk" height="1500" width="2000" msid="115186106" hostid="261" sizebytes="652194"></div><ol><li>Inside Tesla's high-risk, high-reward compensation strategy. BI secured access to an internal Tesla salary database covering nearly 100,000 employees as of December 2021. The data reveals Elon Musk's pay strategy: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-salary-database-elon-musk-pay-strategy-2024-11">Lower salaries, bigger stock grants</a>.</li><li>How Reddit went mainstream. Not long ago, Reddit wasn't for everyone. It was a dark, weird little corner that prided itself on free speech but could quickly get ugly for users. Today, Reddit's community-driven content attracts users who would rather rely on human input than AI. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-mainstream-google-traffic-stock-revenue-human-users-2024-11">In that sense, it's a bit like the new Google</a>.</li><li>Behind Nvidia's plans to build robot brains. Nvidia robotics executive Rev Lebaredian told BI about the chipmaker's plans to tackle its newest frontier, bridging generative AI and physical robotics. The secret? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rev-lebaredian-spearheads-nvidias-omniverse-push-in-ai-and-robotics-2024-11">Visualize the future, then build it</a>.</li></ol><h2 id="9260fa45-d397-4b3c-b4f8-4bb193976216">3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="woman anxious in a pile of money with a house on top." height="846" width="1128" msid="115186104" hostid="261" sizebytes="133984"></div><ol><li>The high cost-of-living has some Americans going overboard with saving. Plenty of people in the US live paycheck to paycheck, but a growing cohort is doing the opposite. Despite having solid finances, anxiety about high prices has them <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-saving-inflation-cost-of-living-crisis-investing-401k-pensions-2024-11">saving more than is recommended</a>. Stockpiling cash could ultimately cost them as they miss out on investment gains.</li><li>Don't poll the election; bet on it. In the weeks leading up to his victory, polls showed a virtual tie between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Yet prediction markets showed a solid Trump lead, proving what proponents have long argued: they can be more accurate than traditional polling. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/betting-markets-polls-trump-election-win-polymarket-kalshi-2024-11">Prediction markets' biggest cheerleaders explained why</a>.</li><li>Economists say Trump will give Americans the very thing they voted against. High prices helped Trump get elected. Experts say his proposals of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-election-win-high-inflation-risk-tariffs-deportations-taxes-2024-11">lower taxes, higher tariffs, and mass deportations will be inflationary</a>. It could also make the Fed's recent rate-cut relief painfully short-lived if it's forced to hike rates again in response.</li></ol><h2 id="9f5d80ac-3466-429f-a50a-2ffbb70c65ff">What's happening today</h2><ul><li>It's Veterans Day. The nation's largest commemorative parade takes place in New York City.</li><li>The World Meteorological Organization releases the "State of the Climate" update at the UN's climate-change summit in Azerbaijan.</li></ul>The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London.

Startups are ready to thrive under Trump, but some uncertainty remains in a key corner of the space

Operating in Seattle, in the shadow of Amazon and Microsoft headquarters, McIlwain's Madrona Ventures was an early investor in AI companies such as <a target="_blank" href="http://xnor.ai">Xnor.ai</a>, which Apple acquired in 2020. The firm likes to say no investment is too early, as it prefers to be there as early as formation. Madrona also hosts the annual Intelligent Applications Summit, with this year's event featuring Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, and Arvind Jain, the CEO and cofounder of Glean. McIlwain says companies should focus more on their business model than on an AI model. "It doesn't work to just repackage other people's technology if you're not providing clear, differentiated value and building a sustainable moat," McIlwain wrote in a blog post.See Business Insider's full <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://businessinsider.com/ai-power-list-2024">AI Power List</a>

Matt McIlwain at Madrona Ventures has backed AI startups for several years

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The tech industry is anticipating an upswing thanks to Trump's election this week.</li><li>VCs expect possible deregulation to boost innovation, with Musk potentially influencing government policies.</li></ul>Some venture capitalists <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-trump-return-startups-venture-capital-2024-11">expect US President Donald Trump</a> to dial back regulation, potentially making it easier to develop new technologies and do business in Silicon Valley. Many of these hopes are pinned on Elon Musk's involvement in the new administration."The most exciting thing of all will be putting Elon in charge of government efficiency," Ben Narasin, founder and general partner of Tenacity Venture Capital, told BI of the election outcome. "He's going to take a chainsaw through calcified butter, and it's going to be awesome to attack the bloat and overreach that we've had in the government."Trump is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-could-be-donald-trump-advisor-wsj-reports-2024-5">reportedly considering Musk</a> for White House roles, including ones that would audit various federal programs and organizations.Musk, in turn, has proposed creating a "Department of Government Efficiency" — cheekily nicknamed DOGE, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/history-elon-musk-love-affair-dogecoin-2022-7">a nod to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin</a> — that he said would remove dealmaking regulations that have slowed M&amp;A in the tech sector in recent years.While many in Silicon Valley dislike Trump, many VCs and startup founders crave more freedom to pursue riskier new technologies unburdened by regulation. In short, tech is stoked about this."Trump-Vance ticket is the first unabashedly pro-tech presidency in our Nation's history," said Augustus Doricko, CEO and founder of cloud seeding startup Rainmaker. He expects an onslaught of tech innovation during the Trump administration.In conversations with more than a dozen VCs and Silicon Valley executives following the election, many have echoed this sentiment — including those who supported Kamala Harris in the election."With a major push to remove unnecessary red tape and over-regulation in key areas, we could really have a century of crazy building, innovation, and acceleration," Aaron Levie, the CEO of cloud company Box and a Harris supporter, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://twitter.com/levie/status/1854237056287060266">posted on X Wednesday. </a>"Excited for Elon's efforts here."Mark Pincus, an early Facebook investor and the founder of Zynga, responded on X, "Effective accelerationism! E-acc," referring to the recent Silicon Valley movement that wants <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/effective-accelerationism-humans-replaced-by-ai-2023-12">technological advancements in AI</a> to move as fast as possible, without any guardrails.<h2 id="04af9d99-2642-43c3-875c-92cb63b01ca9">Regulation has held Silicon Valley back in recent years</h2>VCs during Biden's presidency have complained about how tough it's been to get deals done. The outgoing administration was an antitrust enforcer and put many tech mergers and acquisitions on hold that it deemed anti-competitive. This is particularly galling for VCs because they rely on selling startups in M&amp;A deals for many of their exits and returns.Limits on tech M&amp;A have "caused the rate of venture capital return of distributed proceeds to fall drastically, making new capital formation near impossible," said Louis Lehot, a top tech lawyer at law firm Foley &amp; Lardner. Silicon Valley is looking for a relaxation in the government's stance here "to enable exits and new capital formation, which is the cycle of innovation," he added.For example, regulatory pressure had <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-23/google-s-aborted-deals-for-wiz-hubspot-show-antitrust-s-shadow-over-tech">dampened deal-making at Google</a>, with the tech giant abandoning two potential purchases this year, including cybersecurity startup Wiz, which would have been one of the tech giant's biggest-ever acquisitions.The US also opened antitrust investigations into <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-acquihire-deal-inflection-ai-antitrust-probe-us-regulators-competition-2024-6">Microsoft</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-warren-backs-justice-department-nvidia-antitrust-investigation-2024-9">Nvidia</a> earlier this year over their dominance in the hot AI space. The Federal Trade Commission is probing Microsoft's aqui-hire of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-hired-inflection-team-amid-board-concerns-about-openai-2024-3">Inflection AI,</a> and the Department of Justice is investigating Nvidia's acquisition of Israeli AI startup Run:ai.While some lawmakers say that allowing a few companies to influence the majority of AI research, development, and monetization poses an economic risk, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-vcs-in-silicon-valley-2024-7">many VCs have cried foul and accused FTC commissioner Lina Khan</a> — who has frequently sued to block mergers — of an anti-business bent and say it's tricked down to closing fewer startups deals, too.Investors were also critical of what they call <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-influence-election-trump-harris-2024-10">unclear rules for cryptocurrency under the Biden regulation</a>. Many VCs and founders in the space donated to Trump and other Republican candidates, which they consider more favorable toward crypto technologies and markets.VCs are now hopeful that Trump <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-presidency-affect-big-tech-2024-11">could roll back</a> some antitrust and crypto policies that a Harris administration may have continued, although nothing is certain about the new administration's approach.Trump's running mate and former VC JD Vance has <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4491363-vance-biden-ftc-chief-is-doing-a-pretty-good-job/">publicly said</a> that Khan is "doing a pretty good job," referring to her antitrust enforcement for Big Tech companies. At the end of Trump's first term, regulators under his administration launched antitrust investigations into Big Tech companies, including Amazon; and filed antitrust lawsuits against Google and Meta."At a high level, we expect Trump to cut corporate taxes and regulations, helping startup M&amp;A and investment," said Mason Angel, general partner at Industrious Ventures. "We may see new acquisition efforts by big tech with a new FTC director."Musk's influence could also help slim down the government's involvement in tech deals, these VCs told BI."Elon is a positive force who's had to run multiple companies that are heavily regulated, so he has a realistic view; since he's lived it, he can be influential," Narasin said of Musk's track record of building Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI. "He's pro-startup, pro-business, pro-everything that will help the US population. A good, healthy economy is good for everybody."<h2 id="a31623cb-2e54-4906-802e-37c294e98064">VCs anticipate an innovation boom</h2>America is a country of entrepreneurs, and that's especially true in Silicon Valley. Some VCs and founders say that having an entrepreneur like Musk influencing the Trump administration and potentially wiping away regulations will bring prosperity to the industry.Indeed, <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-trade-us-presidential-election-dollar-treasuries-stocks-crypto-djt-2024-11">the stock market responded exuberantly</a> to Trump's decisive win on Tuesday night, which could eventually be a boon to venture firms seeking investments. Limited partners such as pensions and endowments have been choosier recently thanks to high interest rates and few exit options for startups. But their return to funding venture firms would, in turn, mean that more founders are building and getting funded."I would like to see the President given the power to unilaterally remove, or at least streamline, regulations around major projects or economic areas that will make it possible to actually build new things," tech blogger Ben Thompson <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://stratechery.com/2024/president-trump-take-two-big-tech-little-tech-chips-and-hardware-elon-musks-triumph/">wrote after the election.</a> "There needs to be a way to cut through all of the red tape that has accumulated.""I think the next four years will be imbued with aspirational mega-projects and visionary initiatives without precedent," Rainmaker's Doricko said. "New cities. Lunar and Martian colonization. Free electricity. Weather control."Angel, whose VC firm invests in the space, industrial, and defense sectors, says that those industries will experience strong growth."Trump created the Space Force in 2019, and his close relationship with Elon Musk will bring renewed attention and government investment into the field," Industrious Ventures' Angel said. "Same goes for the US industrial and defense bases."As various sectors within the tech industry ebb and flow, VCs say they're optimistic about the idea of having one of their own helping to call the shots at the federal level."Elon's going to be an enormously positive monster who delivers a cleaned up, slimmed down, pro-business government, and there will be prosperity for everybody," Narasin said.

Silicon Valley is betting a Musk-inspired Trump could unleash a startup boom

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Supersonic aviation startup Exosonic shut down in November after five years in business.</li><li>The California-based startup was working on faster-than-sound jets for commercial and military use.</li></ul>A handful of startups are vying to revive supersonic flight, but one contender just dropped out of the race.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-the-supersonic-passenger-planes-will-connect-cities-1-hour-2022-7">Exosonic, </a>which had been working for five years to build faster-than-sound jets for commercial and military use, announced its shutdown on Friday, citing a lack of continued funding and low customer interest.The company had two main projects: a quiet passenger plane capable of Mach 1.8 speed and an uncrewed supersonic aircraft for fighter jet target practice. It had backing from private equity investors, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hypersonic-air-force-one-hermeus-mach-5-2020-8">a contract from the US Air Force</a>, and a flying sub-scale prototype.In an interview with Business Insider, Exosonic CEO Norris Tie said the company hoped its Mach-speed airliner would drastically cut travel time between faraway nations.Crucial to the company's promise was work to eliminate the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sonic-boom-explained-2016-1">sonic boom</a> that prevents supersonic planes from flying over land — an issue that severely handicapped the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/concorde-supersonic-jet-history-2018-10">legendary Concorde</a> when it pioneered supersonic passenger travel in 1976."The goal was that by the time we were ready to hammer out the commercial design, all the regulatory framework for the boom would have more or less been established," Tie said. "Then we could go back to designing the airliner after what we hypothesized would have been a successful UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems) business at that point."<div type="image" title="A photo of Exosonic CEO Norris Tie standing to the right of another Exosonic employee examining an aircraft wing." height="1080" width="1920" msid="115266488" hostid="261" sizebytes="70466"></div>Since 2020, the company had raised about $4 million in funding, according to PitchBook estimates. Its closure leaves fewer players working to achieve the faster-than-sound dream."As history shows, in many areas with new technology, there are often many more players initially than the market can support," University of Illinois aerospace engineering professor Michael Bragg told BI. "It was inevitable that there would be a downselect of supersonic aircraft makers. Let's hope someone is successful before they are all gone."<h2 id="edb327cf-4cd9-4561-b931-8796991c5f4c">A new Mach-speed passenger jet would be too expensive and time-intensive</h2>Supersonic travel was already achieved nearly decades ago with the Concorde, which could cross the Atlantic in as little as three hours and operated commercially for about 30 years.But it was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/concorde-supersonic-plane-tour-photos-2024-10">extremely costly and ended in disaster,</a> stoking concerns that largely convinced the industry to end flights."Some investors said the timeline for a supersonic commercial aviation product was too long and capital intensive," he said, adding passenger Mach flight was the company's main focus for the first two years.Tie said with full capital, meaning billions more dollars, it could take 10-15 years to build, certify, and deliver a new supersonic plane. And that's if the supply chain, potential design setbacks, and other factors <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-777x-why-so-important-delays-future-airlines-2024-7">don't add abnormal expenses.</a>Tie also said engine manufacturers aren't investing in supersonic flight — hindering one of the industry's most vital components: power.<div type="image" title="Boom Supersonic." height="1406" width="2500" msid="115266487" hostid="261" sizebytes="78552"></div><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supersonic-jet-boom-overture-costs-technology-experts-skeptical-2024-4">Boom Supersonic</a>, another faster-than-sound startup, has been forced to build its own engine after failing to make a deal with major engine manufacturers, who remain focused on conventional jet engines. The company has been in business for about a decade and has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-boom-jet-used-test-worlds-next-supersonic-airliner-2024-3">developed a sub-scale prototype</a>."Boom has said it would cost up to $8 billion to build its supersonic plane, and that's a low number," Tie said. "The company has only publicly <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://boomsupersonic.com/newsroom/fact-sheet">funded</a> less than $1 billion. It's a long road, and I don't know how it's going to get done."Boom has announced <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-overture-the-boom-supersonic-aircraft-that-united-just-ordered-2021-6">billions of dollars worth of orders from American Airlines</a> and United Airlines for its supersonic Overture jet, which is planned to fly as soon as 2029.American has agreed to purchase up to 20 with options for another 40, while United has ordered 15 with options for 35 more.<h2 id="ac0faea2-919d-4208-94b1-f52c80a4c14a">The US Air Force changed its mind about Exosonic's training drones</h2>Investors pushed Exosonic to focus on military contracts instead of a commercial airliner, Tie said. This was the smallest product the company could develop while still generating some revenue — until the Air Force changed its mind."They didn't want fighter jet drones focused on training; they wanted one focused on combat, which has been a priority for the past two or three years," he said. "That's what took away all of the funding that we were going after, and we couldn't recover."<div type="image" title="A rendering of three Exosonic's supersonic Revenant military drones flying." height="1080" width="1920" msid="115266490" hostid="261" sizebytes="71432"></div>He said commercial air combat companies' interest in Exosonic hinged on the USAF. Once the Air Force's interest faded, so did the interest of any potential commercial players, like Drakken International, who could have used the uncrewed drones for training or other military needs.Without a defense arm of the business, Tie said the commercial side didn't have a chance.<h2 id="04b7056c-e60d-4441-a240-6d64e9c0d514">Tie said hypersonic travel is a more likely commercial option</h2>Tie said part of the problem with getting supersonic funding is because it isn't a shiny new concept. Humans have been doing it <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/70-years-since-chuck-yeager-broke-the-sound-barrier-what-it-was-like-2017-10">since the 1940s,</a> and there isn't any "terribly new technology to develop there."He said a better approach for Exosonic would have been to focus on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-the-supersonic-passenger-planes-will-connect-cities-1-hour-2022-7">hypersonic travel.</a> <div type="image" title="Rendering of Venus Aerospace's Stargazer in flight." height="543" width="1024" msid="115266491" hostid="261" sizebytes="37582"></div>A handful of hypersonic startups, including Venus Aerospace, Hermeus, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/see-hypersonic-jet-will-fly-new-york-paris-90-minutes-2023-6">Destinus</a>, and Spectre Aerospace, plan to build ultrafast jetliners. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.venusaero.com/venus-aerospace-inaugural-supersonic-drone-flight/">Venus</a> is testing its high-Mach-speed advanced propulsion system and has achieved supersonic flight with a drone using a rocket engine.Tie believes SpaceX's Starship could be one of the likeliest contenders. Elon Musk's project is set to transport satellites and astronauts to space but could also shoot into orbit and back to connect nearly any two cities in an hour or less."Hypersonic is certainly in vogue, and so that makes sense to go in that direction," he said. "Supersonic is unfortunately not in vogue."

You Searched For "technology startups" and got 13 results

Startups demand angel tax elimination, incentives on investments in upcoming budget

ANI

Microsoft and Apple exit observer roles on OpenAI board

ANI

IBM to launch GenAI Innovation Center in Kochi

PTI

Defence ministry allocates Rs 300 cr for technology development fund to promote Make in India products

ANI

Inside 'Project Rodeo,' the Tesla effort pushing the limits of self-driving technology

Grace Kay

For women building AI startups, finding community has been the key to success

Samantha Stokes

SIMPLY PUT: Founder Mode — the secret sauce to startup success or fancy term for hustle and micromanagement?

Divyanshi Sharma

What it's like to launch a startup with friends, according to 3 Gen Z cofounders who created a childcare startup together

Riddhi Kanetkar

Ukraine's drone teams are operating more like tech startups than military units

Thibault Spirlet

Startups are ready to thrive under Trump, but some uncertainty remains in a key corner of the space

Dan DeFrancesco

Matt McIlwain at Madrona Ventures has backed AI startups for several years

Ben Bergman

Silicon Valley is betting a Musk-inspired Trump could unleash a startup boom

Samantha Stokes,Riddhi Kanetk…

CEO of failed supersonic plane startup on what went wrong — and how other companies might find success

Taylor Rains,Benjamin Zhang

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides